At our Fall BBQ I asked Berkeley Lake resident Mr. Pete Rolader to attend as my guest of honor, and there I highlighted many of the contributions that Pete has made over the last 40 years to the BLHA and to the City of Berkeley Lake. I'm including his story in order to help others realize his great accomplishments and to inspire others to lead this community as he has done so many times in the past.

Pete Rolader is also our only living Lifetime Honorary Member of the BLHA, and has been since 1982. He has contributed to this City and to the BLHA greatly. In fact, he founded the BLHA in 1973 and was our first president.

In 1973, three separate individuals - all developers - each owned 1/3 of the lake bottom. The lake, itself, was maintained voluntarily by the Berkeley Lake Civic Association, representing less than half of the property owners. The dam was heavily forested and owned by a developer.

Pete was the primary architect and attorney responsible for incorporating the BLHA. In 1973, he negotiated a deal which allowed the BLHA to take ownership of the lake, for the price of paying the previous-owners' taxes on the lake that year. The process of BLHA owning all of the lake took until 1990.

Pete was born in Buckhead 81 years ago and moved to Berkeley Lake in the mid-1960s. By the time he moved here, he had already served three years with the Army Air Corps and had been stationed in England, France and Germany during WWII. He was involved with the D-Day invasion to liberate France in 1944. Upon his return to the States, he attended Emory for his undergraduate degree and then went to Emory's law school, and has been practicing law for the last 55 years.

Pete has stayed vitally active over the years in the BLHA and has served as the primary legal counsel on all the issues surrounding lake ownership, many successful lawsuits against developers who silted our lake, By-Law and Deed Covenant questions, and the many issues facing the BLHA.

Over the last 40 years Pete has offered thousands of hours of legal counsel to the BLHA...for free. He also negotiated the City's ownership of the dam in 1974, and saw to it that the Beach was gifted to the BLHA. He served as a City Councilman and was instrumental in having the City Charter amended by the Georgia Legislature to require that the Mayor be elected by the people, instead of by members of City Council. He wrote our Articles of Incorporation which are the guiding principles behind our By-Laws, and served as Judge of the Municipal Court of Berkeley Lake.

In closing, here is a section from Pete's speech to the membership at the Fall BBQ on September 16, 2006:

"I moved from Buckhead to Berkeley Lake almost 40 years ago. I stood on the deck of"Frog Hollow" with my arm around my wife Ginny, and looking down the lake I said, Honey, it's from here to eternity if they don't foreclose the mortgage!

The mortgage is paid, Ginny went on to Eternity eighteen years ago and by the grace of God, although my eyesight is failing, my hearing is gone and I have difficulty walking, I am still here basking in the sunshine of God's love, with peace in my valley and all is well with my soul.

I love this place and you people. I am grateful for the opportunities I have had to serve you. It is my hope and prayer that the leadership of the City and BLHA will continue to foster the good will of all our citizens and that the City of Berkeley Lake will continue to be the best place on the face of the earth to live.

Be kind to each other and let love abound."