Stan Sato's 2014 Annual Carpenter Review is Now Available
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Monday, December 29, 2014
Stan Sato's 2014 Annual Carpenter Review is Now Available
Tuesday, December 23, 2014
Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays
Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays to our proud crew, supporters, and donors. As we reflect on the previous year, we are thankful for the dedication and perseverance of the many people that have brought the dream of the Battleship IOWA alive. We remember the sacrifices of our troops that continue to provide us the freedom we enjoy daily and our veterans that continue to deal with a lifetime of memories from their service. With the assistance of our partners, we will continue to focus the future of the LA Waterfront and the long-term viability of our great museum. In closing, please keep our friends & families that are dealing with life challenges in your thoughts during this holiday season.
Saturday, December 20, 2014
Happy Holidays, Camp Battleship, Annual Contributions, and Thank You!
Happy Holidays to all of our crew, donors, and supporters! We have a lot to be thankful in 2014, especially another year at the Battleship IOWA under our belt. We have been open in Los Angeles about two and a half years at this point and have overcome many challenges. We will continue to focus on being a positive contribution to our local community, a hub for veterans activities, and a family education museum destination.
Recently, the Port of Los Angeles committed to spending $50 million on the Ports O' Call infrastructure and began the process to allocate an annual amount towards Waterfront development. This is a positive step forward as we feel it is necessary to establish a destination at the LA Waterfront to provide the Battleship IOWA a stable foundation to grow on. We appreciate their positive step forward in establishing a world class destination.
The Broadside team recently sent out the October / November newsletter for our crew. I only receive a small cross section of activities that occur on the ship daily and after reading the Broadside, I have an enormous appreciation for the entire crew. The amount of effort and dedication that the crew continues to exhibit is absolutely incredible. A special thank you to the Broadside team for contributing the numerous hours necessary to publish valuable information. If you are not currently a crew member, please sign up at http://www.pacificbattleship.com/page/volunteer.
I was blessed to be able to join our crew in the Wardroom this past week for our holiday luncheon. Our volunteer team assembled a great spread and numerous crew members chipped in to make the event a great success. A special thank you to Sue Schmidt for always taking the lead on these events. It is a difficult job and she always takes it on with passion and commitment. I would also like to thank Chris Nelson for always taking on tasks that need to be accomplished regardless of what department it is in. I peaked in the galley during the crew event and Chris was busy preparing additional dishes while everyone else was eating. His commitment as a 7 day per week volunteer is commendable.
2015 will be another great year at the Battleship IOWA. We will be focused on museum & tour development, education programs, and rotating to maintenance. As we speak, our Board of Directors is working on strategies and opportunities to raise the capital necessary for both accessibility, safety, and critical maintenance items. The management team has began to rotate from the 2014 goals into our next major projects including the USS Iowa Veterans Exhibit, second deck expansion, missile deck interpretation, kids engagement, education programming, and a long-term maintenance plan.
In 2013 & 2014, we had numerous donors including ARUP, Engineering Contractors Association, Laborers Union, and Shultz Steel that helped in installing approximately $500k to $750k in water, sewer, and fire water infrastructure. We are forever appreciative to these great entities for helping our museum continue progress forward. Of course, the ship maintenance and infrastructure would not be possible without our great Operations team. Thank you to them for their hard work.
We have one more major piece of infrastructure to get installed - shore power. We have been negotiating with the Port of Los Angeles for over a year to come up with a new lease that will cover the power infrastructure. We are hoping that these negotiations will finalize with a mutual agreement within the next month. We have a critical AQMD date to achieve of March 31, 2015 and we continue to strive to reach this date.
Our first Camp Battleship evening occurred on December 13th. The initial feedback we have received is very positive. The Camp Battleship team gave the kids a great evening that was fun filled and I heard the food was excellent. The tour guides were excellent in engaging the kids and making it a great time. Our tour team is the main reason we continue to rate high on review sites!
We have received a lot of interest in the Camp Battleship program for 2015, with dates booking fast. If you have friends or family interested in the program, please refer them to our website at http://www.pacificbattleship.com. This program would not be possible without our dedicated donors led by the Crail-Johnson Foundation. For more information on the program, please go to http://www.pacificbattleship.com/page/campbattleship.
