Benjamin donated to the aquarium, and he and his wife devoted a significant amount of time to the project. The board decided to name the preview exhibits — both the first one at The Gateway and the second in Sandy — after his wife, Gail, who passed away in 2004.

Benjamin, however, requested to have his wife's name removed from all aquarium signs in March when management issues heated up.

"There was no reason to drag her into this," he said. "She was a wonderful woman and had a vision of the aquarium."

The board members who have resigned, either on Saturday or previously, are: former Utah Jazz player Thurl Bailey, Martin Baron, Benjamin, Crawford Cragun, Laurie Hofmann, Christopher Layton, Linda Lee, Tom Markuse, Marc Rasich and David Wolf.

Carroll and Andersen already have begun the process of finding new board members. During their board meeting on April 12, they plan to nominate Dr. Frank Grimmer and James Marshall, owner of Sandy restaurant Johanna's Kitchen.

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E-mail: astowell@desnews.com