Garrett Ard chose an artificial reef for his Eagle Scout project to honor his grandfather, longtime Orange Beach charter captain Gloyice Ard. After years of fundraising and planning, Walter Marine supplied and deployed the steel-hulled shrimp boat Southern Heritage in Alabama's reef zone.
The project gained a second meaning when the family of the boat's late captain, Paul Rogers, learned about its new purpose. The deployed vessel became a shared memorial and a public reef that anglers and marine life can use for years.
