Joseph Estrella of the Friends of Pomham Rocks Lighthouse is Presented with an ALF Volunteer Award

The American Lighthouse Foundation held its annual lighthouse gala at the Four Points by Sheraton in Eastham, MA, on April 28, 2012.

The organization’s signature event featured some wonderful lighthouse camaraderie, fundraising, a great meal and some Cape Cod lighthouses open for climbing (Nauset, The Three Sisters and Highland), but the highlight of the evening event was the presentation of awards to well-deserving individuals and groups for their amazing dedication to lighthouse preservation and education.

One of the awards presented was the 2012 ALF “Len Hadley Volunteerism Award,” which was presented to twelve outstanding volunteers throughout the organization.

The Friends of Pomham Rocks Lighthouse (FPRL) recognized Joseph Estrella this year with the honor for his above and beyond contributions to ALF/FPRL’s mission.

The following text was read to attendees at the lighthouse gala as Joseph Estrella was presented with his 2012 “Len Hadley Volunteerism Award”…

“Joe Estrella joined our chapter as a volunteer a few years ago, having retired as a consultant for Cox Engineering Firm where he worked on many major consulting projects throughout New England. Joe has now brought many of those same consulting skills to the Friends of Pomham Rocks Lighthouse.

He first got involved with helping FPRL volunteers Rob Charbonneau and Nate Wroblinski with refurbishing the two fireboats that the City of East Providence had given to FPRL, as he is the owner of two boats himself. Joe volunteered to take a U.S. Coast Guard course to obtain his captain’s license so that we would be able to take people out to the lighthouse in the near future.

Joe took on a number of jobs for us including: organizing and cooking at our annual picnics, helping out on Pomham Santa events and attending Family Fun Nights. Joe also managed a successful fundraising raffle for FPRL last year. Taking initiative during the raffle, Joe went out to speak with local businesses and got local establishments to donate gift certificates, had the tickets made, and ended up selling the most tickets in our chapter.

In one of our recent projects at Pomham Rocks Lighthouse, Joe made contact with A & O Marine of Warwick, RI, to install a new floating dock and ramps out at the lighthouse. During this project, he made many trips to state agencies to obtain all the necessary permits and made himself available at the lighthouse to supervise the installation of the new equipment at the island.

In the past year, Joe carried out the research to find a company capable of to installing a solar system on the oil house so that FPRL could bring some electricity out on the island. Once again he saw to it that we had the necessary permits and he made the arrangements with the Ferris Company who was contracted for the project, had our crew and boats ready to get out to the island and helped with the installation itself.

Needless to say, Joe has been a very helpful addition to our organization and has now been elected as our second vice chairman for the 2012 season.”

Did you know?

The American Lighthouse Foundation’s “Len Hadley Volunteerism Award” was named after Len Hadley, one of the original volunteers of the organization in 1994. Len possessed a wonderful personality and ability to connect with others, and was a stellar volunteer for a number of ALF projects throughout the years.

The vital pillar supporting the American Lighthouse Foundation’s success in preservation, education and public access programs over the past eighteen years has undeniably been the dedication of ALF volunteers such as Len Hadley.

When Len sadly passed away in October 2000, the ALF board of directors honored his uncommon dedication to volunteerism by naming an award after him that would recognize other outstanding ALF volunteers for the same passion, selflessness and commitment to lighthouse preservation for which Len stood for.