Carrier and the Sea Turtle Hospital at Loggerhead Marinelife Center Announce Willis the Sea Turtle’s Release

Carrier, a global leader in innovative heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC), fire and security and refrigeration solutions, and the Sea Turtle Hospital at Loggerhead Marinelife Center (LMC) will celebrate the release of Willis, a juvenile loggerhead sea turtle patient on Wednesday, August 28th at 10:30 a.m. on the beach adjacent to the sea turtle hospital. Carrier sponsored Willis’s rehabilitation and employees named Willis in honor of Willis Carrier, the inventor of modern air conditioning, and one of the original founders of Carrier.

“Carrier’s global headquarters is located just five miles from one of the most active sea turtle nesting beaches in the world. So, as members of the local community, we recognize and value LMC’s work in promoting conservation of our oceans and threatened and endangered sea turtles,” said Kori Recalde, senior director, social impact, Carrier. “We are all thrilled to support the rehabilitation and release of Willis the sea turtle and thank the LMC ensuring his speedy recovery.”

Carrier employees selected the name Willis during an Earth Day celebration in honor of this year’s “Protect Our Species” theme that included a 5k walk / run fundraiser for LMC at the Carrier world headquarters, the Center for Intelligent Buildings.

“Willis is the ‘coolest’ sea turtle in the world and we are honored to work with Carrier, who has an exceptional track record of sustainability and leveraging technology to improve the communities where they do business. We loved sharing our sea turtle patient Willis with our many guests and students who visited our campus during our patient’s rehabilitation,” commented LMC President and CEO, Jack Lighton.

Willis is a juvenile loggerhead patient that was found at FPL’s St. Lucie site with a heavy epibiota load (barnacles and saltwater leeches attached) on its carapace (upper shell), plastron (lower shell) and soft tissue. The turtle arrived slightly underweight, and bloodwork showed early signs of chronic debilitation, which means overall poor health due to starvation. Willis arrived missing most of its right rear flipper due to an unknown prior trauma. Over the course of two months, LMC’s team of staff and volunteers provided the patient with around the clock care and treatments resulting in Willis’ upcoming release.

Weather may impact the scheduling of this release. Please check marinelife.org and LMC’s social media channels for updates. Willis will be released off of the beach located adjacent to Loggerhead Marinelife Center at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, August 28th 2019.

For more information about Willis, the sea turtle patient, visit https://marinelife.org/turtles/willis/.

About Loggerhead Marinelife Center:
Loggerhead Marinelife Center (LMC) is a nonprofit sea turtle research, rehabilitation and educational institution that promotes conservation of ocean ecosystems with a focus on threatened and endangered sea turtles. The Center features an on-site hospital, research laboratory, educational exhibits and aquariums, and also operates the Juno Beach Pier, which hosts world-class angling and sightseeing. Situated on one of the world’s most important sea turtle nesting beaches, Loggerhead Marinelife Center is open daily and hosts over 350,000 guests free-of-charge each year. The Center’s conservation team works with 90 local and international organizations across six continents to form partnerships and share conservation initiatives and best practices that are core to its mission of ocean conservation. The Center is expanding and has launched its Waves of Progress capital expansion campaign, designed to accelerate and amplify LMC’s conservation and education impact. When complete, the facility will offer one of the world’s most advanced and unique experiences for guests and scientific partners. For more information, visit  marinelife.org  or call (561) 627-8280.

About Carrier:
Carrier is a leading global provider of innovative HVAC, refrigeration, fire, security and building automation technologies. Supported by the iconic Carrier name, the company’s portfolio includes industry-leading brands such as Carrier, Kidde, Edwards, LenelS2 and Automated Logic. Carrier’s businesses enable modern life, delivering efficiency, safety, security, comfort, productivity and sustainability across a wide range of residential, commercial and industrial applications. For more information, visit www.carrier.com or follow us on social media at @Carrier .