Coast Guard’s Meritorious Public Service
Award Presented to
ALF President
America’s lighthouse
heritage plays a proud role in the history of the United States Coast
Guard, and no where was this more evident on National Lighthouse Day
than at the grand opening of the Museum of Lighthouse History on August
7th – 216 years to the date when our nation’s lighthouses
were first brought under the control of the Federal government in 1789.
Photo by Ann-Marie Trapani
Rear Admiral David P. Pekoske reads the
text
of a U.S. Coast Guard Meritorious Public
Service Award that he presented to ALF
President Tim Harrison
One of the highlights of
the Museum’s grand opening was a surprise presentation made by U.S. Coast
Guard Rear Admiral David P. Pekoske, Commander of the First District.
Admiral Pekoske presented Timothy Harrison, President of the American
Lighthouse Foundation, with the Coast Guard’s Meritorious Public Service
Award for his many valuable contributions in saving our nation’s lighthouse
heritage. “Congratulations on a richly deserved award,” said Admiral Pekoske.
Photo by Kathleen Finnegan
Admiral Pekoske pins a medal for the
Meritorious Public Service Award to
Harrison's lapel
“The Coast Guard
genuinely appreciates your efforts to preserve our Coast Guard and our
nation’s history.”
An excerpt of the award
highlights Harrison’s leadership, reading, “He has demonstrated, through
communication and volunteerism, that an individual citizen can make a
difference in the preservation of Coast Guard and American
history.” The award went to
read, “Mr. Harrison’s unconditional support and time has created a link to
the past which allows people around the world to learn the history of the
Coast Guard and the U.S. Lighthouse Service. Mr. Harrison’s selfless
contributions to Coast Guard and American history are most heartily
commended and are in keeping with the highest traditions of public service.”
Under Harrison’s
leadership, the American Lighthouse Foundation has experienced unprecedented
growth as an organization. ALF is widely
recognized as the
nation’s leader in lighthouse preservation, serving as the stewards for
20 historic beacons and owner and operator of the Museum of Lighthouse
History in Wells, Maine. “I was totally surprised by the Coast Guard
Public Service Award - I never expected it,” said Harrison. I'm not in
this for the awards, but I can truly say that I was humbled as well as
honored to be recognized.
Photo by Ron Foster
Admiral David Pekoske presents Tim
Harrison the Coast Guard's award for
Meritorious Public Service in honor of his
work to save America's lighthouse
heritage
We have a great partnership
with the United States Coast Guard and I'm proud to be associated with a
military branch that has such a rich heritage to our nation's history.”
Harrison went on to say,
“What I'm trying to do is create a movement of sorts that will be a legacy
for future generations. If we don't know where we came from, and how we got
there, we could lose the core values our country was founded on. With the
help of the of volunteers and the public, we will do our best to make sure
that not only are our historic structures saved, but also the history
associated with them.”
To learn more about the
American Lighthouse Foundation and the Museum of Lighthouse History, call
(207) 646-0245 or email
info@lighthousefoundation.org
