Lighthouse Bill S 715

This Bill is one of the most important lighthouse Bill’s that has come up for funding resources for all lighthouse groups. It is important to have this legislation pass and to provide the letters of support required. Your letters are needed now! Please follow the instructions below to get your letters in the mail as soon as possible. E-mailed letters are not reliable for this particular project, the Senator holding a stack of physical letters in theirs hands is powerful. This is a bi-partisan Bill and the money coming from this Bill has historically been used for lighthouses since our country was formed by charging foreign ships a tonnage tax for lighthouses on their cargo!

You will need to write a minimum of three letters, maybe four depending on your state. We need the sponsoring Senators to have the master copy of all letters and your states individual Senator(s) to have a letter written to them as well. If you would like to write a letter to the co-sponsors of the Bill, that would be nice as well.

FIRST

PLEASE ADDRESS EACH LETTER INDIVIDUALLY TO EACH SENATOR’S OFFICE IN WASHINGTON, DC. FIND YOUR REPRESENTATIVE FROM THE INFORMATION BELOW.

Two address blocks are included below for the Michigan Senator’s who spearheaded the Bill. Cut and paste each address block for each individual letter, two separate letters are required to each Michigan Senator.

Co-Sponsors of the bill are listed below, but we do not have direct contacts to their offices and are including them here for your reference if you wish to send them something as well. Please look up their office information on the web site below.

Senator Susan Collins, ME

Senator Charles Schumer, NY

Senator Olympia Snowe, ME

http://www.congress.org/congressorg/directory/congdir.tt

We need you to look up your own address on the Senate contact web site above by first entering your zip code, and then your address, your representatives will appear on the left side of the screen. Click on your representative to bring up their information, and then on their contact tab for their mailing address. Send them the same letter addressed to your own Senate representative to gain further support for this Bill. We would suggest sending the letters to your home state offices rather than the DC offices.

SECOND

MAILING INSTRUCTIONS.

Please mail your letters to the LOCAL MICHIGAN Senator’s offices. If they go to DC, there is a chance they will get lost in the shuffle. The Senator’s staff listed below are helping to spearhead the letters so we make sure there is a pile of them given to the Senator’s to show to Congress. Please physically send the letters to the following:

The Honorable Carl Levin

ATTN: Harold Chase

107 Cass Street, Suite E

Traverse City, MI. 49684

The Honorable Debbie Stabenow

ATTN: Brandon Fewins

3335 South Airport Road West Suite 6B

Traverse City, MI 49684

Your Name

Your Address

Your City, ST. Zip

Month XX, 2009

The Honorable Carl Levin

United States Senator

269 Russell Senate Office Building

Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Debbie Stabenow

United States Senator

133 Hart Senate Office Building

Washington, DC 20510

Dear Senator XXXXX:

I am writing to you in support of the Lighthouse Bill S 715 to fund the lighthouse restoration grant program. The amount of money that could be used on the front lines of the lighthouse preservation and restoration will make a huge difference in preserving these historic maritime structures.

Most lighthouses are located in out of the way places. As such, the number of people living around these remote structures is limited, and thus the local funding available for work is limited. To see a large increase in the available grant funds not only in the Great State of Michigan, but throughout the US, would surely help us get these wonderful icons of our collective maritime history preserved and restored and ready for the next generation to learn from and support as well. It is a boost they need now.

Being one of the millions of lighthouse lovers across this country who will visit a lighthouse any chance I can get, I can assure you that this money would go a long way in helping to stimulate our economy, put people to work, and increase tourism dollars related to the States this Bill supports. Preserving these coastal treasures is of importance to me. Please do all you can to see that this Bill S 715 succeeds.

Thank you in advance for all you have done for the lighthouse movement in Michigan and throughout the country. You can count on me to be behind you on this bill. Please contact me at the above address should you have any questions or require additional support.

FOR INDIVIDUAL SENATOR LETTERS NOT FROM MICHIGAN, PLEASE REMOVE THE ABOVE PARAGRAPH AND INSERT THE BELOW PARAGRAPH FOR YOUR LOCAL SENATOR'S LETTER OF SUPPORT REQUEST. IF YOUR STATE DOES NOT HAVE A LIGHTHOUSE, PLEASE REMOVE STATE AND SAY “UNITED STATES”. USE THE FOLLOWING:

Thank you in advance for supporting lighthouses in STATE or the United States. You can count on me to be behind you on this bill. Please contact me at the above address should you have any questions or require additional support.

Sincerely,

Your Name

Your Organization (If Applicable)