Try to imagine the Morris Island Lighthouse missing from the fabric of our community and I think you will see how important it is to help Save the Light Inc. raise funds to preserve it.

Our twelfth annual Silent Auction and Gala will be held at the Folly Beach Holiday Inn from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m.on Thursday, April 29. Tickets are $ 50 each and include food, wine and beer. Mixed drinks will be available at a cash bar. Not only is this a great chance to celebrate TGIF a little early, its also an excellent opportunity to pick up some great bargains on a host of auction items.

Most importantly, the Save the Light Gala and Auction is a fun way for you to support the work that Save the Light Inc. does to preserve the Morris Island Lighthouse. To order tickets or to donate an auction item, please call Pat at 633-0099.

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Last week, Save the Light held a contract award ceremony to welcome Palmetto Gunite Construction to their new job conducting the design and construction of Phase II of the Morris Island Lighthouse preservation project. The plan is to place 70 “poured in place” micro piles beneath the lighthouse. The combined weight-bearing capability of these pilings will make the existing foundation redundant and, once and for all, eliminate the worry about ship worms damaging the original timber pilings. We expect that the work will be complete by the beginning of September. In eleven years, we will have raised the funds, designed and built the parts of our plan necessary to completely stabilize the foundation of the lighthouse. After the expenditure of some five million dollars, our coffers will be empty and we will need to fundraise in earnest again to begin the work of restoring the lantern room, repairing the stairs and painting the structure.

In “light” of this, Save the Light will be encouraging everyone to attend their 12th annual Save the Light Silent Auction and Gala on Thursday, April 29, from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. at the Holiday Inn. Tickets are $ 50 each and include food, wine, and the opportunity to bid on some spectacular auction items. To buy tickets or to donate an item, call Pat at (843) 633-0099. We are counting on you to make the next eleven years as successful as the previous ones.

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The Anderson South Carolina Leukemia Society

By Lauren Dean

It was not an ideal day for a race. Heavy rains the night before had scattered huge puddles along the race route, some of which stretched from each side almost to the center lane of the street.

The sun came out just at the last moment. From my vantage point on E. Arctic Avenue, I experienced the same thrill I get each year as the first flood of runners surged past me. I saw the group of teen-agers from Anderson in their long-sleeved yellow shirts – pony tails flopping, smiles as wide as their faces – glide by in tight formation. A man running behind a baby stroller waved as he went by.

I saw many of these same faces go by my house later in the day as they finished the last leg of the race. Some were still running, many were walking, and the last, courageous, sweat-soaked stragglers simply willed themselves toward the finish line. What dedication! One woman flew in from Wisconsin just for the race and finished third in the “female best overall” category! I’ll bet she was running for more than the exercise.

People care about saving the Morris Island Lighthouse. What’s gone, is gone forever, and without the monumental and prolonged efforts by many people who have worked long and hard to raise money and awareness, she would likely have slipped into the sea by now.

Pat Stormer, a Save the Light volunteer who helped coordinate the race, was pleased to report that there were 789 runners in the Save the Light Half-Marathon & 5-K this year and that more than $7,700 was raised to help in the stabilization of the lighthouse.

Winners were: Half-Marathon first, Ryan Robinson, Anderson, SC; second, Kent Wilson, Candler, NC; third, David Quick, Mt. Pleasant, SC. 5-K first, Chris Hicks, Florence, SC; second, Tyler Cross, James Island, SC; third, Anne Wyman Cipolla, Charleston, SC. Men’s Over-all first, Ryan Robinson, Anderson, SC; second, Kent Wilson, Candler, NC; third, David Quick, Mt. Pleasant, SC. Women’s Over-all first, Anne Clinton, Charleston, SC; second, Arden Stelly; third, Elizabeth Holland, Neewah, WI.

Event coordinator Doug Oswald said more people signed up to participate in the race this year than in any previous year. In the past there have been more 5-K runners, he said, but this year more runners opted for the half-marathon.

“Not only does the Run benefit the preservation of the Morris Island Lighthouse, it brings a lot of people to Folly Beach at a slow time of year,” Oswald said. “Eight hundred hungry, thirsty runners and their friends and families can make quite an impact on the local economy.”

Sponsors of the event include Piggly Wiggly, Holiday Inn, Avocet Realty, Bagel Cafe (formerly Bagel Nation), Rita’s, Charleston County Parks, Recreation & Tourism Commission, Ohlandt Veterinary Clinic, and C.R. Hipp.

The National Society of the Children of the American Revolution chose Save the Light as their 2010 Charity of the Year, and hard-working volunteers Emily Falkenstein and her grandparents drove through heavy snow all the way from Washington, D.C. to help with registration, according to Oswald. Other volunteers came from The Citadel Engineering Department, the College of Charleston, MUSC, Porter-Gaud School and, of course, Save the Light.

“It was inspiring to see so many young people getting up early on a Saturday morning to help with a community project,” Oswald said, adding that it would have been impossible to stage such an event without the backing and assistance of Mayor Beckmann, City Council, and Chief Terry Boatwright and the Public Safety Officers.

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The 11th annual Save the Light Gala is coming up on Thursday, April 29, at the Holiday Inn and if you’ve ever been, you know that this event is an excellent opportunity to find some great bargains at the silent auction, as well as meet some really fine people and help the effort to save our beloved lighthouse.

Last year was the first time that the new Holiday Inn hosted the Gala and it was a smashing success. The food, the service and the facility were just right. And thanks in large part to the generosity of Jon and Lisa Weitz, we netted some $ 25,000 for Save the Light. All of these funds went directly into the Preservation Fund, awaiting the start of Phase II of the lighthouse’s restoration.

Over the next couple of months, please consider donating a special item to the silent auction. It is not too early to commit to a donation. Please call Pat or Brooke at the STL office at 633-0099 so that we can begin putting the program together. It’s our one big fundraiser of the year. Please help us make it the best ever.

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The 8th annual Save the Light run consists to two routes: the 5K (3.1 miles) and the Half-Marathon (13.1 miles). The 5K is essentially the first loop of the Half-Marathon. When runners get to Arctic from 3rd street, the 5Kers turn right to the finish line and the Halfers turn left to go on to the rest of the course.

Participants can register online at www.actioncarolina.com, or from 7am – 8am on the morning of the event at the start/finish line near the Folly Beach Pier. Both races begin at 8:30am.

“We may have a record turnout this year,” says Michael Derosiers of ActionCarolina.com. “We’re already approaching 500 runners for both events. This is the 8th time we have done this event and I think in that period we have donated well over $20,000 to Save the Light, Inc.”

Due to the high expected turnout, runners and walkers who are familiar with Folly Beach are asked not to park near the pier or Holiday Inn area and leave the closer spots for people traveling from out-of-town.

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