All-
It has been 3 years ago today that we held our museum commissioning. It was a memorable experience for all present, especially the many veterans present.
The past 3 years have been exhilarating, challenging, eventful, enjoyable, and exciting. It has been a blessing for all of us to know each other on board IOWA. It has been a privilege to get to know each of you and I have the utmost respect for your dedication and contributions.
While we all have challenges (including myself), at the end of the day you are the best crew to be associated with. I couldn't ask for anything or anybody different.
The 4th year will be just as exciting! Thank you for being a part of the journey and the future!
Have a fun and safe 4th!
Sunday, July 5, 2015
Sunday, June 28, 2015
Three (3) Years of Battleship IOWA Museum in Los Angeles!
Crew, Supporters, and Friends:
Our adventure continues over the recent few weeks. I commend all of you for your continued hard work and support. As we look at July 4th, we must pat ourselves on the back for a job well done over the past 3 years. Can you believe it has only been 3 years?
We have had major accomplishments and it can be attributed to the great support and hard work that our entire team provides. The continued focus on the goals is astonishing and with the vast majority of the crew being volunteers, I commend you all for an amazing job well done.
Over the past few weeks the organization has continued its growth and strengthened its focus on guest experience. We have hosted a couple of important meetings which include the trustee / board get together, the board meeting, and the quarterly crew meeting. These meetings were all very positive in nature and have strengthened our ability as a crew to accomplish whatever we put our mind to.
Highlights include:
• Volunteer of the Quarter – Congratulations to Chris Nelson for receiving the volunteer of the
quarter award. Chris is always willing and able to do anything the ship needs or requires.
• Attendance – Attendance is up 26.5% year over year thru May. Great work to everyone that has helped spread word of the IOWA. It is with your continued support, that we are able to provide such a great experience to our guests.
• Revenue – Revenue is up. For the crew – I encourage you to attend the quarterly crew meetings for details.
• Fundraising – General fundraising is down year over year, but we are rapidly picking up pace. We have a few crew members assisting with development and we have submitted numerous grant requests over the past couple of months. We have also retained a fundraising consultant (thanks to a large contribution by Kehl Family Foundation) to help us build a strong foundation forward. Also starting in July, we are doing a direct mail campaign to generate contributions across the country. This program is at no up-front cost to our organization.
• Special Events – As many of you have noticed, our special events program has been extremely busy. Thank you to all crew members and supporters for their assistance and attendance at these great events. A special thank you, to all teams for working the long hours planning, setting up, breaking down, and providing a fun and secure time for our guests.
• Filming- We have had a few filming’s over the past month. A big filming was American Ninja Warrior. Please plan to watch this on July 6th and see our ship as an excellent backdrop.
• Membership – David Canfield has been hard at work programming Salesforce to be our primary member management system. I apologize to all of our crew and supporters that may have seen a lag (or lack) or member servicing. This is primarily due to a lack of efficient management system. We will see Salesforce doing its magic during July, with Tanya generating renewal notices over the next couple of months. Thank you for your continue patience and support.
• Operations – The OPS team has been hard at work painting, restoring, preserving and highlighting the ship. A big thank you to the OPS team for continually working on solving our head issue on board. Please reinforce all visitors and crew members to ONLY flush toilet paper down the toilets. Please no shirts, under garments, diapers, footballs, or anything else that may clog the system.
• Accounting – The finance team is hard at work finalizing our annual audit, which is due at the end of June. Thank you to this team for focusing on keeping us heading forward on finances.
• Education – Day of Discovery continues into the summer and I think we are close to expanding on this program in the future. Josh Stutz and his team of guides have provided an excellent experience to all of the kids that have visited. Keep up the great work!
• Museum - The IOWA Veterans Association exhibit is accelerating quickly, with a timeline of August for opening and completion (just in time for the Veterans reunion.) I commend Mike Getscher, Linda Ayers, Dave Way, and the rest of the team for their dedication and focus in achieving the objective.
In closing, I provide you with a statement that we use in many of our funding requests to help define who we are. Thank you again for your support, hard work, and continue assistance.
~JW
"The mission of the PBC is to celebrate the American spirit through the preservation and interpretation of the Battleship IOWA, to educate the public on the accomplishments and sacrifices of American patriots, and to engage our guests in unique and exciting ways that bring the ship to life by connecting the past with the future.
The goal of celebrating the American Spirit is fulfilled through providing educational programs for school children; tours that teach the public on the activities necessary at sea; public events that commemorate significant American dates; and, a community platform for engagement with and for veterans and community members. Our public outreach activities are dynamic and include learning opportunities through our website and social media, as well as participation in community activities. Today, our social media presence exceeds all museums in Los Angeles and includes over 310,000 loyal Facebook followers. The Pacific Battleship Center’s annual budget is $4,101,250 and currently doesn’t operate at a deficit."
Our adventure continues over the recent few weeks. I commend all of you for your continued hard work and support. As we look at July 4th, we must pat ourselves on the back for a job well done over the past 3 years. Can you believe it has only been 3 years?
 |
| Photo Credit: Johnny Wu |
Over the past few weeks the organization has continued its growth and strengthened its focus on guest experience. We have hosted a couple of important meetings which include the trustee / board get together, the board meeting, and the quarterly crew meeting. These meetings were all very positive in nature and have strengthened our ability as a crew to accomplish whatever we put our mind to.
Highlights include:
 |
| Photo Credit: Johnny Wu |
quarter award. Chris is always willing and able to do anything the ship needs or requires.
• Attendance – Attendance is up 26.5% year over year thru May. Great work to everyone that has helped spread word of the IOWA. It is with your continued support, that we are able to provide such a great experience to our guests.
• Revenue – Revenue is up. For the crew – I encourage you to attend the quarterly crew meetings for details.
• Fundraising – General fundraising is down year over year, but we are rapidly picking up pace. We have a few crew members assisting with development and we have submitted numerous grant requests over the past couple of months. We have also retained a fundraising consultant (thanks to a large contribution by Kehl Family Foundation) to help us build a strong foundation forward. Also starting in July, we are doing a direct mail campaign to generate contributions across the country. This program is at no up-front cost to our organization.
• Special Events – As many of you have noticed, our special events program has been extremely busy. Thank you to all crew members and supporters for their assistance and attendance at these great events. A special thank you, to all teams for working the long hours planning, setting up, breaking down, and providing a fun and secure time for our guests.
• Filming- We have had a few filming’s over the past month. A big filming was American Ninja Warrior. Please plan to watch this on July 6th and see our ship as an excellent backdrop.
• Membership – David Canfield has been hard at work programming Salesforce to be our primary member management system. I apologize to all of our crew and supporters that may have seen a lag (or lack) or member servicing. This is primarily due to a lack of efficient management system. We will see Salesforce doing its magic during July, with Tanya generating renewal notices over the next couple of months. Thank you for your continue patience and support.
• Operations – The OPS team has been hard at work painting, restoring, preserving and highlighting the ship. A big thank you to the OPS team for continually working on solving our head issue on board. Please reinforce all visitors and crew members to ONLY flush toilet paper down the toilets. Please no shirts, under garments, diapers, footballs, or anything else that may clog the system.
• Accounting – The finance team is hard at work finalizing our annual audit, which is due at the end of June. Thank you to this team for focusing on keeping us heading forward on finances.
• Education – Day of Discovery continues into the summer and I think we are close to expanding on this program in the future. Josh Stutz and his team of guides have provided an excellent experience to all of the kids that have visited. Keep up the great work!
• Museum - The IOWA Veterans Association exhibit is accelerating quickly, with a timeline of August for opening and completion (just in time for the Veterans reunion.) I commend Mike Getscher, Linda Ayers, Dave Way, and the rest of the team for their dedication and focus in achieving the objective.
In closing, I provide you with a statement that we use in many of our funding requests to help define who we are. Thank you again for your support, hard work, and continue assistance.
~JW
"The mission of the PBC is to celebrate the American spirit through the preservation and interpretation of the Battleship IOWA, to educate the public on the accomplishments and sacrifices of American patriots, and to engage our guests in unique and exciting ways that bring the ship to life by connecting the past with the future.
 |
| Photo Credits: Angelo Salarpi |
The goal of celebrating the American Spirit is fulfilled through providing educational programs for school children; tours that teach the public on the activities necessary at sea; public events that commemorate significant American dates; and, a community platform for engagement with and for veterans and community members. Our public outreach activities are dynamic and include learning opportunities through our website and social media, as well as participation in community activities. Today, our social media presence exceeds all museums in Los Angeles and includes over 310,000 loyal Facebook followers. The Pacific Battleship Center’s annual budget is $4,101,250 and currently doesn’t operate at a deficit."
Friday, May 29, 2015
Lots of events and hours at the IOWA!
Supporters and Crew:
It has been a busy couple of weeks at the Battleship IOWA, as I am certain many of you are aware. Our crewmembers had been hard at work in strengthening our role as a community platform.
Through our efforts, today Battleship IOWA has become a focal point for public education, civic engagement, and veteran outreach. We are proud to host numerous public, family, and charitable events over the past couple of weeks including the Navy Seal Special Warfare Family Foundation fundraiser, Music Under the Guns concert, Movie Under the Guns showing, Memorial Day, and Casino Night festivals. All of these events reach out to the community in various ways to help raise awareness for veterans and local causes.
We also hosted our largest Memorial Day event thus far. A special thank you, to the entire crew, and KRLA870 for a job well done in the planning and execution of this major event! We had a festival atmosphere on the pier and held the ceremony on the ship. We honored the service of our veterans and the fallen with this event and we look forward to making it greater in the future.
