WILTON – Members of the Friends of Wilson Lake want to thank local boaters and the greater Wilton business community for the successful season. This summer was really great for boating until the final few weeks when the water level fell to low levels making it difficult to remove boats at the landing, member Wynn Muller said.
Over the summer season students inspected 783 boats, 60 more than last year.
“They only found one plant on a boat, but did come across three others: one on the dock, one on a parked boat trailer and one floating near the dock. All were evaluated and proved to be native and non-invasive. Over two-thirds of the boaters cited Wilson Lake as the last lake they had last visited suggesting that we have a local group of boaters; a group that can well appreciate our local businesses, Muller noted.
The following businesses each sponsored weekends:
Our summer monitoring was initiated by KeyBank who sponsored the first two weeks through their interest in partnerships with nonprofit organizations for community events. Howie’s Welding, a long-time supporter of FOWL, sponsored the fourth week. Greg Nemi and Franklin Printing were the following week.
The Fourth of July was covered by Otis Federal Credit Union who was the first to give a positive response to this program and hence received the holiday weekend. Next in line was Franklin Savings Bank whose 2015 Annual Report theme was “giving back” which they certainly do. We then were most pleased to have support from the Bass-Wilson Building owned by Randy Cousineau and home of the wonderful Calzolaio Pasta Company. Expenet in downtown Wilton jumped on board for the 10th weekend. Josh Michaud and Jeff Chaisson have proven that they are making a difference in our community with their businesses and their involvement.
The second business to step forward was Franklin Chrysler for which they sponsored the Blueberry Festival weekend. Owner Steve Gray said, “I love to help out the local community. If you are considering a Chrysler product, please give us a test drive before going elsewhere.”
The eleventh week was not sponsored by a business, but the generous donations of FOWL’s free boat rides allowed us to sponsor that weekend with their contributions. Then we had two weekends through a wonderful donation from Walmart. A new friend, Patriot Renewables, and the wind turbines at Saddleback Ridge sponsored the final weekend of the summer. Muller also thanked the local news organizations for publishing features about the program’s supporters.
“We sincerely thank all these wonderful businesses and hope to have them all back again next year,” he said.
And, a BIG thanks to the kids who worked as monitors at the Wilton Town Landing, inspecting boats for possible invasive plant species and helping boaters to learn how to inspect their own water craft for plants.