Former Nebraskan helped 'Dolphin Tale' to the big screen

David Yates was in the right place at the right time.

A month after Winter, a bottlenose dolphin, was rescued from the ocean and brought to the Clearwater (Fla.) Marine Aquarium in 2005, Yates was hired as its chief executive officer. The former Omahan earned an accounting degree at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

Winter was found tangled in a crab trap that severed her tail.

The nonprofit aquarium was in dire financial straits. Winter was in dire physical shape. The outcome for both was doubtful.

"I got inspired by Winter way before the world did," Yates said. "It was fascinating to watch her get better. I said this story could inspire millions of kids around the world."

And it did. Yates, who had worked with national news media as chief executive officer of the Ironman Triathlon, went to work selling Winter's story.

"I had to find something very quickly," he said. "The aquarium was ready to close its doors. But every story about Winter generated more revenue. We saved Winter. And, without a doubt, she saved us."

A doctor, played by Morgan Freeman in the movie, developed a prosthetic tail to replace the one Winter lost in the crab trap. Winter still lives at the aquarium, drawing crowds of children and handicapped people inspired by her recovery.

"Dolphin Tale," based on Winter's story, is expected to generate more revenues for the aquarium. Yates, a co-producer on the movie, said he's working with its production company on merchandising deals.

Yates lived in Omaha in 1979-87. His father, the late Dr. Loren Yates, was a family practice professor at Creighton Medical School.

David Yates said he has many friends, but no family, left in the metro area. His wife, who grew up in Hyannis, Neb., has relatives in Kearney, Lincoln and Grant, Neb.

In the movie, the character played by Harry Connick Jr. is a mash-up of Yates and the aquarium's head veterinarian.

Sawyer, the boy in the movie who develops a special relationship with Winter and helps nurse her back to health, is also a composite of many children who have helped care for her.

Similarly, while the gel sleeve developed for Winter's prosthesis has helped many amputees from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, Sawyer's soldier cousin hurt in the war is not a real person.

But Winter's comeback, and the aquarium's, are quite real.

Yates was there every day during filming, which was mostly at the actual aquarium. His goal was to get messages about rescuing marine life and educating the public into the film, and he's satisfied