Rachael DeWitt
During the winter months when the temperature drops to bone chilling, it can be hard to remember the warmth of the summer and the fun times had on the lake. Some of us spend our time inside bundled beneath a Snuggie, others brave the elements limiting as much exposure of skin as possible, and even others flee the snow entirely and move to a warmer state. Those of us who decided to stay in Central New York to embrace the cold, are now beginning to question our decisions and dream of tropical climates. It’s difficult to imagine that Skaneateles Lake, with a thick layer of ice out to the Country Club, will ever warm up to the point when we can swim in it again. During these frigid times, the Skaneateles Lake Association (SLA) is still operating under full swing thinking about the months ahead when once again we will be relaxing by the lake.
In order to continue to reach our audience during the months when we lose more than half of our lake’s population, we are beginning to take our message to new platforms. Keep an eye out for our presence on social media. We have accounts on Facebook (@Skaneateles Lake Association), Instagram (@skaneateleslakeassociation), and Twitter (@SkanLakeAssoc). On these accounts we will keep our audience informed of SLA events, the current status of the quality of our lake, important New York State policy actions, introduce you to our amazing team, and much more! Through these accounts we welcome our followers to send us a message sharing their concerns about the lake, share pictures of potential threats to the lake, beautiful pictures of the lake, and questions about the status of our work. Please give us a follow, share us with your Skaneateles and local friends, and invite those friends to like our social media pages. The more people we reach, the more effective our mission becomes. If you want to feature us in your posts tag us or use the hashtags: #SLA #skaneateleslakeassociation #clearlakepurewater.
Since the beginning of February, we have been taking measures to increase our following. In this short amount of time we have made some great progress. As of February 12th, our following has increased on Facebook from 186 to 264, on Instagram from 580 to 663, and we recently created a Twitter account.
Each platform has a link to our website (skaneateleslake.org) where our followers can learn more about our mission, become a member, and see what we are currently doing to protect our lake. If you are not yet a member of this incredible lake association, head straight to our website to sign up. Membership dues and donations are tax deductible. This is an important year to become a member with the Harmful Algal Bloom that was found in the lake last summer.
We are hoping these platforms will help us spread our message with more individuals, increase our member base, and engage a younger generation while informing them about the importance of keeping our lake clean. Help do your part by giving us a follow, sharing with your friends, and becoming a member. Thank you for your support.
Thinking ahead to the summer, please save Saturday, June 30th from 5 – 7 pm for the 2018 SLA annual meeting at Lourdes Camp.
The 2018 memberships and additional donations of the following will be sponsoring the Milfoil Boar for a day in the coming season: Margaret & Angelo Scopelianos, Susan & Curt Andersson, Lynn Cleary & David Duggan, Johanna & Gianfranco Frittelli, Pam & Dug Hamlin. The Milfoil Boat will be co-sponsored in the coming season by the 2018 memberships and additional donations from Mark Congel, Deborah & William Delaney, Jacqueline Bays & Joseph McCarthy, Kathleen & David Zappata, George Ann & Edwin Bock, Linda & Paul Cohen, Patty Orr. We have also received Invasive Species Monitoring Steward sponsorships for the coming season from Ashley & Dennis Longwell, Anne & William Lynn, Meredith & Paul Torrisi, Elizabeth & Joseph Wood and Jacqueline Bays & Joseph McCaffrey.
Source: Skaneateles Press