September Meeting Notes

We started the September meeting with the Tolling of the Boats for September, birthday wishes for our members, introductions and officer reports.

The base newsletter was announced as the Western Region Class One Second Runner-Up and Base Commander Doug Abramson presented the certificate to newsletter editor Dave Schueler.

Dave Schueler receives the newsletter certificate from Base Commander Doug Abramson

Old and New Business

November Meeting - Because the November meeting is currently scheduled for the Thursday before Thanksgiving, we are looking into shifting the meeting to the second Wednesday, November 14. We still need to confirm the VFW that the meeting room is available that day. We will update the membership on this as soon as we know.

Fund-Raising Ideas - We had a short discussion about using the base float for fund-raising opportunities for the base. If you know of or have suggestions for a store (or other location), where we could park the float for a little publicity and to get donations, please bring them to the next meeting.

USSVI Memorial Plaque - The USSVI plaque is set to be dedicated in 2014 at the Navy Memorial in Washington D.C. for the 50th anniversary of USSVI. USSVI is still looking for donations to cover the cost of the plaque and the Seattle Base will match donations (up to $250 total). Additionally, members that donate $125 or more will receive a replica plaque, pictured below, that is similar to the one being installed at the Navy Memorial.

8" x 10" member appreciation plaque for donations of $125

Save the Clamagore - As many of you may have heard, the museum at Patriot's Point in South Carolina does not have enough funds to do maintenance on the Clamagore. If money cannot be raised for the work, the Clamagore will probably end up on the scrap heap or as a artificial reef. The Clamagore Veterans Association is working to get donations to fix up the boat. They think they will need around 3 million dollars for all the work and to set up a maintenance fund. Please think about donating to fund.

You can donate at the website http://www.savetheclamagore.com/ or by sending your donation by check or money order to:
Save The Clamagore
c/o George Bass
110 River Birch Drive
Salisbury, NC 28146.

2013 Calendars - The USSVI 2013 calendars are available. The calendar, titled "The Victors", honors the World War II U.S. submariners and their boats. You get your copy from the Seattle Base ship's store or you can order your copy directly from the USSVI National Storekeeper.

Upcoming Events

Navy Birthday Celebration - VFW Post 2995 is planning to have a dinner to celebrate the Navy's Birthday on October 13 and they have invited us to join them. The dinner will run from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM and costs $12 per person. The dinner menu is ham, mashed potatoes and mixed vegetables, with cake for desert. Be prepared to sing Anchors Aweigh!

Auburn Veterans Day Parade – The parade is scheduled for Saturday, November 12. This is a great parade, be sure to mark this on your calendar.We will provide more information about when and where to meet at the next meeting.

Holiday Luncheon - We will have our annual Holiday Luncheon at the Seattle Yacht Club on Saturday, December 15. Be sure to mark the date on your calendar. It is always a fun time and this will probably be the last year we will be at the Seattle Yacht Club.

September Presentation
We had three short presentations for the September program:

Dave Schueler brought photos from the Tolling the Boats Ceremony and gave an overview of the ceremony.

Pat Householder gave a report on the USSVI National Convention in Norfolk VA. Approximately 1,200 SubVets attended the convention, including 62 members of the Submarine Veterans of WWII. The convention tolling ceremony was held on the battleship USS Wisconsin. The convention also marked the end of an era as the Submarine Veterans of WWII officially closed as a national organization. Pat stated that it is now USSVI's responsibility to carry on their legacy. Tim Floersch also attended the convention and gave a recap of the Silent Service Motorcycle Club meeting and ride at the convention.

Doug Abramson reported on his trip to the Bonneville Salt Flats with his Model A Roadster team. He passed around photos from the event (the DVD he brought didn't want to work with Keith's laptop) and described the work that was done on the car. His group was able to get their car up to over 132 MPH on their speed run. He also related information about the other vehicles at the event and some of the past history.

September Meeting Reminder

The next Seattle Base meeting is this coming Wednesday, September 19, at VFW Post #2995 (4330 148th Ave N.E., Redmond WA 98052). Social hour starts at 6 PM with business meeting at 7PM. Don't forget to review the previous meeting minutes, you can find them here on the blog or on the Seattle Base website, just click the Minutes button on the left.

