SGLA Receives Two Grants

The Cape St. George Light will be one of four lighthouses included in the Forgotten Coast Lighthouse Mini-Challenge in April, 2010. (Photo by Rusty Amos)

The St. George Lighthouse Association has been awarded two grants by the Franklin County Tourist Development Council. The first is a Sustaining Grant in the amount of $20,000 which will help fund continued operation of the lighthouse. The second is an Off-Season Event Grant which will help sponsor the first Forgotten Coast Lighthouse Mini-Challenge.

The Sustaining Grant helps pay the operating expenses of keeping the lighthouse open to the public, such as personnel costs, advertising, promotional materials, utilities, and so forth. This is the second year that we have received this grant, which enabled us to expand the lighthouse open time to 40 hours a week. 16,824 people climbed the lighthouse from the time it opened in December 2008 through September 2009.

The $2,000 Off-Season Event Grant will allow us to hold the first Forgotten Coast Lighthouse Mini-Challenge on April 23 and 24, 2010. Lighthouse Challenges are popular events in other areas of the country, where participants are "challenged" to climb or visit a number of lighthouses in a specified period of time.

Our event will include four Forgotten Coast lighthouses: Cape St. George, Crooked River, Cape San Blas, and St. Marks. Participants will receive a memento at each lighthouse they visit, plus an additional keepsake if they meet the challenge of visiting all four lighthouses. Each lighthouse may offer additional attractions, such as food, music, arts and crafts, or activities of their own choosing. The event will conclude on April 24, which will be observed as Florida Lighthouse Day.

Posted by Administrator - Tuesday, 10/06/09, 07:31 AM - Comments - Category: News