May’s Movie Under the Guns, featured Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. We had over 350 in attendance for this free community night. Often, we get stories of how families that can’t usually afford to go the movies have an opportunity to go to the movies on our ship. These showings on the fantail help to create special memories. We are proud of our ability to serve our community with events such as these.
The operations team has been busy with line adjustment, painting, event setup, and numerous other activities. As always, they are focused and busy on the job at hand. We are always looking for more volunteers and donors for the maintenance of the ship. Consider assisting or volunteering if you have the time. We will help train you!
A shout out to the security team for a job well done on Memorial Day! They did an excellent job with crowd flow, as well as identifying a potential risk. It was a definitely a proud moment for the board members present and myself to see the job you performed.
The tour team must be exhausted with all of the busy school tours and days we have had lately. Thank you all for taking care of the Day of Discovery and maintaining your patience during the recent events and rope movements. You have done a commendable job!
On the Sales and Marketing side, Group Sales has been hard at work with last minute school bookings and tour operator follow-ups. I will guess that Craig Post could use some assistance for any crewmembers looking to get into sales. The dynamic duo of Todd Caleca and VJ (when not busy producing all of the events above) are hard at work selling space for private event rentals. We are having a great year thus far in Special Events and I look forward to the growth in this department.
The Education department led by Josh Stutz has been putting in some hours! He has been focused on the Day of Discovery program during the week and Camp Battleship on the weekend. Day of Discovery is becoming a popular program and we all know about the Camp Battleship program. One of our goals is to expand Day of Discovery and this will require searching for grant opportunities that would be interested. More on this topic soon!
Coming up in the near future, we will introduce a few new exhibits including the Iowa Veterans Association exhibit and the Stick-Art panels. We will welcome home the Iowa veterans in August during their annual reunion and we will also see visits by Third Fleet US Navy ships, which are arranged by the LA Navy Days.
Personally, my June work plan includes our upcoming Board of Directors and Trustees meetings. I am also working on some cooperative marketing with our LA Waterfront partners. June will have a large focus on Membership and Fundraising, with a particular focus on streamlining membership programs and renewals.
Until the next post, thank you for all that you do and have a wonderful start to summer 2015!
It has been a busy couple of weeks at the Battleship IOWA, as I am certain many of you are aware. Our crewmembers had been hard at work in strengthening our role as a community platform.
Through our efforts, today Battleship IOWA has become a focal point for public education, civic engagement, and veteran outreach. We are proud to host numerous public, family, and charitable events over the past couple of weeks including the Navy Seal Special Warfare Family Foundation fundraiser, Music Under the Guns concert, Movie Under the Guns showing, Memorial Day, and Casino Night festivals. All of these events reach out to the community in various ways to help raise awareness for veterans and local causes.
A special highlight was the Seal-NSW Family Foundation fundraiser. You can see pictures and video on our Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/pacificbattleship). The IOWA played a central role in the event with fireworks, a mock airplane attack, and the firing of turret 1. We also had celebrities Gene Simmons, Sarah Palin, and Jim Brown on board for the event. It was exciting and I hear the Seal-NSW Family Foundation raised some much needed funding to support the families of our American warriors.
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| Photo Credit: Johnny Wu |
May’s Movie Under the Guns, featured Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. We had over 350 in attendance for this free community night. Often, we get stories of how families that can’t usually afford to go the movies have an opportunity to go to the movies on our ship. These showings on the fantail help to create special memories. We are proud of our ability to serve our community with events such as these.
 |
| Photo Credit: Ross H. Tipps |
A shout out to the security team for a job well done on Memorial Day! They did an excellent job with crowd flow, as well as identifying a potential risk. It was a definitely a proud moment for the board members present and myself to see the job you performed.
The tour team must be exhausted with all of the busy school tours and days we have had lately. Thank you all for taking care of the Day of Discovery and maintaining your patience during the recent events and rope movements. You have done a commendable job!
On the Sales and Marketing side, Group Sales has been hard at work with last minute school bookings and tour operator follow-ups. I will guess that Craig Post could use some assistance for any crewmembers looking to get into sales. The dynamic duo of Todd Caleca and VJ (when not busy producing all of the events above) are hard at work selling space for private event rentals. We are having a great year thus far in Special Events and I look forward to the growth in this department.
The Education department led by Josh Stutz has been putting in some hours! He has been focused on the Day of Discovery program during the week and Camp Battleship on the weekend. Day of Discovery is becoming a popular program and we all know about the Camp Battleship program. One of our goals is to expand Day of Discovery and this will require searching for grant opportunities that would be interested. More on this topic soon!
Coming up in the near future, we will introduce a few new exhibits including the Iowa Veterans Association exhibit and the Stick-Art panels. We will welcome home the Iowa veterans in August during their annual reunion and we will also see visits by Third Fleet US Navy ships, which are arranged by the LA Navy Days.
Personally, my June work plan includes our upcoming Board of Directors and Trustees meetings. I am also working on some cooperative marketing with our LA Waterfront partners. June will have a large focus on Membership and Fundraising, with a particular focus on streamlining membership programs and renewals.
Until the next post, thank you for all that you do and have a wonderful start to summer 2015!
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| Photo Credit: Jim Gauderman Sr. |
Monday, May 11, 2015
Surge, pilings, patience, and community
Greetings!
For those that have been onboard the past couple of weeks, you may have experienced the craziness of the tidal surge, new pilings, and constant tour changes. Thank you for your patience!
The Port of Los Angeles did an incredible job with the installation of the pilings. This will help tremendously in providing us a secure mooring location. The operations team was hard at work on the necessary repairs to the gangway and adjusting mooring lines following the intense surge this past Monday. This was above and beyond their normal duties. Good job team!
Due to the pile driving and gangway repairs, the tour team and our guests were flexible in the rerouting of the normal tour route. There were almost daily changes on the tour route, but it was performed quite well. This coupled with hundreds of school kids showed the flexibility of the crew, especially the tour team. We appreciate the patience and dedication of all crew involved.
On Friday we played host to the French Legion ceremony in honor of the Victory in Europe during WWII. This was a well-attended ceremony and received positive nationwide media coverage. This is another great example of how we can provide a community platform for partner events.
Part of being a community asset includes working with our partners to help expand the reach of the LA Waterfront as a destination. This past week we hosted the second session teaching our partners on how to use Google AdWords to grow their business and reach. It was attended by approximately 10 community leaders and we are blessed to be able to help them grow their organizations.
We are in full swing planning the HNSA conference scheduled in September of 2015. Currently we are in the process of requesting submittals for presentations and are planning to include numerous experts. Included within the conference will be receptions, a boat tour, and a banquet on the IOWA. For IOWA crew interested in participating and volunteering, we will be able to provide special admission. Please stay tuned for more details. Current conference details can be found at: http://www.pacificbattleship.com/page/hnsa
On the fundraising front, we received a grant from the Confidence Foundation for our accessibility project. This grant was through an introduction from our newest board member, Arlo Sorensen. This project will allows us to provide better access to our guests with physical challenges. We still have a long way to go to raise the necessary funds, but we are moving in a positive direction.
Our current priorities for fundraising include Accessibility, Education, and Power. We have recently submitted a grant to go towards the power installation and have two additional grants due this month. Josh Stutz and Jerry Salazar (LAUSD) are hard at work preparing the necessary paperwork for grants towards the Day of Discovery. This program is very popular within the local school district and our goal is to expand it to reach additional at-risk students.
You may have noticed the number of special events we are hosting on board. The events team consisting of Todd Caleca and VJ Alcomindras are hard at work booking space onboard the ship. When they are not performing walk-throughs or preparing quotes, they are producing our internal events (which are numerous). They are always looking for volunteers that are interested in assisting with events, so please feel free to reach out to Sue or Todd to offer your assistance.
Memorial Day is coming up in a couple of weeks. I encourage everyone to join us in this special annual event. We will even have a special question & answer session with Bernie Kopell (USS Iowa Veteran and Love Boat Doctor.) It will be a special event and we look forward to your involvement.
Group sales are in the last minute push for the yearend field trip tours. As expected, we are receiving numerous calls to book student field trips. Thank you to the entire crew for your involvement and patience with the student groups.
In closing, thank you to the unsung heroes of the Battleship IOWA crew. Every department has the quiet heroes that keep the organization running. We couldn’t operate without every person’s involvement and for that- we are forever appreciative.
For those that have been onboard the past couple of weeks, you may have experienced the craziness of the tidal surge, new pilings, and constant tour changes. Thank you for your patience!
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| Credits: Ken Ken LaBruzzi |
Due to the pile driving and gangway repairs, the tour team and our guests were flexible in the rerouting of the normal tour route. There were almost daily changes on the tour route, but it was performed quite well. This coupled with hundreds of school kids showed the flexibility of the crew, especially the tour team. We appreciate the patience and dedication of all crew involved.
 |
| Credit: Ross H. Tipps |
Part of being a community asset includes working with our partners to help expand the reach of the LA Waterfront as a destination. This past week we hosted the second session teaching our partners on how to use Google AdWords to grow their business and reach. It was attended by approximately 10 community leaders and we are blessed to be able to help them grow their organizations.
We are in full swing planning the HNSA conference scheduled in September of 2015. Currently we are in the process of requesting submittals for presentations and are planning to include numerous experts. Included within the conference will be receptions, a boat tour, and a banquet on the IOWA. For IOWA crew interested in participating and volunteering, we will be able to provide special admission. Please stay tuned for more details. Current conference details can be found at: http://www.pacificbattleship.com/page/hnsa
On the fundraising front, we received a grant from the Confidence Foundation for our accessibility project. This grant was through an introduction from our newest board member, Arlo Sorensen. This project will allows us to provide better access to our guests with physical challenges. We still have a long way to go to raise the necessary funds, but we are moving in a positive direction.
