Beacon was born out of necessity following 2004 hurricane
The Beacon of H.O.P.E.’s 10th anniversary celebration will be held at Saltwater Smokehouse today, Aug. 13 – the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Charley.
“The Beacon was started as a result of Hurricane Charley,” executive director Betsy Haesemeyer said. “The leaders of the four churches, Pastor Roger Lemke, Vicar Ann McLemore, Pastor Tom Pohto and Pastor Scott Harris, all came together in the immediate aftermath of the storm to help the community. But what is so remarkable is that when things started to get back to normal, they decided that the services needed to be on a continuing basis and that was the beginning of the Beacon of H.O.P.E.”
“This will be an all-day event at Saltwater Smokehouse to celebrate 10 years of building H.O.P.E.,” Beacon president Elsie Stearns said. “We will have a beautiful Beacon Basket up for raffle ($10 for 10 tickets) and will have board members and volunteers on hand to chat about how we got started with this mission 10 years ago. This is simply a way for Pine Islanders to reminisce about the past and what the Beacon has done in the past and will do in the future.”
Saltwater Smokehouse will be offering a “Hurricane Charlie Special $5 Menu” that day. Zydeco Seafood Gumbo, Smoked Wings, Grilled or Blackened Chicken, Smokehouse Burger, Pulled Pork, Smoked Brisket and much more all for $5.
Everyone is invited to come out and share their Hurricane Charlie stories and take 10 chances to win the basket!!
The Saltwater Smokehouse is at 10251 Stringfellow Road, St. James City. For more information about the restaurant, call 239-282-8811.
The Beacon of H.O.P.E. is at 5465 Pine Island Road, Bokeelia. For more information, call 239-283-5123.