Star Island incoming Chief Executive Officer Joe Watts, speaks during a press conference aboard the M/V Thomas Laighton at the Isles of Shoals Steamship Company to talk about its upcoming season and Third Annnual Gosport Regatta fundraiser in support of its sustainablility program on Wednesday in Portsmouth. Seated at left is Jack Farrell, Star Island Facilities Superintendent.

PORTSMOUTH — A veteran employee of Star Island Corp. who has held just about every job available on the island and off has been tapped to be its next chief executive officer.

Joe Watts, current general island manager, was named by the Star Island Corp. board of trustees to succeed Victoria Hardy, who is retiring at the end of the year. The announcement was made Wednesday aboard the M/V Thomas Laighton, owned by the Isles of Shoals Steamship Co., which makes regular stops at Star Island during the summer months.

Star Island Corp. owns and maintains Star Island off the coast of Portsmouth. On the island is the Oceanic House hotel and a number of cottages and guest houses. Weekly conferences and retreats, some affiliated with the Unitarian Universalist and congregational churches and some not, take place throughout the summer.

Hardy, who has been chief executive officer since 2007, is retiring to spend more time with her family in Washington state.

“Since Vicky announced her plans to retire, the board gave much thought as to how to approach the search for a new CEO,” said board President Russell Peterson, a financial planner from York, Maine.

He said, before the board committed to a national search, “We knew that we had a qualified internal candidate in Joe. We had a long discussion with him” at the board meeting in Boston last month.

“Joe has done an impeccable job as island manager,” Peterson said. “It’s in the best shape it’s been in for a long time. He is mature, and he’s ready for the seriousness of the job.”

For Watts, 41, it’s the ultimate job in a long succession of work he’s done at Star Island, going back to his college years. Actually, he started coming to Star Island as a youngster, he said. In college, he was a “pelican,” the affectionate name given to the young people who do everything from waiting on tables to cooking food to helping with the many island chores.

He was hired as assistant island engineer in 1998, and that began a series of jobs with Star Island Corp., including facilities manager, volunteer coordinator and publications coordinator. As general manager, he’s in charge of all aspects of running the island from early June to late September, when it’s open.

His new job will be to guide the facility into the future, “to preserve the traditions of Star Island while on the other hand introduce change in exciting ways.”

The board has committed, for instance, to make the island as self-sustaining as possible and has instituted the Green Gosport Initiative, named for the town that once existed on the island. Its goal is to reduce the island’s use of fossil fuels as much as possible. The board hired the Island Institute in Rockland, Maine, to study the feasibility of installing a solar array that could meet the island’s power needs.

Watts said it’s exciting to be part of that initiative, as well as to find new, varied and interesting programming that is affordable and family friendly.

“I love Star Island — both the place and the people. I’m dedicated to Star, and I’m ready for the challenge,” he said.

For more about Star Island, visit www.starisland.org.

Good Night Irene!  We hope you survived Hurricane/Tropical Storm Irene with minimal damage and inconvenience.  Now it’s on to more fun thoughts.

Pelican Reunion conference is just around the corner. We have a lot of fun activities planned.  In addition, on Sunday we’ll be honoring and remembering some pillars of the Pelican Community at a Service of Remembrance led by Debbie Weiner-Soule with music from Ben Soule.

For the conference, please remember to bring:

An item for the Silent Auction.  A silent auction will run throughout the weekend in Newton Center.  Please bring an item (or items) to donate to this fun activity.  Proceeds will benefit the Island. Some items from past auctions include photographs, artwork, hand made items of all types, t-shirts, services, garden bulbs, Pelican memorabilia, and much more.  Let your imagination run wild!

Book(s) for the Book Swap Lottery. The Lintners will be organizing a book swap: bring a book/take a book, bring two/take two.  This is a great way to learn about new authors and share your favorite books with others.  (See book swap lottery rules, below.)

An item for Yankee Swap.  We swap “treasures” that you can’t get just anywhere.  No backs (until next year)!

A talent for the Talent Show.  We are combining with the Laity Conference to present a Talent/Pel show. Individuals are invited to perform. The island music director, Sam Mansfield, will be leading a Pel-again chorus.