Our current priorities for fundraising include Accessibility, Education, and Power. We have recently submitted a grant to go towards the power installation and have two additional grants due this month. Josh Stutz and Jerry Salazar (LAUSD) are hard at work preparing the necessary paperwork for grants towards the Day of Discovery. This program is very popular within the local school district and our goal is to expand it to reach additional at-risk students.
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| Credit: Todd James! |
Memorial Day is coming up in a couple of weeks. I encourage everyone to join us in this special annual event. We will even have a special question & answer session with Bernie Kopell (USS Iowa Veteran and Love Boat Doctor.) It will be a special event and we look forward to your involvement.
Group sales are in the last minute push for the yearend field trip tours. As expected, we are receiving numerous calls to book student field trips. Thank you to the entire crew for your involvement and patience with the student groups.
In closing, thank you to the unsung heroes of the Battleship IOWA crew. Every department has the quiet heroes that keep the organization running. We couldn’t operate without every person’s involvement and for that- we are forever appreciative.
Friday, April 24, 2015
Travel, security rocks, education is launching, and fun is in the air
I will say up front that I apologize for not posting for about a month. There have been a lot of exciting things keeping us all busy!
In opening, I ask that our supporters and crew keep those members of the IOWA family in their thoughts and prayers that are dealing with challenges, health issues, or loss. We have lost two crewmembers in the past week and it is always difficult to hear the news, but we can't even imagine what their family is going through.
Part of the reason my blog is late is due to my travels to the states of Iowa and Maryland. We had a great visit with our supporters in Iowa and a great board meeting with our fellow museum ships in Annapolis. We are hosting the HNSA conference this year from September 16 to 19th. Please consider attending!
The LAUSD Day of Discovery kicked off the past couple of weeks with great success. Our partnership with the school district is tremendous and we are exposing numerous kids to the IOWA and STEM learning. In addition to this program, they have assisted flawlessly in our partnership with ITEP to do an underwater robotics program. I commend Mike Getscher, Josh Stutz, and the entire education guide team for a job well done.
Our spring break attendance was very good this year and the Easter brunch sold out. Good job to the events team and all volunteers that helped during spring break and the Easter brunch. Your help is what made it successful.
The operations team has been busy as usual on maintenance and restoration. Notice the dress ship painting going on? How about the security shack? The deck preparation? The wood for sale? Or the Iowa Veterans Association space? Thank these team members for their humble participation.
We hosted the families of the Iowa 47 and Veterans from the USS Iowa on April 19, 2015 for the 26th anniversary of that tragic event. It was a touching memorial service and the support by the crew was emotional and embracing. Every year this service brings new meaning and helps define who we are. I personally thank the families and veterans for allowing us to play a small part in remembering their friends and loved ones.
An enormous thank you to our security team, for embracing the change to the parking policy and security shack! The security teams are the unsung heroes in making parking for all volunteers come true. Without their support and participation, we wouldn't be able to bring the parking to fruition. Please thank them when you pick up or drop off your daily parking pass. They deserve it!
We need all of your help to recruit crew members for the summer. It will be busy and exciting. Please call your friends and fellow crewmembers to encourage their participation on the Battleship.
We played host to the Navy Days LA committee this past week and we look forward to supporting the annual Navy visit in August. We hope to have as much fun as we did last year!
What are we doing on the fundraising front? We are raising funds for a few important projects. They include power and accessibility. We are also working on STEM education programming funding to expand and operate the Day of Discovery. If any of this interests you, please email us at development@labattleship.com.
What is coming on the horizon?
-The second deck expansion including the Iowa Veterans Association exhibit.
-Sticks art panel exhibit in the museum.
-Veterans Association visit in August.
-HNSA visit in September.
-Day of Discovery expansion.
I am certain there is much more that I am not aware of. Pat yourselves on the back for the dedication and hard work necessary to pull it off.
In closing, we are eternally grateful for your involvement and participation. I know that sometimes things get rough, but as a family we always pull through. Remember that we are doing an enormous task and are admired by many for our amazing job.
Be safe, have fun, and take care of each other.
Tuesday, April 21, 2015
Loss of two great Battleship IOWA Crewmembers
All-
We have lost two tremendous and dedicated crew members over the previous week. It is always difficult for us to say goodbye to people that have committed their efforts to our ship, but it is much more difficult for their families to say goodbye to a life long companion.
As a crew, we will keep their families in our prayers and thoughts as we continue our daily work to preserve the Battleship IOWA. We plan to have a memorial wall to honor our shipmates installed by the end of 2015.
We have lost two tremendous and dedicated crew members over the previous week. It is always difficult for us to say goodbye to people that have committed their efforts to our ship, but it is much more difficult for their families to say goodbye to a life long companion.
As a crew, we will keep their families in our prayers and thoughts as we continue our daily work to preserve the Battleship IOWA. We plan to have a memorial wall to honor our shipmates installed by the end of 2015.
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| Alan Lowe Ship Operations |
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| Carl Clausen Tour "American Spirit" |
Friday, March 27, 2015
Fun in the sun, a ships stroll, and Easter!
Hello crew and supporters!
Over the past couple of weeks, we have had a lot of warm weather and good attendance. We are headed into spring break with a strong momentum!
As some of you know, we have worked with the Port of Los Angeles on a parking resolution. While it is not perfect, it will still be a positive thing for us. We appreciate everyone’s patience as we roll out this program.
Part of the parking program includes a new security shack that you may see being built in the northern yard. John (a local carpenter) was kind enough to come in and help build the shack. He has done a great job and I am hoping we can recruit him to stick around as part of the wood deck crew.
Speaking of wood, Stan Sato was honored this past crew meeting as the volunteer of the quarter. This award is well deserved for Stan and we are proud to have him as our first winner. The recipient is selected by a jury of peers and I personally did not know it was him until an hour before the meeting was to start. I want to thank everyone that participated in the process and we look forward to honoring future recipients!
I have been strolling the ship these past couple of days and have had the opportunity to pop into areas that I haven’t seen in a while. The veteran’s exhibit is coming along nicely with the beautiful paint job in the space. The Bobby Scott cabin is fully decorated and ready to open soon! The wardroom movie is almost live and the wardroom itself is cleaned up! The wood decks aft are being working on with the steel being cleaned up the last week. There is a lot of excitement at the ship and the crew is hard at work to provide a great visitor experience. Thank you to all of the crew for the focus on completing these exciting projects!
Last week, I was at the HNSA board meeting where we met on numerous things including the future conference in September. We are excited to play host to our fellow ships and are looking forward to an educational and enjoyable conference. The IOWA crew is already working on creating one of our stellar events.
On Thursday, March 27th, we hosted our LA Waterfront partners for a meeting in the wardroom. This coalition has come together and created a collaboration that will help move the waterfront forward. As a member of this group, we have helped develop the waterfront passport and provided work together for future programs and products. We also heard that our neighbor LA Maritime Museum has a real neat exhibit coming up soon! It is our hope to have a small role in publicizing it.
On the fundraising front, we are working on a few key areas of interest this year. They are interactive education, accessibility, power, aviation, hull maintenance, and continued deck replacement. We have some strong early interest and we are hoping to grow our organization locally and nationally with our programs.
Memorial Day is shaping up to be an exciting event with our partners at KRLA. We will have Bernie Kopell coming to the IOWA to do a Q&A along with our Memorial Day ceremonies. This will be a fun event to put on your calendars.
Speaking of events, don’t forget to join us for Easter Brunch in April. The Easter Bunny will show up and the brunch will be invigorating. Hope to see you there.
Thank you again to all of our supporters and crew members for staying passionately involved!
Over the past couple of weeks, we have had a lot of warm weather and good attendance. We are headed into spring break with a strong momentum!
 |
| Photo Credit: Ross H. Tipps |
As some of you know, we have worked with the Port of Los Angeles on a parking resolution. While it is not perfect, it will still be a positive thing for us. We appreciate everyone’s patience as we roll out this program.
Part of the parking program includes a new security shack that you may see being built in the northern yard. John (a local carpenter) was kind enough to come in and help build the shack. He has done a great job and I am hoping we can recruit him to stick around as part of the wood deck crew.
Speaking of wood, Stan Sato was honored this past crew meeting as the volunteer of the quarter. This award is well deserved for Stan and we are proud to have him as our first winner. The recipient is selected by a jury of peers and I personally did not know it was him until an hour before the meeting was to start. I want to thank everyone that participated in the process and we look forward to honoring future recipients!
 |
| Photo Credit: Ross H. Tipps |
I have been strolling the ship these past couple of days and have had the opportunity to pop into areas that I haven’t seen in a while. The veteran’s exhibit is coming along nicely with the beautiful paint job in the space. The Bobby Scott cabin is fully decorated and ready to open soon! The wardroom movie is almost live and the wardroom itself is cleaned up! The wood decks aft are being working on with the steel being cleaned up the last week. There is a lot of excitement at the ship and the crew is hard at work to provide a great visitor experience. Thank you to all of the crew for the focus on completing these exciting projects!
Last week, I was at the HNSA board meeting where we met on numerous things including the future conference in September. We are excited to play host to our fellow ships and are looking forward to an educational and enjoyable conference. The IOWA crew is already working on creating one of our stellar events.
On Thursday, March 27th, we hosted our LA Waterfront partners for a meeting in the wardroom. This coalition has come together and created a collaboration that will help move the waterfront forward. As a member of this group, we have helped develop the waterfront passport and provided work together for future programs and products. We also heard that our neighbor LA Maritime Museum has a real neat exhibit coming up soon! It is our hope to have a small role in publicizing it.