We have continued our focus on fundraising and board development over the recent months. We have a few new board and trustee members that bring the organization a depth of experience. We welcome our newest board member Dan Kehl to the organization. Dan is a recognized leader in the State of Iowa and has been a major contributor to our organization since the award of the ship. He will assist in the growth and fundraising with the organization. Our new trustee board members are Bruce MacCrae, Donne Moen, Scott Palmer, and Wayne Ratkovich. All of these gentlemen are local leaders in their respective fields and are committed to the organization and future development. We continue to setup meetings with potential board members and donors to extend our network. 2015 will be a strong year in fundraising development.
It is the time of the year when many of us think of our annual contributions. We encourage you to consider the Pacific Battleship Center as part of your family giving program. Numerous donors participate in our different programs, but a special thank you to Heyday Fitness and the Whitney Young Children's Foundation for their recent contributions. Please visit http://www.pacificbattleship.com/page/donate to participate.
As part of our long term fundraising strategy, we have recently implemented Salesforce. Our IT team has been focused on this implementation for the past 12 months and this is great progress in having a stronger data management system. We appreciate our crew, donors, and supporters for being patient during our data stabilization period. It has been a challenge, but we are much closer to having a well refined management system.
2015 will be a fun year for events including Music Under the Guns, Movies Under the Guns, American Holiday Festivals, and partnerships with regional non-profits to further strengthen our relationship with the community. Make sure you sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date and follow us on our Facebook for frequent information.
Our sales & marketing team has been expanded with volunteers that are dedicated to supporting us. This is the first time since we started that I feel we have a focused diverse team that take on our core markets of veterans and families. I am excited with what we are seeing from this core group of people and we all look forward to a successful New Year.
In closing, our board of directors and management team wish you and your family a Happy Holidays. This is the season to enjoy time with your family and reflect on the many things we are grateful for. Please keep our troops, their families, and those struggling in our thoughts and prayers during this season. Thank you again for being a loyal supporter!
 |
| LA Waterfront with Battleship IOWA in the background. |
The Broadside team recently sent out the October / November newsletter for our crew. I only receive a small cross section of activities that occur on the ship daily and after reading the Broadside, I have an enormous appreciation for the entire crew. The amount of effort and dedication that the crew continues to exhibit is absolutely incredible. A special thank you to the Broadside team for contributing the numerous hours necessary to publish valuable information. If you are not currently a crew member, please sign up at http://www.pacificbattleship.com/page/volunteer.
I was blessed to be able to join our crew in the Wardroom this past week for our holiday luncheon. Our volunteer team assembled a great spread and numerous crew members chipped in to make the event a great success. A special thank you to Sue Schmidt for always taking the lead on these events. It is a difficult job and she always takes it on with passion and commitment. I would also like to thank Chris Nelson for always taking on tasks that need to be accomplished regardless of what department it is in. I peaked in the galley during the crew event and Chris was busy preparing additional dishes while everyone else was eating. His commitment as a 7 day per week volunteer is commendable.
 |
| A fun letter we received from a recent 5th grader. |
In 2013 & 2014, we had numerous donors including ARUP, Engineering Contractors Association, Laborers Union, and Shultz Steel that helped in installing approximately $500k to $750k in water, sewer, and fire water infrastructure. We are forever appreciative to these great entities for helping our museum continue progress forward. Of course, the ship maintenance and infrastructure would not be possible without our great Operations team. Thank you to them for their hard work.
We have one more major piece of infrastructure to get installed - shore power. We have been negotiating with the Port of Los Angeles for over a year to come up with a new lease that will cover the power infrastructure. We are hoping that these negotiations will finalize with a mutual agreement within the next month. We have a critical AQMD date to achieve of March 31, 2015 and we continue to strive to reach this date.
 |
| Camp Battleship is now open! |
We have received a lot of interest in the Camp Battleship program for 2015, with dates booking fast. If you have friends or family interested in the program, please refer them to our website at http://www.pacificbattleship.com. This program would not be possible without our dedicated donors led by the Crail-Johnson Foundation. For more information on the program, please go to http://www.pacificbattleship.com/page/campbattleship.
We have continued our focus on fundraising and board development over the recent months. We have a few new board and trustee members that bring the organization a depth of experience. We welcome our newest board member Dan Kehl to the organization. Dan is a recognized leader in the State of Iowa and has been a major contributor to our organization since the award of the ship. He will assist in the growth and fundraising with the organization. Our new trustee board members are Bruce MacCrae, Donne Moen, Scott Palmer, and Wayne Ratkovich. All of these gentlemen are local leaders in their respective fields and are committed to the organization and future development. We continue to setup meetings with potential board members and donors to extend our network. 2015 will be a strong year in fundraising development.