We'll get our normal Officer reports, discuss shifting the November meeting due to the Thanksgiving holiday, and any other new business.

Float and submarine information display at the 2012 Tolling Ceremony

For this month's program, our chief orator Bob Opple is going to give us a full report on the Tolling the Boats ceremony with photos from the event. Also, Base Commander Doug Abramson will give a short talk on his trip to the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah.

So please come and enjoy the fellowship with your shipmates and our great associates and wives. We hope to see you all at the meeting on Wednesday.

2012 USSVI National Election Results and Award Winners

Here are the election results and National Awards winners, as announced at the USSVI Convention annual business meeting.

Election Results

2012-2014 National Officers
Commander: Michael Bircumshaw
Sr Vice Commander: Carl Schmidt
Jr Vice Commander: Al Singleman, Jr
Secretary: Tom Conlon
Treasurer: Richard McPherson

2012-2014 Region Directors
Northeast Director: Michael Naughton
Southeast Director: Dick Kanning
Central Director: Wayne Standerfer
Western Director: John Mansfield

All the proposed amendments were accepted.

Upcoming Convention Locations
2013 Convention: Rochester MN
2014 Convention: Burlingame CA (SFO Area)

You can see the voting result charts and Base member participation charts on the USSVI website. To see these charts, go to www.ussvi.org, then click the DOCUMENTS Button. Then click the ELECTIONS button and the links are there to see (click here for a direct link).

2012 USSVI Awards: 

Joe Negri “Shipmate of the Year” Award
This is the top award in USSVI and is presented to the member who, by his personal individual efforts and participation during the preceding year contributed most to the advancement and embodiment of the USSVI creed and purpose.
2012 Winner: Wayne Standerfer - Dallas Base

Robert Link Awards:
This award is the National Commander’s Letter of Commendation.
2012 Winners:
Steven D. Bell – Carolina Piedmont Base
Harold W. Dixon Jr. – Tarheel Base
William C. Dornik – Mare Island Base
James W. Gibson – Cuttlefish Base
Gerald F. Leppart – Tarheel Base
John E. Markiewicz – Cyberspace Base
Joseph R. Mathis – Razorback Base
Raymond Moore – Nathanael Greene Base
James R. Myers III – Nathanael Greene Base
Robert A. Perritt – Groton Base
Terry L. Schmidt – USS Maine Base
Hampton Roads Base

District Commander of the Year:
Awarded to the one District Commander that exemplifies and demonstrates an outstanding example to his peers, and through his efforts and performance of duties in service to his Base Commanders, provides guidance, organization and assistance within his District and establishes new Bases as needed to serve the needs of the membership.
2012-2013 Winner: Vic Van Horn

Meritorious Award:
This award is presented to the member or Base that most exemplifies the motto, 'Pride Runs Deep' as demonstrated by their participation in local veteran affairs, parades and school activities.
Base Award: USS Chicago Base
Individual Award: Paul L. Grammer – Groton Base

The Ben Bastura Award:
This award is given to the person who has demonstrated their understanding and commitment to our creed in perpetuating the memory of submariners and submarines by gathering, creating, or in other ways preserving a significant amount of submarine history.
Winner: John A. McMichael – USS Cavalla Base

Golden Anchor Award:
This award is a base award, presented to the base that has demonstrated a leading role in developing and promoting creative membership renewals, including development of successful recruiting tools.
Class One (Large-Sized) Base: Bremerton Base*
Class Two (Medium-Sized) Base: USS Haddo Base
Class Three (Small-Sized) Base: Coastal Carolina Base
Class Four Base: Yakima Base*

* Note from District 4 Commander/Western Region Director John Mansfield: I am extremely proud that Bremerton Base and Yakima Base were rewarded for their hard work, dedication and enthusiasm by receiving the USSVI Golden Anchor Award in their respective divisions. You are all to be congratulated for a job well done.

