LAKESIDE NEWS                             Spring Edition, May 2009 

Summer Fun on the Lake

The grass is green, flowers are blooming, and in just a few weeks the 2009 summer season will begin on Big Alum. Your committees and Board of Directors have been busy planning activities for everyone to enjoy this summer.

On July 4th we will hold our first Parade of Lights. You are all invited to decorate your boats with lights and join in an evening cruise around the lake.

Our second annual Sailing Regatta will take place in the morning of July 11th, with a wind/rain date of July 18th. If you own a sailboat, come join the fun and compete against your neighbors in a race to the island and back. For details, contact Matt Kibbe at 413-575-5760. There will be registration forms at the July BALA meeting too.
Our annual Family Picnic will be held on July 18th at the Italian Club on Clark Road. This year we will have a “picnic” theme, with children’s games, great food, and entertainment for all. Our “bash” chairmen, Tracy and Nancy Murphy will provide us all with details soon.

Please visit our BALA Website: bigalum.org often for updated information about these and other lakeside events.

2008-2009 Officers and Directors

Janet Garon President
Andi Cropley Vice President
Barbara LaRochelle Secretary/Clerk
Roger White Treasurer
Patricia Howard Corresponding Secretary
Joel Casaubon Tim Gresenz
Tammy Chase Matt Kibbe
Martha Fearing Paul Lamarine
Kenneth Gajewski Rob Scoble

Useful Web Sites
BALA Website - www.bigalum.org
MA Boating Laws - http://boat-ed.com/ma/handbook
Lycott Environmental - www.lycott.com

Important Dates to Remember

July 4 (Evening)- Boat Parade
July 11 - 9:30 a.m. - BALA meeting - St. Anne's Parish Center
July 11 - 10:00 a.m. - Sailing Race
July 18 - 2:00 p.m. - BALA Family Picnic
Aug. 15 - 10:00 a.m. - BALA meeting - St. Anne's Parish Center

Membership and Dues

If you click the "Membership" link-button to the left, you will find the Membership Committee's letter regarding dues and the benefits of belonging to our association. Attached is an address form to be mailed with dues payments. Please be sure to print and fill it out so that we can update our mailing list and keep everyone informed about lake doings throughout the year. If your mailing address, e-mail address, or phone number has changed since last year, please contact Barbara LaRochelle at 508-347-3040 or e-mail changes to tonysgrammi@aol.com.

BALA Online

If you have an e-mail address, but have not shared it with us yet, please consider adding it to our e-mail list.  Throughout the year, our corresponding secretary, Pat Howard ,sends out e-mail messages and announcements to the members whose addresses we have.  Pat's e-mail address is: howpat19@hotmail.com.

For those of you who are reading our newsletter online already, please take a moment to visit other areas of this site.  By clicking the buttons to the left, you may read the minutes of past meetings, see our classified ads and notices, learn a bit of Big Alum history, and print dues, picnic, and other forms.  The site is easy to navigate and is updated frequently.