President’s Corner
Our lead story has to be the retirement of Moira Underwood who has served with distinction as our Executive Director for 17 years. After a career at IBM, Lake Gaston was the next stop on her life's journey. If you see Moira in town, please thank her for all she did at the LGA for our community. We have invited Moira to attend as a member at our Annual Meeting which will be at our usual meeting spot on Saturday, June 11 at 9:30 AM. Please come, say thanks and wish her well.
The Annual Meeting at the Lake Gaston Baptist Church (across from Subway) will be the first solo meeting for our new Executive Director, Beverly Summerfield. No pressure Bev. Seriously, we are very excited to have Beverly join us. She brings 20+ years in multi-faceted management/business experience along with the necessary skill set to lead the LGA to the next level. We will be expanding our social media platform and have asked Bev to further promote greater use of the website. Please stay tuned for more.
The LGA yearly calendar is somewhat as predictable as the seasons. This spring the Government Relations Committee hosted the 5 County Forum and then we successfully held the Candidate Forums for three Saturdays in April. These Forums were to provide local candidates running for an office in Halifax, Warren and Northampton counties an opportunity to state their position and meet constituents.
As the weather warms, we turn our attention to the lake and support the efforts of the LG Weed Control Council and the NCSU Extension program as they utilize the data from last fall's shoreline survey to combat Lyngbya and then get in the water to repair cages which are used to promote good vegetation in our healthy lake.
Lake clean up activities are in full swing and the Public Safety Committee turns it’s attention to safety related issues both on land and in the water. As the months pass, in the fall we begin our 2023 membership drive. September and October it’s lake vegetation survey time when we participate in the 350 mile shoreline survey. Next thing you know it’s November and we will again support the John 3:16 Toy Drive campaign. Wow, I think I just wrote my year end speech for the December monthly meeting.
For now, savor the warmer temperatures as Lake Gaston slowly warms to the sweet spot in early August when water temperatures are in the mid 80's and when my wife will finally put her toe in the water.
Thanks for reading and stay safe.
Brian Goldsworthy