On the fundraising front, we are working on a few key areas of interest this year. They are interactive education, accessibility, power, aviation, hull maintenance, and continued deck replacement. We have some strong early interest and we are hoping to grow our organization locally and nationally with our programs.
Memorial Day is shaping up to be an exciting event with our partners at KRLA. We will have Bernie Kopell coming to the IOWA to do a Q&A along with our Memorial Day ceremonies. This will be a fun event to put on your calendars.
 |
| Photo Credit: Ross H. Tipps |
Thank you again to all of our supporters and crew members for staying passionately involved!
Saturday, March 14, 2015
Chinese tour brochure?
This week's blog post is written as I am on a plane to the annual HNSA board meeting in Annapolis, MD. It has been a busy couple of weeks for the entire crew with tasks ranging from education to fundraising.
I will start out this blog post with a special congratulations to Tim Getscher for being appointed to the US Naval Academy. From my understanding he will be headed back to Annapolis this summer to start his career in the US Navy.
Last week, the Board of Directors met and discussed future objectives in Des Moines, IA. I personally feel that it was one of the best board meetings we have had to date. The board focused on ways to achieve our strategic objectives and help grow our organization. Mike Getscher and David Canfield knocked it out of the park with there presentations on where we are headed. Thank you to Ross and Nui for presenting the budget for approval at this board meeting. From a fundraising angle, we are focused on raising over $17 million that goes towards a variety of items including power, decks, accessibility, hull preservation, and museum. As part of the discussion, the board complemented the entire crew on the tremendous job over the past couple of years. Following this meeting, the board members present visited State of Iowa leadership to discuss these objectives. We have quickly earned a reputation of delivering on what we promise. This is one of our core values that we strive to obtain daily.We heard numerous times how proud they are of what we have accomplished.
Tobias at Vessel Design Group has developed an information booklet that provides the background and high level view of the organization. This is a great booklet that we leave with donors, donor prospects, and ambassadors.
The Victory Field Trip book has arrived and tour is preparing to participate in excellent school visits. This book has received rave reviews by educators and public officials as a field trip guide. An advance thank you to the tour crew for embracing this new program for our guests. This is a tremendous addition to our cadre of products and a large step forward in the development of our education department.
The tour map has been translated into Chinese and Spanish! They are also in the process of being printed and we will see them at the ship very soon. This is a long awaited addition to the tour and we thank everyone for their patience.
Speaking of tour additions, the ops team is always hard at work in restoring the ship to the 1980's configuration. Have you seen 03 level? Wow! Special thank you to Donna Martino, Mary Ma, Stan Sato, and others that I am certain I have missed. I personally have noticed the dress ship painting and stenciling throughout. Thank you team for restoring the ship and thank you for taking care of the daily functions that go un-noticed, but are extremely important to the organization!
Our events department is currently in transition with the recent departure of Jamie Perez. Jamie started her new job this week and we are proud of her for what she has accomplished in such a short period of time. Todd Caleca has agreed to take on the job of Special Events and Photo Manager. Todd and Jamie worked together over the past couple of months and I feel the events department is in good hands with Todd. In the next week, we will have a new hire to fill the role of Special Events Coordinator. This person will help facilitate scheduling, event setup,and critical functions to allow Todd to grow the revenue of Special Events. Todd is actively looking for folks to help setup and tear down events. Please volunteer to help, as this is a critical function to help return the ship to daily visitation.
You were able to see some Todd's handiwork, along with the dedication of the weekend crew on Sunday, March 1st. We hosted the centennial celebration of the US Navy Reserve and had a Vice Admiral, Rear Admiral, Mayor, and LAFD on board. A special thank you to the crew that helped with this event and NOSC LA for choosing us for the event. As a special not, NOSC LA included the IOWA in the newest edition of their logo.
We were recently able to come up with a parking resolution that the Port of Los Angeles and PCI agreed to. Basically, crew will be able to utilize parking at no cost through this new program. We do expect there will be a few glitches and possibly a couple of days where we run out of passes. Please stay tuned as the program is due to role out in April. A special thank you to security in advance for helping facilitate this process and thank you to the entire crew for your patience.
As a side note to parking, I encourage everyone to give a special thank you to Nui in accounting. She is the only daily staff member in accounting that works to keep us on track and has diligently renewed the top 10 volunteer cards monthly. Please thank her when you have a chance!
A reminder that CAMM is coming to San Pedro in April. The LA Maritime Museum is the host organization and we encourage you to attend if you are interested. It should be a fun time!
We will be host to the USS Tennessee reunion in June, followed by the USS Iowa reunion in August, and the HNSA conference in September. We look forward to playing host to all of this great events.
In closing, I want to thank each and every one of our crew members. I especially want to thank the volunteers that have assumed a leadership role in helping move the organization forward. Each and every one of you are the foundation of the organization and the heart of Battleship IOWA today. Your names are too numerous to list, but I will strive to thank you in person when I return to the ship.
I will start out this blog post with a special congratulations to Tim Getscher for being appointed to the US Naval Academy. From my understanding he will be headed back to Annapolis this summer to start his career in the US Navy.
 |
| Milton from Puppy Jake Foundation joining us for our meetings in Iowa. |
Tobias at Vessel Design Group has developed an information booklet that provides the background and high level view of the organization. This is a great booklet that we leave with donors, donor prospects, and ambassadors.
 |
| Inside cover of booklet prepared by Tobias at Vessel Design Group |
 |
| Chinese Tour Map Vessel Design Group |
Speaking of tour additions, the ops team is always hard at work in restoring the ship to the 1980's configuration. Have you seen 03 level? Wow! Special thank you to Donna Martino, Mary Ma, Stan Sato, and others that I am certain I have missed. I personally have noticed the dress ship painting and stenciling throughout. Thank you team for restoring the ship and thank you for taking care of the daily functions that go un-noticed, but are extremely important to the organization!
 |
| 03 Level. Picture by Stan Sato |
Our events department is currently in transition with the recent departure of Jamie Perez. Jamie started her new job this week and we are proud of her for what she has accomplished in such a short period of time. Todd Caleca has agreed to take on the job of Special Events and Photo Manager. Todd and Jamie worked together over the past couple of months and I feel the events department is in good hands with Todd. In the next week, we will have a new hire to fill the role of Special Events Coordinator. This person will help facilitate scheduling, event setup,and critical functions to allow Todd to grow the revenue of Special Events. Todd is actively looking for folks to help setup and tear down events. Please volunteer to help, as this is a critical function to help return the ship to daily visitation.
 |
| Photo by Ross Tipps |
We were recently able to come up with a parking resolution that the Port of Los Angeles and PCI agreed to. Basically, crew will be able to utilize parking at no cost through this new program. We do expect there will be a few glitches and possibly a couple of days where we run out of passes. Please stay tuned as the program is due to role out in April. A special thank you to security in advance for helping facilitate this process and thank you to the entire crew for your patience.
As a side note to parking, I encourage everyone to give a special thank you to Nui in accounting. She is the only daily staff member in accounting that works to keep us on track and has diligently renewed the top 10 volunteer cards monthly. Please thank her when you have a chance!
A reminder that CAMM is coming to San Pedro in April. The LA Maritime Museum is the host organization and we encourage you to attend if you are interested. It should be a fun time!
We will be host to the USS Tennessee reunion in June, followed by the USS Iowa reunion in August, and the HNSA conference in September. We look forward to playing host to all of this great events.
In closing, I want to thank each and every one of our crew members. I especially want to thank the volunteers that have assumed a leadership role in helping move the organization forward. Each and every one of you are the foundation of the organization and the heart of Battleship IOWA today. Your names are too numerous to list, but I will strive to thank you in person when I return to the ship.
Tuesday, March 3, 2015
Updates 3/3/2015
The past couple of weeks have been very eventful. Thank you, to all crew members that have volunteered and put in the tremendous effort required to pull together such a gargantuan effort. Our core of volunteers has been instrumental in making things happen.
We are forever grateful!
Recently we have been informed of an increase in parking rates at the Port of Los Angeles Berth 87 parking lot. We understand the frustration and inconvenience this provides for all of our volunteers. Some of the early feedback is related to Pacific Battleship Center paying parking for all volunteers. If we had the budget to do so, we would be more than thrilled to provide this to our volunteers. Unfortunately, and to be quite frank, we do not have the budget to pay for parking at this time. At the moment, our number of paid staff necessary to operate the organization is approximately 15% under the minimum requirement. Our start-up debt continues to be a large and expensive matter. The uncertainty of fuel prices and future energy issues remains to be a concern. Given circumstances, our only options out are to balance a budget. We must reduce expenses and increase revenue. We have cut expenses as much as possible and are focused on maximizing our revenue through overnight, youth programs, events, and admissions. It will take an entire summer in order to make up for our off-season to balance the annual budget. When calculating the expense of parking, we are estimating $10k to $12k per month. Still, we will continue to explore solutions and opportunities to reduce the parking burden and hope to have answers soon.
The parking was increased at the cruise terminal and Catalina Express. It is not an isolated increase to only the IOWA. The adjustment was enacted to bring the cruise terminal and Catalina Express in line with other regional airports and cruise terminals. Although it would be simple for us to feel attacked, that is simply not true. We have a very good promotion and marketing relationship with the Port of Los Angeles evidenced by the recent major press conference held on our decks announcing the end of the PMA and ILWU negotiation. In addition to this press conference, we have worked together on joint advertising, built relationships with LATCB, and continue to communicate daily on ways to create a vibrant waterfront.
