A Message from Our New Board President, Vincent Tompkins

Dear Friends,

I am honored to have been elected as president of Friends of the Cape Cod National Seashore at our Annual Meeting.  As we celebrate this year the sixty-fifth anniversary of the legislation creating the National Seashore, I am reminded of something President Kennedy said in 1963:

“A man may die, nations may rise and fall, but an idea lives on.”

 All of us together are the stewards of an idea–one that Wallace Stegner famously declared was America’s “best idea”-- America’s national parks.  Our organization has a clear and vital mission: to help the Seashore to meet its many responsibilities, from visitor education and safety to environmental, archaeological and historical research, to conservation and preservation of the many landscapes, ecosystems, and historic structures within the Seashore’s boundaries.  It is people like you–our members past and present who understand the genuine magic of the Seashore–who literally make everything we do possible. We could not be more grateful. 

As the Seashore’s official philanthropic partner, our collective responsibility is to engage communities, foundations, businesses, families and individuals on Cape Cod and beyond around a shared and compelling vision of the vital role of the Seashore.  We exist so that the Seashore will have the resources it needs to educate and entice, protect and preserve, refresh and renew for the present generation and all those to follow. Whether we are year-round or seasonal residents, repeat visitors or simply have been smitten by the beauty of the beaches, marshes, woodlands and dunes, we share a commitment to the Seashore and its future. 

 As we approach our fortieth anniversary in 2027 we stand on the shoulders of all of the members who came before us and on the threshold of an exciting future.  With Julia Bateman’s appointment this May as our full-time Executive Director we are at the beginning of a new era of growth and accomplishment at a time when the needs of the Seashore are urgent and growing. 

Achieving the promise and potential of this moment for the Friends will require the help and support of all of our members, continued bold leadership from the board, and sustaining our long and fruitful partnership with the leadership of the Cape Cod National Seashore. 

I look forward to working with all of you in the coming year to achieve the vision of a resilient Seashore that can continue to thrive, to adapt, and to endure.

Sincerely yours, 

Vincent Tompkins

President, Friends of the Cape Cod National Seashore