Members, families, and friends of Chapter 3 of the Federal Managers Association (FMA) braved the stormy weather June 1 at Paradise Creek Nature Park to participate in the 31st Annual Clean the Bay Day.

The team joined more than 6,000 volunteers across Virginia to clean the rivers, streams, and beaches of the Chesapeake Bay watershed and remove harmful litter and debris.

"The FMA is invested in not only our federal employees at Norfolk Naval Shipyard (NNSY) but our community as a whole," said NNSY Clean the Bay Day Team Captain Eric "Chops" Clarke. "We are invested and ready to do our part to clean our waterways. We hope our efforts today and every day will inspire others at the shipyard to volunteer as well."

“Chapter 3 of the FMA is honored to provide service to our community and environment by helping to keep our waterways and tributaries clean,” said FMA President Craig Carter. “Thank you to all who braved the bad weather and participated in the cleanup."

This was the 20th year the FMA has participated in Clean the Bay Day and it's first time at Paradise Creek Nature Park. The group filled 18 bags and cleaned up approximately 55 pounds of trash.

"We were worried about the weather and if we were going to be able to come out and show our support today but we came out as a team and hit the ground running," said Clarke. "We worked safely and managed to do some great work. I'm proud of what we did today."

Already, Clarke is looking toward the next Clean the Bay Day and what they can accomplish. "I have a coworker who said that even if we only picked up a single piece of trash we saw lying on the ground, we would be doing our part to help our environment and I have taken that to heart. We hope that next year's event we can invite our shipyard workforce to come out strong so we can all make a difference!"

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