April 2014 Meeting Reminder

Shipmates,
The next Seattle Base meeting is this coming Wednesday, April 16.

We will meet at VFW Post #2995 (4330 148th Ave N.E., Redmond WA 98052). Social hour starts at 6 PM with business meeting at 7PM.

Our guest speaker, Mr. Richard Blumenthal, will talk about the maritime history of Puget Sound. Richard is an accomplished speaker and historian whose lifelong passion is researching the early exploration and history of our inland waterways. His account of what Puget Sound looked like 150 to 200 years ago staring with early English explorers will fascinate you. Richard's first nautical experience at age five was with a homemade dingy on Lake Washington and later learned the secrets of numerous islands while cruising the regions waterways. Richards’s work includes the “Early Exploration of Inland Washington Waters” and “Maritime Place Names Inland Washington Waters."

Finally, we would like to remind you that the deadline for the 2014 USSVI National Awards Nomination process is April 30, 2014. The announcements of the Awardees and presentation of awards will happen at the Awards Banquet at the 2014 National Convention in Burlingame CA.

Almost 80% of the nominations submitted are from Base Commanders, Points of Contact, or other Base Officers, but we want to encourage all members to consider writing up a recommendations for a National Award. These awards recognize your shipmates for the voluntary work they do in support of our brotherhood, our organization and its purpose.

We all have shipmates that deserve the recognition for their hard work in support of our organization and its purpose, and it shines a favorable light on your base as well. Don’t forget your hard working associate members. They are eligible for some of these awards as well. Any USSVI member may nominate any other member (or for a Base for certain awards as stated in the Award description).

Here is a summary listing of the award categories.

• Joe Negri ‘Shipmate of the Year’ Award 
• Robert Link National Commander’s Commendation Award 
• Meritorious Award 
• Golden Anchor Award 
• Silver Anchor Award 
• Ben Bastura Historical Achievement Award 
• Base Newsletter of the Year Award (Deadline for newsletter submissions is May 15, 2014) 

Each Award has specific criteria to meet and some of the criteria have changed since last year, so please read the manual for a careful review. You can find the manual here. Please take a look at the manual and start thinking about your Shipmates who should be nominated for the various Awards. If you have any questions about the program or the individual award criteria please contact National Awards Chairman John Stanford by phone (904-749-3197) or by email: jstan131@comcast.net.