Lee Reid Grant Fund
In 1993 a grant fund was established for conferees needing financial assistance to attend LOAS conferences. In October 1997, the program was named the Lee Reid Grant Fund in honor of Rev. Lee Reid, a beloved LOAS conferee who passed away that year. Each year the LOAS conferences hold auctions on island to raise money for the grant fund. Conferees can also make direct donations to the fund.
The Grant Committee consists of three individuals serving 3-year terms. Each year one member rotates off, and a new person is elected to serve on the grant committee. For 2023, the Grant Committee consists of Cori Hoffman, Elizabeth Hutchinson, and Scott Anderson. The committee has a budget of approximately $15,000 to assist applicants from both LOAS conferences. The committee strives to distribute the available funds as equitably as possible taking into consideration the whole group of applicants as well as individual needs.
The Reverend Lee Reid
( 1932-1996)
Lee Reid was a warm and vivacious woman with long red hair who had a deep and abiding affection for STAR Island.
Lee was introduced to Unitarian Universalism by her good friends, Aaron and Sally Hamburger. She felt called to the ministry and, in her 50s, entered New York Theological Seminary. This Seminary is racially and religiously diverse and just what she wanted. Lee graduated at the top of her class with the distinction of being “best in preaching.”
In 1988 she was appointed by the UUA Extension Division to organize a new congregation dedicated to becoming an intentionally diverse congregation. In 1995 she was called to be the first minister of the UU Congregation of the Palisades. When they were told they weren’t “black” enough to receive a second grant, they hired a bus and presented themselves in Boston to UUA president, William Schulz. “Look at us and tell us we are not diverse enough!” They got the grant.
Lee and her husband, Wally, loved STAR Island. They were chairs of LOAS 2 in 1978. Lee was a night owl and you could find her engaged in conversation in the snack bar late into the evening. She was often called upon to be the fortune teller at the Children’s Carnival. You could also find Lee copiously taking notes during theme talk and at other times. She was creative and funny and she turned these notes into skits for the Talent Show. The Sandpiper Room is named in Lee and Wally’s honor.
STAR was Lee’s spirit’s home and she said she came to LOAS every summer to renew and gain spiritual grounding for the congregational year ahead. Tragically, Lee was struck by a car on a November night in 1996 as she was hurrying to a Board meeting. She died a few days later. Her beautiful spirit lives on in the beauty of STAR Island.
How to Apply
1. The Lee Reid Grant and the Star Island Conference (SIC) Grant applications have been merged to maximize efficiency and resources. The Grant application can be found here.
2. Grants provide partial payment toward the cost of attending the conference. The maximum grant is in the range of 50-60% of total costs. The average Lee Reid grant award for the 2019 season was 50% of the total cost for room & board & conference fees.
3. Prospective grant applicants must register and pay the conference fees and room & board deposit BEFORE applying for a grant.
4. If financial constraints make registration impossible for you, please get in touch with the Island Registrar, Bill Knox.
5. Grant awards will appear as a credit on your hotel bill when you check out.
6. Grants are based on double room rate. If you require a single room or motel unit, your bill will reflect the actual charges for the room you occupy.
7. When completing your application, please include only persons whose bill you will be paying.
8. The Grant committee will review all applications in the spring in order to provide award notification by the end of June.
9. Applications submitted after June 30th will be considered on a case-by-case basis depending on available funds. Applicants will receive a response within 2 weeks.
Questions? Need more information? Contact Cori Hoffman (732-768-5666) (Lee Reid Grant Chair)