Photos of our Greats.  As part of our Remembrance Celebration, we invite you to post pictures of past Pelican pillars [say that 3x fast] in Newton for everyone to enjoy on Sunday.

Boat times and additional information about boats, parking, and luggage can be found at http://starisland.org/conferences/boatsandparking/.

*** REMINDER – You are expected to be on the dock at least 90 MINUTES prior to it’s departure.***

If you have any questions about the conference, please don’t hesitate to email Nancy (N.meyer@mac.com) or Melanie (mel@melandsean.net) or email Matt Baya (matt@baya.net) if you have a registration or boat question.

We can’t wait to see most of you on Friday and everyone by Saturday morning!

Nancy and Melanie

________

Pelican Reunion BOOK SWAP LOTTERY RULES:

1. Bring a book to leave; take a different book home with you on Monday. (Bring two; take two. . . )
2. Place books on table for reviewing soon after arrival on island.
3. Each book should contain a 3×5 card with a brief description of the book’s content and interest and the name of the person who brought it.  (Blank cards are available on the table.)  These cards and books are available until the actual swap takes place.
4. The actual swap will be some time on Sunday or Monday.  (See schedule on green board in Lobby.)  Please do not take away books before the lottery in Number 5.
5. At the time of the swap, we will have a lottery to determine the order in which the books may be selected.

Questions may be directed to John Lintner.

Dear Pelicans, Penguins, Volunteers, friends, family members and all those who will be joining us on Star Island over Labor Day weekend,
Welcome to the 2011 Pelican Reunion Conference!  We’re so glad you’ll be joining us on island in just a few short weeks. This note serves as confirmation that your registration was received and we are looking forward to seeing you on island.

We’ve got lots of great activities planned including: candlelight chapel services and a family chapel service; silent auction to benefit Star; an upscale wine and cheese tasting event; an intergenerational treasure hunt; workshops on scrap booking, sailors knot jewelry making, crafts, yoga; optional volunteer work projects; bon fire with s’mores; puzzles and games in the lobby, including men v. women Trival Pursuit; Yankee Swap; softball game; we might even resurrect the Star Island jug band (you know who you are!) and, our own former PIT Sam Mansfield will lead a Pel-again chorus that will perform with the Pel Chorus during our combined Conferee and Pelican Talent Show.  Plus there will be time for relaxing on the porch.

Additionally, on Sunday, September 4, Debbie Weiner-Soule will be leading a memorial service for Rozzie Holt, Harry Lent, Lenny Reed, Albert and Edith Doolittle, Ruth Koe, Fred and Ginny McGill and other pillars of the Pelican community, whom we have lost in recent years.  We will also be placing stones in the newly created memorial garden on Star in memory of some who have passed.  All are invited to attend, whether you knew these Star Island legends, or knew of them, or just want to know more about them.

It takes a village to run a conference and we are grateful to those who have already stepped up to volunteer.  If you don’t yet have a volunteer job, never fear, we still have openings.

We need volunteers for:
- Bonfire Coordinator: (shared with Laity) we need someone to be responsible for the putting the fire out and for purchasing and handing out the S’mores supplies
- Ice Cream Social host/hostess: (shared with Laity) help out as needed with this activity
- Greeters at the ISSCo dock on Friday and Saturday: Welcome folks as they arrive on behalf of the Conference

Others ways to contribute:
- Bring an item for the Silent Auction – Star-related (e.g heirloom tee shirts) and hand-made items always go well, but bring something you’d like to donate for this purpose. The proceeds benefit the island.
- Bring a talent for the Talent Show – We will be combining with Laity to present a Talent/Pel show.  Individuals are invited to perform. The island music director, Sam Mansfield, will be leading a Pel-again chorus.
- Bring an item for Yankee Swap — “treasures” that you can’t get just anywhere (and can’t seem to get rid of anywhere).

Here are some nuts and bolts details about the weekend:

Arrival: Pel Reunion 3-Night departs Portsmouth at 1:55 p.m. on Friday, 9/2.
Pel Reunion 2-Night departs Portsmouth at 9:25 a.m. on Saturday, 9/3.
Departure: Pel Reunion leave Star at 1:20 p.m. and arrive in Portsmouth at 2:45 p.m. on Monday, 9/5.

