MARROWSTONE ISLAND — Mark and Linda Secord have been chosen as Marrowstone Island’s Citizens of the Year for 2025.
The annual award recognizes “an individual or couple who have made a lasting or significant difference to the quality of life on Marrowstone, or in Jefferson County, through their volunteerism, activism and leadership.”
The Marrowstone Island Community Association (MICA) has been accepting nominations and collecting votes from island residents for the award since 1973.
“Supporting our community has always been a value for us wherever we’ve lived and we’ve enjoyed being part of the ongoing effort here on Marrowstone,” Linda Secord said. “It is an honor to be in the company of past recipients.”
Linda Second was vice president/president of MICA for 3 1/2 years. During the COVID pandemic, she arranged a full schedule of remote-access Zoom meetings when gatherings were prohibited. Her leadership during that time can be credited with keeping MICA going so it would not lose significance for islanders.
She is currently on the board of directors of the Nordland General Store and was a founding member of the group which restored a vibrant resource to the island.
Mark Secord has been president of Friends of Fort Flagler State Park (FoFF) for the past six years. Under his leadership, the organization has racked up a series of accomplishments — building a new picnic shelter at Mystery Bay State Park, developing a vibrant natural history series and improving park trails, including installation of a network of benches.
The capstone project for FoFF this year is the completion of the restoration of Fort Flagler’s WWII theater.
In 2019, when FoFF started advocating for the theater project, the building was on the verge of collapse. This March, thanks to a public/private partnership with state parks, the theater will serve park visitors and the community for many years to come.
“Were it not for the advocacy for this project from FoFF, this versatile and historic public space would have been lost,” Mark Secord said. “I’m proud to have been a part of that.”
