Florida Lighthouse Association

The Florida Lighthouse Association (FLA) is a nonprofit group of approximately 800 members dedicated to the preservation of the 30 remaining historic lighthouses that line the state’s 1200 mile coastline. Their mission is to preserve, restore, protect and defend Florida’s lighthouse towers, along with their material culture, buildings, artifacts and records. This assures that the lighthouses are available for the enjoyment and understanding of future generations. While each lighthouse has its own group in place for basic maintenance and upkeep, the FLA is an offshoot to help all individual groups.

Charley Knox became a member of the Association when visiting St. Augustine. He and his late wife both had an appreciation of the St. Augustine Lighthouse, and wanted to share their passion by supporting such an admirable cause. Another advantage of membership is the ability to get into lighthouses that are not normally open to the public.

As the member in charge of marketing and fundraising, Knox thought an annual ornament collection would not only be a great fundraising vehicle, but also a means of starting a replica collection of all the lighthouses left in Florida. While other items had been sold to members and at the various lighthouse gift shops in the past, an annual collection would keep a steady flow of money into the Association, while also providing a memorable gift to the donor.

In 2005 the FLA started their annual series with the St. John’s River Lighthouse ornament. The program was so successful that it has continued and grown to two ornaments a year in 2009.

The Association uses a variety of ways to market the program. The ornaments are displayed at meetings, publicized through the FLA FLASH, the association’s quarterly newsletter and it available for purchase through the website. Additionally, if a lighthouse has its own gift shop, the piece can be purchased there.

This program, along with a love of lighthouses has proven rewarding for Knox. “By sharing in the efforts to preserve these special structures and educating visitors in their importance and beauty I feel we are leaving future generations with a wonderful legacy. I’ve met so many wonderful people who share my love for lighthouses. My effort to raise awareness and much needed funds gives me a great deal of personal satisfaction.”

 Download a PDF of the Florida Lighthouse Association customer success story.