Sunday, January 20, 2013

January Meeting Notes

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

After the officer reports, Base Commander Doug Abramson presented Karl 'Dutch' Krompholz with his Shipmate of the Year plaque. Dutch was unable to attend the Holiday Luncheon, so we gave him his award at the January meeting.
Karl 'Dutch' Krompholz receives his Shipmate of the Year plaque from Base Commander Doug Abramson

Old and New Business 
Membership Dues - If you are on the annual membership plan for National or Seattle Base, it is time to pay your dues. You need to make sure you get your dues paid or you will be removed from the membership rolls. Please contact Jim Harper to pay your dues or if you have questions.

Holiday Luncheon Recap and Future Plans - We had a nice lunch at the Seattle Yacht Club in December (you can view photos from the event here and here) and they sent a 'Thank You' card for the base, but it looks like it might be time to look for another venue for the 2013 luncheon. Andrea Giesler is looking for a new place to host the lunch. Right now the leading candidate is Anthony's HomePort restaurant in Kirkland. We are still exploring other ideas and if you have a suggestion, please contact Andrea or Base Commander Doug Abramson.

Chairman Needed for Tolling Ceremony - Bob Opple let us know that he will not be able to continue as the Chairman for the Tolling of the Boats ceremony. The Tolling ceremony is important for our creed and we need someone to step-up to take over the position. Bob has set things up so it will be easy to run and most of the setup work for the 2013 ceremony is already done. If you are interested in the position or have more questions, please contact Base Commander Doug Abramson or any of the other Base officers.

Smokey Point Rest Stop Event - Steve Shelton let us know that the Smokey Point event is back. This year we drew the southbound rest stop for June 28 - July 1. Be sure to mark it on your calendar and start planning for when you can volunteer to man the coffee booth.

2013 Calendars and other Storekeeper items - The USSVI 2013 and Submarine Veterans of WWII calendars are available through the Seattle Base ship's store. Additionally, Bill wanted to let everyone know that he still has a few copies of Don Ulmer's latest book, "Ensure Plausible Deniability."

Other Fund Raising Opportunities - The Base is on the lookout for more fund raising ideas. The hope is that if we can raise some more money, we can plan more events (some suggestions were a trip to visit USS Blueback in Portland or a Summer Luncheon). If you have some ideas for what we can do, please contact Base Commander Doug Abramson or any of the other Base officers.

Base Raffle - We held the raffle for the canvas reproduction of the USSVI plaque at the end of the meeting and the winner was Sam Ronnie. Congratulations to Sam.
Sam Ronnie picking up his raffle prize

January Presentation
The presentation for our January meeting was by representatives from Dignity Memorial. The representatives from Dignity Memorial provided us with information about veteran's death benefits through the VA. Additionally, the gave out information on the special veterans programs and assistance available through Dignity Memorial. It was a very informative presentation, especially if you haven't thought about the issue. If you would like the contact information for the representatives at the meeting, please contact Base Commander Doug Abramson or any of the other Base officers.

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