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Holiday 2018 53 boatingonthehudson.com
by Pete Bardunias
President/CEO, the Chamber of
Southern Saratoga County
On September 8, 2018 at the annual Waterford
Tugboat Roundup, the close-knit community at the
entrance to the Erie Canal dedicated the harborfront
visitors center in honor of longtime Harbormaster and
Waterford Resident Richard M. Hurst, who passed
away in 2017 after a bout with cancer. Mr. Hurst was a
friend to many and one of the most familiar faces on the
water to the thousands of boaters who passed through
Waterford on their way to destinations throughout the
interior USA and Canada, or south to the Atlantic Ocean.
Dick Hurst served in various capacities within
the Town of Waterford since the 1970s: Highway
Superintendent (1976-1981), Supervisor (1982-1987),
Planning Board Chairman (1989-2000), and finally
Harbormaster (2000-2017). It was for this reason
that those who knew him most came together to
remember their friend’s legacy to the community and
to the waterway. Town Supervisor Jack Lawler led
the unveiling of a new plaque, while Mr. Hurst’s wife
of 60 years, Joyce, looked on along with children and
grandchildren at her side.
41 years is a long time. May Dick Hurst’s decades of
community service be remembered always thanks to
the Visitors Center that now bears his name.
For more information on Capital Region boating, call
(518) 371-3763, visit or stop
by the Southern Saratoga Information Center (at the
Exit 9 Rest Area on I-87 in Clifton Park).
Dedicating the
Richard
M. Hurst
Harbor
Visitors
Center
in Waterford
right to left: Waterford Town Supervisor Jack Lawler leads the
September 8th unveiling ceremony at the Visitors Center…
…while Joyce Hurst and the family remove the covering…..
…as a man’s life’s work and legacy is permanently honored.