Lakeside tribute was created for the purposes of 1. Memorializing the lives of people who drowned (especially in the Great Lakes) and 2. Be an advocate for safety practices regarding swimming and boating in the USA Great Lakes (especially Lake Michigan).
The ideas for this same came across because of the background of the founder Jim Hill. Jim is very active in watersports but especially windsurfing having started in that sport way back in 1988. One very windy afternoon in August of the year 2000 Jim almost drowned while windsurfing on Lake Huron in the Canadian waters of Kettle Point near Ipperwash Provincial Park. Although he was wearing a wet suit he did not have a life vest. There were complicating factors in this incident which are recorded in that story on this site:
My Kettle Point Near Drowning Story – Lakeside Tribute
Browse Drownings by Great Lakes State: