NS LIGHTHOUSE PRESERVATION SOCIETY
MAKES DVD FOR COMMUNITY GROUPS!!
 
LUNENBURG LIGHTHOUSE CONFERENCE HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL!!
 
HOPE AND HELP ARE ON THE WAY!!
 
WE'VE MADE IT EASY WITH OUR STEP BY STEP DVD!!
 
The NS Lighthouse Preservation Society had some competition in Sept. when they held a conference in Lunenburg aimed at arming community groups with the knowledge and expertise to save a much-loved lighthouse.  The re-launch of the Bluenose II was held the same Saturday, drawing thousands to the historic waterfront.  But the lighthouse group forged ahead and had a very successful meeting of minds with three very knowledgeable speakers, and a receptive audience.
 
Bob Trapani, Executive Director of the American Lighthouse Foundation, spoke at the Meet and Greet the evening before the Sat. conference.  He gave a power point presentation of examples of lighthouses brilliantly saved by community groups on the eastern seaboard of the U.S..  He also remarked that it has been easier to save lights there, as each one became available for rescue, one by one.  He said that our situation in Canada is more challenging, as ours have been declared surplus all at once.  More challenging, but not impossible.
 
The Saturday morning speaker was David Warner, a business proposal expert, who lives in Yarmouth, and has been part of the group who are saving Cape Forchu lighthouse.  He was an impressive speaker, who not only gave a step by step demonstration of filling out the government-required business proposal, but outlined ideas and ways to fund-raise, and to draw the larger community into the importance and fun of saving their lighthouse.
 
Denyse Contrasty, a board member of the NSLPS, gave an efficient and concise power point presentation of insurance issues, with advice on requirements.
 
The Society has produced a DVD consisting of David Warner and Denyse Contrasty's talks.  Our hope is for this DVD being helpful for groups moving ahead with preservation of a lighthouse.
 
The deadline for submission of the plan to save our lights is June 1, 2013.
 
To get your free DVD, please phone Joanne McCormick at 425-0350 or email NSLPS from this website..

Here are the contents of the Business Plan DVD recorded at the NSLPS Workshop held on September 29, 2012 in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia:

David Warner, Small Business consultant and the workshop's principal speaker, states the current Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) policy on the destaffing of lighthouses across Canada and the need for interested communities to submit a business plan by June 1 2013 to obtain ownership of their local lighthouse.

David Warner then reviews with the audience the Business Plan template found on the DFO website:
http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/media/infocus-alaune/2010/02/index-eng.htm

and indicates the information required in each section:

Part A: General Information
Part B: Organization
Part C: Contact Information
Part D: Current Status
Part E: Organization

Part F: Proposed Use
Part G: Operation & Maintenance

Part H: Marketing Strategy
Part I: Finance

Part J: Additional Documentation
Part K: Possible Barriers
Part L: Evaluation Framework

David Warner concludes his presentation by giving a sample Business Plan for making a lighthouse a picnic park, a simple but effective use of keeping a lighthouse within the community.

In addition, the DVD contains a shorter presentation on the types of insurance that a non-profit community group should research:  Directors and Officers' Liability, General Liability and Volunteer Accidental.

 
PARKS CANADA ADMINISTERS THE HERITAGE LIGHTHOUSE PROTECTION ACT
Lists of surplus lighthouses, infomation about petitioned lighthouses, lists of designated lighthouses, and more, can be found at the following site:
 
 
May 29 2012 was the cutoff to submit petitions to consider lighthouses for heritage status.