At the first meeting of 2025, Jim Wallen shared the story of how the Lake Association began.
Around 2005 a local guy was riding around the town on his bicycle going door to door handing out note cards or hanging them on the doors.
The message was an invitation to a meeting to discuss the possibility of forming a lake preservation group.
A couple dozen neighbors showed up for this meeting held at the Fire Station. They put together a list of attendees, collected contact information, discussed the pros and cons of organizing and decided to meet again soon.
Ultimately this led to the formation of the Lake Association of Long Lake Inc., a nonprofit organization with the mission to preserve and maintain the lake, keep the lake healthy for fish, and keep the lake beautiful.
The bicycle man became the association’s first president. A position he held for 10 years through the formative period of our fledgling organization.
Between attending countless FCLARA and WDNR meetings he ran our meetings and kept things moving forward. All while helping out with projects that needed to be done. Things like grant work, lake studies, invasive species control, signage for trails or freezing in the winter putting in the aerator fence. Our president seemed to be everywhere.
We proudly honor and celebrate Wayne Lindsley—for his vision, his leadership, and his deep love of Long Lake.
A heartfelt thank you to Dale “Swede” for arranging both the award presented to Wayne and the beautiful sign that now hangs on the beach pavilion as a lasting tribute.
👏 THANK YOU, WAYNE! 👏