As a vibrant waterfront, we plan to see an increase in attendance and revenue through the future. Recently, our attendance and revenue have been trending up and getting us closer to being in the black during the off season. Summer is our highest revenue generating season. We are seeing an uptick in group sales, events, and overnight bookings that our sales team has been focused on.
Our new youth tour program is growing, primarily due to the new Victory STEAM field trip program launching on April 1st. Events sales are up due to follow-up, heads, and word of mouth spreading. Thank the sales team when you have a chance for a job well done.
The Camp Battleship team continues to do a great job in providing a positive experience to our overnight youth visitors. Kudos to the entire overnight team for turning this into a great program!
Thank you to the entire crew for pulling off our great public events programming. The help from all departments has made these exciting, interesting, and engaging. Thank you to those crew members that go above and beyond and take on job tasks outside their normal scope of work.
This shows your commitment to a strong team. With that being said, we will be saying farewell to Jamie Perez. Jamie has been a tremendous asset in strengthening the events venue and placing the critical building blocks to carry forward. She will be missed, but she is moving on to a great career opportunity. We will see Todd Caleca stepping more into this role and we look forward to his involvement in the events department.
Coming up in March we have Music Under the Guns and Movies Under the Guns. These two series are becoming popular and help strengthen our role as a community asset. Todd Caleca and Jamie Perez have been critical in the execution of these events and we thank there focus and attention to providing great programs.
Our AQMD abatement order has been modified and extended to permit us to continue operating until March 1st, 2016. Thank you to our volunteer attorney and consultant with Mike Getscher taking the lead in keeping this situation at bay. Our power situation and lease amendment associated has once again changed. The lease amendment was modified to include requirements that we could not accept as they would expose us to a multi-million dollar liability. We are now proceeding with the design of a temporary power solution based on the original design created by the Port of Los Angeles. Our goal will be to transition onto temporary shore power within 12 months. Once we have the design, we will begin procuring donations and in-kind materials to cover the install. Thank you to the ECA for their early committment towards trenching for the project.
As you may know, ship operations are rotating into more of a maintenance type of organization. As we proceed forward, our priorities are shifting to maintain the ship to prevent future major maintenance issues. We appreciate everyone's support as we transition and thank you to our loyal crew members for maintaining the ship! With the recent reorganization, we have hired Mary Ma to be our painting guru. Mary has been a long-term volunteer and critical to the maintenance and improvement of the battleship and a welcome addition to the team.
Our education department will be introducing a new program - Victory STEAM Field Trip program - on April 1st. The guide is being printed as we speak and should be available shortly. Thank you to HCBF and the volunteer help we received in putting this together.
Recently, a few of us attended the California Association of Museums conference, which was beneficial in establishing relationships and validating our future direction. Thank you to Associated Foundations for sponsoring the fees related to the conference. While we were at the conference, a group of us were able to attend the new Battle of Midway video on the USS Midway. It is a great combination of holograms and human story that includes some of the technology and story components we have discussed. I encourage everyone to go to the MIDWAY to watch this movie.
Speaking of movies, we will be introducing a new arrival video in the wardroom. Kert VanderMuelen of Digital Park put together this great piece that introduces our guests to the ship. A big thank you to Kert for continuing to volunteer and to devote so much effort to our project. Stay tuned as I hear he is working on something else. (BTW: he is also the documentary producer of our film sold in the store.)
As the population of the tour space continues, we see major improvements throughout the ship including the painting on 03 level by Mary Ma and Linda Ayers. Stan Sato and Derek Cross pulled another genie out of the bottle with the recent locating of a dentist chair. Stan continued his amazing work as Dr. Wood on the aft quarterdeck and we thank all of the donors and volunteers that have contributed to this refurbishment project. A special thank you to the security team for taking on some of the chipping duties when the help was needed. This is teamwork!
For me personally, the next couple of weeks will be busy with trips to Des Moines, IA and Annapolis, MD. I will be working with our Board of Directors while in Des Moines on fundraising strategies, future planning, and critical meetings to the future of our organization. Following Des Moines, I will be headed to Annapolis, MD for the annual HNSA board meeting. While at the HNSA board meeting, we will be discussing the upcoming conference in San Pedro and areas critical to the future of museum ships.
We will be introducing the LA Waterfront passport program on or about April 1st. The brochures and passports have been printed (courtesy of the Port of Los Angeles) and are currently onsite. We will be working with our community partners to acquire the redemption stamps and prepare signage for the execution of the program. Thank you to the Friends of the LA Maritime Museum, Barry Herlihy, Loren Roberts, and the Port of Los Angeles for the perseverance and focus to bring this project to fruition after over a year of planning.
I personally appreciate the contributions of each and every one of you. See you on deck!
-Jonathan Williams
We are forever grateful!
 |
| (Credit: Ross Tipps) |
Recently we have been informed of an increase in parking rates at the Port of Los Angeles Berth 87 parking lot. We understand the frustration and inconvenience this provides for all of our volunteers. Some of the early feedback is related to Pacific Battleship Center paying parking for all volunteers. If we had the budget to do so, we would be more than thrilled to provide this to our volunteers. Unfortunately, and to be quite frank, we do not have the budget to pay for parking at this time. At the moment, our number of paid staff necessary to operate the organization is approximately 15% under the minimum requirement. Our start-up debt continues to be a large and expensive matter. The uncertainty of fuel prices and future energy issues remains to be a concern. Given circumstances, our only options out are to balance a budget. We must reduce expenses and increase revenue. We have cut expenses as much as possible and are focused on maximizing our revenue through overnight, youth programs, events, and admissions. It will take an entire summer in order to make up for our off-season to balance the annual budget. When calculating the expense of parking, we are estimating $10k to $12k per month. Still, we will continue to explore solutions and opportunities to reduce the parking burden and hope to have answers soon.
The parking was increased at the cruise terminal and Catalina Express. It is not an isolated increase to only the IOWA. The adjustment was enacted to bring the cruise terminal and Catalina Express in line with other regional airports and cruise terminals. Although it would be simple for us to feel attacked, that is simply not true. We have a very good promotion and marketing relationship with the Port of Los Angeles evidenced by the recent major press conference held on our decks announcing the end of the PMA and ILWU negotiation. In addition to this press conference, we have worked together on joint advertising, built relationships with LATCB, and continue to communicate daily on ways to create a vibrant waterfront.
As a vibrant waterfront, we plan to see an increase in attendance and revenue through the future. Recently, our attendance and revenue have been trending up and getting us closer to being in the black during the off season. Summer is our highest revenue generating season. We are seeing an uptick in group sales, events, and overnight bookings that our sales team has been focused on.
Our new youth tour program is growing, primarily due to the new Victory STEAM field trip program launching on April 1st. Events sales are up due to follow-up, heads, and word of mouth spreading. Thank the sales team when you have a chance for a job well done.
The Camp Battleship team continues to do a great job in providing a positive experience to our overnight youth visitors. Kudos to the entire overnight team for turning this into a great program!
Thank you to the entire crew for pulling off our great public events programming. The help from all departments has made these exciting, interesting, and engaging. Thank you to those crew members that go above and beyond and take on job tasks outside their normal scope of work.
This shows your commitment to a strong team. With that being said, we will be saying farewell to Jamie Perez. Jamie has been a tremendous asset in strengthening the events venue and placing the critical building blocks to carry forward. She will be missed, but she is moving on to a great career opportunity. We will see Todd Caleca stepping more into this role and we look forward to his involvement in the events department.
 |
| (Click for details) |
Our AQMD abatement order has been modified and extended to permit us to continue operating until March 1st, 2016. Thank you to our volunteer attorney and consultant with Mike Getscher taking the lead in keeping this situation at bay. Our power situation and lease amendment associated has once again changed. The lease amendment was modified to include requirements that we could not accept as they would expose us to a multi-million dollar liability. We are now proceeding with the design of a temporary power solution based on the original design created by the Port of Los Angeles. Our goal will be to transition onto temporary shore power within 12 months. Once we have the design, we will begin procuring donations and in-kind materials to cover the install. Thank you to the ECA for their early committment towards trenching for the project.
As you may know, ship operations are rotating into more of a maintenance type of organization. As we proceed forward, our priorities are shifting to maintain the ship to prevent future major maintenance issues. We appreciate everyone's support as we transition and thank you to our loyal crew members for maintaining the ship! With the recent reorganization, we have hired Mary Ma to be our painting guru. Mary has been a long-term volunteer and critical to the maintenance and improvement of the battleship and a welcome addition to the team.
 |
| (Click for more info on Education Program) |
Recently, a few of us attended the California Association of Museums conference, which was beneficial in establishing relationships and validating our future direction. Thank you to Associated Foundations for sponsoring the fees related to the conference. While we were at the conference, a group of us were able to attend the new Battle of Midway video on the USS Midway. It is a great combination of holograms and human story that includes some of the technology and story components we have discussed. I encourage everyone to go to the MIDWAY to watch this movie.
 |
| (Click for Documentary) |
As the population of the tour space continues, we see major improvements throughout the ship including the painting on 03 level by Mary Ma and Linda Ayers. Stan Sato and Derek Cross pulled another genie out of the bottle with the recent locating of a dentist chair. Stan continued his amazing work as Dr. Wood on the aft quarterdeck and we thank all of the donors and volunteers that have contributed to this refurbishment project. A special thank you to the security team for taking on some of the chipping duties when the help was needed. This is teamwork!
