February 2015 Commander's Corner

Greetings,

Looking at the 2015 calendar it’s no surprise we have a full agenda in store and are ready to go, we hope you will join us for a great year.

The planned activities include fund raising, parades, Smoky Point Rest Stop event, the Tolling ceremony, annual Christmas lunch, and other events too numerous to mention. Typically they require a good deal of coordination and hard work, we are grateful to the shipmates who help make it happen.

Several of these events have imbedded costs that add up. To be candid, the rolling balance in our Base account, currently at around $3000, is on a negative curve. Specifically, the treasury has been a in a slow decline, averaging a reduction of about $612 per year or about $50 per month. Over time this is not sustainable and is the “Elephant in the Room” for our organization. For the record, we do have a special account of $5000 set aside as a rainy day fund but at best it generates a very modest return.

We raised this issue during our January meeting, but until Jim Harper actually crunched the numbers we were not fully aware of the situation.

Bottom line; perhaps we need to make some hard choices by collectively strategizing how to increase the Base account balance.

Unfortunately, and as a last resort, we might be required to reduce commitments to a few worthy causes. However, the board and Base officers shouldn’t make arbitrary decisions on these vital issues. We need all hands on deck to offer some suggestions and direction to solving this short-term issue. Please feel free to contact me, John Roberts, or Pat Householder with your suggestions. We intend to revisit this problem at the next meeting.

On a more positive note, I would like to offer our gratitude to Jim Lindley for an engaging account of World War I at our January meeting. It was very much appreciated; Jim is always welcome to return.

The guest speaker at our February meeting will be Mr. Jeffery Honeycutt, the Director of the Puget Sound Healthcare System – Volunteer Services. Jeff will be providing some insight to the vast workings of the VA system and some of the remarkable services it affords millions of veterans like you. You may find you are entitled to some benefits you may not be aware of. Be sure to invite any of your friends that are veterans too, so they can learn about their potential benefits.

Come and join us at the next meeting on February 18, we need to see you.

Dick Gonzalez
Seattle Base USSVI Commander