Judianne Point of the Friends of Pomham Rocks Lighthouse was honored with a ALF Len Hadley Volunteer Award during the American Lighthouse Foundation’s annual Gala, which was held at the Nonantum Resort in Kennebunkport, Maine, on November 5, 2023.
Judianne Point
(L to R) ALF 1st Vice-President Nick Korstad, ALF Treasurer Alan Ells, FPRL chairperson Dennis Tardiff, Judianne Point and ALF President Jeremy D’Entremont.
Judianne Point was presented with a Len Hadley Volunteer Award for her outstanding work at Pomham Rocks Lighthouse during 2022.
(Photo by Dominic Trapani)
In June of 2018, Judianne’s husband Gary spotted a small article in a local newspaper that announced an event called “Celebration on the Rocks”, commemorating the completion of the interior restoration of Pomham Rocks Lighthouse. Gary, having grown up in East Providence where the lighthouse is located, recalled how he always wanted to get inside it as a child, and saw this as a perfect opportunity. Not knowing anything about Pomham Rocks, Judianne figured, “Why not? We are now both retired, let’s check it out!”
After the visit to Pomham that day as part of the celebration, they were convinced that lighthouse restoration and preservation were the types of volunteer work that they wanted to be involved in and joined Friends of Pomham Rocks Lighthouse that same day. Soon after, both attended work parties to the lighthouse and Gary became a first mate. In 2019 Judianne joined the Board as a Member at Large and started to effect many changes to the organization in order to bring more community and public awareness to the lighthouse.
FPRL’s Judianne Point (left) is the race director of the annual 5K/10K Pomham Rocks Lighthouse Run.
(FPRL photo)
Judianne chaired the 150th Anniversary Committee which led to a lot of exciting transitions for Pomham Rocks. In order to find larger resources for fundraising and help further promote this beautiful lighthouse, she became the race director of the 5K/10K Pomham Rocks Lighthouse Run and has held that position for the past three years, hosting the race every year in April. It is a fun event that has become a source of community pride and a real crowd-pleaser.
As part of the 150th Anniversary celebration, Pomham Rocks began to honor its Keepers with graveside ceremonies and US Lighthouse Service bronze markers. The first keeper, Captain Charles Salisbury, was buried locally but the second keeper, Nathaniel Dodge, would require a day trip excursion to Block Island. Undaunted, Judianne organized a tour for interested members to take part in the celebration and learn more about Pomham Rock’s history.
Judianne and Gary Point at the 2023 American Lighthouse Foundation Gala.
(Bob Trapani, Jr. photo)
Because the lighthouse sits on an island in Narragansett Bay, tours had to be created to allow access for visitors. Judianne first organized trips for Pomham Rocks members only, and owing to the success of these tours, she researched other lighthouses to find out what it would take to run public tours. She found the online booking company called FareHarbor, and soon after, the first public tours began in the summer of 2022. She continues to serve as tour director and as a docent as Pomham Rocks anticipates another exciting season in 2023, attracting participants from near and far.
In order to keep up with and cater to the public attention that the lighthouse was receiving, Judianne brought the organization up to speed with credit card sales. First it was with a credit card terminal that is continually used in the Lighthouse gift shop and at various community events, followed by facilitating online credit card sales for donations, events, and membership on the website.
As the Friends of Pomham Rocks Lighthouse organization continues to grow in popularity, Judianne is grateful for the opportunity to work with amazing groups of people on the Board, in the membership, and in the greater lighthouse community. This special little lighthouse has opened up for her a world of travel to beautiful places and lighthouses all over the country and she thanks her husband, fellow Pomham Rocks Lighthouse ambassador and travel companion, Gary, for the introduction. Judianne’s energy, enthusiasm and expertise has been pivotal to the progress and success of Friends of Pomham Rocks Lighthouse.
We are pleased to honor Judianne Point with a 2022 Len Hadley Volunteer Award!
Pomham Rocks Lighthouse, Riverside, Rhode Island (FPRL photo)