For me personally, the next couple of weeks will be busy with trips to Des Moines, IA and Annapolis, MD. I will be working with our Board of Directors while in Des Moines on fundraising strategies, future planning, and critical meetings to the future of our organization. Following Des Moines, I will be headed to Annapolis, MD for the annual HNSA board meeting. While at the HNSA board meeting, we will be discussing the upcoming conference in San Pedro and areas critical to the future of museum ships.
We will be introducing the LA Waterfront passport program on or about April 1st. The brochures and passports have been printed (courtesy of the Port of Los Angeles) and are currently onsite. We will be working with our community partners to acquire the redemption stamps and prepare signage for the execution of the program. Thank you to the Friends of the LA Maritime Museum, Barry Herlihy, Loren Roberts, and the Port of Los Angeles for the perseverance and focus to bring this project to fruition after over a year of planning.
I personally appreciate the contributions of each and every one of you. See you on deck!
-Jonathan Williams
Sunday, February 15, 2015
Tour Improvements, Education, Ship Maintenance, Preservation, and Refurbishment
Greetings to all of our crew and supporters!
As always, we have had a fun couple of weeks focused on achieving our goals for 2015. The board & crew have been focused on tour improvements, education, ship maintenance, preservation, and refurbishment.
On the tour improvement front the crew began work on an arrival video for the wardroom. Kert from Digital Park is once again putting together a phenomenal piece to introduce our guests to the ship. He has been instrumental in providing the engaging videos that many of you have seen including the documentary available in the store.
The tour team has been working on solutions for mobile signage, improved guest flow, and enhancing the existing tour. The great Linda Ayers is always busy on new signage and future exhibit planning. If you haven’t had a chance to see this month’s special exhibit in honor of Black History Month, we encourage you do so.
The Iowa Veterans Association exhibit work continues with painting occurring in the space this past week and the cabinet plan coming together. The ship operations team is hard at work bringing this area to fruition for the summer rush. This will also result in a tour expansion on second deck, which we are excited about. IT will play a critical role in the IVA with a kiosk setup to view information on previous crew members. Speaking of IT, this week David Canfield's previous cohorts at Google visited to perform street view on the IOWA. We look forward to see the new addition online in the near future!
The operations team (with help from security) began work on the aft quarterdeck deck replacement project. Led by Stan the Wood Man, the tedious tasks of scraping, chipping, and preparation began this past week. This will be a great area to see complete, especially considering our focus on fun activities for kids (such as shooting basketballs in the authentic hoop).
Stan and Derek once again came together to pick up another item for population on the tour route. They located a dental chair in Sylmar and rushed up to pick it up. It is in good shape and is from the 1980’s era. I am excited to see the acquisition of items such as this including the candy machine this past January.
Let’s not forget about our great paint team that has been trimming out the 02 level and painting the top of vents. If you haven’t had a chance to go up to the 02 level yet, you must do so. The decks that Stan worked on and the dark gray trim paint enhance the area tremendously. Look out for the custom stencils that are going up daily.
Battleship IOWA Gray Radio Gang (Jim Jerzycke, Michael Vulpillat, Art Veiga, and John Pajusich) deserve special recognition for reactivating a transmitter onboard the ship. They received some press on this activity over the past week as they continue to bring the IOWA back alive. Bravo Zulu team!
On the fundraising front, we were awarded a grant by Insperity this past week and are focused on the collateral material that will go along with our campaigns in the future. PowerPoints have been assembled with a focus on the target areas for this year which include safety, accessibility, and education. Fundraising will be essential in accomplish our objectives and the continued support we receive is tremendously helpful.
One of our crew members and loyal supporters include Captain Carl Clausen. We welcomed him back aboard with his family on February 14th to honor his service by attaching a plaque on the bridge. For those of you not familiar with Carl, he was critical in the early development of our American Spirit focus. He served in the US Navy and following retirement was a management consultant. I personally credit Carl with putting us on track in our thinking late in 2012 and I will forever be appreciative for his support. I ask that the crew keeps Carl in their prayers in the coming months as he continues to deal with health issues.
Public events are busier than ever. I credit the events team led by Jamie Perez and Todd Caleca for working around the clock to produce the numerous community programs. Earlier this month, we hosted Music Under the Guns and Movie Under the Guns. We were blessed to have Lt. Col. Robert Friend, USAF (ret.) in attendance for the showing of Tuskegee Airmen.
Coming up this week, will be the President’s Day & Birthday Celebration on Monday, February 16th. Kicking off with a ceremony and cake cutting, we will have a day full of events including a workout, dancing, the Sailor’s Bar, and other events. On Wednesday, February 18th, we will honor Yvette Chapell-Ingram with the Admiral Samuel L. Gravely, Jr. Leadership & Service Award. Please join us for our events this coming week.
We were able to arrange a special luncheon for the HMS Victory on the Queen Victoria in April for our loyal crew and supporters. Please watch your email box for the special invite, as these tickets will go fast.
Later this year we will be hosting a ceremony to honor the 70th anniversary of the end of WWII. In conjunction with Spirit of 45, we will have numerous activities and events to commemorate the greatest generation.
This coming week, a contingent of Pacific Battleship Center crew will be headed to the annual California Association of Museums conference. Thank you to Barry Herlihy and Associated Foundations for sponsoring some of the cost. This will be a valuable activity to help increase our exposure and knowledge in the museum field.
Over the past couple of months we have been working on assembling a Victory STEAM Field Trip book. The first drafts prepared by the very capable Tobias Geye of Vessel Design Group have arrived. We are looking forward to the introduction of this education program in April. Thank you to Harbor Community Benefit Fund for contributing to the development and implementation of this program.
We continue to work with LAUSD to introduce an engaging program for our local youth. This program is coming together and we look forward to hosting kids from LAUSD on board the IOWA over the next year.
On the sales front, December and January attendance was better than the same months of the previous year. This can be attributed to our focus on engaging activities for kids and the excellent stories our tour guides tell our guests on board. We have also fine-tuned our marketing and advertising to target visitors in the region with the highest interest levels. A reminder that our entire crew and supporter base are our best sales people. Please consider handing out our posters, BOGO cards, and encouraging visitors to give us 5 star reviews on TripAdvisor. This is a tremendous help!
Our sales team has been hard at work in booking special events, Camp Battleship overnight, and group sales. We have seen increases over the past month in all areas of sales, especially Camp Battleship and Special Events. We will be hosting approximately 500 kids during the month of February. Dates are booking fast, so make sure to tell your friends and family to spread the word.
Next week, I will be joining the Port of Los Angeles in presenting the LA Waterfront and the new Passport program to the LA Tourism & Convention Board. The passport collateral is complete and we plan to introduce the program in March. We will be offering this program for sale at the ticket booth and we expect a change in signage to occur at the building to focus on the sales of the Passport. The relationships that we have built with our community partners regarding this program are unprecedented and we owe a special thanks to the Friends of the LA Maritime Museum, Hearken Creative, Barry Herlihy, and the Port of Los Angeles for assembling this program.
The Port of Los Angeles will be presenting a policy on the future of Waterfront redevelopment this week. This policy has received numerous hours of community input and it is a step in the right direction for the future of the LA Waterfront. A health vibrant waterfront is one of the most important components for the future of the Battleship IOWA. We can’t go at it alone and we appreciate the community support, the Port of Los Angeles, and Councilman Joe Buscaino for continuing to push the future of our waterfront.
In closing… Be safe, have fun, take care of each other, and see you on deck!
As always, we have had a fun couple of weeks focused on achieving our goals for 2015. The board & crew have been focused on tour improvements, education, ship maintenance, preservation, and refurbishment.
On the tour improvement front the crew began work on an arrival video for the wardroom. Kert from Digital Park is once again putting together a phenomenal piece to introduce our guests to the ship. He has been instrumental in providing the engaging videos that many of you have seen including the documentary available in the store.The tour team has been working on solutions for mobile signage, improved guest flow, and enhancing the existing tour. The great Linda Ayers is always busy on new signage and future exhibit planning. If you haven’t had a chance to see this month’s special exhibit in honor of Black History Month, we encourage you do so.
The Iowa Veterans Association exhibit work continues with painting occurring in the space this past week and the cabinet plan coming together. The ship operations team is hard at work bringing this area to fruition for the summer rush. This will also result in a tour expansion on second deck, which we are excited about. IT will play a critical role in the IVA with a kiosk setup to view information on previous crew members. Speaking of IT, this week David Canfield's previous cohorts at Google visited to perform street view on the IOWA. We look forward to see the new addition online in the near future!
 |
| Picture by Ross Tipps |
Stan and Derek once again came together to pick up another item for population on the tour route. They located a dental chair in Sylmar and rushed up to pick it up. It is in good shape and is from the 1980’s era. I am excited to see the acquisition of items such as this including the candy machine this past January.
Let’s not forget about our great paint team that has been trimming out the 02 level and painting the top of vents. If you haven’t had a chance to go up to the 02 level yet, you must do so. The decks that Stan worked on and the dark gray trim paint enhance the area tremendously. Look out for the custom stencils that are going up daily.
Battleship IOWA Gray Radio Gang (Jim Jerzycke, Michael Vulpillat, Art Veiga, and John Pajusich) deserve special recognition for reactivating a transmitter onboard the ship. They received some press on this activity over the past week as they continue to bring the IOWA back alive. Bravo Zulu team!
On the fundraising front, we were awarded a grant by Insperity this past week and are focused on the collateral material that will go along with our campaigns in the future. PowerPoints have been assembled with a focus on the target areas for this year which include safety, accessibility, and education. Fundraising will be essential in accomplish our objectives and the continued support we receive is tremendously helpful.
