A Successful 2025 Annual Meeting

The BPC held its Annual Meeting on Saturday, August 9, at the Cape Cod Bible Alliance Church in East Brewster, with over 80 members and guests attending the two-hour event. If you missed the meeting, a full video recording will be available soon on our website and YouTube channel. In the meantime, here is a recap of what was presented and discussed.

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The Year in Review
Susan Bridges, BPC President, opened the meeting with highlights of the organization’s accomplishments since August 2024. She began with the Town’s willingness to approve additions to Brewster’s Integrated Water Resource Management Plan that will focus on wastewater management and pond health, key concerns of the BPC. This was followed by an update on the Septic System Pollutant Travel Study and key highlights of the Citizen Science, Pond Education, and Pond Outreach programs. In addition, Susan shared information about the Adult Education programs hosted by the BPC and our participation in town-wide events.

The business portion of the meeting included a review of the BPC’s long-term strategic goals and priorities for the 2025-2026 business year; a review of the organization’s 2024 Full Year and July YTD finances provided by Treasurer, Rob Condon; a bylaw change and Board elections. Susan also recognized two retiring Board members, Rob Condon and Tim Chase, and introduced two new Board members, Bruce Semple and David Jacobs.

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Presentation of Awards
This year’s ”Splash Award” recognized Meghan Taylor, the original creator of a grassroots effort in her Sheep Pond neighborhood that ultimately led to the creation of the BPC’s Pond Protection Pledge Program, a program that in the last three years has spread to other Cape towns including Orleans, Chatham, Harwich, Falmouth and Wellfleet. 

Following the Splash Award, Ron Essig presented the BPC’s first Special Recognition Award to Tom Vautin, noting that Tom served as Board President from 2015 to 2019 and has been a major program and financial supporter of BPC since its inception in 2014.  

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The Guest Speaker
The group then heard from guest speaker Julie Hambrook Berkman, PhD, Pond and Cyanobacteria Program Manager with the Association to Preserve Cape Cod (APCC). Julie’s presentation, “Brewster Ponds Cyanobacteria: What, Where, Why, and How?,” was a timely topic for members and guests given the recent blooms at several ponds in Brewster and other Cape Cod towns this spring and summer. 

Julie began her presentation with a brief review of what cyanobacteria is, how it is formed, environmental conditions that contribute to it, and how the differing characteristics of ponds affect its formation. She also explained the different types of toxins that cyanobacteria can produce and the side effects that might result from exposure. 
Julie  also explained the APCC’s cyanobacteria monitoring program including its work with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Conservation and the Department of Health at individual towns to analyze water samples and provide warning and use restriction notices to the public when safety concerns are identified. She concluded by encouraging the audience to review the APCC Cyanobacteria Monitoring 2025 map for up-to-date news of the status of the ponds that are being monitored.

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To view all the slides presented at the meeting, click here.

The BPC thanks Agway of Cape Cod (a business partner) for its sponsorship of this year’s event and the Cape Cod Bible Alliance Church for the use of its facilities, audiovisual capabilities, and the support of its staff.