May 2019 Meeting Notes

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

Western District 4 Commander Jim DeMott at the May meeting

Old and New Business
Cabela’s Event – We are finalizing plans to have the base float at Tulalip Cabela’s store over Memorial Day weekend (May 25 – 27). We will want to have volunteers to man the table and talk with people. There will be in-store discounts for veterans. Be sure to watch the blog for updates.

Smokey Point – Seattle Base members will be manning the coffee booth at the Smokey Point rest stop. This year we will be at the south-bound Smokey Point rest stop on July 12 – 15. Steve had the sign-up sheets at the May meeting and will have it at June meeting. We hope you’ll sign-up to help out with this important fund-raising event.

Base Float Refit - We are looking at putting together a working party to get the base float into shape before our upcoming events and parades. The float needs cleaning, repainting, and some electrical work. We are looking for volunteers to help. Please contact Base Commander Ric for more information.

Independence Day Parade – We will be participating in the Kirkland Independence Day parade on Thursday July 4. The parade Grand Marshall will be Seattle Base member and World War II veteran Ralph Sterley.

Kaps for Kids – After some discussion, we decided that volunteers from the Seattle Base can participate in the Kaps for Kids program with support from USSVI National. Kerry R. has been in touch with Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital in Tacoma and has the guidelines for visits. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact Kerry or one of the Base officers for more information.

Kerry talks about Kaps for Kids

WD4 Commander Visit – Jim DeMott, Western District 4 Commander, stopped off to give an update on the region and remind us about upcoming events. He put a plug in for the USSVI National Convention and also wanted to remind about WD4 elections.

May Program
The May program was a presentation by Dave S. on the Royal Navy’s K class steam-powered submarines. Dave talked about the advancements in technology during the early 1900’s that led designers to propose a steam-powered submarine. He covered ideas for how the submarines would be used and the basic design. He also talked about real operations, the flaws with the design, and early problems for the submarines. Dave also talked about the main operation that was supposed to show how the subs could operate with the fleet and how it ended in disaster.

It was an interesting talk about a submarine design that was ahead of its time.

Good of the Order
- Several Seattle Base members attended the memorial service for Fred Ensslin on Monday at Tahoma National Cemetery. Because a lot of these services are somewhat generic, we are looking at something we can have read for submariners at these ceremonies.

The flag folding at Fred Ensslin's memorial service

- Sr. Vice Commander Larry let us know that he will be helping out with some Eagle Scout programs with the Boy Scouts.

- Jim Harper let us know that Jay Davis’ daughter sent in a donation to Seattle Base

- The Memorial Day service at Tahoma National Cemetery is planned for Monday, May 27 at 1:00 PM.