One of our crew members and loyal supporters include Captain Carl Clausen. We welcomed him back aboard with his family on February 14th to honor his service by attaching a plaque on the bridge. For those of you not familiar with Carl, he was critical in the early development of our American Spirit focus. He served in the US Navy and following retirement was a management consultant. I personally credit Carl with putting us on track in our thinking late in 2012 and I will forever be appreciative for his support. I ask that the crew keeps Carl in their prayers in the coming months as he continues to deal with health issues.
Public events are busier than ever. I credit the events team led by Jamie Perez and Todd Caleca for working around the clock to produce the numerous community programs. Earlier this month, we hosted Music Under the Guns and Movie Under the Guns. We were blessed to have Lt. Col. Robert Friend, USAF (ret.) in attendance for the showing of Tuskegee Airmen.
Coming up this week, will be the President’s Day & Birthday Celebration on Monday, February 16th. Kicking off with a ceremony and cake cutting, we will have a day full of events including a workout, dancing, the Sailor’s Bar, and other events. On Wednesday, February 18th, we will honor Yvette Chapell-Ingram with the Admiral Samuel L. Gravely, Jr. Leadership & Service Award. Please join us for our events this coming week.We were able to arrange a special luncheon for the HMS Victory on the Queen Victoria in April for our loyal crew and supporters. Please watch your email box for the special invite, as these tickets will go fast.
Later this year we will be hosting a ceremony to honor the 70th anniversary of the end of WWII. In conjunction with Spirit of 45, we will have numerous activities and events to commemorate the greatest generation.
This coming week, a contingent of Pacific Battleship Center crew will be headed to the annual California Association of Museums conference. Thank you to Barry Herlihy and Associated Foundations for sponsoring some of the cost. This will be a valuable activity to help increase our exposure and knowledge in the museum field.
Over the past couple of months we have been working on assembling a Victory STEAM Field Trip book. The first drafts prepared by the very capable Tobias Geye of Vessel Design Group have arrived. We are looking forward to the introduction of this education program in April. Thank you to Harbor Community Benefit Fund for contributing to the development and implementation of this program.
We continue to work with LAUSD to introduce an engaging program for our local youth. This program is coming together and we look forward to hosting kids from LAUSD on board the IOWA over the next year.
On the sales front, December and January attendance was better than the same months of the previous year. This can be attributed to our focus on engaging activities for kids and the excellent stories our tour guides tell our guests on board. We have also fine-tuned our marketing and advertising to target visitors in the region with the highest interest levels. A reminder that our entire crew and supporter base are our best sales people. Please consider handing out our posters, BOGO cards, and encouraging visitors to give us 5 star reviews on TripAdvisor. This is a tremendous help!
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| Poster available in the Tour Office |
Next week, I will be joining the Port of Los Angeles in presenting the LA Waterfront and the new Passport program to the LA Tourism & Convention Board. The passport collateral is complete and we plan to introduce the program in March. We will be offering this program for sale at the ticket booth and we expect a change in signage to occur at the building to focus on the sales of the Passport. The relationships that we have built with our community partners regarding this program are unprecedented and we owe a special thanks to the Friends of the LA Maritime Museum, Hearken Creative, Barry Herlihy, and the Port of Los Angeles for assembling this program.
The Port of Los Angeles will be presenting a policy on the future of Waterfront redevelopment this week. This policy has received numerous hours of community input and it is a step in the right direction for the future of the LA Waterfront. A health vibrant waterfront is one of the most important components for the future of the Battleship IOWA. We can’t go at it alone and we appreciate the community support, the Port of Los Angeles, and Councilman Joe Buscaino for continuing to push the future of our waterfront.
In closing… Be safe, have fun, take care of each other, and see you on deck!
Monday, February 2, 2015
Tour Sales, New Orleans, Swearing In, and Billboards
What an adventurous few weeks! We continue to develop and strengthen our community and national presence.
On the tour sales and marketing front, Craig Post attended a national summit for a large membership club. This is a huge step and undertaking that has been made possible due to numerous steps but began by Hal Grotke. Thank you Hal for beginning the process to connect us with them two years ago. We plan to strengthen our tie with by creating special packages in the future.
I attended by the NTA conference in New Orleans and spoke to numerous tour operators. They are all excited to bring people to us and we expect to see a bump in traffic from these groups over the next 9 to 12 months. It was interesting to learn what the foreign markets are interested in and we look forward to fulfilling them. This week we have someone visiting all of the major Asian tour operators to hopefully secure there business.
While in New Orleans, we combined it with a museum scouting mission. Thank you in large part from a ticket grant by Delta, registration waiver from NTA, Tourismcares helping coordinate, and our partner museums hosting us. We visited the WWII Museum, USS Alabama, and USS Kidd - all on top of a busy schedule of meetings. We ran into our good friend from the USS Bowfin and discussed ways to make all of our ships more successful.
Visiting other museums gives us a sense of pride and accomplishment. I commend our crew for the huge progress they have made in a short period if time. It is absolutely incredible. We must remember that we have been open in LA for 2.5 years at this point. WOW! We spoke with the WWII Museum and realized very quickly they are also an entrepreneurial organization. The dedication of their team made it possible to make them one of the top museums in the world. We can do it also!
Some of the significant highlights at the WWII Museum include the arrival experience, the follow a service member cards, the Road to Berlin, and the Tang Experience. We spent 5 hours at this museum and easily could have spent longer. The information was well planned and executed with a focus on telling a human story. This is a perfect example of an organization that stays focused on an end goal and keeping the quality high. We are striving to do the same. Keep up the great work!
While touring the USS Alabama, you quickly get a glimpse into IOWA past. The bunks were all chains and canvas. They pulled many of them out and there are wide open spaces throughout 2nd deck. We also quickly realized how unique the Battleship IOWA is and how we can utilize the natural assets in telling the story. Imagine for a moment on what we can do with the compartmentalization of the ship and how we can tell the story!
The USS Kidd is absolutely beautiful and well restored. There crew is passionate and dedicated to the long-term preservation of the KIDD. The WWII configuration is neat to see and we could even see the bottom of her hull in its unique mooring configuration.
When I returned, I went straight to work in supporting the rapidly developing LA Waterfront initiative. Councilman Joe Buscaino has grabbed the bull by the horns so to speak and leading the charge in waterfront redevelopment. Our neighbors have joined the cause and we are seeing some great movement. Special recognition to the Chamber of Commerce, Neighborhood Councils, and the Port of LA for taking on the important effort of creating a world class waterfront.
We welcomed our local elected officials to the ship on Saturday for the swearing in of Assemblymember Patrick O'Donnell. What a great event! The crew came together to assist and execute the plan flawlessly. The attendees and staff mentioned to me how it was obvious we knew what we were doing as it was seamless. This is a testament to a maturing organization and the teamwork necessary to pull off an event such as this.
We continue the planning and fundraising surrounding the "IOWA Story". The story we intend to tell covers from "Cradle to Today", includes a large human story presence, and will encompass the vast majority of the ship. Currently we have 33 possible topics to cover within the tour and museum experience. The first topic will be the IOWA Veterans Association exhibit. As we grow our museum and experience, it will take focus and dedication to execute appropriately. A consistent and fun experience is necessary to maintain a strong audience.
Our planning for the annual Gravely award came together last week and we have a recipient selected. Please join us on February 18th for this important event. Speaking of events, we have Music Under the Guns, Movie Under the Guns, and a Presidents Day festival coming up. Give our events team a round of applause for executing this aggressive public events schedule.
Our marketing folks had phone calls with KRLA on our annual Memorial Day festival to begin the planning process. We also had conversations with a few of our cooperative partners on expanding our advertising and reach in the area.
We welcomed aboard Johnny Wu to assist in executive admin and marketing admin functions. He has a degree in history and is jazzed to be working on the IOWA. When you have a chance, please welcome on board.
To close out this week, you will see a few great graphics that Tobias from Vessel Design Group created. Tobias and Vessel Design Group volunteer much of there efforts and I encourage anyone looking for a graphic design and / or marketing branding experts, to please contact them. The first one you see is for new billboards that were donated from Outfront Media. This company continues to support the IOWA and please support them if given a chance. The second card you see is an early draft of a card we are working on to give veterans. This was an idea present by Arthur Huhta and it is finally coming together.
Until next post, have a fun and safe couple of weeks!
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| AAA Los Angeles Guide Map |
I attended by the NTA conference in New Orleans and spoke to numerous tour operators. They are all excited to bring people to us and we expect to see a bump in traffic from these groups over the next 9 to 12 months. It was interesting to learn what the foreign markets are interested in and we look forward to fulfilling them. This week we have someone visiting all of the major Asian tour operators to hopefully secure there business.
While in New Orleans, we combined it with a museum scouting mission. Thank you in large part from a ticket grant by Delta, registration waiver from NTA, Tourismcares helping coordinate, and our partner museums hosting us. We visited the WWII Museum, USS Alabama, and USS Kidd - all on top of a busy schedule of meetings. We ran into our good friend from the USS Bowfin and discussed ways to make all of our ships more successful.
 |
| A touch screen at the WWII Museum. |
While touring the USS Alabama, you quickly get a glimpse into IOWA past. The bunks were all chains and canvas. They pulled many of them out and there are wide open spaces throughout 2nd deck. We also quickly realized how unique the Battleship IOWA is and how we can utilize the natural assets in telling the story. Imagine for a moment on what we can do with the compartmentalization of the ship and how we can tell the story!
The USS Kidd is absolutely beautiful and well restored. There crew is passionate and dedicated to the long-term preservation of the KIDD. The WWII configuration is neat to see and we could even see the bottom of her hull in its unique mooring configuration.
