We had a few surprises in store, including the public unveiling of an incredibly accurate, detailed and amazing replica of the lighthouse, made by volunteer Gary Gillette. I had shown close-up pictures of parts of the replica to some of our senior volunteers prior to this event and they couldn't tell that it was a replica. Gary spent over 300 hours making it, which was protected in a roughly 2 ½ foot cubic acrylic case, and donated it to the U.S. Lighthouse Society for our use in public events, etc. Our sincerest thanks to Gary for his friendship and generosity.

We also unveiled the first photographs we have encountered of TPSL lighthouse keepers actually on the lighthouse! One was of Assistant Keeper Earl C. Harris and the second one was of Assistant Keeper Harris and Principal Keeper Henry F. G. Bryant. The photos were donated to the United States Lighthouse Society (USLHS) by Wayne Harris, a nephew of Assistant Keeper Harris. He was unable to attend the event, but we did have one of the sons of Principal Keeper Bryant join us for the great occasion. Our thanks to Wayne for the photographs and to Bob Bryant and his wife for joining us. Our last surprise was the first public announcement, which we know of, regarding the identity of the original "Mr. Thomas" – the namesake of Thomas Point and Thomas Point Shoal. The property now known as Thomas Point was owned by Phillip Thomas, one of the early settlers of Maryland. This was revealed to the USLHS by Milton James – his 8^th great-grandson. Milton was unable to attend the event but we were joined by his daughter, Linda Stewart, and her family. Our thanks to Milton for sharing his family genealogy with us. There will be more detailed articles about the Bryant/Harris families and about Phillip Thomas in our next newsletter and on our website sometime this summer.

After the special surprises and the meal, we moved on to give presentations to many of our most active volunteers, to several of our professional associates that have gone above and beyond the call of duty of their contracts with us, and to some special friends. We had three types of awards this year. First, a roughly six inch section of one of the steel 2-inch diameter tie rods that was removed from the lighthouse last year, placed on a custom hand-made and oiled wooden stand. Second was a ½ inch section/disk of a tie rod placed into a different custom hand-made and stained plaque, and third was a beautiful color photograph of TPSL (by Chapter friend and photographer Harry Fahl) in an 18 x 24 inch frame. Each award had a small plate with an inscription honoring the awardee.

U.S. Lighthouse Society awards were presented to the following individuals and corporations. "Principal Keeper" awards (tie rod section and stand): Al Smith, Ray LeSage, Robert Holland, Sandy Clunies, Gary Gillette, Tom Stalder, Ron Zarilli, Sherri Marsh, Tom McCracken, and IWIF (Injured Workers Insurance Fund – our primary corporate sponsor for the last four years). "Assistant Keeper" awards (tie rod disks): Harry Fahl, Donna Dudley, Chris Overcash, Lynne Butterworth, Mimi Giguere, Robert Bryant, William Bryant, Wayne Harris, and Milton James. "Exemplary Service" awards (framed TPSL photographs): Kann & Associates, KCI Technologies, CASE Design & Remodeling, Arundel Marine Construction, Structural Preservation Systems, William Bryant, Robert Bryant, Wayne Harris and Milton James. We had a special award of a framed TPSL photograph for Captain Howard Lewis, our TPSL Transportation Manager and truly indispensable volunteer, in memory of his great-grandfather, TPSL Assistant Keeper Edward Jansen. After we finished the USLHS awards, Annapolis Maritime Museum (AMM) made presentations to many of their tour docent volunteers. Our thanks to all of these special volunteers and friends, and to all of the volunteers that make our celebrated achievements possible.