Two FLRL Volunteers Honored at 2008 ALF Awards Dinner
The American
Lighthouse Foundation honored 19 outstanding volunteers on November 22,
2008 during its Lighthouse Gala & Volunteer Awards Dinner at the Hyatt
Regency in Newport, RI.
The 19
volunteers, who included two members of the Friends of Little River
Lighthouse, each
ALF Photo
Little River Lighthouse
received ALF’s
prestigious “Len Hadley Volunteerism Award” during the third annual
volunteer dinner.
Bob Trapani, Jr.,
ALF executive director, read prepared remarks by Friends of Little River
Lighthouse co-chairman Tim Harrison describing why FLRL volunteers Kathleen
Finnegan and Michele Dirksen (who both were unable to attend the awards
dinner) were very deserving of ALF’s “Len Hadley Volunteerism Award.”
Mr. Harrison’s
remarks:
Kathleen
Finnegan – “Kathleen Finnegan has been the
co-secretary of the Friends of Little River Lighthouse since the chapter was
officially
FLRL Photo
Kathleen Finnegan (center)
started. She
has also served as the merchandise manger, helped develop the website,
volunteered countless hours working on the island, and ferried numerous
visitors to and from the island.
Kathleen also
served as co-chair of the committee for the first-ever
International Lighthouse
Challenge, ‘Lights Across the Border.’ In that capacity she designed the
Challenge booklet, sold some of the advertising, and planned and coordinated
the event for Little River Lighthouse, which saw nearly 500 people visit the
island during the daylong event.
During the process
for the Challenge, she took over 600 phone calls of inquiries and
reservations. She also planned a highly successful benefit lobster dinner
that was attended by over 150 people.
Opening the
lighthouse for the first time for overnight guests, she helped train the
volunteer caretakers, booked all the overnight reservations and mailed out
all the registration forms and instructions for both the Challenge and
overnight stays at the lighthouse.
Kathleen has gone
above and beyond in promoting the efforts of helping to preserve and recount
the history of Little River Lighthouse, and lighthouses in general, to the
public, while promoting the goals of the American Lighthouse Foundation and
its chapters. She is to be commended for her dedication to Little River
Lighthouse and is worthy of a ‘Len Hadley Volunteerism Award,’ which was
voted and approved by Friends of Little River Lighthouse, a proud chapter of
the American Lighthouse Foundation.”
Michelle
Dirksen – “Michelle Dirksen, as the second
seasonal caretaker at Little River Lighthouse, traveled from Cape Cod to
spend her
vacation time at the remote Maine island
lighthouse. She paid for her own food and all expenses.
While at
Little River Lighthouse, she greeted the many guests that came on the
island and helped make their visit rewarding and memorable. From
her past experience, as a
FLRL Photo
Michelle Dirksen (center)
volunteer keeper
at Race Point Lighthouse, Michelle brought with her a wealth of knowledge,
with suggestions on ways to improve the experience of overnight guests and
other visitors to the island. Most of her suggestions were acted upon
immediately by the Friends group.
Michelle also kept
the entire station clean and acted upon minor repairs. Her enthusiasm for
preserving lighthouses, recounting and helping others to learn the history
of the lighthouse, as well as her support of the efforts of the American
Lighthouse Foundation and its chapters was evident by everyone she came in
contact with.
She is commended
for her dedication and is worthy of a ‘Len Hadley Volunteerism Award’ from
the American Lighthouse Foundation, which was agreed upon by a unanimous
vote of the Friends of Little River Lighthouse, a proud chapter of the
American Lighthouse Foundation.”
