April 2017 Meeting Notes

The April meeting started with Tolling the Boats lost in April, which was followed by birthday wishes for our members and then introductions around the room. This was followed by the normal officer reports.

Old and New Business
Jay Davis Memorial Service – We had a brief recap of Jay’s memorial service. There was a good turnout of submariners at the service. The service was held at the Meydenbauer Yacht Club and while we were there the manager invited us to continue to hold our holiday luncheon there. Miri, Jay’s wife, also made it a point to invite as well. Dick Gonzalez and Jim Harper will be meeting with the manager to work out the details.

Smokey Point Rest Stop Event Information – We were reminded that we will be manning the coffee booth at the north-bound Smokey Point rest stop again. This year we drew June 19, 20, and 21 (Monday through Wednesday). As mentioned at the last meeting, we are not required to man the booth between midnight and 5 AM, which will help with scheduling. We will have more information and sign-ups as we get closer to the date. If you want to volunteer for a particular shift, contact Steve Shelton. Be sure to mark this on your calendar as a reminder.

Cabela’s Event – We are working on putting together a fund raising ‘meet and greet’ opportunity with the Seattle Base float at Cabela's Tulalip store on May 20 – 21 (Armed Forces Day weekend). We will need some volunteers to help man the area. We will let you know more as more details become available, but mark it on your calendar.

Tolling the Boats Committee Volunteers – Lois Mezek and Ralph Sterley volunteered to be on the committee for this year’s Tolling ceremony, but we need additional people to help them out. You don’t have to be the leader for the event, but we really need more people to step up and help make sure it runs smoothly. Home for the Seattle Base Float – We are still looking for a new home for the Seattle Base float. If you know of a place or have some storage ideas, please contact one of the Base officers.

USSVI Associate Members – We heard some new rules from USSVI National Associate Members. USSVI National is putting temporary stop on allowing associate members to join our organization unless the person applying is a veteran that served during the government specified war status times. USSVI recently lost its War Veteran Status because too many members (including Associate Members) did not serve during the specified times. To be considered a War Status Veteran you must have served during one of the following times: Dec 7, 1941 to Dec 31,1946; June 27, 1950 to Jan 31, 1955; Aug 5,1964 to May 7, 1975; or Aug 2, 1990 to present.

April Program:

Ric Hedman gave us information about his web site, Pig Boats.com, which covers the United States Navy submarine service from its start until Dec 31, 1940. He went through the how the website started, where he gathers the pictures from, and how he receives information and stories about the people and pictures. There are a lot of great photos and stories on the website. Ric has been manning Pig Boats for close to 20 years, so you can imagine how detailed it is. Be sure to check it out, you will be glad you did.

Binnacle List:
Seattle Base Commander Al Smith could not attend the meeting due to back issues.

Good of the Order:
Schell Harmon is in need of a ride to the meetings. He lives in the Bellevue area. If you can help him out, please give him a call or contact one of the Base officers.

PBS is showing a documentary series on the Vietnam War, some of which was recorded at VFW Post 2995. Be sure to check your local listings for dates and times.

You can find the full meeting notes here.

We hope to see you at the next meeting!

April 2017 Meeting Reminder

The next Seattle Base meeting is this coming Wednesday, April 19, 2017. We will meet at VFW Post #2995 (4330 148th Ave N.E., Redmond WA 98052). Social hour starts at 6PM with business meeting at 7PM.

Seattle base is gearing up for our summertime events, such as the Smokey Point Rest Stop event and Tolling the Boats ceremony. We hope you're looking forward to these events and are thinking about volunteering to help out with one or both events. Base events don't just run themselves, we need our members to step up and help out to make them successful.

Additionally, we are still looking for other activities for 2017. If you have an idea for a social event, activity, or program, please talk with the base officers.

Finally, a quick reminder that nominations for the 2017 National USSVI Awards are due by April 30. Please take a moment to look over the awards and consider nominating a shipmate or a Base for an award for all the good things this shipmate or Base did during 2016. You can review the manual and follow the directions to submit a nominations. Be sure to check out the National USSVI 2017 Awards Manual on the national website (link to manual) and submit your nominations.

We hope to see you at the meeting!