I just wanted to welcome Dave Lombardi, President of the Dutch Island Lighthouse Society (DILS), who posted in the following thread today.

http://www.lighthousekeepers.com/forums/Forum36/HTML/000022.html

I have invited Dave to post here so you may get to know him and he may get to know you. Dave, and the rest of the folks at DILS have done a commendable job in the short time (1 year) they have been in existence.
Please, join me in giving Dave a warm welcome from all of the connected collectors & lighthouse lovers here.
Ron
(CT Keeper)

Welcome aboard, Dave! Dutch Island Light is one of my favorites. Lorna and I pass by it most every weekend during the summer as we head for Block Island.

The members of the Collector Forum will enjoy your posts. Please keep us updated as to what is happening on Dutch Island.

Bob

welcome aboard dave we are glad to have you with us.you will find you have hooked up with a great bunch stretching from coast to coast.Bill O'Brien

Welcome to the froums Dave!

We are glad to have you aboard and are looking forward to your posts.

-Todd

Welcome Dave. It's great to have you onboard. Hopefully we'll be hearing a lot from you.

Rich

Thanks for the warm welcome Ron, appreciate it!!

Sorry I didn't post yesterday, it was my 21st birthday and I was out for most of the day. Thanks for making me feel right at home. Some people tell me I'm crazy for devoting most of my free time to lighthouses at such a young age -- but I enjoy every minute. (I wish it payed sometimes, but the joy of saving something so precious is more valuable then any dollar amount.)

So...

My name is Dave Lombardi and I'm the President and co-founder of the Dutch Island Lighthouse Society. My paying job outside of the lighthouse community is Radio. Radio is my first love and I studied the technique in college for a short time. I'm currently a Producer for Lite Rock 105.1 FM in Providence.

Okay.. My fasination with lighthouses started when I was in the 8th grade when I did my coastal research project on the Point Judith Lighthouse. My civics teacher really liked lighthouses so I asked him about his feelings on the topic and he told me to pursue it. To make a long story short I got an "A-" on my report and a "D" on my presentation (I was very shy speaking in front of the class, so I said two words and put in a movie about New England Lighthouses and it did the presentation for me.)

Doing the reserach on this project I picked up one of the most inspiring books on RI Lighthouses. "The Lighthouses Of Rhode Island, by Wally Welch. Never being a huge reader the book was easy for me to understand because it was mostly a pictorial guide. It gave small histories of the lighthouses on each page. From that summer on I religioulsy read the book cover to cover every day and every night. (Practically memorizing the pages.) It was then I knew lighthouses were my thing and that I enjoyed them so much. I even wanted to be a lighthouse keeper!

15 and not being able to drive I made my mom take me to almost every lighthouse in Lil' Rhody. It even got to the point where if she asked me what I wanted to do it was followed by "Lighthouses are out of the question for today"... Okay so I was abit obsessed but am I alone here? LOL

So for 6 years... lighthouses especailly our local ones have meant a great deal to me. This is why I contacted the American Lighthouse Foundation (ALF) to see if they could assist me with the preservation of Dutch Island. After a few meetings and some paper work the 125 year-old Dutch Island lighthouse was leased from the US Coast Guard to the ALF !! Our local chapter the Dutch Island Society was formed
in May of 2000.. And as they say the rest is history!

Over the past year-and-a-half being a President of preservation group has it's depressing downfalls. Sometimes, money never seems to come in and the whole effort seems worthless to me. But I've learned to keep at it cause people may seem greedy some days then they are very generious. My job is the educate our members and ecourage them to make contributions.

We've raised a good amount of money so far, however we are still far away from reaching our goal.. I would really love to have our contractors start some of the restoration next year but only time will tell.

Just have to keep positive and keep thinking of ways to raise money -- and sure enough it will happen. Some people have told me this will never happen cause Dutch Island isn't a "Castle Hill" or "Nubble Light" which many people visit every day.
But I keep telling them... It'll get done, you just watch!

Well I'm sure I've said enough...

All the best,

Dave Lombardi




------------------
Dave Lombardi
President
Dutch Is. Lighthouse Soc

Hi Dave, welcome aboard the forums. It's certainly good to see someone as young as you who is committed to lighthouse preservation. Please keep us informed of the progress!

Tim - Keeping the flame lit...

Dave, it is nice that you posted some history here about yourself and how you became involved with lighthouses, specifically Dutch Island Lighthouse.

There are many members on these Forums who are trying to save lighthouses all around the country. Sometimes the money comes rolling in and at other times it comes in dribs & drabs.

Don't let it get you down when the going gets tough. Think of new ways to educate people about your cause, come up with new fundraising ideas, get petitions signed by the public, have the newspapers help you get the word out and above all, realize that you are not alone. We are here for you as you are here for us. Together we will all make a difference, and have fun and comradery while doing it.

What you are doing is very admirable. Keep up the good work, it will pay off.

Ron
(CT Keeper)

[This message has been edited by RFoster (edited 12-02-2001).]

BTW Dave, HAPPY BIRTHDAY !!!

terry

Dave,

Happy Birthday!

It's good to see "young" people like yourself getting involved with Lighthouse Preservation and Awareness.

It has to be passed from one generation to the next and it has to be a cooperative effort.

And, yes I'm sure it can be depressing sometimes, but that only makes the successes that much more rewarding.

You just keep in mind that you and your fellow enthusiasts are helping to preserve sopmething for those that come after you.

And it's fun sometimes too!

Keep up the good work, and keep us posted here, on both the good and bad. You might get an assist from one of the many people here who are doing the same thing you are doing, just in another place.

Dennis

Dave,

One more thing

I just pulled out my copy of that book by Wally Welch Lighthouses of Rhode Island.

I picked it up on one of my visits to URI where my daughter was spending my money.

My favorite pictures in the book are of Rose Island Lighthouse. I found the book after I had visited the lighthouse. I found the difference in the before (in the Book) and after to be amazing.

My wish is that your efforts can make the same thing happen for Dutch Island Lighthouse

The book also came in handy to find Poplar Point Light. I bought it in a little shop on Main St in Wickford called something like "The Lighthouse Store".

Dennis

Welcome to the forums Dave and Happy Birthday too!!!
Don't let the slow times discourage you with your fundraising efforts. We at Avery Point started out quite the same way and today the lantern room was removed and sent off to be rebuilt. It was such a great feeling standing there watching knowing that even our small team could make such a big thing happen. Nothing can describe how good we all felt knowing our efforts made today happen. We have a long time to go but seeing such a big piece of the work go today will help us to keep the faith and keep the fundraising going to support the rest of the work. Your hard work and dedication will pay off. Keep the faith so you can keep the flame :-)

Penny

Welcome Dave, and wishing you a happy B-Day, too