Valerie Olson Van Heest has been involved in shipwreck research and documentation projects for the past 16 of her 26-year diving “career,” which began when, as a teenager, she worked for Dacor Corporation. As an Architectural Project Manager, Valerie utilizes her drawing and management skills in her avocational pursuit in underwater archaeology. Valerie served as Director of the Underwater Archaeological Society of Chicago (UASC), where, for 8 years, she and fellow UASC members conducted projects on 20 Chicago-area shipwrecks, including the Wells Burt, Seabird, and Lady Elgin, all resulting in reports and slide presentations. She also worked on joint venture projects on shipwrecks in Lake Huron (the Goshawk), Lake Erie (the Jay Gould), and Biscayne Bay, Florida. In 1995, she married Jack Van Heest, who is also a diver, relocated to Holland, Michigan, and became President of the Southwest Michigan Underwater Preserve, a state underwater preserve designation which became official in 1999. Valerie has documented four of the Preserve’s shipwrecks, organized an ongoing search for the elusive wreck of the Chicora (West Michigan’s most enigmatic maritime mystery), and directed “The Verano, A Porthole to the Past,” a grant project from the Michigan Humanities Council. Recently Valerie founded Michigan Shipwreck Research Associates, and she directs research, an annual shipwreck show, and DVD productions with that group, which we will hear more about tonight. In 2006, Valerie was inducted into the Women Divers’ Hall of Fame.