Silver Anchor Award:
This award is presented to a member in recognition of his support of meetings, projects and events including recruiting and retention in the base.
Winner: Dominick M. “Dom“ Boncore – Mare Island Base

Newsletter of the Year Awards
Base communications are vital to member involvement. In order to recognize the value of base communications and encourage that process, the Newsletter of the Year Award was created. The award serves as a tool to encourage bases to first develop their own membership newsletters and then to improve them sufficiently to be competitive with their peer bases and those of other Veterans' organizations and to recognize those that were superior to their peers.

The newsletter awards are divided into three classes for each region. Large Bases (100+ members) are referred to as Class One, Medium Size Bases (51-100 members) are Class Two, and Small Bases (up to 50 members) are Class Three.

Northeast Region
Class One:
Winner: QUALSFORMS - NJ North Base
First runner up: BUFFALO BASE NL: – Buffalo Base
Second runner up: STEEL VALLEY DOLPHINS -- Requin Base

Class Two:
Winner: 1 MC - Marblehead Base
First runner up: TRI STATE DECK LOG - Tri State Base
Second runner up: MID ATLANTIC BASE SUBMARINER - Mid Atlantic Base
Honorable Mention:
CLEAR THE BRIDGE - Reading Base
UP PERISCOPE - Southern Tier NY Base

Class Three:
Winner: THE LEHIGH VALLEY BASE NEWS - Lehigh Valley Base

Southeast Region
Class One:
Winner: ALL CLEAR - Tarheel Base
First runner up: RIDING THE VENTS - Tang Base
Second runner up: HAMPTON ROADS NL - Hampton Roads Base

Class Two:
Winner: PIEDMONT PERISCOPE - Carolina Piedmont Base
First runner up: PERISCOPE - Central Florida Base
Second runner up: DENIZENS of the DEEP NL - Denizens of the Deep Base
Honorable Mention:
THE SILENT SENTINEL - Barb Base
SEADRAGON BASE NL - Seadragon Base

Class Three:
Winner: OOGA OOGA - Palmetto Base
First runner up: DIVE – DIVE - South Florida Base
Second runner up: THE SHIPS BELL - Nautilus Base
Honorable Mention:
SIGNAL EJECTOR - Mobile Bay Base

Central Region
Class One: No entries this year

Class Two:
Winner: UP SCOPE - Dallas Base
First runner up: BROTHERS of the "PHIN" - Volunteer Base
Second Runner up: SCUTTLEBUTT - USS Haddo Base

Class Three:
Winner: DECK LOG - Central Texas Base
First runner up: THE TRIM PUMP - Nebraska Base
Second Runner up: STRYKER SIGNALS - P.C. Stryker Base
Honorable Mention:
GATEWAY NEWS - USS Springfield Base

Western Region
Class One:
Winner: PUGET SOUNDINGS - Bremerton Base
First runner up: THE MIDWATCH - Perch Base
Second runner up: THE DOLPHIN BROTHERHOOD - Seattle Base
Honorable Mention:
SCUTTLEBUTT - USS Holland/Gold Country Base
THE SILENT SENTINEL - San Diego Base
SCAMP – GRAM - USS Scamp Base

Class Two:
Winner: CORVINA BASE NL - Corvina Base
First runner up: THE BLOWHOLE - Dolphin Base
Second runner up: CAVITATION - Rocky Mountain Base

Class Three:
Winner: GOONEY NEWS - USS Parche Base
First runner up: THE TAUTOG TIMES - Tautog Base
Second runner up: THE SNORKEL - Yakima Base
Honorable Mention:
POLARIS FIRE - Polaris Base

Congratulations to all the winners!

September - October Newsletter Posted

The September - October issue of the Dolphin Brotherhood has been posted to the Seattle Base website.

This issue has photos from the Independence Day parade and Tolling the Boats Ceremony, information about the USSVI Memorial Plaque Program (including information about the member/base appreciation gifts for donations), along with the usual base news, and upcoming events.

Hardcopies of the newsletter are in the mail and should arrive soon. I hope you all enjoy it.

As always, don't forget to check back here for base updates and other articles of interest. You can find old issues of the newsletter at: Dolphin Brotherhood Archives, which is also a link on the right side of the blog.

Dave Schueler
Seattle Base Newsletter Editor