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Bellport-Brookhaven Historical Society
31 BELLPORT LANE BELLPORT NEW YORK 11713
PO BOX 47 TEL 631.776.7640
www.bbhsmuseum.org
December 5, 2011
Dear Fellow Society Members and Friends,
Greetings!
It has been almost a year since I became president of the historical society and I am proud
of our accomplishments. I want to thank our members, volunteers, and friends who helped
make us more visible. This year the society formalized its occasional lectures into a series
named the “BBHS Lecture Series”. We scheduled five lectures this past season that covered
topics as varied as changing etiquette protocol to slavery on Long Island. The lecture series
was a smashing success and we look forward to continuing it next season. Our Memorial
Day antiques show, re-introduced two years ago, proved popular again this year. Our major
fundraiser, Nearthebay and the World of Birdsall Otis Edey, which included a house tour
and an opening night party for a museum exhibition that was open all summer, was the
most successful in the history of the society. Finally, the Society has organized an art and
architecture tour of Cuba scheduled for this January.
The Society has formalized its fundraising efforts by hiring a professional fundraiser on a
trial basis. This professional is helping us identify public grants for which we are eligible
and guides us in applying for these grants. Our efforts so far have resulted in winning a grant
from the South Country Education Foundation to help us re-organize our Sperry gyroscope
exhibit at the museum. Of course, the society seeks private grants as well and the Carl Jacobs
Foundation once again lent us its support.
The Society is gradually employing the use of social media such as Facebook to promote itself.
Our webpage on Bellport.com employs hyperlinks so that a user can quickly get to an area of
interest. Thanks to Larry Sribnick, president of Bellport.com, we are beginning the digitalization
of our priceless pigskin book. It will enable the world to see it on our website. This gift
illustrates a naming opportunity in cyberspace. And due to the generosity of Dr. Carol Bleser,
the physical volume now has a permanent home at our museum in a secure, climate controlled
display cabinet donated in memory of her husband Edward. Naming opportunities allow the
Society to publicly acknowledge significant donations while providing tax benefits to the donor.
As you know, the Society is fortunate to have had magnanimous founders who bequeathed it
superbly located property on Bell Street and Bellport Lane. While cherished, these historic
buildings do pose fiscal demands on the Society, however, for our budget allows only their
minimal maintenance. Funds for improvement require long term planning. Last year our first
capital campaign was launched with the object of raising money to install a sprinkler system at
12 Bell Street, as required by the Village. The Knapp/Swezey Foundation offered a matching
grant of $10,000 if we could raise the same amount. Thanks to your generous response to
my appeal last December, we met the challenge and got the grant. To date, our continuing
campaign has raised a total of $21,525, about a third of the revenue required for this project.
As I explained last year, the sprinkler system with the accompanying certificate of occupancy
would allow us to realize the full potential of the Brown Building. I hope this year will bring
us closer to our goal.
As you renew your tax-deductible membership with the enclosed envelope, remember always
that this is your historical society. The Bellport-Brookhaven Historical Society is the steward
of the collective memory and heritage of this remarkable area. This is who we are. We serve
our community through exhibitions, public-programs, publications, and collections. We seek
to identify, define, and preserve the material culture contributing to our sense of place. Some
of us are old timers and have an intimate knowledge of the Society, even donating to its
archives items that have passed down through family generations. All of us recognize and
appreciate the value this organization holds in our community. But all of us also need to be
aware of how crucial our financial support to it is and how diminished our community would
be without this compass explaining where we came from, how we got here, and, ultimately,
where we’re going. So please give generously. Renew with a gift over and above what is
required. If you can, renew at least with the $200 holiday gift donation. If you are currently
not a member, please join this grass-roots institution founded over half a century ago and
become part of what makes this place so endearing.
In conclusion, please know that the trustees and I vow to do everything possible to keep your
historical society alive, fresh, and relevant for the 21st century. Preserving and interpreting
Long Island’s past, in particular the history of the Bellport, Brookhaven, and East Patchogue
area is our mission. We endeavor to be worthy of our mission while respecting our fiduciary
responsibilities. As volunteers we labor because of love. We are happy to know that our work
elicits your respect and support. Thank you for the trust you have placed in us. And thank you
for your continued generosity.
We wish everyone a healthy, happy, and prosperous New Year.
Yours truly,
Victor Principe
President
Bellport-Brookhaven Historical Society is a 501-c-3 tax exempt organization
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