President's Message
As Landlovers fiscal year draws to the end, I want to reflect on all of the accomplishments and successes your board was able to accomplish in such an arduous year. We started planning in the summer of 2020 when it wasn’t clear if we would be able to have any events or fundraising efforts due to the threat of Covid. As we approach the end of May and the 20/21 Landlovers year, we have been able to complete three social events, and two significant fundraising efforts. On May 18th, we have awarded $29,500.00 for scholarships and $37,500.00 in grants. It would not be possible to grant $67,000.00 without the efforts of hundreds of volunteers that have made everything possible despite Covid. It wasn’t feasible to have an Opening Reception due to Covid. Creativity prevailed as we had a Winter Wonderland Holiday Party thanks to the efforts of Marguerite Baxter and team, with the assistance of the club. In March there was a successful Wine Tasting, again thanks to the efforts of our Social Chairs, Margy Hatch and Kerry Ufford along with the staff at Marshwood. Thanks to the dedication of Roni Meikle and Eileen Yost, our Games Day was moved to the end of April and changed to include men and outdoor activities, which successfully raised money for our philanthropy needs. Rib Rubin and his cast of thousands changed the Flea Market and Auctionmania to an on-island Marketplace where we successfully raised funds with extremely reduced expenses. His attention to innovation produced the kids’ corner which was a major success. Finally, we will have a Closing Social led by Karen Duncan and Gail Tomassini that was cancelled at the end of May, 2020 and will be held on May 20th, 2021. Thanks to the entire organization, we have been able to raise money, have fun, while being very cognizant of the threat that Covid presented.  

I would like to personally thank my board: Marian Mackle (VP) who spearheaded a new philanthropic effort by ringing the bell for 
Salvation Army in December; Beth Holmquist (Treasurer) and Lee Snyder (Asst. Treasurer) kept our finances under control; Maureen Mezei handled the secretarial duties and kept us all organized; Chris Lanigan and Gail Tomassini helped us raise funds, despite the risk of Covid, and worked with the auction houses to obtain money from donations throughout the year; Kerry Ufford and Margy Hatch creatively worked with others to put on three successful events despite the issues of social distancing, masks, etc.; Laurie Milano and Mary Schmidt were relentless in trying to keep the Landlover’s activities ongoing despite Covid (Green Thumb and the Photo Club continued to successfully meet throughout the year); Cindy Altman exceeded our budget membership numbers; Lynn Stephens and Mary Duffy kept Landlovers' efforts in front of the entire island by our newsletter and submissions to the island journals; and finally Connie Kulp, who pursued many benefactors and substantially increased individual donations. In addition, I would like to thank Maryce Cunningham and her scholarship team, Kenna Kinsey who manages our website, and Liz Sampson, who manages our EventSmart portal. 

Finally, I would like to thank everyone who joined Landlovers this year and supported our many efforts. We were extremely delighted with the overwhelming support Landlovers received all through the year. We are leaving the organization in excellent financial shape to provide future grants and scholarships as required to fulfill our mission.
  
Warm regards & all my best for the new Landlovers board,
John