GULF SHORES, Ala. – Time after time Vince Lucido has made his way to the podium in front of a variety of civic and government groups. And one time, the right person heard the message and sent checks.

Lucido is the chairman of the Alabama Gulf Coast Reef and Restoration Foundation, a newly formed organization to raise money to build artificial reefs in our area.

Listening to the presentation during the November First Friday Forum at LuLu’s was one Mac McAleer, the developer of LuLu’s and partner and friend of owner Lucy Buffett.

“I made that presentation and he saw it there and he felt like it was a great investment and a good project to do to try and bring business to the area,” Lucido said.

From the list of sponsorships, McAleer chose the top of the list: $250,000 naming sponsor. The former Yokamu, a 271-foot freighter owned by David Walter of Walter Marine will be sunk about 16 miles off shore and known as ‘The LuLu.’

Before the LuLu’s presentation, Lucido had been to the Baldwin County Commission and the city councils in Orange Beach and Gulf Shores.

“He’s really been generous to step up to the plate like that,” Lucido said of McAleer, “but don’t forget the cities and the county, too. The county’s put in $200,000, Orange Beach and Gulf Shores have done $50,000 each, the CVB has put in $50,000 for marketing and promotion and the state, they put in $100,000.

And now the $250,000 from McAleer.

“It felt great, it was really a nice feeling,” Lucido said. “We’d known about this for about a month and I didn’t want to say anything about it until we got things firmed up.”

But, Lucido said, the commission’s work is not done. There are other projects his group wants to pursue to bring in a different group of visitors to the island.

“A different type of business, something that we haven’t really developed like Panama City or Pensacola or Destin,” he said. “Panama City is one of the biggest dive training areas there is. All the stores from all over the country bring their students there for the initial training. It’s a big business there.”

One idea creating a local buzz concerns putting dive areas just off the beaches.

“There’s some interest in placing some shallow snorkeling reefs just right off the beaches that people have been looking at doing,” he said. “Some of the cities have looked into it. Maybe we can get some funding for some of that.

“There’s just so many things that we can do to enhance the environment and make a neat place to snorkel and fish and dive.”

Another area of interest just opened up in the Gulf in the region known as “Rookie’s Ridge.”

“There’s a new permit area called Rookie Ridge that’s a little closer in,” Lucido said. “That’d be one area that we could place shallower reefs for trolling and diving and fishing and I’m sure you could snorkel it, too.”

The sinking date of the LuLu is uncertain, but developers are shooting for June. A lot depends on if the Weather Channel wants a production company to shoot more episodes of “Reef Makers.”

“The production company is aware and the Weather Channel is going to air four shows sometime in January is my understanding,” Lucido said. “And if they get a positive feedback on that with the public then they’ll purchase some more shows with the Yokamu, now the LuLu.”