Greetings from the DLSA:

First of all I must confess where I am while writing this letter before I discuss anything winter. Linda and I have a home in Naples, Florida and spend a lot of the winter down here. We do fly home for meetings and such but basically we enjoy the Florida sunshine and continually try to improve our mediocre golf games.  That said, we still believe the lakeshore is the best place to be and we are already looking forward to the wonderful summers that it offers. We also like the fact that the Lake Michigan water affords us the opportunity to enjoy without the thought of something in the water thinking you may be on the menu for dinner.  We like our tee shirts to say SALT FREE rather than the Salt Life ones down here.

So in thinking of the upcoming year in Douglas we have some housekeeping to do.​ First of all this letter is being sent to the residents along the lake shore, both members and non- members, with an enclosed dues and membership update form. For members, you know the drill. Please fill in the form along with any changes including the email addresses to use along with the dues payment and return by the 20th of March so we can include you in our directory.  For you non-members and the many of you who just recently joined, we ask you to fill in the same form in the same way. Those that just paid recently (since the first of the year) we ask you to please mail that form in by the same date so our records will be as complete as possible.

For you non-members, we ask you to consider joining us to promote the lake shore, deal with the issues along the lake shore such as sand movement, road use and repair, drainage issues and the like.  Give us a try! We would love to have you join us. Just fill out the form the same way, enclose your dues for the year and you are a member! There are no secret handshakes to learn, no code words or the like just helping the lake shore become the best it can be and have a little fun along the way.  

Speaking of fun, our annual meeting is June 16 at the Saugatuck Yacht Club with the business meeting at 5 and dinner and auction and the other events after that. Save that date!

We have planned 5 TGIF Fridays with one each month from May thru September. Tentative dates are 5/18, 6/22, 7/20, 8/17 and 9/21. We are looking for hosts for these dates or if anther date works for you to host please contact Kathy Talsma at SKIIBUM@use.com, or Kim Zolper at KimZolper@yahoo.com, or Pat Woods at patwoodsview@yahoo.com.  They would love to have you volunteer. All you really need to host are some paper plates, plastic cups, and a few plastic forks as the events are BYOB and each party coming brings an appetizer to share.  They occur from 5:30 to approximately 7:30 and people come and go. It is a wonderful way to meet your fellow residents on the shoreline.

I have enclosed an article that Board member Steve McKown put together on walking and riding the busy road. Please take a look and if you rent please post it so your renters know the law regarding walking Lake Shore Dr. Especially underline the part about facing the traffic while walking. Doing so can save a life. I speak from experience, doing it the wrong way as I was run over by a pickup truck when I was struck from the side. Only by landing between the tires am I here to even write about it. So please make safety on the Lake Shore a priority this year.  And please have a great rest of the winter,

Herk Vanden Bosch

President