It is the time of the year when many of us think of our annual contributions. We encourage you to consider the Pacific Battleship Center as part of your family giving program. Numerous donors participate in our different programs, but a special thank you to Heyday Fitness and the Whitney Young Children's Foundation for their recent contributions. Please visit http://www.pacificbattleship.com/page/donate to participate.
As part of our long term fundraising strategy, we have recently implemented Salesforce. Our IT team has been focused on this implementation for the past 12 months and this is great progress in having a stronger data management system. We appreciate our crew, donors, and supporters for being patient during our data stabilization period. It has been a challenge, but we are much closer to having a well refined management system.
 |
| "Movies Under the Guns" showing of the Grinch. |
Our sales & marketing team has been expanded with volunteers that are dedicated to supporting us. This is the first time since we started that I feel we have a focused diverse team that take on our core markets of veterans and families. I am excited with what we are seeing from this core group of people and we all look forward to a successful New Year.
In closing, our board of directors and management team wish you and your family a Happy Holidays. This is the season to enjoy time with your family and reflect on the many things we are grateful for. Please keep our troops, their families, and those struggling in our thoughts and prayers during this season. Thank you again for being a loyal supporter!
 |
| Family fun playing Victory the Dog. 2015 will expand on Victory with a STEAM introduction field trip program. |
Saturday, December 13, 2014
Statement on the Port of Los Angeles ~ LA Waterfront Infrastructure Policy
We greatly appreciate the effort that the Port of Los Angeles has put into assembling an official policy for the funding of LA Waterfront infrastructure improvements. We also thank the Port of Los Angeles for opening the conversation in establishing the LA Waterfront as a destination and we’re confident the end result will be a positive step forward. There are challenges that lay ahead of the LA Waterfront that require, in our opinion, the focus of the Port, City, Tourism Board, and Stakeholders to assemble a unified strategy to achieve. Currently, Battleship IOWA is a standalone destination and attraction that will continue to be challenged in growth until the waterfront is developed into a regional destination. We appreciate all of the Battleship IOWA crew & supporters unifying behind a cohesive strategy to establish the LA Waterfront as a world class destination. We look forward to providing our feedback in the development of this critical policy.
Sunday, December 7, 2014
Heads, Holiday Parade, Pearl Harbor Day, and the future
It has been about a week and a half since we last posted on our blog. In that short period, a lot happens. I want to start out by thanking everyone that gave me an outpouring of support when my young son ended up in the hospital for appendicitis. His perforated appendix was removed by a great pediatric surgeon and I am happy to say he went home this afternoon. His mother stood by his side 24 hours a day and he is doing great today! When visiting him in the hospital, I noticed all of the young kids that are struggling to get healthy again from a variety of illnesses. I ask everyone to keep these young people in your thoughts over the holidays, as they will definitely need it.
We have heads on board the ship!!! The ops team pulled long, hard hours to get us to the point that we can actually use a toilet on board. This is a major accomplishment that we are all very proud of. We kept much of the heads the same as they were in the 1980's, but upgraded systems that were out of order to eliminate leaks and make them work. As with everything on the ship, we do our best to make it an authentic experience and the heads are no different. Thank you to everyone involved over the past year to bring this to fruition.
As many of you know, we had a massive rain storm blow through the past week. As always, we find minor leaks throughout the ship that we have to fix and clean up. This rain storm was no different and our crew has been hard at work cleaning up the water and fixing the leaks.
In addition to the heads and leaks, the crew came together to install Christmas lights. The ship looks great! On Saturday, December 6th, we hosted over 400 people for the annual Holiday Light Parade event. We had Santa on board, crafts with kids by Crafted, numerous holiday decorations, and a firing of the 5" gun by the safe gun crew! A big thank you to the entire Battleship IOWA team and a special thank you to Jamie Perez, Todd Caleca, the Ops Team, the Gun Crew, Security Team, Tour Team, Kohls (for donating decorations), Georges Trees (for donating a beautiful tree), and our loyal supporters. We plan to see everyone again next year!
