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The past month has been a busy one for The Greater Pine Island Alliance. Aaron Barreda, Founder and Board Chair and I attended the Governor’s Hurricane Conference in Palm Beach, FL. I also attended the National VOAD Conference in Louisville, KY. These conferences allow for great networking opportunities with organizational partners as well as training and workshops focused on preparedness and recovery. We were happy to attend the ribbon cutting for the new addition to the Lee County Emergency Operations Center and the GPIA was also featured prominently in the Lee County Hurricane Guide for 2025 published by Breeze Newspapers (page109). This LINK will take you to the publication.
In May, we also continued working to return every survivor home to a safe sanitary and secure environment. We want to give a huge shout out and thank you to Keth Sprague owner/operator of Gerard’s Tree Service who volunteered to bring a large tractor to help unload supplies donated by our amazing partners from the United Way Warehouse (United Way of Lee Hendry and Glades). Keith’s support — along with the support from many others, added up to more than $39,000 worth of in-kind donations and 275 volunteer hours in May!
As our community continues to recover from four storms in three years, we hope that we’re spared from further devastation. Should our island community be impacted by another disaster, please know that GPIA — with support from our many partners is here for you. Not only will we be ready to help in the storm’s aftermath, but we are also preparing for storms in advance.
The GPIA has Starlinks positioned throughout the island at designated recovery centers (VFW – 8150 Stringfellow Rd. James City; Blue Dog Bar & Grill – 4597 Pine Island Rd. Matlacha; American Legion – 4106 Stringfellow Rd. Saint James City; Pine Island Moose Lodge – 8903 Stringfellow Rd. Saint James City; and Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal Church – 12175 Stringfellow Rd. Bokeelia) to ensure that Islanders can communicate with the outside world. And, as we did after hurricanes Helene and Milton, we will be poised and ready to help with supplies as well.
Don’t forget that our office —located near the center at 10484 Stringfellow Road, Unit 2, St. James City — will also have a Starlink and be a supply staging area.
In the meantime, we are still actively working through our current cases to help return survivors to safe and sanitary homes and are still receiving new help requests from people still recovering from the past storms. Currently, we have more than 100 active cases, on top of the more than 240 cases we’ve closed since 2023.
We can’t thank our partners both within the Island community and across the county, state and even the nation enough for helping us help our community rebound. (Please visit our website for a listing of our many partners)
From all of us at GPIA, we wish you a happy Independence Day! In observance of the July Fourth holiday, we’re giving our team a much-needed break and time off — not only for the holiday but to allow them time to make their own personal hurricane preparations.
· The GPIA office will be closed July 4-13
· We will reopen on July 14
· We will be monitoring the office line, but please do not expect a response until we return to the office.
Below, I’ve included some helpful links related to hurricane recovery and preparation — if you haven’t made your 2025 hurricane plan yet, now it the time to do so!
The GPIA is helping the community prepare for hurricane season and will be standing with the Island through any storm!
If you have questions about preparedness or recovery, please email us at Team@GPIAlliance.org or feel free to give us a call at 239.558.4901.
Erin Lollar Lambert
Executive Director
GPIA
Are You Prepared for Hurricane Season?
Learn About the 50/50 Rule
Have questions about how much storm damage will bring the FEMA 50/50 rule into play on your property? The guest speakers at the Greater Pine Island Civic Association’s (GPICA) last meeting — Lee County Property Appraiser Matt Caldwell and Lee County Tax Collector Noelle Branning — answered that and many more questions related to property taxes.
· You can watch a recording of the meeting here.
All Hazards Guide
Lee County’s All Hazards Guide helps residents and visitors prepare for severe weather and other emergencies.
· Read it here https://www.leegov.com/publicsafety/emergencymanagement/plan/ahg
Use our tools to stay informed about storms, evacuations and shelters. Download the free LeePrepares app (iPhone/Android) for updates when the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) is activated. Sign up at www.AlertLee.com to receive emergency calls, emails or texts with critical safety info. Visit www.leegov.com/Hurricane for preparedness materials, including educational videos on planning, storm prep and recovery.
AlertLee
Lee County residents are encouraged to sign up for AlertLee, Lee County’s Emergency Mass Notification System used to notify residents and business of emergencies. The system provides critical and time-sensitive information for emergencies, including hurricanes, wildfires, evacuations and missing persons.
· Sign up for storm updates at Alert Lee here https://www.alertlee.com
Red Cross Emergency App
Don’t forget to download the free Red Cross Emergency app to get real-time storm alerts, find open shelters, and build your hurricane plan.
· Download it from your app store, text GETEMERGENCY to 90999 or visit Red Cross Emergency App https://www.redcross.org/get-help/how-to-prepare-for-emergencies/mobile-apps.html |
