The conference was a smashing success, much better than any of us could possibly have imagined.

This was the longest week many of us have done in a while. The days started at 7 a.m. and most nights many of us were still there at midnight. All over the city there were banners on every lamp post promoting the International Lighthouse Conference, which was quite a sight to see in itself.

The Teachers' Workshop was fantastic and I could not believe all the ideas they came up with.

Lighthouse groups from most parts of the country were represented: California, Washington, Great Lakes, Gulf Coast, Florida, Chesapeake, Long Island and New England.

The seminars by the lighthouse presenters were all extremely well done and it was amazing to see all the different ways that lighthouse groups across the nation are using the lighthouse to promote education in astronomy, biology, marine life, plant life, history, navigation, science, technology, construction, maritime history, and much more.

We all learned so very much than can be used in many of the individual lighthouse programs and that will also help us in completing a Teachers' Resource Manual for 5th and 6th graders across the nation. This is the first International Lighthouse Conference in history to attempt such a massive undertaking.

The Tuesday evening dinner with U.S. Coast Guard Admiral Crea and Mayor Kalisz of New Bedford was surely one of the highlights of the entire week. The American Lighthouse Foundation presented a plaque to the Coast Guard vessel Ida Lewis for their restoration of the Ida Lewis gravesite. Mayor Kalisz unveiled a sign renaming the park where the Lightship Sailors Memorial is as "U.S. Coast Guard Park."

The "Lighthouse Kids" of New Hampshire gave a great presentation and sang the song "We are the Keepers of Tomorrow" to the Admiral. The Admiral then surprised the "Kids" with a special Coast Guard award for their efforts to draw public attention and raise money to save the Isles of Shoals Lighthouse.

You can read the address by Admiral Crea by clicking here.

After the Admiral spoke to the large audience, she surprised us all by presenting a Public Service Award from the United States Coast Guard to the American Lighthouse Foundation. The Public Service Award has an entire page listing the accomplishments of the American Lighthouse Foundation.

ALF also declared the Lighthouse Kids as the newest chapter and the only "Kids" chapter of the American Lighthouse Foundation.

Thursday we visited Boston Light, which is a story in itself. However, we were honored to be greeted at the dock by Capt. Dan May of the USCG and National Park rangers.

Thursday night I spoke to a full house at the New Bedford Whaling Museum auditorium and afterwards, Jeremy D'Entremont and I autographed books as fast as we could sign them. Also on Thursday, Art Motta gave a trolley tour of the maritime sites of New Bedford and on Friday many of us visited the historic sites in person and shopped in some of the unique stores in New Bedford as well as buying lots of lighthouse goodies and other items.

On Friday there was also a special postal cancellation and envelopes to honor the International Lighthouse Conference and the postal clerks were kept extremely busy the entire time as people lined up to get the special cancellation at the New Bedford Tourism office.

Twenty some schools participated in the essay and poster contest. On Saturday ALF and the Mayor presented the runners up and the grand prize winners of the essay contest and poster contest with awards that included $100 gift certificate, a night for the students and their families at Race Point Lighthouse, and membership in ALF. The grand prize winner was presented with a special certificate from the Mayor making him a "Keeper of the Light" of Palmer Island Lighthouse.

On Saturday the Flying Santa of the Lighthouses landed at Clarks Point Lighthouse and gave all the kids a airplane, and ALF gave the kids (depending on age) either a lighthouse coloring book or a "Kids on the Beam" book which was made especially for the conference.

To close the conference the Coast Guard Band gave one of the most spectacular performances I have ever witnessed. They tied in their performance to the history of New Bedford, Moby Dick and Herman Melville.

I could go on and on. Look for photos and the rest of the story in Lighthouse Digest and Tower Notes.

We owe a great debt of gratitude to Mayor Frederick M. Kalisz Jr. of the City of New Bedford, Art Motta, Director of Tourism and Marketing of the City of New Bedford, CWO Dave Waldrip of the USCG, Sally Snowman, Chairperson of the International Lighthouse Conference Planning Committee, and the many other members of the committee whose hard work made this conference possible and the smashing success that it was.

This award was presented by the Coast Guard to the American Lighthouse Foundation during the conference.

Now the rest of the work is ahead of us -- completing the Teachers' Resource Manual and getting it into classrooms across the United States and Canada. Your donations to complete this project are needed and will be appreciated.

Tim Harrison
President
American Lighthouse Foundation
P.O. Box 889
Wells, ME 04090

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