As you may know, we will not be having Wacko Badges this year to help fund lighthouse restorations as we have had for the last several years. We are, however, going to conduct a “fundraiser” in the form of an opportunity drawing with 100% of the funds raised going to lighthouse preservation. Full details will be published when the opportunity drawing begins.

Roland Babineau came up with the fundraiser idea and is providing one of the prizes, plus he has volunteered to coordinate it. Since the effort would be on behalf of the Collector Forums, Roland asked for support from the forum members listed below.

Your committee is comprised of the following Forum members:
Roland Babineau – Fundraiser Coordinator
Paul Brady
John Chidester
Rich Felter
Dave Hannum
Daniel Kirsch

This will be a poll only to pick which lighthouse or lighthouses will be chosen to receive donations from our opportunity drawing. The winner(s) will be chosen by a popular vote from our members. The lighthouses below were nominated by your committee as needing our donations based on their current needs. A link to each light’s web page is included in the poll below.

As in the past, we'd like each person to do their own research and ask that others not post regarding which one they would like to see win or which one they voted for, or which one they believe needs the help the most.

Thanks...

Sorry, John but I just have to put in a plug for my favorite lighthouse to help in this cause. It is a lighthouse that is in great need of some funds, to help a really good group of people in it's restoration.

There I said it and I am proud to support both the group and the lighthouse in this effort!

Well, if you're plugging yours, then I'm gonna plug mine!
Think my favorite lighthouse from the list is one that everyone's heard about, but probably hasn't seen. Well, then again, maybe they have. OK, maybe some of you have seen it, and some of you haven't. Anyway, it's definitely one that deserves everyone's support!

Hey, you guys are cheating. Maybe you favorite lighthouses are more famous then mine but mine did the same job as yours. It saved lives and needs funds to return to it's old glory .

Isn't there a way to setup the voting so we can only see the results after we vote?

We have setup the way it is on purpose. Nobody will know the results until after the poll closes. It is the most fair way to have it operate. When I say nobody, I do mean nobody. We all won't know how the vote is going until 4/19/2009 at 8PM.

There is, Loon, but we're keeping the results under wraps until the voting is over. That includes the Saints and Cruise Directors, too. All part of the "Men in Black" and the "Black Helicopters" conspiracies. Or not.

Anyone who is a member may vote. Some of our silent members are cruising through this message without logging in and voting! Come on, let's get your 2 cents in here, too! Forgot your password? Just click on the "login" link.

Lots of great raffle items have been donated and the more we raise, the more prizes there will be. 100% of the money raised will go to fund lighthouse restoration and maintenance.

Can we raise $1,000? $2,000? More?

Even in these tough times, the money we donate will be put to work. In some cases, it might generate matching funds for the lighthouse. In any case, it will mean things like building supplies, paint, equipment rentals that will help with the local economy near the lighthouse.

Think of it as the "Collector Forums Lighthouse Stimulus". Dig as deep as you can when the raffle begins.

How do we donate?

That will all be revealed in the coming week(s) and after the poll ends. The details of the opportunity drawing to raise the funds will be posted here and on Roland'a and Terry's stores websites.

The real kicker is I was the one who posted the poll and even the poster doesn't know which lighthouse is in the lead!

I understand why you have it setup this way, but think it's more fun to see the race, not just the winner.

How much fun would the Daytona 500 be if no spectators were allowed to watch, you only find out the winner once its over?

I figure if you can only see the results after you vote, you can't be influenced by the results.

Sorry, just my 2 cents.(or does it cost 3 now???)

Don't you hate those network exit polls that are posted during every national election? The ones that say "Based on 1% of the people who voted in X precinct in Y county in the state of Z, we can project that so-and-so will be your next senator". I despise those. I don't want some so-called newscaster telling me my candidate has no chance of winning even before I get into the voting booth. I can't help but think how many people were encouraged not to vote for my candidate just because he happens to be behind with still 99% of the votes to be counted because it was a lost cause. Or how many people changed their vote just so they could say they supported the frontrunner.
See the vote before it's done? Absolutely not. We want this to be totally fair, for members of this forum to vote their concience, not what someone else says they should do, either real or implied. All in due time, Loon, all in due time.

Another way to look at this poll is we have some favorites and some underdogs in our poll. It isn't fair to the underdogs to have someone mention that I voted for XXX and along comes Sally Mae to cast her vote and she isn't really sure how she wants to vote. She doesn't want to take the time to check out the links so she says to herself, "Johhny John has been around forever and is really sharpe on lighthouses so if he's voting for XXX then that's the one I want to vote for". Besides that, anticipation is a good thing, and when you see the winner and then see the prizes that are lined up you will be excited. These are not your typical prizes that anyone can buy at a HLs dealer, these are the "creme de la creme".

OK Rich, Now you've got me sitting on the edge of my chair waiting to see what they are!!!

Thank you Roland, Terry, Harbour Lights and / or anyone else that has donated these wonderful prizes WHATEVER they are!!!

Rich,
Don't tell them that! It's like they're gonna believe you now! Let's stick to the truth, OK?

If Roland is involved in a surprise, let me tell you, be ready to be impressed. I received my first order from him this evening, Pass L' Outre. He had personally answered my order and told me he had something he had been saving for someone who would appreciate it. It was AWESOME! And I'm not going to say what it was, because it might be a clue to one of the prizes.

MMMMAYYBBBEEEE........

OK, we know that there a lot of you out there who are wondering how this opportunity drawing is going to work and what prizes we have in store. I have convinced the rest of the committee to allow me to create a page on my website with a preview so that you'd all know at least some of what is going on. I know I'm gonna get a rash of #$%%$ from the rest of the committee, but I have added images of a couple of the prizes so everyone could at least know what great stuff they're in for.
http://www.thecapecodstore.com/preview

WOW Roland...all I can say is...

OMG !!!!!!!

Ditto!!!

Judy

that face is enough to put anyone off ... but I guess I shall still take part ...

Roland you'll have to do better if you want to put us off

You are going to get greef from us... But we can't wait.

Only 7 hours of voting time left. If you haven't voted yet, time is running out.

One hour to go before we know the results.. Vote quick if you haven't yet..

Looks like the results are:

25% Jones Point (18 votes)
24% New Canal (17 votes)
14% Execution Rocks (10 votes)
14% Fort Gratiot (10 votes)
13% Toledo Harbor (9 votes)
10% Ashtabula Light (7 votes)

71 total votes. Thanks for those who participated in the voting.

Wow !!! Pretty tight voting. Not much separating each choice.