Times Talk
Dylan Breen and his family donated a pediatric beach wheelchair to Sea Isle City.
STUDENT DONATES PEDIATRIC BEACH WHEELCHAIR
On Sunday, May 26, Dylan Breen and his family donated a pediatric beach wheelchair to the Sea Isle City Beach Wheelchair Program. The high school student from Downingtown, Pa., raised funds for the wheelchair as his senior class project. The donation is the first pediatric beach wheelchair to join Sea Isle’s fleet.
Dylan and his mother Rachel wanted to give children with disabilities the opportunity to go to the beach in a chair that fits their needs.
To make the donation possible, Rachel and Dylan partnered with The Believe and Achieve Foundation, saying: “We chose the Believe and Achieve Foundation because we have seen firsthand how much they have done for our community in Chester County, Pa. When we saw they were now working with the Wheels Up program to donate beach wheelchairs to the NJ shore towns, we knew it was a great fundraising option for us.”
The new pediatric beach wheelchair will be available for public use at the Sea Isle City Recreation Office. It will join 20 other available adult beach wheelchairs. Wheelchair reservations can be made by calling the Sea Isle Recreation Office.
The first annual Braca Women's Basketball Tournament was a huge success!
CITY HOLDS FIRST WOMEN’S HOOPS TOURNEY
The first annual Braca Women’s Basketball Tournament was hosted by the Sea Isle City Recreation Department on June 8 at the JFK Boulevard Courts. The new tournament, named after Sea Isle’s Braca family, was a five-on-five, double-elimination event open to women ages 18 and older. It required a $150 team entry fee, and all participants were given matching team jerseys.
The Braca tournament joined the ranks of several other Sea Isle adult basketball tournaments. Currently, the recreation department hosts three men’s tournaments, named for Dave Farina, Bill Liddell, and Steve Libro.
Sea Isle City Recreation aide Liza Pellini said the new event was borne out of a recent increase in public support for women’s basketball.
“Since the women’s tournament is our first competition of the season, it’s a great way to kick off the summer,” she said.
The tournament received a lot of support and attention from the Sea Isle community. The winning team was comprised of a group of St. Joseph’s and Drexel women’s basketball alumnae.
The Steve Libro Men’s Basketball Tournament, scheduled for July 13, is still open for registration. More information can be found on the Sea Isle City Recreation website, seaislerec.recdesk.com.
The winning submission from last year's contest.
2025 BEACH TAG ART CONTEST UNDERWAY
Mayor Desiderio’s 2025 Beach Tag Art Contest is now open to applicants. Children ages 17 and under are invited to participate in the annual contest.
Participants must choose one of four categories: Seasonal, Winter Holiday, Veterans, or St. Patrick’s Day, and create a tag that reflects that category. Each entry can contain no more than four colors.
Submissions must be received before Friday, Aug. 30, 2024. They can be mailed or delivered to the Sea Isle City Tax Collectors Office (City Hall, 2nd Floor, 233 JFK Blvd., Sea Isle City, NJ 08243).
“We choose to hold an annual beach tag contest to get the children in the community involved,” said Jennifer McIver, Sea Isle’s chief financial officer, who expects to receive more than 100 submissions. “We have so many creative children in the community. It’s exciting to go through the artwork and see what they come up with.”
The contest winners will be announced at the Sept. 24 City Council meeting. More information and explicit contest details can be found in the Sea Isle City Welcome Center, the City Hall Lobby, or on the Sea Isle City website at seaislecitynj.us/departments/beachtag.
SEA ISLE RANKS AMONG STATE’S TOP 3 BEACHES
USA Today recently released a list ranking the 10 best beaches in New Jersey, and Sea Isle City came in at No. 3. Several other nearby beach towns, like Avalon and Ocean City, also scored spots on the list.
The article described Sea Isle as a charming and family-oriented beach town with a “delightful, family-friendly beach scene [that] attracts enthusiastic beachgoers of all ages.” It also mentioned several amenities that attract Sea Isle residents and visitors, citing delicious food options, wide beaches, and a pier perfect for fishing.
While the USA Today ranking is certainly no surprise for the Sea Isle community, it is wonderful for the town to receive statewide recognition.
SIC CHAMBER AWARDS SCHOLARSHIPS
The Sea Isle City Chamber of Commerce and Revitalization is celebrating 10 graduating students from various local high schools with a scholarship award. In addition to being Sea Isle residents, the recipients are recent graduates of local high schools.
Here are the recipients: Michael Carr (Ocean City High School), Adison Conti (Ocean City High School), Katherine Cossaboon (Ocean City High School), Anthony Edwardi (Wildwood Catholic Academy), Angelo Francesconi (St. Augustine Preparatory School), Brooke Heritage (Ocean City High School), Dustin Laricks (Ocean City High School), Benjamin Lynch (Cape May Technical High School), William Owens (Cape May Technical High School) and Ryan Wieand (St. Augustine Preparatory School.)
The Sea Isle Chamber commends these students for their hard work and wishes them well in their future endeavors.
