Miami Beach, FL – June 12, 2015 – Over  250 South Florida VIPS including business, cultural and civic leaders joined the Patricia and Phillip Frost Museum of Science for a celebration of the 4th Annual Miami Underwater Festival at 1 Hotel South Beach. Following a welcome by Michael Laas, Corporate Director of Impact for 1 Hotels, and Gillian Thomas, Frost Science President & CEO, visitors made their way to the hotel’s rooftop to enjoy signature cocktails by Tito’s Vodka. The VIP reception kicked off a weekend of underwater themed activities in honor of World Oceans Day and included stunning marine film footage from BLUE on Tour along with a special presentation, “Exploring the Invisible,” by National Geographic Explorer Dr. Kenny Broad of the University of Miami’s Abess Center and Rosentiel School.

Dr. Kenny Broad

Joe Falk

Gillian Thomas

Joe Falk & Gillian Thomas

Gillian Thomas & Dr. Kenny Broad

Michael Laas, Gillian Thomas, & Dr. Kenny Broad

Biff Bermingham, Michael Laas, Gillian Thomas, Dr. Kenny Broad, & Roni Avissar

Gillian Thomas, Sandy Batchelor, Dr. Kenny Broad, John, Chris, & Nancy Batchelor, Roni Avissar, & Biff Bermingham

John, Chris, & Nancy Batchelor

Pat Gelber, Joe Falk, & Harold Gelber

Mark Perriello, Joe Falk, & Biff Bermingham

John & Laura de Olazarra, Fiorella Finetti, & David Moore

Dr. Kenny & Marlene Broad

Sandy Rechtnan & Bettina Nagy

Maria Beotegui & Emiliano Zapata

Kenneth Wright & Shantel Young

Andy Dieguez, Dr. Kenny Broad, & Jorge Richa

Frank Steslow, Trevor Powers, Edson Pires, Carmen Carpio, Sasha la Madrid, & Karlisa Callwood

Ashley Mandy, Stephan Mandy, & Linda Frankel

Nancy Batchelor & Gillian Thomas

Marko & Anna Dimitrijevic

 Anna & Marko Dimitrijevic

Jacqueline Proctor & Jaclyn Graff

Carly Jones, Alexa & Andrew Elliot

Biff Bermingham, Roni Avissar, Sandy Batchelor, Neil Hammerschleg, & Diana Udel

Amy Clement, Karlisa Callwood, Catherine MacDonald, & Julia Wester