Fourth Quarter Stakeholders Update

Dear Heritage Park Stakeholder,

In this busy season, we will keep this brief.

 Milestones in the last quarter:

• Our fleet of water taxis – two 40-foot Willard launches donated to us by the Navy – arrived at Crocker’s Boatyard on schedule November 31.
• Crocker’s awarded us our first major sponsorship, an in-kind donation for storing the boats over the winter and moving them around so that we can access them for maintenance work.
• We issued a Request for Proposals (attached) seeking a tour boat operator to run the water taxi service. It was distributed around the area and through the on-line Boat Captains Directory, the Soundings affiliated Trade Only Job Board, the CT Marine Trades Assoc. and others. Please pass it on to anyone you think might be interested in sending a proposal. The Day also covered it: http://www.theday.com/article/20151218/NWS01/151219211
• The Articles of Incorporation for the new nonprofit, with a working title of the Thames River Heritage Park Foundation, have been drafted, as well as the Bylaws. We expect to file for incorporation in January.
• We now have a Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/thamesriverheritagepark and a Twitter account, @thamesriverpark. Our address for legal matters is c/o Joe Selinger, Esq., TCORS, 43 Broad St., New London. Our address for fiduciary matters is c/o Jim Butler, Southeastern CT Council of Governments, 5 Connecticut Ave., Norwich. Our email address is info@thamesriverheritagepark. Don’t forget our website thamesriverheritagepark.org if you want more frequent news about the park.
• We placed our first ad in a publication associated with New London Landmark’s The Holly & the Ivy progressive play and will have an ad in the upcoming issue of Mystic Country

In the immediate future:

• We will be undergoing a marine survey of the boats, according to which we will begin making repairs in preparation for Coast Guard review.
• We will be planning an event to bring the heritage sites and other stakeholders within the park together to explore opportunities.

What you can do:

• Like us on Facebook.
• Forward the RFP to the appropriate people.
• Think of riding on the water taxi next summer!