May 2016 Meeting Notes

We began the May meeting with Tolling the Boats lost in May, followed by a remembrance of Horton Smith. The we sent birthday wishes for our members, introduced everyone, and heard the officer reports.

Old and New Business Base 
Bangor Tour - The visit to the Bangor Submarine Base has be rescheduled due to a scheduling issue with the Navy. The trip is now set for Thursday, June 30 2016. All the other information remains the same. If you are interested in going on the trip, contact Dick Gonzalez and check back here on the Seattle Base blog for updated information.

Membership Committee Update - Chairmen Kerry Ryan gave an update on his ideas for improving membership recruiting. His ideas include: providing event cards that members can hand out to prospective members and contacting local area weekly newspapers to do short pieces on USSVI and to interview members. Suggestions were made to contact local public radio stations for interviews and to piggy-back on the events at Bangor Submarine Base with Bremerton USSVI Base. Kerry is interested in hearing other suggestions too. So if you have ideas for improving member recruiting and retention, please contact Kerry.

Smokey Point Event Reminder - Steve Shelton reminded us that the Smokey Point Rest Stop Event is planned for July 22-25 (Friday 2 PM until Monday 1:30 PM). He asked everyone to check their availability and said he would have sign-up sheets soon.

May Program
The program for May was by local maritime author Dick Blumenthal. He started off with a short description of his background and interests. He then took questions from the group on Puget Sound maritime names and their origins. After answering a number of questions, Dick gave a short overview of the exploring expeditions in the Puget Sound area. He covered the Spanish, British, and American explorations into the region and how they mapped and named the region. He also including some information on traders in the area and interaction between the expeditions and local tribes. Dick then fielded more questions from the group. It was an interesting look at the maritime history of the area, along with how some of the places in Puget Sound got their names. 

Base Commander Al Smith thanks Dick Blumenthal for the presentation. You can see an early map of Puget Sound on the wall behind them.

Good of the Order 
The Tahoma National Cemetery will be having their Memorial Day Ceremony at 1:00 PM on Monday, May 30.

The Seattle Base float will be at the Cruzin to Colby event near Hewitt and Wetmore Streets in Everett on Monday, May 30.

The B-Girls (Barbel, Bonefish, and Blueback) Reunion is tentatively planned for May 10 – 14, 2017 in Mobile Alabama at the Holiday Inn Downtown in the historic district.

Binnacle List: Ric Hedman is recovering from bypass surgery