We had a special tribute to Tom Bradbury and the 50th Anniversary of The Kennebunkport Trust at yesterday's meeting. It seemed that Tom was genuinely surprised to see his family all there when he walked in the room. We were joined by his wife Shirley, his three lovely daughters Rebecca, Laura and Stacy, grandson and son-in-law. Leia prepared a slide show that played while we shared stories about Tom, The Trust, and the enjoyment of our beautiful corner of the world that he has helped preserve for us.
Russ, who serves as the Board President of The Trust, talked about how The Kennebunkport Conservation found him 26 years ago and the impact it's had on him. We learned from Russ that Tom joined the Trust just a few years after it was established, while he was in his 20's. Shirley shared that a couple years into their marriage, Tom started to "join things" in town and The Trust really became his calling. She said that Tom believes in others and believes in our community. His daughter Rebecca shared how amazing it was to witness her Dad's passion and purpose in life growing up. She talked about the family assembly line they would make to assemble The Trust newsletters when she and her sisters were little and how their Dad instilled a pride of place and a familiar hometown to return to. She reminisced about looking for arrowheads on the islands, hunting for sea glass, walks on the trails, visits to Goat Island and falling into the marsh as a kid.
Tom shared how grateful he is for his family's support and for Shirley's "enduring." Shirley shared that early into their marriage, Tom said, "We can go out and make a fortune or we can stay here and make this community better." We're all so glad you stayed, Tom!!