Additional information about boats, parking, and luggage can be found at http://starisland.org/conferences/boatsandparking/

We can’t wait to see most of you on Friday and everyone  by Saturday morning.

If you have any questions about the conference, please don’t hesitate to email Nancy (N.meyer@mac.com) or Melanie (mel@melandsean.net) or email Matt Baya (matt@baya.net) if you have a registration or boat question.

See you on the rock!

Nancy and Melanie

Bruce Parsons mentioned that the SIC is in the process of creating a Memorial Courtyard on Star. The center of the courtyard will be a sea of 6″ river rock with memorial names engraved. The borders will have memorial benches.  One possible memorial to Roz would be a bench, with the upper back support to be engraved — we might even be able to get an image engraved like a bird on one side and a pelican on the other.

Alternatively, or perhaps in addition, Tom and Susy Mansfield have come up with a wonderfully fitting tribute to this larger than life woman.  Part of the Old Man of the Mountain memorial (near where Roz lived in Franconia) is a walkway of granite pavers along Profile Lake, just under the site of the Old Man. Tom imagines a paver engraved with: “ROZZIE HOLT, WE MISS YOU, (with an engraving of a pelican).”

Bruce Parsons and Sherry Walworth have been speaking with the Holt family about arranging a get together/tribute/life celebration somewhere in Dover; we feel certain that there will be a remembrance of Roz during the Pelican Reunion Homecoming conference this year, as well. More details will be listed on PelicansarePelicans.org, this email list and on the PelicansArePelicans page of Facebook.

But, first and foremost we wanted to share some of our wonderful memories of Rozzie Holt. We want to hear more from you!
Love and RATS,
Nancy Meyer, Susy Mansfield, Deb Weiner Soule, Bruce Parsons, and Liz Erickson.
***********************
From Foster’s Daily Democrat:

