May Meeting Notes

We started the May meeting with the reading the Tolling of the Boats for May, followed by birthday wishes for our members, introductions, and officer reports.

Old and New Business 
Base Float – Jim Harper gave us an update on the float refurbishment. The basics will be ready for the Bremerton Armed Forces parade, but there are plans to add more features to the float and trailer over the summer. Jim showed a few pictures of the work during the break.

Bremerton Armed Forces Day Parade – Seattle Base joined Bremerton Base and the Silent Service Motorcycle Club at the parade. We’ll have pictures for the blog soon.

Silent Service Motorcycle Club – Bob Opple gave us an update on the SSMC, letting us know that they have expanded to 20 chapters with members in 41 states. They are also planning on a national convention for the group in 2013. Bob also presented WWII veteran Fred Ensslin with an honorary membership in the SSMC and a jacket. Fred earned this distinction when he hitched a ride with Bob during the 2011 Independence Day parade in Kirkland.

Bob Opple presents Fred Ensslin with his SSMC jacket

Fred's wild ride during the Kirkland 4th of July Parade

Holiday Luncheon Survey Follow-up – We got a short report on the results of the Holiday Luncheon Survey. Basically about half the people that responded wanted to return to the Seattle Yacht Club and the other half suggested going somewhere else. Due to the time needed to find a new location, it looks like we will return to the Seattle Yacht Club for 2012 while researching a new location for following years.

Upcoming Events
Memorial Day – Currently, the Seattle Base is planning to have members at the Memorial Day Ceremony at Tahoma National Cemetery, which starts a 1:00 PM, and at the Cruzin to Colby Car Show in Everett.

Smokey Point Rest Stop Event - This year the Base drew July 9 and 11, a mid-week timeslot, for manning the coffee booth at the Smokey Point rest stop. We will be manning the coffee booth starting around 1:00 pm on the 9th and go until mid-day on the 11th. Once again, Steve Shelton will be heading up the effort to man the booth. He will have more information and a sign-up sheet at future meetings.

Lockwood Chapter Picnic - The Submarine Veterans of World War II Lockwood Chapter is having a picnic at VFW Post 2995 on Wednesday August 8 from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM. Everyone is invited to attend.

Tolling of the Boats – The Tolling of the Boats ceremony is set for Saturday, August 18. We have requested the Navy Band for the event, but probably won’t hear from them for a couple more months. We will be adding more information as we get closer to the event.

Navy Birthday at VFW Post - VFW Post 2995 is planning to have a dinner to celebrate the Navy's Birthday on October 13 and they have invited us to join them. We will have more information about event as it gets closer.

May Presentation 
Base COB Ralph Sterley provided a presentation on “Buying American and why we should do it.” During the presentation he talked about U.S. overseas trade and what makes a company “American.” He also provided some copies of the book “How Americans Can Buy American” to the base to sell as a bit of a fundraiser. The books will cost $15, with $5 going directly to the base.

Binnacle List 
Chris Opple, Bob Opple's wife, is still undergoing chemotherapy.

Don Ulmer is still recovering from his fall and expects to be back home shortly.

Art Thompson was unable to attend the meeting due to a gout attack.