Juan Chaves graduated from the Florida Institute of Technology in 1992 and joined the Peace Corps, working for two years as a Marine Fisheries Research Officer in Tuvalu, near Fiji



Juan Chaves graduated from the Florida Institute of Technology in 1992 and joined the Peace Corps, working for two years as a Marine Fisheries Research Officer in Tuvalu, near Fiji

Former N.C. State U. Student Donates Earnings To Science College

Ana Pardo Technician

North Carolina State U. Raleigh, N.C.

October 6, 2003

An alumnus is donating part of the earnings from his home business to the North Carolina State University physical and mathematical sciences college.

Juan Chaves earned his master's degree through the department of marine, earth and atmospheric sciences in 2002.

He now owns RedHotFlies, a company that sells hand-made fishing flies on the Internet.

A fishing enthusiast and environmentalist, Chaves thought it was important to give something back to the fishing industry, and therefore decided to donate 10 percent of his company's earnings to fisheries research at NCSU.

Chaves graduated from the Florida Institute of Technology in 1992 and joined the Peace Corps, working for two years as a Marine Fisheries Research Officer in Tuvalu, near Fiji.

His interest in marine research did not stop there, however. After the Peace Corps, Chaves worked with fisheries in Alaska, the Bahamas, Fiji, New Zealand and Virginia.

In 2000 Chaves came to the university as a graduate student. He conducted his graduate research on the soft-shell blue crab and graduated in 2002.

After receiving his master's, Chaves worked as a technician for the NCSU Department of Zoology at the Center for Marine Science and Technology.

It was then that Chaves decided to create his own business, RedHotFlies.

"I have always wanted to own my own business. This is something that combines my hobby with my educational and career experience," Chaves said.

Through the Web site, Chaves sells dozens of different kinds of fishing flies, all of which he makes by hand.

The site features articles about fishing experiences and information about the flies that work best for catching certain kinds of fish, as well as photographs from fishermen who want to show off their latest catch.

Since its inception, his business has steadily increased. "I've sold them everywhere -- North Carolina, California, Virginia -- but it's a daily job to make [the business] grow," Chaves said.

Something that makes Chaves' business unique is the fact that he donates a portion of his proceeds to research that directly supports his industry. Dave Eggleston, an associate professor in the department of marine, earth and atmospheric sciences, is one of the people whose research benefits most from Chaves' contributions.

Funding from private sources such as Chaves' business "removes some of the funding constraints" that can hamper research, according to Eggleston.

Eggleston also said he hopes that other businesses will follow suit on Chaves' business model.

Areas of commerce he thinks would particularly benefit from this kind of business arrangement include the camping, mountain-biking and hunting industries.

"[Outdoor recreation industries] have a vested interest in the long-term sustainability of the resource their business involves," Eggleston said.

Chaves asserted that the promotion of marine sustainability should be a strong impetus for fishermen to choose his product over the products of other companies.

"If we donate money to fisheries research ... fisheries management can improve and there will be more fish in the sea to be caught. The better the fishing is, the more people are going to enjoy it, the more people will get into it and the more business we'll do," Chaves said.

When this story was posted in January 2005, this was on the front page of PCOL:

Coleman: Peace Corps mission and expansion Senator Norm Coleman, Chairman of the Senate Subcommittee that oversees the Peace Corps, says in an op-ed, A chance to show the world America at its best: "Even as that worthy agency mobilizes a "Crisis Corps" of former Peace Corps volunteers to assist with tsunami relief, I believe an opportunity exists to rededicate ourselves to the mission of the Peace Corps and its expansion to touch more and more lives."

RPCVs active in new session of Congress In the new session of Congress that begins this week, RPCV Congressman Tom Petri has a proposal to bolster Social Security, Sam Farr supported the objection to the Electoral College count, James Walsh has asked for a waiver to continue heading a powerful Appropriations subcommittee, Chris Shays will no longer be vice chairman of the Budget Committee, and Mike Honda spoke on the floor honoring late Congressman Robert Matsui.

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January 8, 2005: This Week's Top Stories Zambia RPCV Karla Berg interviews 1,374 people on Peace 7 Jan Breaking Taboo, Mandela Says Son Died of AIDS 6 Jan Dreadlocked PCV raises eyebrows in Africa 6 Jan RPCV Jose Ravano directs CARE's efforts in Sri Lanka 6 Jan Persuading Retiring Baby Boomers to Volunteer 6 Jan Inventor of "Drown Proofing" retires 6 Jan NPCA Membership approves Board Changes 5 Jan Timothy Shriver announces "Rebuild Hope Fund" 5 Jan More Water Bottles, Fewer Bullets 4 Jan Poland RPCV Rebecca Parker runs Solterra Books 2 Jan Peace Corps Fund plans event for September 30 Dec RPCV Carmen Bailey recounts bout with cerebral malaria 28 Dec more top stories...

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Latest: RPCVs and Peace Corps provide aid Peace Corps made an appeal last week to all Thailand RPCV's to consider serving again through the Crisis Corps and more than 30 RPCVs have responded so far. RPCVs: Read what an RPCV-led NGO is doing about the crisis an how one RPCV is headed for Sri Lanka to help a nation he grew to love. Question: Is Crisis Corps going to send RPCVs to India, Indonesia and nine other countries that need help?

The World's Broken Promise to our Children Former Director Carol Bellamy, now head of Unicef, says that the appalling conditions endured today by half the world's children speak to a broken promise. Too many governments are doing worse than neglecting children -- they are making deliberate, informed choices that hurt children. Read her op-ed and Unicef's report on the State of the World's Children 2005.

Changing of the Guard With Lloyd Pierson's departure, Marie Wheat has been named acting Chief of Staff and Chief of Operations responsible for the day-to-day management of the Peace Corps. Although Wheat is not an RPCV and has limited overseas experience, in her two years at the agency she has come to be respected as someone with good political skills who listens and delegates authority and we wish her the best in her new position.

Our debt to Bill Moyers Former Peace Corps Deputy Director Bill Moyers leaves PBS next week to begin writing his memoir of Lyndon Baines Johnson. Read what Moyers says about journalism under fire, the value of a free press, and the yearning for democracy. "We have got to nurture the spirit of independent journalism in this country," he warns, "or we'll not save capitalism from its own excesses, and we'll not save democracy from its own inertia."

RPCV safe after Terrorist Attack RPCV Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley, the U.S. consul general in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia survived Monday's attack on the consulate without injury. Five consular employees and four others were killed. Abercrombie-Winstanley, the first woman to hold the position, has been an outspoken advocate of rights for Arab women and has met with Saudi reformers despite efforts by Saudi leaders to block the discussions.

Is Gaddi Leaving? Rumors are swirling that Peace Corps Director Vasquez may be leaving the administration. We think Director Vasquez has been doing a good job and if he decides to stay to the end of the administration, he could possibly have the same sort of impact as a Loret Ruppe Miller. If Vasquez has decided to leave, then Bob Taft, Peter McPherson, Chris Shays, or Jody Olsen would be good candidates to run the agency. Latest: For the record, Peace Corps has no comment on the rumors.

The Birth of the Peace Corps UMBC's Shriver Center and the Maryland Returned Volunteers hosted Scott Stossel, biographer of Sargent Shriver, who spoke on the Birth of the Peace Corps. This is the second annual Peace Corps History series - last year's speaker was Peace Corps Director Jack Vaughn.

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