End of Year Progress Report

As reported in an earlier blog post (Mid-Year Check Point), the Shore Club Board of Directors had targeted two key items to focus additional attention on this year:

• Getting younger families with children involved in lake activities
• Bringing a major fireworks display back to the center of the lake.

The following is a year-end report on how the board made progress toward these two goals:

• Family Centered Events

We had witnessed an increased attendance for the Spooktacular Halloween Boo Cruise and the Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony; however attendance for the Christmas Boats and Santa Cruise realized a slight decrease in the number of children particularly along the North Shore and Mobile Home Park.  The assumption is that the extraordinarily rainy weather may have prevented people from venturing outdoors to see Santa, or perhaps it was because many were satisfied with their previous visit and photo opportunities with Santa during the Tree Lighting Ceremony that prompted them to remain indoors warm and dry instead. 

While the newly added Hydroplane Racing Weekend was not sponsored by the Angle Lake Shore Club, we were very encouraged to see the number of families involved in the races and for our neighboring families who visited the racing pits to ask questions and get up and close with the race boats and operations. For all intents and purposes, this was a highly successful event and achieved all the goals and objectives of being a unique and interesting event for this area and we are hopeful that additional races to be considered in the future.

• Fireworks Barges

At last report in June ‘16, the overall fundraising effort was at 70% of the targeted goal of $24,000. Unfortunately, the ‘gofundme’ online fundraising campaign that was created did not produce the results expected, falling far short of the $8,000 objectives. I am happy to report however that four generous donors had contributed a total of $550 through this online account with the funds having been combined to the overall effort.  To date, the club has received a total of $19,360 in private party pledges and cash contributions all from neighbors living on or in immediate vicinity of Angle Lake. 

It is also with great pleasure that we report that our volunteer laborers have completed building four of the seven barges required and were launched last weekend (12/18/16)! The remaining three barges will be completed within the upcoming months in 2017, thus ensuring the capability of returning a major fireworks display to the center of Angle Lake next summer!

Video Courtesy of Steve Beck

I personally am grateful for the many thoughtful and generous neighbors that make up our lake community, and I am truly amazed at what can be accomplished when we all come together.  

Thank you for your support.

You can expect another progress report in early spring at which time I’m hopeful that we can report that all barges have been completed and deployed; that the firework display contracts have been signed for a mid-lake Independence Day Show; and that Hydroplane Racing will return to Angle Lake for a second year.