As we turn the page on the summer of 2024 and head home, we encourage everyone to become an active member of the Big Basswood Lake Association. The BBLA BBLA works diligently to preserve and protect Big Basswood Lake and its watershed, so that generations of families can continue to enjoy this very special and unique summer experience year after year.

While our membership numbers have rebounded since the pandemic we still have a long way to go to achieve the full participation of the Basswood lake property owners. In 2023, 85 families joined the BBLA, while we have only 75 paid memberships for 2024. There is a lot of room to grow to reach the pre-pandemic numbers of 115 memberships, a level which still represents only 50% participation of the lake population.

At the fall board meeting, board members agreed to strike a sub-committee to address this issue. Going forward we hope to develop strategies to attract new members and adapt our technology to make it easier for new members to sign up.

So why is membership in your lake association important? The association aims to care for our lake and to address important issues that affect our lake residents. Our efforts in addressing these issues are more effective when backed by robust membership numbers.

Your annual membership in the Big Basswood Lake Association also provides several tangible benefits:

• Annual events focused on Lake Stewardship, area History, ongoing education.
• Automatic membership in FOCA (The Federation of Ontario Cottages Association) which provides access to the many informative publications concerning issues faced by cottagers.
• Participation at the Annual General Meeting which offers the opportunity for you to provide your input on the issues that affect property owners and the preservation of the Basswood Lake environment
• Savings on Cottage Insurance through FOCA Membership

We appreciate your continued support of the BBLA. Along with becoming a member, we also welcome your active participation and input. If you would like to join the the board in their endeavors to protect our lake, please reach out to us. If you have a new neighbor or a neighbor that is not yet a member, let them know about the benefits of joining the BBLA, and invite them to meetings and activities supported by the association.

The annual membership fee remains at $25 per year.