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Greetings! I am sitting down this morning to send you some updates and a “save the date” announcement. Hello to all members and followers of the St. Peters Harbour Lighthouse Society! By popular demand, we have moved the date of the St. Peters Harbour Lighthouse Society Annual General Meeting to an earlier time in August than usual. This should make it easier for more of you, and those you may wish to bring with you, to attend before the ‘back to school’ or ‘start thinking about leaving PEI’ rush. We really hope you can join us this year. Please forward our invitation to anyone you know who may wish to be a member or a volunteer. This year the AGM is at 7 pm on August 13th at the usual venue - The Leo Rossiter Park Pavilion at 17 Riverside Dr. in Morell. To assist us in preparing for the meeting, kindly RSVP by reply email to let us know you will be able to join us. Registration and payment of annual membership dues will take place from 6:30 pm - and there will be refreshments and a brief social gathering on-site following the AGM. SPHLS Membership dues are $10/individual and $20/family. Earlier this summer, SPHLS President Bill Morton and Katie Sheahan presented a Silver Shingle award to the Barry Family: L-R: Vanessa, Arlene, Louis, and Sean. We thank them for their support and commitment to the work of preserving the SPH Lighthouse and its rich heritage. The SPHLS Silver Shingle Award is presented to SPHLS members whose membership dues and donations combined reach the $500 mark - whether immediately or over time.  And late last week, the Lighthouse began to wear a new badge of honour right on the front door! Our designation as a Canadian Heritage Lighthouse is commemorated on a beautiful cast plaque issued by Heritage Canada. The road and parking lot, while not our actual responsibility, truly impact our site. This year, the parking lot and the road were given a huge face lift. It is the best I have ever seen it. The approach is now much improved and while ruts after heavy rain are still a possibility (actually a certainty!) there is a really good base and with our new signage at the start of the road prohibiting buses and large RVs, we should be in good shape for this season and beyond. Our lighthouse weathered the winter well and no critter invasions were detected. No repairs or painting is needed or planned. Having personally been chased out of the lighthouse by raccoons-in-residence in the past, I was relieved! The dusk to dawn light is on for the season and it has been a pleasure for me to hear visitors enjoying that extra little surprise when they are on the beach. Similarly, our interpretive sign showing what was once on the site must be seen as a success with the looks of wonder on peoples' faces as they imagine the lighthouse with boats coming and going directly below it. Stories abound of how local kids would climb the lighthouse and jump off directly into deep water! The dune signage seems to be helping since some visitors had been oblivious to what is dune and what isn't since Hurricane Fiona so drastically changed the profile of the dunes. On my visits I have seen less, but still some, disregard for the slow but important process that is going on as the Marram grass starts to reappear. As you may know, this gives a small anchor for new sand to cling to and pile up around. That is one important way that dunes regenerate over time. I remain hopeful and various groups, including the PEI government, are watching and monitoring this closely. In recent news as well, SPHLS volunteers Gail Rice, Katie Sheahan, with logistical support from Scott MacEwen and Syd Freiman, represented us at both the parade and Expo events of the Morell River Run Festival. This offered us the opportunity to connect people with the SPHLS and understand more fully what our mission is and how we are committed to sharing the heritage of the Lighthouse and those who fished out of the original Harbour and kept the Light lit!  Over the coming months, there are some other things to know about:
Our website will be undergoing a complete overhaul which will have some of the same content, of course but also the capability to buy SPHLS merchandise online. speaking of merchandise, there will be new items...we are very excited!! Our social media profile will increase and be more current as part of this general overhaul. And for all you bike enthusiasts...there will be a new 12-spot bike rack anchored in the soil for the safety of your bicycles coming in early August. Given the limited parking, this will add another eco-friendly option for a visit. Thanks to the generous support of the Points East Coastal Tourism Group, none of these items come at a cost to our group. This, in turn, means ....“No need for a fundraiser event this year!!!” Craig Ono, who has been an invaluable member of our Board for many years, will be leaving after the AGM this year as he has assumed several roles related to Tourism in other organizations, as well as offering tourism services himself. We wish him the very best in his new endeavours and thank him for his many, many contributions. We look forward to seeing you at the AGM on Aug. 13th! Your SPLHS Board members: Bill Morton-President; Scott MacEwen-Vice President;Gail Rice-Past President;Chris Hutt-Treasurer; Craig Ono-Secretary; Judith Bree-Representative of the Old St. Peters Harbour Landowners' Association as well as Sidney MacEwen, Barbara Rousseau, Mel Anderson and Dana Dineen (all Members-at-large). St.Peters Harbour Lighthouse Society
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