Friends of the CT River Ferries Established as Private Foundation

The Friends of the CT River Ferries has filed the necessary paperwork with the Secretary of the State's office to be established as a private foundation.

from the Rocky Hill, Glastonbury, Chester and Hadlyme formed the group after Gov. Dannel  and laying off its workers to help address the deficit in his budget, if the union workers did not agree to his concessions plan. In August .

The is to improve the operations of the  and Chester/Hadlyme ferries while enhancing the marketing of the historic landmarks, according to their first newsletter.

In October, the was established to figure out a way to permanently keep the two ferry services from coming under the state budget ax. , the Marketing/Communications Subcommittee of the Friends of the CT River Ferries presented their recommendations to the group, which is run by the State Department of Transportation. The committee recommended the following:

• Create a tourist trail connecting both ferries
• Modify signage
• Make modifications to DOT and Ctvisit.com websites
• Create CT River Ferries marketing flyer

Revenue/Operations Committee the Friends of the CT River Ferries also presented the working group with the following three recommendations:

• 777 Plan, which would have the boats operating from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. seven days per week  
• Promote ridership through aggressive promotion
• Fully staff the boats in accordance with current appropriations

On Feb. 24, the Friends of the CT River Ferries held an organizational meeting and elected and Curt Michael from Hadlyme as directors. All positions with the Friends of the CT River Ferries are on a volunteer basis.

The Friends of the CT River Ferries is currently looking for a treasurer as well as new members from the surrounding areas.  

If anyone is interested in receiving the newsletter or a detailed copy of either recommendations or just wants more information about the Friends of the CT River Ferries, they are asked to email Paul Carr at ghcop2008@yahoo.com.