After months of eager anticipation, Memorial Day Weekend finally arrived -- and it was wonderful to see neighbors reconnecting with neighbors and old friends catching up on the events of the past year.
Although the weather was not up to our liking, it did not seem to dampen anyone’s spirits or lessen the number of people who were in Sea Isle City during the long holiday weekend.
Fortunately, after two days of rainy weather, the sun made an appearance on Monday morning -- just in time for our annual Memorial Day Ceremony at Veterans Park, where more than 300 spectators gathered to acknowledge and honor the men and women who lost their lives for our freedom.
I am extremely thankful to those who were able to join us at Veterans Park on Monday -- and I ask everyone to please keep our nation’s Gold Star Families and all of our active duty military members in your prayers as the summer season unfolds.
As I announced last week, we recently planted forty new palm trees along JFK Boulevard to replace the dying maple trees that were struggling to survive on both sides of our town’s main entrance corridor.
Since the first one was planted, we have received a great deal of positive feedback about the new palm trees -- which is great news, because our main goal was to brighten up our town’s entrance while we create a new plan to beautify JFK Boulevard later this year.
Looking ahead, I remind everyone that we had to cancel most of this year’s Skimmer Festival Weekend activities, including the food court, free family entertainment at Excursion Park, and the Seaside Vendors Market along the Promenade. Fortunately we will be able to hold the annual Skimmer Antique Auto Show on Sunday, June 20 (Father’s Day), and I am inviting all of our local businesses to participate in a “Skimmer Community Sidewalk Sale” on Saturday, June 19.
So, please plan to spend Skimmer Weekend in Sea Isle City – and enjoy every moment you can shopping, dining out, and admiring the dozens of vintage cars and trucks that will appear in this year’s auto show.
And speaking of shopping and dining out, I respectfully ask everyone to please be patient as you visit our local retailers or enjoy cuisine from Sea Isle City’s amazing array of eateries.
As we are all aware, our nation is experiencing an unusual seasonal employee shortage, which has been very challenging to our local businesses.
I have spoken with many members of Sea Isle City’s business community, who have told me that even though they are short-staffed this year they plan to do all they can to provide their customers with the swift and efficient service they have come to expect.
That being said, please give yourself some extra time as you go shopping, go out to dinner, or when visiting any of our local business establishments – I promise it will be worth the wait. Thank you for bearing with us!
As a reminder to all motorists, please be on the lookout for two-legged and four-legged pedestrians crossing Sea Isle City’s busy roads. As we all know, during this time of year our sidewalks and streets are teeming with families making their way to the beach, people walking their dogs, and Diamondback Terrapin Turtles searching for nesting locations.
Therefore, please “slow your ride” as you drive through town and be on the look-out for children, adults, pets and wild reptiles who may be crossing the road.
This week’s “Shout Out” goes to all of our local First Responders, including the members of the Sea Isle City Beach Patrol.
We rely on all of our lifeguards, police officers, firefighters and emergency medical responders to keep us safe, and it’s important to remember that they often perform tasks that can be extremely challenging and often quite dangerous – so if you get the chance this summer, please say “hello” and maybe offer a few words of cheer and thanks when you encounter one of our devoted and very reliable first responders!
Smile … You’re in Sea Isle!
Mayor Leonard C. Desiderio
