Volunteer Spotlight: Doug Light

I’ve had the good fortune to live and work all over the world with my roles in IT services. Five years ago, we moved to Smith Mountain Lake and, upon retiring, I sought ways to volunteer and support our local communities.

When portions of the lake experienced a Harmful Algae Bloom (HAB) that resulted in a swimming advisory, I volunteered to be one of the locations in the SMLA Dock Watch program to systematically sample, analyze and track cyanobacteria levels across SML.

The Dock Watch volunteers continue to do this all summer long and help us better understand the causes and prevention. It has been a great way to utilize my background and skills, and it is just one of the many ways everyone can volunteer with SMLA to help keep our beautiful lake clean and safe for all residents and visitors.