Retired NFL Pro Dan Skuta Honored With Service Award at Recent USA Event

APOLLO BEACH, Fla., Dec. 10, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Retired NFL linebacker Dan Skuta was recently honored with an NFL Players Association (NFLPA) Conservation Steward of the Year Award, recognition for his ongoing contributions and commitment to environmental conservation education and the local community.

Skuta was handed the award by representatives of the Union Sportsmen's Alliance (USA) as a commemoration of Skuta's service not only to USA but to local conservation and education efforts over the past year.

Dan Skuta proudly received the 2019 NFLPA Conservation Steward of the Year honor during the November 2 celebration of the all-new boardwalk and fishing pier at the Suncoast Youth Conservation Center (SYCC), a 6,000 sq. ft. complex providing wildlife conservation and technology education opportunities to youths throughout the Greater Tampa Bay community. Dedication of the new SYCC addition was celebrated by hundreds of local families and children from throughout the area.

Dan Skuta was awarded the honor alongside Southern States Millwright Regional Council member Wayne Jennings, who received USA's Non-Charter Union Volunteer of the Year Award during the dedication ceremony.

The large pier and boardwalk structure is the result of an extensive multi-year community service project, completed through the USA's Work Boots on the Ground conservation program. The pier marks the USA's largest project completed to date and is the 200th to have been done through the Boots on the Ground program.

SYCC's newest addition was made possible not only through the skilled labor and dedication of USA volunteers like Dan Skuta but the generosity of partners and financial donors from across the region and the state of Florida.

Partners that supported the pier's construction include Florida AFL-CIO, Fish & Wildlife Foundation of Florida, Frank E. Duckwall Foundation, Florida Gulf Coast Building Trades Council, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), Southern States Millwright Regional Council, Ben Hur Construction, Pure Fishing, TECO Energy, The Saunders Foundation, Bass Pro Shops, The Community Foundation of Tampa Bay and a number of labor unions throughout the region. Material and construction expense donations from such partners eclipsed the $800,000 mark.

An outdoor recreation and fishing enthusiast throughout his life, Dan Skuta was honored not only by the recognition but also the opportunity to take part in efforts to promote a stronger relationship between local youths, conservation and organizations that support environmentally sustainable behavior. Skuta, who played nine seasons in the NFL — two with the Jacksonville Jaguars — is committed to local philanthropy and to causes like USA partnering to protect and preserve Florida's precious and vulnerable coastal ecosystems.

Click here to learn more about the SYCC dedication and youth fishing event.

About: Dan Skuta retired from professional football at the beginning of the 2017 NFL season. He now pursues volunteering and philanthropic opportunities across the country. 

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Dan Skuta
Retired NFL Pro Dan Skuta

SOURCE Dan Skuta Foundation