USS Saratoga Museum Foundation, Inc.

The official designation will team the Warwick maker of prescription and non-prescription sunglasses with the organization working to create an educational center and family attraction featuring the USS Saratoga at Quonset/Davisville.

We are thrilled to be working with the Saratoga project," Sunsmith President Tom Hughes said. "This is not only a great opportunity to promote our products; it allows us, as a company, to provide significant support to the effort to make the Saratoga vision a reality."

Sunsmith will donate $50,000 in merchandise and a portion of its proceeds from the sale of sunglasses nationwide to the Foundation. Sunsmith will also become a sponsor of the 2005 Saratoga Reunion in Las Vegas, the 2006 Saratoga Museum Golf Tournament and the 2005 and 2006 Rhode Island Aviation Hall of Fame induction dinners.

"Once the Governor and the Quonset Development Corporation board gave us the green light in June, many individuals, companies and foundations have stepped forward to support us financially," Foundation President Frank Lennon said. "Now we are seeing corporations, like Sunsmith, stepping up to the plate. This is the type of momentum we knew would be created once we received approval from the state to move forward."

In June, the Quonset Development Corporation adopted a recommendation by Governor Donald L. Carcieri to reserve mooring space for the carrier, giving the Foundation two years to raise $10 million. The fundraising efforts have moved into high gear, buoyed by a $1 million pledge from a local foundation.

The USS Saratoga would be the centerpiece of a park which would offer a number of educational and cultural benefits to the community in addition to serving as a museum and memorial. The foundation projects that the Park would attract more than 400,000 visitors annually, create jobs, generate tax revenues and have a significant economic impact. More information on the Saratoga vision can be found at www.saratogamuseum.org.

Sunsmith is producing a new breed of sunglasses that amplifies color while reducing bright light and blocking harmful UV rays. Sunsmith Eyewear features ColorMag lenses, a patent-pending technology that reduces brightness and glare while maintaining the clarity and richness of colors.

The sunglasses are available at a number of retail outlets, primarily in coastal Rhode Island, Connecticut and Massachusetts including Cape Cod and the Islands. Sunsmith will continue to add authorized retailers throughout the New England region this year and will begin offering its products outside of New England in 2006. As part of this sponsorship arrangement the sunglasses will be carried at the Saratoga's mini-museum and retail store at 6854 Post Road in North Kingstown, as well as the Russian Sub Museum at Collier Point Park in Providence.

The sunglasses are also available at select retailers throughout New England as well as on-line at www.sunsmith.com.

Saratoga Museum Foundation

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Last Updated:
8/28/05