F
For more than two decades Carmel Zetts has led the effort to protect Sunset Beach’s loggerhead sea turtles — one of coastal North Carolina’s most fragile species. Zetts is on call day and night to provide assistance or advice for turtle rescue or rehabilitation efforts to wildlife staffers, turtle watch volunteers and beach goers alike during the turtle nesting season. That might be enough dedication for some, but Zetts’ service to wildlife doesn’t stop there. She’s the first person that local police and fire department personnel call for rescue situations for injured or stray birds, cats, deer, raccoons and dogs in Sunset Beach. Carmel and her husband, Ray, spend countless hours each year driving back and forth to the wildlife rehabilitation shelter delivering injured or orphaned animals. Zetts has committed her life to wildlife conservation as an educator, fundraiser, mentor and leader, and for these reasons Sunset Vision, a nonprofit organization in Sunset Beach, honored Zetts at its second annual Sunset Visionary celebration on October 19, 2017, at the Museum of Coastal Carolina. Sunset Vision’s mission is to enrich the community by funding, maintaining and sponsoring amenities that promote nature, education, volunteerism and accessibility in Sunset Beach. Zetts is the epitome of a Visionary. On being honored as this year’s Sunset Visionary, Zetts said, “I
Winter 2017-18
75