A great video put together by Battleship IOWA
On Sunday, December 7th, we hosted our annual Pearl Harbor Remembrance service on the bow. It was a wonderful event that featured Pearl Harbor Survivors Nelson Mitchell and Howard Bender. They participated in the ceremony with the presentation of our memorial wreath and Nelson joined us in the annual San Pedro Holiday Parade. It was a great day to honor these individuals and our other veterans present. A big thank you to Brenda for coming through with her 2 1/2 ton truck to help show off the crew in the parade.
We also received a couple of significant contributions this week. One from an anonymous donor that will go towards the materials necessary to replace our deck on the starboard aft quarterdeck. In addition to this contribution, Teak Decking Systems was kind enough to send us the required epoxy and joint material to replace portions of our deck.
As we begin our focus on youth education programs in 2015, we have already received a small amount of funding towards our programs. Our education programs will be in partnership with regional schools and include components of remotely operated vehicles, STEAM programs, and Vicky the Dog scavenger hunt. A big thank you to the Whitney Young Children's Foundation and Harbor Community Benefit Foundation for their recent grants to fund a portion of our education program in 2015.
Our plans for 2015 include a focus on electrical infrastructure, ship maintenance, tour & museum improvements, and our education programs. It will be a great year for growth as we rotate from infrastructure improvements to guest experiences. As always, our off season is difficult for us to continue our rapid pace of growth and your contributions continue to allow us to expand at the Battleship IOWA. Please consider a year end contribution to the Pacific Battleship Center to assist in providing our great programs.
Coming up this week, we will see a brief slow down from our recent fast pace. Our Board of Directors will be assembling this coming week for our quarterly meeting and high on the list is the growth of our organization, relationship building and fundraising.
In closing, I ask that our local supporters remember to vote in the special election this coming Tuesday. Part of Celebrating the American Spirit, is protecting our rights that we were granted by the US Constitution which include voting.
Thank you again for being a loyal supporter and for minute by minute updates, please visit our Facebook page!
 |
| Massive rain at the Port of Los Angeles |
As many of you know, we had a massive rain storm blow through the past week. As always, we find minor leaks throughout the ship that we have to fix and clean up. This rain storm was no different and our crew has been hard at work cleaning up the water and fixing the leaks.
 |
| Holiday up-lights on Turret 3. Photo by Ross Tipps. |
A great video put together by Battleship IOWA
Crewmember Cesar Olivera
On Sunday, December 7th, we hosted our annual Pearl Harbor Remembrance service on the bow. It was a wonderful event that featured Pearl Harbor Survivors Nelson Mitchell and Howard Bender. They participated in the ceremony with the presentation of our memorial wreath and Nelson joined us in the annual San Pedro Holiday Parade. It was a great day to honor these individuals and our other veterans present. A big thank you to Brenda for coming through with her 2 1/2 ton truck to help show off the crew in the parade.
 |
| Pearl Harbor Survivor Howard Bender with a Pearl Harbor Survivor Son and IOWA Crewmember JJ Johnston. Photo by Ross Tipps. |
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| Getting ready for the Holiday Parade. Photo by Ross Tipps. |
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| Pearl Harbor Survivors Nelson Mitchell and Howard Bender on Battleship IOWA |
We also received a couple of significant contributions this week. One from an anonymous donor that will go towards the materials necessary to replace our deck on the starboard aft quarterdeck. In addition to this contribution, Teak Decking Systems was kind enough to send us the required epoxy and joint material to replace portions of our deck.
As we begin our focus on youth education programs in 2015, we have already received a small amount of funding towards our programs. Our education programs will be in partnership with regional schools and include components of remotely operated vehicles, STEAM programs, and Vicky the Dog scavenger hunt. A big thank you to the Whitney Young Children's Foundation and Harbor Community Benefit Foundation for their recent grants to fund a portion of our education program in 2015.
 |
| Pearl Harbor Special Exhibit. Photo by Ross Tipps. |
Coming up this week, we will see a brief slow down from our recent fast pace. Our Board of Directors will be assembling this coming week for our quarterly meeting and high on the list is the growth of our organization, relationship building and fundraising.
In closing, I ask that our local supporters remember to vote in the special election this coming Tuesday. Part of Celebrating the American Spirit, is protecting our rights that we were granted by the US Constitution which include voting.
Thank you again for being a loyal supporter and for minute by minute updates, please visit our Facebook page!
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