Sea Isle City Mayor Leonard Desiderio
In a blink, Christmas Day 2024 has come and gone. Fortunately, this has been (and continues to be) another wonderful holiday season in Sea Isle City, and I once again want to thank everyone who helped make this year’s festivities so “Merry and Bright” for the people of our town!
In addition to Sea Isle’s outstanding civic organizations and our dedicated municipal employees, who hosted many holiday events for us, my thanks also go to everyone who supported our 2024 Mayor’s Holiday Toy & Food Drive – which was very successful and touched many lives.
On Monday afternoon, we delivered the many donations that we collected during this year’s drive to families in need, and the gratitude that was expressed by this year’s recipients made the entire effort extremely worthwhile.
Another holiday event that I am happy to mention took place on the evening of December 19, when the Sea Isle City Recreation Office hosted their annual Holiday Lighting Contest.
My thanks go to our Rec Team for once again organizing that popular event; and special thanks go to each of the homeowners and merchants who literally made our town “shine” by adding so many beautiful lights and colorful decorations to their properties – and that includes this year’s winners: The McLeer home at 305 39th Street (1st place); the Galdi home at 8907 Landis Avenue (2nd Place); and the Smith home at 211 67th Street (3rd place).
Additional thanks go to our Holiday Lighting Contest sponsors, including the good folks at First Bank of Sea Isle City, who donated the cash prizes for the first and second-place winners ($100 and $50), and our friend Rocky at Rocky & Fred’s Creative Design Florist, who donated a beautiful floral arrange for the third-place winner. Thank you all.
Looking ahead, don’t forget that Sea Isle City’s Department of Community Services will host our town’s annual New Year’s Eve Fireworks Show from the JFK Boulevard Beach at 8 p.m. on December 31, which is always a fun event. Plus, Sea Isle City is a terrific place to ring in the New Year – so hopefully you will be in town as 2025 rolls around.
Once the New Year arrives, be sure to spend as much time as possible in Sea Isle City over the coming twelve months, because 2025 certainly promises to be a year to remember, thanks to the amazing lineup of events, activities and attractions we have planned – and also because we will be opening our new Community Center in the fall.
And speaking of our future Community Center, on Monday morning we hosted a “Topping Off Ceremony,” during which many people gathered to add their signatures to one of the final beams added to the building’s steel frame.
It was a wonderful sight to behold as the beam was adorned with a large American flag and hoisted into place at the top of the building – and you can easily see that flag and signed steel beam on the 46th Street side of the building the next time you drive by. So be sure to take a look.
I wish everyone a Happy and Healthy New Year – and much success in 2025!
Smile … You’re in Sea Isle!
Mayor Leonard C. Desiderio