HOLT, ROSALIND S. Rosalind “Rozzie” Holt, age 95, passed away peacefully on May 19, 2011 at the Lafayette Center in Franconia, NH.  She was born in Boston, MA on March 3, 1916, the daughter of Whipple F. and Bertha L. Smith, and grew up in Swampscott, MA. She was a graduate of The Winsor School in Boston and of Vassar College, class of 1937. She was predeceased by her husband, Hermon Holt, 3rd, in 1994 and by her sister, Virginia Symonds in 2004. She leaves behind her daughters, Carol Mairs of Palm Bay, FL and Barbara Holt of Dover, NH;  her son, Robert Holt  and his wife, Katharine of Bethany, CT; grandchildren, Karen Mairs French of Dover, NH, Wendy Mairs Ross of Chesterville, ME, Ryan Holt of Bethany, CT; great-grandchildren,  Preston Ross and Gracie Ross of Chesterville, ME; several nieces and  nephews. At her request, there will be no funeral service. Interment will be private in Franconia at a later date.
*****************************
Fred McGill, on page 256 of his 1984 book, “Choose Something Like a Star,” offered “A Tribute to Rozzie Holt.”  Additional biographical information is included on pages 203-204.
Roz was familiar with the Shoals during the 1930s, her grandchildren report, working as a staff waitress and making the acquaintance of “Uncle Oscar” Laighton.  She began her second period of association with the Star Island Corporation in the early 1950s. She was an avid volunteer, identified in minutes of several Star Board meetings, and soon became Head Housekeeper.  Some of us remember seeing her, during changeover in the 1960s and 1970s, carrying a mattress under one arm as she moved it from one building to another.  After a full day of changeover, she’d be at the hotel desk, ready to welcome in the incoming conference, giving out room assignments and answering questions.
She trained her chamber crew to meet her exacting standards.  Liz Erickson, who assisted and then succeeded Roz as Assistant Manager and Head Housekeeper, recalled, “I still clean bathrooms the way Rozzie taught me (from the top down, focusing on a different part of the bathroom each time).  Then, there are those hospital corners…[my children note that this is the way] I make beds, with the tri-fold foot blanket and towel sets for guests.”
She was a master of frugality, making every penny count in the tight SIC budget.  She also held to a work ethic that was tough but fair and served the island well.  Bruce Parsons recalls, “During open up we would work from breakfast all day and again after dinner. I never remember being told to do this but it was expected by example, and all of us did it, including Dave and Edith Pierson, and Rozzie. We rarely took days off, we were always tired but we never complained. We were not special or unique — we were just lucky to be on the Island at a great time and have such great mentors.”
Rozzie was the person responsible for making sure that Pelican ‘girls’ (as they were known in the 1960’s) knew how to wash their hair in just three pitchers of cistern water, how to take a bath in the ocean, using Dial soap.  She also patrolled the halls of the third floor of Oceanic at night, making sure that the girls were in their rooms and that the boys were not!  Speaking of Pelican boys, she had a special fondness for certain Pelican boys, making sure that they had choice rooms on the fourth floor of Gosport, or extra cookies or other baked goods as treats for their hard work during open-up and close-up.  And she had a strong friendship with the other leaders of Star at the time, Fred McGill, Harry Lent, Theo Nash, and Lenny Reed, among them.  Her friendship extended to trips, late at night, to Cedar island to enjoy some alcoholic libration and company with fisherman Norman Foy and his son, George.
In 1975, with the resignation of Fred McGill, Roz became Assistant Manager (the first woman to hold that position) at the request of Manager Bob Jorgensen.  It was probably the first time she was paid anything close to what she was worth.
Rozzie was one of the primary funders of the Rutledge Marine Lab on Star (dedicated in 1969) and continued her support of the Lab for many years. Deeply connected to natural history on the Shoals, she became a fixture at Shoals Marine Lab on Appledore, following her retirement from the Star Island staff in the late 1980s.  She was an accomplished birder, and in her later years she supported the Island Institute and the Audubon Society. She often sailed on the schooner Lewis R. French.  Nancy Meyer notes that several years ago, she saw the boat come into port and “I asked them if they remembered Roz.  Of course, they remembered her fondly.”
She was a demon at the card game Hearts, having a special way of holding her cards and she never lost a hand.  We also recall Roz’s passion for knitting, and the dozens, if not hundreds, of Pelican offspring who were blessed, coming into the world, with a hand-knit item from Rozzie!  In fact, at an early 90s Pelican Reunion, the young PIT (Pelican-in-Training) Crew members discovered that they all had ‘Rozzie socks’!
Rozzie loved the Pelican community, and kept scrapbooks full of photos of her friends and adventures, treasuring the Christmas cards which showed Pelican babies and growing families.  She was always ready to cook a turkey to help celebrate a Pelican wedding, sit down and reminisce, or help out whenever she could.  She was an island original and, for those who knew her or only knew of her, the stuff of legends.

Pel Reunion Conference is at a crossroads. There have been big changes in the conference leadership and some gaps in our Steering Committee remain unfilled.  The Conference needs new energy and new ideas if we are to continue.  This is your conference, Pels.  If we’re not reaching people, if we’re not providing the kind of experience you want, then we need to know what we can do differently.  So, let us know.  Email me or start a dialog on Facebook or on the Pelican list serve.  And, especially, let us know if you are willing to work on the Steering Committee.

And, come to the conference!  This year’s theme is “Express Yourself.”  Artists, writers, actors, musicians, crafters, quilters, knitters, cooks, yogi, painters, woodworkers, dancers, come back to the place that inspires us all.  There will be some formal workshops and lots of informal opportunities to jam and slam, sketch and stretch.  So, c’mon back!

Register at starisland.org or PelicansarePelicans.org.

We hope to see you on the rock!

