2023 President's Letter: A Message of Hope and Thanks from Jim Remis, President of Friends of Lovers Key

June 20, 2023

Change comes with all kinds of consequences and the last three years were years of major changes for Friends of Lovers Key (FOLKS) and the staff of Lovers Key State Park.

Unfortunately, 2022’s changes were of a completely unexpected nature caused by the server damage to the park caused by Hurricane Ian on September 27 – 28.


The park lost almost everything except the Welcome and Discovery Center (WDC) which was built to withstand major hurricanes. However, the other buildings, the beach, the bridges, the park equipment, and the flora were destroyed or seriously damaged. On top of that the park managers house was severely damaged along with other on-site residences. On the Friends of Lovers Key side most if not all our board members and many volunteers experienced once in a lifetime devastation and displacement. So, the park staff and the Folks board found themselves starting over, literally while trying to make sense of each of our personal situations.


The first time I returned to the park, I was ready for the worst, and it was more devastating than I could imagine.

But there was Katie and her staff ready to move forward one step and a time and in no time so was FOLKS. While we literally lost all history of the Park and FOLKS from building and records and memories. But from day one Katie and her team made it clear that we had the WDC and a blank piece of paper to design the future in a better way. Their enthusiasm was infectious, and FOLKS was immediately caught up in the future opportunities.


The FOLKS Mission is - Friends of Lovers Key helping to Protect, Preserve and Support Lovers Key State Park.


With the damage from to the park from the hurricane, Folks has established as part of its 2023 Annual Goals the following to help in the recovery:


• Work with the park staff, the Florida Park Service, FOLKS member and donors and the community to assist Lovers Key State Park recover from Hurricane Ian

• Through a vigorous fundraising effort, raise the funds necessary to assist with the recovery from Hurricane Ian complete the Welcome and Discovery Center and fund its ongoing operations and related education programs.

• Through community involvement and education enhance awareness that the Park and the Welcome and Discovery Center will be back stronger from the Hurricane, prepare for the Parks reopening and reconnect to the Park through the message – Loving Lovers Key – Again


As it has turned out the implementation of these goals has happened through the community, becoming an integral part of providing the resources towards the parks recovery. It is with great pleasure that that FOLKS and the staff of Lovers Key acknowledge the generosity of the following donors:

Brian and Gina Ketchum through the Ketchum Charitable Foundation – a cash unrestricted gift of $100,000. The FOLKS board has allocated this gift to the Parks recovery.


Mike and Dawn Miller on behalf of the Whale, Fort Myers Beach – the donation of a 2023 Kawasaki Mule UTV and a 2023 Polaris Ranger UTV with a value of $30,000.


The King Foundation – a cash unrestricted gift of $25,000. The FOLKS board has allocated this gift to the Parks recovery

John Schiera – donated architectural and landscape planning for WDC landscaping project – amount of donation yet to be determined.


Andrew DeSalvo – a cash contribution of $10,000  which was used to purchase a 2022 Coleman UTV and accessories.

Through the efforts of Beach Talk Radio, they raised $4,000 to be used to replace the FOLKS education supplies and equipment lost during Ian.


And finally, the individuals who have worked very hard to assist in the recovery.

So how are these donations being utilized:

The donations of the UTV’s provided immediate support to the park in the clean-up and restoration efforts and replaced borrowed equipment.


The cash contributions are in the process of being utilized for two areas, first the replacement of Park equipment and supplies and second the restoring and redesign of the landscaping around the Welcome and Discovery Center. The equipment and supplies replacements include things like hot pressure washer and trailer to on office copier to rain jackets and many things in between. The landscaping project will not only replace the damage caused by Ian but will make the area around the WDC more user friendly to activities and contemplation. This is a major project and will require additional fund raising to complete. We will keep you informed as the project moves forward. 


Some Interesting News

Lovers Key State Park made a list of top 100 secret beaches nationwide.

Lovers Key came in at No. 6. Online publication FamilyDestinationsGuide.com polled 3,000 families, asking which they would most like to visit this summer to arrive at the list. Hawaii's Awahua Beach took the No. 1 spot, but with nine beaches on the list, Florida occupied the most spots of any state in the top 100. The guide calls this Lovers Key State Park "stunning and secluded (with) pristine beaches and crystal clear waters," though makes no mention of the fact that the park remains closed after Hurricane Ian damage. 



In Conclusion

We have all been distracted by the magnitude of the park and the personal devastation we have all experienced.

While this distraction has at times been difficult FOLKS, The Park and the community have pulled together to identify and begin to solve recovery issues that none of us dreamed we would be dealing with. Katie Moses and her team have been amazing at dealing with complicated issues of recovery. Today, the park still does not have electricity, beach renourishment is months away, clean-up and debris removal continue and there is no time frame for reopening the park or the ability for FOLKS to conduct events. But we all know the time will come when those things happen. And the reason it will happen, that Katie's and FOLKS teams, our generous contributors to the recovery, the community and our members will make it happen. I personally have found that our current situation is a surprisingly exciting challenge because we are all in this together and soon, but not soon enough, everyone will be Loving Lovers Key, again.


~Jim                     

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The Incredible Importance of the Horseshoe Crab: Nature’s Ancient Guardian

By Christy Hennessey, Board Secretary, Friends of Lovers Key • October 28, 2025
If you’ve ever wandered along the shore near Lovers Key State Park and spotted a strange, helmet-shaped shell washed up on the sand, you’ve had a close encounter with one of the ocean’s oldest and most remarkable creatures — the horseshoe crab . Though its name might make you think it’s related to crabs or lobsters, this living fossil is actually more closely related to spiders and scorpions . And while it may look a bit like something from a science fiction movie, the horseshoe crab is one of nature’s greatest success stories — and one of the most important creatures in the sea. A Living Fossil That Has Stood the Test of Time The horseshoe crab has been on Earth for over 450 million years — long before the dinosaurs appeared and hundreds of millions of years before humans walked the planet. That makes it one of the oldest surviving species on Earth. Over all that time, its body design has barely changed. Clearly, evolution got it right the first time. The hard, curved shell protects it from predators, while its long, pointed tail — called a telson — helps it flip over if it gets stuck upside down. Despite their slightly intimidating appearance, horseshoe crabs are completely harmless. They don’t sting, bite, or pinch. Instead, they quietly roam the shallow ocean floor, feeding on clams, worms, and other small organisms. Here in Southwest Florida , they’re a familiar but often overlooked part of our coastal ecosystem. Every spring, these ancient creatures crawl ashore during high tides to spawn and lay eggs , continuing a cycle that has endured for nearly half a billion years.

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By Christy Hennessey, Board Secretary, Friends of Lovers Key • October 28, 2025
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