Hello Steamboat friends and family! Weve been getting a lot of great and heartfelt messages regarding the status of the Julia Belle, so I thought Id try to address some of them here. To begin, the overall mission of the JBS Foundation is to completely renovate and restore the 43 year-old steamboat to a like-new status. The Foundation has a great group of volunteer individuals, all with outstanding expertise in varying fields, making up the Board of Directors. Paperwork has been filed for a 501(c)(3) non-profit tax status and we are anxiously awaiting approval. A fantastic marine architect has been hired to help us redesign some inherent deficiencies and also add increased levels of passenger comfort such as cabin climate-control and restroom upgrades among others. Needless to say, safety of the passengers and crew is an overriding concern. We also fully realize and appreciate the magic that the Julia Belle has to many past and present crew members and patrons. I share these nostalgic feelings and preserving the old time riverboat feel is unquestionably another element heading into the restoration. As for the location of the Julia Belle, the home-port will continue to be on the Mississippi River at La Crosse, Wisconsin. It’s not going to be an easy job. It’s complex and will include replacing the boiler, the electrical generators, several tanks, and even deteriorated cabin walls. Those are big jobs, but there are hundreds of other smaller ones that will also need to be addressed. Lastly, we’ll need the support of you and others. A line of credit is being established, but we’ll need big and small donations and fundraising events to pay off the debt. To date, donations haven’t been actively pursued. We felt in order to be transparent and fair to prospective donors, a comprehensive restoration plan had to be in place. This plan is gathering momentum and will soon be established. If successful, the Julia Belle Swain will steam ahead for another 50 years, preserving a piece of river history! Thank you for your interest, support, and concern in the Julia Belle Swain steamboat. Eric Captain, Julia Belle Swain
Posted on: Fri, 07 Mar 2014 16:11:56 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015