Nancy (Meyer)
Pelican 85-89, PR Chair 2000 and 2011

HARRY OLIVER LENT

11/5/10 07:18 pm

DOVER, N.H. – Harry Oliver Lent died peacefully Nov. 4, 2010, at his home, after a series of debilitating strokes. He was born Jan. 10, 1925, in Patten, to Edward Lent Sr. and Marie Olive (Violette) Lent. He attended Patten Academy and joined the U.S. Navy to fight in World War II. He did his three years of duty in the South Pacific aboard the aircraft carrier, SS Boxer, as an aviation fire controlman. After the war he attended the University of Maine, Orono, on the GI Bill, where he received his Bachelor of Science degree and Master of Education degree. He met and married Rachel Annis of West Rockport, to whom he was married 55 years, until her death in late-2003. He became a physics teacher, was the principal of Monson Academy for several years in the early 1950s, then moved to Newtonville, Mass., where his family lived for 20 years. During this time, he taught first at Newton North High School for several years, then Brookline (Mass.) High School, and was also administrator of the adult education programs for Brookline, Mass., until retirement. During summers, from 1961 until his retirement in 1980, Harry served as manager of Star Island Conference Center, off Portsmouth, N.H. Harry and Rachel moved back to West Rockport in 1980 upon his retirement from Brookline, Mass., public schools. He was an active member of the Simonton’s Corner community, West Rockport, and a 50-plus year Mason. In December 2004, he was blessed to marry Eleanor Sargent, with whom he had attended Patten Academy, and who has stood by him unfailingly throughout the deterioration of his health. He could not have had a more caring and loving partner at the end. He is survived by his wife of six years, Eleanor; children, Gary of Cheshire, Ore., Stephanie of Middleton, Wis., Diann of West Rockport and Kenneth and Linda of Rockland; three grandchildren, Hope of Middleton, Wis., Julia and James of Rockland; brother and sister-in-law, Robert and Muriel Lent of Milford, N.H.; sister-in-law, Betty Lent of East Millinocket and Shin Pond; many other cousins, nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his first wife, Rachel; brother, Edward Jr. and his wife, Maureen; brother, John; and his grandson, Samuel Clay. Friends and family are invited to a brief service 2 p.m. Nov. 20 at Maple Suites Retirement Community, Dover, N.H. In lieu of flowers, donations in Harry’s name may be made to the Lumberman’s Museum, Patten, ME 04765, which Harry was a great supporter. Harry’s ashes will be placed in the Lent plot at Shin Pond in the summer.

2010 Boat News – Saturday – PDF

First and foremost, Star Island will be re-opening tomorrow! This decision was made in consultation with the Isles of Shoals Steamship Co much earlier than originally anticipated…so please do help spread the word.

If you were registered for the conference, you are still registered…so please arrive at the dock between 8 am – 8:45 am. The boat will depart promptly at 9:25 am.

If you were NOT registered for the conference we have spots available!… BUT, you need to email the Island Registrar, Kristin Laverty, by 5PM so that we have your name on the boat list and on the island’s list for who we’re expecting. Please email klaverty@starisland.org
per person room and board rates for the night area as follows (boat and parking rates remain the same)
adult triple occupancy $108
adult double occupancy $117
adult single occupancy $154
adult motel double $132
adult motel single $220
12 – 17 year olds $89
6-11 year olds $61

Once on island we’ll have a modified conference, but we will have many of the things we had planned originally…including the ImProv and Climate Change workshops, social hour, a bonfire, and more!

TONIGHT:
If you are around or want to head to NH tonight…we have a plan for that too! Come to the Hampshire Inn (where former Pelican, Mark Woolley, is the General Manager) in Seabrook, NH (exit 1 off of 95 in NH).
In the lower level function room we’ll gatheer for…
5:30 pm social hour
6:30 pm pasta dinner
8:00 pm flavored vodka tasting
all thruout the night re-connecting with other former Pels, catching up, viewing old Pel photos, and more!

We invite anyone heading to NH or in the area to join us! If you have ?s call, Kris LoFrumento at 610-451-8979.

Peace,
Kris LoFrumento & Sue Flynn 2010 Pelican Reunion Co-chairs

PS: A huge thank you to Mark Woolley for hosting us at the Hampshire Inn on such short notice!

We are pleased to invite you to A Seaside Tasting

Please join the Star Island community to enjoy a gourmet food tasting and program, featuring artisanal cheeses and chocolates. This will be held at the Hampshire Inn in Seabrook, NH.

The Pelican Homecoming Reunion will be held off-Island due to Hurricane Earl. We would like to invite all members of the Star Island community and their friends to this event.

Friday, September 3, 2010
7:00 PM
Hampshire Inn
20 Spur Rd (rte 107)
Seabrook, NH 03874
(603) 474-5700

Suggested donation: $20

Please RSVP to Emily Cann, by messaging on Facebook or e-mail her at  Hiya217@aol.com. We look forward to seeing you!