November - December Dolphin Brotherhood Posted

The November – December issue of the Dolphin Brotherhood has been posted to the Seattle Base website.

This issue has information about the 2014 Auburn Veterans Day Parade and the Seattle Base Holiday Luncheon, including the registration form, along with the usual base news and other submarine related articles.

Seattle Base float at last year's Veterans Day Parade

This year's Holiday Luncheon will be at the Meydenbaur Bay Yacht Club in Bellevue and you can also find a copy of the registration form at this link. Don’t forget to get your registration form in before November 20.

Hardcopies of the newsletter will be in the mail this weekend. I hope you all enjoy it.

As always, don't forget to check back here on the blog 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

October 2014 Meeting Notes

We started off the October meeting with Tolling the Boats lost in October, followed by birthday wishes for our members, officer reports, and introductions.

Our Storekeeper let us know the 2015 USSVI calendars are available for $10. This year’s calendar focuses on nuclear powered fast attack submarines from USS Nautilus (SSN-571) to USS Minnesota (SSN-783). It also includes a photo montage of early 20th Century submarines and post-WWII non-nuclear attack submarines.

USSVI 2015 Calendar

Also, don’t forget that Seattle Base members are allowed to wear the Golden Anchor Award patch, which can be purchased from the Base Storekeeper for $4. Money from items purchased through the Base Storekeeper go to fund Seattle Base events throughout the year.

Old and New Business:
New Senior Vice Commander – Last month Art Thompson submitted his resignation submitted as Senior Vice Commander for personal reasons. We hope he soon will return as a contributing member of our Base. In the meantime, Base Commander Dick Gonzalez has appointed John Roberts to the position. John has done a wonderful job with our annual Tolling the Boats ceremony and Kaps for Kids program, and we know he will be an excellent Senior Vice Commander.

John Roberts being sworn in as Seattle Base Sr. Vice Commander

Seattle Base Christmas Luncheon – The Seattle Base Christmas Luncheon is set for Saturday December 20 at the Meydenbauer Bay Yacht Club. The doors will open at 10 am and we will finish up at 2 pm. The Meydenbauer Bay Yacht Club is located at 9927 Meydenbauer Way SE, Bellevue WA and there will be ample parking in the lower parking lot near the club. You can get download and print a registration form from this link https://app.box.com/s/6y23geo7vdm2m4r2i2cq. There will also be a copy in the upcoming newsletter.

Auburn Veterans Day – We will be participating in the Auburn Veterans Day Parade on Saturday November 8. The parade starts at 11 am and we’ll need to be in place around 10 am. Our staging area is near L Street. We will send out reminders with more information as the parade gets closer. Please pass the word to all your members so they can plan on making this one of the largest Sub Vet turn outs yet.

Mark Your Calendar – John Roberts reported that we have reserved the Kirkland Marina Park Pavilion for August 15, 2015 for the 2015 Tolling the Boats ceremony. Be sure to pencil it in on your calendar.

October Program: 

Keith Watson preparing his presentation

This month’s program was a presentation by former Base Commander Keith Watson on American Submarines before 1900. Keith started out talking about the sub Turtle which tried to launch attacks on the Royal Navy in 1775 during the American War for Independence. He went on to talk about submarine developments during the American Civil War, including the Union’s Alligator and Confederate H.L. Hunley, the first submarine to sink an enemy warship. Keith also talked about other submarine firsts from Civil War subs; including snorkels, diver lock-out chambers. Keith continued with information about attempts to build submarines in the late 1800s, including early submarine efforts by John Holland and Simon Lake. It was interesting program with lots of information about early American submarine efforts.

Good of the Order:
Don Ulmer wanted to let us know that efforts to move the USS Clamagore to Knoxville Tennessee are moving forward. He thought there were lots of encouraging signs from the local organizer and community. You can follow developments on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/friendsoftheclamagore

In recognition of all the programs they have put on or helped out with, Seattle Base Commander Dick Gonzalez presented Ric Hedman, Dave Schueler, and Keith Watson each with a Certificate of Appreciation.

October 2014 Meeting Reminder

Shipmates,

The next Seattle Base meeting is this coming Wednesday, October 15. We will meet at VFW Post #2995 (4330 148th Ave N.E., Redmond WA 98052). Social hour starts at 6 PM with business meeting at 7PM.

Alligator being lowered into the water, by Jim Christley

For the October program, former Base Commander Keith Watson will provide a presentation on American Submarines before 1900. Keith has invested a great deal of time and energy producing almost a dozen similar and engaging topics over the years and we're looking forward to his presentation.

We hope to see you at the meeting.

Dick Gonzalez
USSVI Seattle Base Commander

Commander's Corner for October 2014

Greetings,

I hope your autumn is off to a great start. This unusual summer gave me no excuse not to paint and do some of the outside work on this old house. Now I am glad I did it and can move on.

In the meantime, the September 17th meeting was eventful, highlighted by the presentation of several prestigious awards that were announced at the National Convention. We are gratified by their selection process recognizing a several of our own shipmates including the Seattle Base as the recipient of the “Golden Anchor Award”. Specific award winners are:

Patrick Householder received a well-deserved individual “Meritorious Award.” The Meritorious Award is presented to a Base member that exemplifies the Motto “Pride Runs Deep” and promotes a positive image of the US Submarine Force. Pat, well done!

Donald Ulmer received the “Robert Link National Commanders Award.” The award nomination process is initiated at the Base level, what better acknowledgment than that of his own shipmates. Don’s was the recipient of the award because of his lifetime of achievements, contributions to the USSVI, and its core values.

Dave Schueler received the “Second Runner up Award” for his outstanding work on a newsletter. The responsibility for editing, maintaining, and obtaining material germane to our interests can be a daunting task. We appreciate Dave’s commitment and service to our membership and are gratified he was recognized for the shipmate he is.

Concluding the award ceremony, Pat Householder presented our Seattle Base with the “Golden Anchor Award.” This award recognizes the Base for criteria such as development of programs, raising public awareness, etc. In my opinion, the most predominant reason we are the recipients of the “Golden Anchor Award” is a committed membership. To all of you who made this possible well done.

As you may have heard, Art Thompson submitted his resignation as Senior Vice Commander. We are saddened by this and hope he soon will return as a contributor and respected member of our Base.

In the meantime we are challenged to fill Art’s post. The position of Senior Vice Commander is crucial to the continuing success of this Base and therefore filling it should be considered a priority. It should not be difficult to do in light of an abundance of resourceful, experienced, and able members. During the next meeting we are initiating a special election and will seek to nominate someone to take on Art’s former post.

We encourage you to give serious consideration to this need and think about someone to recommend for filling this post. Perhaps you will self-nominate or influence someone to step forward.

On a positive note let me welcome Chris Stratman as one of our newest members and look forward to sharing our place in the community with him. In addition, we also welcome Bill Thompson who has just rendered his application for an associate membership.

Will Rogers 1879-1935 once said: 

Even if you are the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there. 

Dick Gonzalez
Seattle USSVI Base Commander