Friends recall Lake George town leader
Supervisor Dennis Dickerson, who died last week, seen as champion of the waterway
LAKE GEORGE — Town Supervisor Dennis Dickinson, one of the most fervent environmental champions of the largest lake inside the Adirondacks, died late Wednesday, Warren County Board of Supervisors Chairman Kevin Geraghty said Thursday.
The town’s supervisor since 2012, Dickinson sat on the town board and the Board of Supervisors where he was a longtime member of the Tourism Committee and chaired the board’s Occupancy Tax Coordination Committee.
However, Dickinson, who also served as a supervisor from 1979 to 1982, was best known for is environmental efforts to keep Lake George pristine including the boat inspection program to prevent aquatic invasive species from entering the lake and the reduced road salt initiative to protect contaminants from seeping into the lake basin.
“Dennis Dickinson was a good friend and leader who will be greatly missed by all of us here at Warren County,” Geraghty said in a statement. “He dedicated much of his life to Lake George and Warren County, and was a champion for preserving Lake George water quality, through his years as an elected official and in his private sector career in civil engineering and land surveying.
“His leadership in Warren County’s tourism industry helped guide the Lake George region through the hard times of the COVID-19 pandemic. We offer our deepest condolences to his loved ones,” Geraghty said. The Warren County Board of Supervisors plans a moment of silence in his honor at the April 19 meeting.
Dickinson was also co-chair of the county’s American Rescue Plan Act Committee, which determined how to allocate $12.4 million in federal funding to businesses, nonprofits and community groups.
A native of Lake George and alum of its school, Dickinson held a master’s degree in environmental science. State Assemblyman Matt Simpson, RHoricon, said Dickinson “always cared deeply about lake protection.”
“Dennis’ commitment to Lake George was unwavering,” Simpson said. “He understood the symbiotic relationship between environmental preservation and economic prosperity. He understood the lake was the greatest asset. You damage the lake, and you damage the community and economy alike. You have to take care of the lake.”
The town board will be tasked with replacing Dickinson, who had just won another term in the fall.
A cause of death was not available. Funeral arrangements were not available.