This is our last issue of 2013. On behalf of our entire staff here at The Beacon, I would like to wish each and every one of you a very Merry Christmas and a truly happy and prosperous 2014. This past year we celebrated our 30th anniversary of providing our readers local news and information designed to help you live here … BETTER! That is our mission. As always, we ask that you send us your news items to help us become even more involved in our communities. Happy Holidays everyone!
While we are on the topic of The Beacon, next week this column will feature my alter-ego, the Great Swami! We will firmly plant out tongue in our cheek and make some outrageous predictions about what our little corner of the world will be like on January 1, 2024. We always have a lot of fun with it, so if you have any thoughts or ideas send me an e-mail at john@thebeacon.net.
Our “Find Wylie” winner this week is Deanna Bogacki of Marblehead who was one of 66 people who found our friendly fish in the ad for Bassett’s Market on page 3A in last week’s Beacon. Deanna wins our weekly $20 gift card from Friendship Food Stores. We’ll be hiding Wylie again this week, so if you find him, drop off an entry form at our office in the Beacon Place Business Center or click on the Find Wylie Icon at our website www.thebeacon.net.
The American Red Cross Bloodmobile will be making another visit to our area on Saturday, Jan. 4 at the Catawba Community Hall, 3307 NW Catawba Rd. from 8 a.m.-1 p.m. To make an appointment, call 1-800-GIVE-LIFE. Walk-ins are welcome after 10 a.m. Personal Identification is required. For more information, contact Linda Snyder at 419-797-6606.
Some of you, (I won’t say who) will be getting an iPad for Christmas this year. The folks at Otterbein North Shore will be holding an iPad basic training course at their facility on North Shore Blvd. in Marblehead. Each time they meet, they start from the beginning and quickly get everyone up to speed. You can learn about all of the iPad’s useful and fun applications. The course will be held on Friday, Jan. 3 starting at 10 a.m.
Speaking of Otterbein, I had a great time there on Wednesday morning. I was the scheduled featured speaker for a morning breakfast. It actually turned into more of a table-talk chat with a handful of folks, but I definitely enjoyed it. It was what they billed as their Breakfast of Champions group.
Planning is just about complete for the 2013 Walleye Madness at Midnight scheduled for downtown Port Clinton. It has become a true holiday tradition in downtown Port Clinton for literally thousands of folks to join the throng on North Madison Street to welcome the new year counting down seconds as Wylie slides down from the top of the crane. Then, of course, it’s all followed by fireworks. It’s all great fun, so join the celebration!
One very important event to the continuing growth of our local economy is coming up soon. The 2014 Mid American Boat Show will once again take up residence at the IX Center near Cleveland Hopkins Airport from Thursday Jan. 16 to Monday, Jan. 20, which is Martin Luther King Day. It really is an expo of the Lake Erie Lifestyle and we here in eastern Ottawa County are in the center of it all. I have often said that spending a day at the boat show allows me to see more friends and business associates than I would see strolling down Madison Street in Port Clinton, Main Street in Marblehead or Water Street in Oak Harbor.