1. February 2013
Presque Isle Partnership
Mark your calendars
for these upcoming
PIP events!
• UPMC Sunset Music
Series, June 12 - July 17,
2013
• Bay Swim, June 22, 2013
• Discover Presque Isle,
July 26-28, 2013
• Discover Presque Isle
Challenge, July 27, 2013
• Presque IsleTriathlon,
August 24, 2013
• Best Summer Night,
Summer 2014
Formoreinformationon
PIPsponsoredeventsvisit
discoverpi.com.
Something New:The DPI Challenge
Much like theTough Mudder andWarrior Dash, the Presque Isle Partnership (PIP) is planning
to host an obstacle course event at Presque Isle State Park on Saturday, July 27, 2013.
The Challenge is one of many activities slated for
the annual Discover Presque Isle celebration. In
recent years, obstacle courses that promise an
unconventional physical challenge as well as fun
have gained popularity among all ages and fitness
levels.With a piece of land so unique it was virtually a
no-brainer to host one of these events at Presque Isle.
The course will be approximately 3 miles in length
and include 8-10 challenging obstacles. Participants
can expect to army crawl through sand and mud,
hurtle over structures, wade through swamps, and
navigate various natural terrains.
The challenge will wind through Beach 10, Beach
11, and along the shoreline. Over time the area between Beach 10 and 11 has been overrun by
acres of Phragmites, an invasive reed the park has been battling for years.The Department of
Conservation and Natural Resources has recently acquired a new machine capable of clearing
large quantities of the tall reed that can grow up to 15’tall.The DPI Challenge Course will utilize
these carved out portions of land and will surely give participants a glimpse of Presque Isle
they’ve never seen before.
Included in the participant registration fee are
food and refreshment vouchers for the after
party hosted by Joe Root’s Grill.
While still in the early planning stages, Event
Coordinator Jon DeMarco and Partnership
Executive Director Steve McDermott expect
the event to attract between 400-600
participants.The DPI Challenge is a result of the
PIP’s ongoing initiative to bring new, exciting
activities to the park.
Joe Kloecker – Making a Difference
The Presque Isle Partnership would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge board member Joe Kloecker. An Erie native,
Joe attended Cathedral Prep, graduated from Gannon
University and is semi-retired after spending twenty-five
years with IBM. These days Joe works as a management
consultant with Lakeview Consulting Services. He also
likes to golf, travel with his wife Jean and boat on Lake
Erie.
Joe has served on the PIP’s Board of Directors since
1996 and currently chairs the Landmark Committee.
With Joe at the helm, the Landmark Committee has
made several contributions to Presque Isle State Park,
namely the Waterworks Playground and the recently
completed Turtle Observation Deck. Additionally, the
educational interpretive panels scattered about the
Park, most notably at Perry Monument, were created
and installed on Joe’s watch.
Joe’s passion for making Presque Isle an enjoyable
experience for our community shines through his
continued service to The Partnership. Thank you, Joe!
PhotosbyEriephotographer,
CarolSutto.“Capturingthe
beautyofPresqueIsleis
mypassion.Mywishisthat
myphotosallowothersto
appreciatewhatErieresidents
alreadytreasure.”

2. Presque Isle Partnership
Tom Ridge Environmental Center
301 Peninsula Dr. , Suite #2
Erie, PA 16505
Phone: 814.838.5138
Fax: 814.833.0266
E-mail: steve@discoverpi.com
PILighthouse
SpecialtyPlate
Did you know? Any PA
resident with a current
vehicle registration
can own a Presque Isle
Lighthouse Specialty
Plate. The one-time
cost of $39.50 helps
raise funds for historic
preservation of the PI
Lighthouse and for the
promotion of maritime
lighthouse history.
Log onto www.
discoverpi.com to order.
Address Service Requested
Checkoutourwebsite: www.discoverpi.com
NewPIPWebpage
The Presque Isle Partnership recently teamed-up with the folks at
Tungsten Creative Group to update our website.The new web page
features an interactive carousel that highlights current events as well as
easy to find navigation links complete with drop down menus.Visitors
to the website can now register online to become a member of the
Partnership, as well as register for PIP sponsored events such as the Bay
Swim and Presque IsleTriathlon. Potential vendors for Discover Presque
Isle can now register and pay online making the exchange of money
seamless and simple. In addition to the redesign, we will soon be using
QR codes on all of our publications to increase traffic to our website.We
certainly welcome this upgrade and hope it will provide more visibility of
the PIP’s presence in the Erie Community.
AGenerousDonation
In December of 2012, Portia Norton donated
almost $200,000 to an endowment fund to be
used for preserving the Presque Isle Lighthouse
as well as Perry Monument.The 92 year-old Erie
resident visits the lighthouse at least once a week,
sometimes more. Portia says she loves everything
about Presque Isle, she even spread her late
husband’s ashes on the lighthouse grounds. The
Portia Norton Presque Isle Historical Structures Fund
will be used to pay for restoration costs and general
upkeep of the lighthouse, which has weathered
several Erie winters. Once restorations have been
made, park officials are planning to convert the
lighthouse into a museum or public facility.
It is hoped that this fund will grow through future
donations and earnings. Norton purposefully
established the fund with the Erie Community
Foundation so others can contribute to the
fund. Donations can be made through the Erie
Community Foundations website, or the recently
redesigned Presque Isle Partnership website.
MajorSponsors HoleSponsors LakeViewCountryClub
JoeRoot’sGrill Sara’sDrive-in GEFederalCreditUnion
ErieSportStore Loesel-SchaafInsurance CRUX,Inc.
NorthwestSavingsBank Parker’sGarage DeMarcoWachterCPA
HistoricSquareAgency PortErieBoatWorks Ashton&PalotasFlooringGallery
EriezMagnetics RBCWealthManagement ErieBeer
SilkscreenUnlimited Maloney,Reed,ScarpittiCPA StewartConcrete
PrintingConcepts GOERIE.COM/ERIETIMES FinishThompsonInc.
JoeMaloney,PIPBoardPresident,PortiaNorton
&KevinMoore,ErieCommunityFoundation.
Welcome Jon DeMarco…
Jon joins the Partnership as a full-time employee after
graduating from Penn State University and having just
completed his MBA @ Gannon University.
In his new position as Senior Event Coordinator/
Operations Manager, Jon will be responsible for the
planning/coordination of Discover Presque Isle.
In addition, Jon is heading up a new event planned for the
DPI weekend.This exciting new event, the DPI Challenge,
will engage and enliven participants in ways never seen
before at Presque Isle…stay tuned!
3rdAnnualJoeRoot’sFrostbiteOpen
A huge applause for the 116 brave golfers who battled strong winds and
frigid temperatures to play in the 3rd Annual Joe Root’s Frostbite Open!Your
resilience helped raise more than $9,000 for Presque Isle. A special thank you
to our sponsors who made this event possible…
SCORE CARD 2013
®
Sara’s
Loesel-Schaaf
Parker’sGarage
PortErieBoatWorks
RBCWealthManagement
Maloney,Reed,Scarpitti
GOERIE.COM/ERIETIMES
LakeView
MAJORSPONSORS:
GOLFHOLESPONSORS:
GEFederalCreditUnion
CRUX
DeMarcoWachter
Ashton&PalotasFlooringGallery
ErieBeer
StewartConcrete
FinishThompson
Non-Profit Org.
U.S. Postage
PAID
Permit No. 123
Erie, PA
000779