VOLUNTEER!
Social Events
3rd of July Celebration
Anyone living in Laurel Park will tell you that one of their favorite traditions is watching the epic fireworks on the 3rd of July. You don’t even have to be on the beach to see ’em, though that’s half the fun. Kudos; Muchas Gracias to the Francis Family for our fond memories.
Traditionally, there is a BBQ in Luther Park before the nighttime bonfire and fireworks. Along with the Executive Committee, Lynn DePasquale and Ray Steinmetz have volunteered to help with the 3rd of July celebration in LPIA’s 100th year which falls on a Thursday. If you want to lend a hand, whether it’s decorating the park, flipping burgers or setting up the bonfire, please send an email to: lpiavolunteer@gmail.com.
100th Anniversary Celebration
LPIA will be commemorating its 100th Anniversary on Sunday, June 8th. LPIA was incorporated on Thursday, June 5th.
The one thing we know for sure is that this opportunity only comes around once. Period! What to do? Where to start? Maybe it’s a digital photo album, maybe it’s a story book, maybe it’s a time capsule maybe it’s a plaque on a rock or bling.
New members, Peggy O’ Neil and Maureen Khung, have already taken the initiative to interview Ken Morrill, extract his memories and document them into a short story. Phil Keefe, with his lifelong connections and history, plans to assist, along with Lauren Barros and Lynn DePasquale. If you’d like to help out with this one-and-only historic event, please send an email to: lpiavolunteer@gmail.com.
Meet Ups and other Social Events
Very Important Volunteer (VIV), Cassie Patriarca is the visionary behind events that are kid-centric, assisted by LPIA’s Corresponding Secretary, Andrea Difilippo (a.k.a., FUNSEC). Members expressed a lot of ideas for events in the park and on the beach, so if you would like to help, please send an email to: lpiavolunteer@gmail.com.
Get your name tags on and engage! To see what is currently on the calendar, click here.
Property Committee *includes Beach Infrastructure and Lincoln Ave.
Rules Committee
Communication
Environment
Nearly 100% of member survey respondents answered the question: Please list 3 things you'd like to see the LPIA improve or address. 100% of respondents also answered all 4 questions related to property use. We invite you to Help Us Improve! Read on.
Luther Park: Not much happens if the lights aren’t on, so to speak. Thanks to Nick Mulvihill, VIV, who literally volunteered right out of the gate to help keep LPIA properties looking fab and members safe. Volunteers like Beth Mitchell, Anthony Quintiliani and Mo Diaz will join LPIA’s president organize and undertake maintenance tasks now neatly itemized and prioritized on a master list. We’ve recently earmarked some spring days and weekends as Laurel Park Improvement Days. The Earth Day park and marsh cleanup is scheduled for April 26th. To see the calendar, click here.
Whether it’s replacing a swing, fixing the grill, spiffing up the bocce court, planting flowers, putting up new signs, or what-have-you, Beautification is Us! You can help as much, or as little as you want.
The Beach: One thing we know for sure is that the beach, boat rack and boat ramp are top member priorities according to the survey. Enter the Beach Infrastructure Subcommittee, which is well staffed by watercraft owners like Dan Richards, Ned McGreavy, Tina Smith and Adam LaPlante. They’ve nailed down demand for the boat rack and a new rack assignment procedure so we can program in maintenance (fresh stencils!) and/or upgrades. To begin addressing the boat ramp, a design evaluation is in process and regulatory review to understand project restrictions and opportunities under the current RI Coastal Resources Management Council permit. And what would we do without Joe Morris and his trusty tractor when moving beach sand? Have bad backs, that’s what!
Lincoln Avenue Parcel: We’ve put together an agile team to do some investigation regarding the Lincoln Avenue parcel. Specifically, should the LPIA sell or donate it, how much is it worth, how could that revenue be used to reduce the tax burden, reduce other costs and/or improve the association? The Warren Land Trust, which owns property flanking LPIA’s, is in the loop. This is an Executive Committee priority bolstered by member feedback. Pam Eliason has volunteered to lead this effort. She is joined by members, Mark Ringiewicz and Stu Latessa. Kudos to Pam (former LPIA treasurer) for also helping the beach team update the boat rack records because she just loves a good spreadsheet!
Down the Road: You know what else is neat? Down the road, there could even be engineered solutions to preserve LPIA’s natural infrastructure—the saltmarsh—thanks to a new partnership with the Warren Land Trust. LPIA member, Kathy Bailey, floated some interesting, long range planning ideas to picture what our community COULD look like! Surely, there are more visionaries in our midst. Why not look ahead to the next 100 years—well, the next 2-5 years at least?
We are in the enviable position of having a myriad of potential, intriguing solutions to explore, so all you stakeholders, step up and let’s give them their due. Don’t waste another minute because the engines have been started.
Please send an email to: lpiavolunteer@gmail.com about how you would like to help.
VIV Richard Godmintz volunteered to assist members of the Executive Committee with a comprehensive review of LPIA’s bylaws and beach rules. Clear organizing documents help increase predictability and provide a framework to keep order in the association. This process is underway and will next be taken up at the community meeting on April 16, 2025. Great work, Rich!
We’re going to do our best to change with the times and that means putting systems in place that the next generation of members will embrace. We’d love more young people to join Adam and Trina LaPlante to give us old fogeys a hand from time to time. Committee volunteers are already up and running on the Google Workspace - learning to chat, sharing research and keeping track of tasks together remotely. There’s plenty to do that we can’t always keep up. Adam and Trina working with LPIA’s treasurer, Rick Amicucci, made the March virtual hybrid meeting happen and they will be behind the curtain as we launch the April meeting.
The website has been refreshed and expanded; now, we need to encourage more members to “make it a favorite”. We know the content on the Facebook page fell off a bit, and learned that, ironically, there are more nonmembers on Facebook than members. Together, we can fix that.
If you are versed in social media, dynamic webpage design/maintenance, or other online applications to help us execute our vision and modernize operations, please reach out. If you have talent in graphic arts, photography, videography, or writing, please send an email to: lpiavolunteer@gmail.com and join the team.
Several member survey responses reiterated that LPIA should strive to protect the marsh and maintain the shoreline along the Kickemuit River. Activities like coastal monitoring, “wrack attacks” and Earth Day cleanups provide opportunities for learning while fostering environmental stewardship. We’re looking forward to a working relationship with the Warren Land Trust. It may be time for a Shoreline Buffer Application to arrest the spread of invasive species in the wetlands.
So, here’s your invitation to join Jeff Burock, Storm Monitor, and daughter, Amity, develop environmental programming and information resources for LPIA families. Jeff plans on showing epic environmental movies outdoors this summer such as Don’t Look Up, The Day after Tomorrow, and An Inconvenient Truth. Amity would like to develop an educational brochure to help the community better understand the effects of climate change on our treasured natural assets including plant and animal species.
If you feel great just keeping the marsh neat and pretty, like Sarah Coulson, Stephan Vaast, and Molly Luttman, see you on Earth Day! There are all kinds of fun initiatives kids can do too, like collecting waste shells, for instance. Our holiday tree was laden with them. Waste shells can be painted, used in treasure hunts or geo-locating events, and crushed for gardens or even the parking lot.
Click here to view the Environmental webpage. If you’d like to join in, and make a collective positive impact, please send an email to lpiavolunteer@gmail.com.