Florida Lighthouse Association‘s winter meeting was hosted by the Egmont Key Alliance, January 28-29, 2017. Saturday’s formal meeting took place at Tampa Bay Watch, a non-profit environmental educational group based in a modern facility whose design is based on a lighthouse. An active light on its roof enables passport members to receive a stamp.
I had the pleasure of giving a presentation on the records available for researching Florida’s lighthouses, followed by a delicious lunch. The business meeting included an update from Sharon Mackenzie, director of Boca Grande Lighthouse, on a new lighthouse design for the Florida license plate which generates funds for one of the association’s grant programs. Josh Liller, representative from Jupiter Inlet, reviewed work completed at various lighthouses under the grant programs. Then one of the association’s youngest members was honored (see below).
On Sunday the group boarded a boat for the one-mile crossing to Egmont Key. Two trips were necessary to accommodate the large group. (Click on photos below to read the captions.)
Submitted by Candace Clifford, January 31, 2017
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U.S. Lighthouse Society News is produced by the U.S. Lighthouse Society to support lighthouse preservation, history, education and research. Please consider joining the U.S. Lighthouse Society if you are not already a member. If you have items of interest to the lighthouse community and its supporters, please email them to candace@uslhs.org.
Candace was the US Lighthouse Society historian from 2016 until she passed away in August 2018. For 30 years, her work involved lighthouse history. She worked with the National Park Service and the Council of American Maritime Museums. She was a noted author and was considered the most knowledgable person on lighthouse information at the National Archives. Books by Candace Clifford include: Women who Kept the Lights: a History of Thirty-eight Female Lighthouse Keepers , Mind the Light Katie, and Maine Lighthouses, Documentation of their Past.
Great post!