When I returned, I went straight to work in supporting the rapidly developing LA Waterfront initiative. Councilman Joe Buscaino has grabbed the bull by the horns so to speak and leading the charge in waterfront redevelopment. Our neighbors have joined the cause and we are seeing some great movement. Special recognition to the Chamber of Commerce, Neighborhood Councils, and the Port of LA for taking on the important effort of creating a world class waterfront.
 |
| Assembly-member O'Donnell Swearing In |
We continue the planning and fundraising surrounding the "IOWA Story". The story we intend to tell covers from "Cradle to Today", includes a large human story presence, and will encompass the vast majority of the ship. Currently we have 33 possible topics to cover within the tour and museum experience. The first topic will be the IOWA Veterans Association exhibit. As we grow our museum and experience, it will take focus and dedication to execute appropriately. A consistent and fun experience is necessary to maintain a strong audience.
Our planning for the annual Gravely award came together last week and we have a recipient selected. Please join us on February 18th for this important event. Speaking of events, we have Music Under the Guns, Movie Under the Guns, and a Presidents Day festival coming up. Give our events team a round of applause for executing this aggressive public events schedule.
Our marketing folks had phone calls with KRLA on our annual Memorial Day festival to begin the planning process. We also had conversations with a few of our cooperative partners on expanding our advertising and reach in the area.
We welcomed aboard Johnny Wu to assist in executive admin and marketing admin functions. He has a degree in history and is jazzed to be working on the IOWA. When you have a chance, please welcome on board.
To close out this week, you will see a few great graphics that Tobias from Vessel Design Group created. Tobias and Vessel Design Group volunteer much of there efforts and I encourage anyone looking for a graphic design and / or marketing branding experts, to please contact them. The first one you see is for new billboards that were donated from Outfront Media. This company continues to support the IOWA and please support them if given a chance. The second card you see is an early draft of a card we are working on to give veterans. This was an idea present by Arthur Huhta and it is finally coming together.
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| Billboard donated by Vessel Design Group. |
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| Veteran VIP card by Vessel Design Group |
Until next post, have a fun and safe couple of weeks!
Monday, January 19, 2015
Battleship USS Iowa Not Just a Museum
Battleship USS Iowa Not Just a Museum
USS Iowa (file photo)
LOS ANGELES, California- It has been over two years since the USS Iowa opened as a museum battleship in Los Angeles. Iowans and former sailors helped to raise three million dollars to refurbish the ship and move it from northern California to Los Angeles.
Now the ship is becoming an events center for the local community. On Sunday a first-ever blood drive was held aboard ship, in connection with the Red Cross. People who gave blood were offered free admission to tour the USS Iowa Museum. Blood donors were also offered discount tickets to Anaheim Ducks and LA Kings games.
“For us it’s just being a part of the community,and continuing with the USS Iowa’s service to the country,”said Andrew Bossenmeyer, spokesman for the USS Iowa Museum. “Anytime we can host an event,that provides a service to our local communities,we’re going to do that.”
The USS Iowa will also host “Music Under the Guns” this month, featuring the Long Beach Symphony. Also there will be an event called “Movies Under the Guns,” showing the Tuskegee Airmen movie.
Sunday, January 18, 2015
NTA, LA Waterfront, Candy Machine, Crew Meeting, and Upcoming Posts!
The New Year is off to a solid and exciting start. The crew is working on our goals for this year as outlined in previous blog posts. Our two boards are hard at work preparing presentation plans, arranging fundraising meetings, and working towards achieving our goals.
As I write this post, I am on a plane to New Orleans for the National Tour Association conference. We have numerous meetings with tour operators arranged and will be attending events that include our friends at TourismCares and Visit California. In addition, we will be visiting the WW2 Museum to view the wonderful work that they have accomplished. I believe the WW2 and Marine Corps museum has set a high standard to achieve. We will strive to reach this level in the future and this will take both focus and fundraising to make this a reality.
A large part of our goals coming true is the successful redevelopment of the LA Waterfront. The past couple of weeks have had a flurry of activity throughout the community. Our friend, Councilman Joe Buscaino has shown his leadership in the redevelopment with the announcement of the Rancho San Pedro redevelopment feasibility study and his desire to see a vibrant waterfront. I give kudos to Gene Seroka and the Port of Los Angeles for taking the initiative to present a plan of infrastructure funding to the community. These are both enormous steps in the right direction.
A successful and vibrant waterfront will require numerous partnerships and relationships to make it a reality. We value our relationships with our local community and business partners. On or about March 1st we will be releasing the LA Waterfront Passport program, which provides discounts and admission to our local attractions for one low price. The community is excited about this innovative package and we are proud to participate in this program.
As we begin the steps towards creating a world class museum, we will be focusing on numerous facets of organization development. Part of the process is board development and fundraising. I have to commend Barry Herlihy, Stan Sato, and the rest of our crew and loyal supporter for the recent strong showing on the deck repair campaign. We have exceeded our goal and continue to reach for the $20,000 number to restore the aft quarterdeck and hopefully a few additional areas requiring repair. Way to go team!
Last weekend the crew once again showed its strong team work. Josh Stutz, Derek Cross, and Stan Sato came together to locate, purchase, pick-up, and install a 1980's era candy machine on the 2nd deck forward of the galley. This machine is a very close match to the original machine and it is an awesome addition to the collection. Thank you guys for going above and beyond in the acquisition of this important item.
On Tuesday, January 13th, we had our quarterly crew meeting in the Ward Room. The management team discussed the 2015 goals and objectives and highlighted the 2014 accomplishments. We are excited about the direction we are going and are already in the early stages of raising the funds necessary to accomplish this years goals. For those that have already contributed, thank you! If you are interested in participating in one of our future fundraising programs, please let us know at development@labattleship.com.
In August of 2015, we will welcome home three different decades of USS Iowa veterans and their families. We are always excited to welcome them home and we will strive to give them a fun and fulfilling experience.
We started working with HNSA (Historic Naval Ships Association) management to plan the annual HNSA conference in San Pedro this year. We are very excited to host our sister ships crew and have them experience our local community and passion of the IOWA crew. We will most likely host 3 days of intense focused sessions on important topics for the future of the industry and close out the conference with a banquet. We are proud to be the host of this years event and look forward to showing off the Battleship IOWA Museum and the LA Waterfront.
In closing, I want to thank the entire crew for everything they do. These are men and women of an extraordinary desire to tell the IOWA story and be involved in something great and exciting. Please thanks these folks when you have a chance for the selfless acts to preserve our history.
Please check back soon, as I will be posting some pictures and stories of the WWII Museum, USS Alabama, USS Kidd, and the NTA Conference over the next week.
As I write this post, I am on a plane to New Orleans for the National Tour Association conference. We have numerous meetings with tour operators arranged and will be attending events that include our friends at TourismCares and Visit California. In addition, we will be visiting the WW2 Museum to view the wonderful work that they have accomplished. I believe the WW2 and Marine Corps museum has set a high standard to achieve. We will strive to reach this level in the future and this will take both focus and fundraising to make this a reality.
A large part of our goals coming true is the successful redevelopment of the LA Waterfront. The past couple of weeks have had a flurry of activity throughout the community. Our friend, Councilman Joe Buscaino has shown his leadership in the redevelopment with the announcement of the Rancho San Pedro redevelopment feasibility study and his desire to see a vibrant waterfront. I give kudos to Gene Seroka and the Port of Los Angeles for taking the initiative to present a plan of infrastructure funding to the community. These are both enormous steps in the right direction.
A successful and vibrant waterfront will require numerous partnerships and relationships to make it a reality. We value our relationships with our local community and business partners. On or about March 1st we will be releasing the LA Waterfront Passport program, which provides discounts and admission to our local attractions for one low price. The community is excited about this innovative package and we are proud to participate in this program.
As we begin the steps towards creating a world class museum, we will be focusing on numerous facets of organization development. Part of the process is board development and fundraising. I have to commend Barry Herlihy, Stan Sato, and the rest of our crew and loyal supporter for the recent strong showing on the deck repair campaign. We have exceeded our goal and continue to reach for the $20,000 number to restore the aft quarterdeck and hopefully a few additional areas requiring repair. Way to go team!
 |
| 1980's Candy Machine. Photo by Derek Cross |
On Tuesday, January 13th, we had our quarterly crew meeting in the Ward Room. The management team discussed the 2015 goals and objectives and highlighted the 2014 accomplishments. We are excited about the direction we are going and are already in the early stages of raising the funds necessary to accomplish this years goals. For those that have already contributed, thank you! If you are interested in participating in one of our future fundraising programs, please let us know at development@labattleship.com.
Slides from January 13, 2015 Crew Meeting
In August of 2015, we will welcome home three different decades of USS Iowa veterans and their families. We are always excited to welcome them home and we will strive to give them a fun and fulfilling experience.
We started working with HNSA (Historic Naval Ships Association) management to plan the annual HNSA conference in San Pedro this year. We are very excited to host our sister ships crew and have them experience our local community and passion of the IOWA crew. We will most likely host 3 days of intense focused sessions on important topics for the future of the industry and close out the conference with a banquet. We are proud to be the host of this years event and look forward to showing off the Battleship IOWA Museum and the LA Waterfront.
In closing, I want to thank the entire crew for everything they do. These are men and women of an extraordinary desire to tell the IOWA story and be involved in something great and exciting. Please thanks these folks when you have a chance for the selfless acts to preserve our history.
Please check back soon, as I will be posting some pictures and stories of the WWII Museum, USS Alabama, USS Kidd, and the NTA Conference over the next week.
Tuesday, January 6, 2015
New Year, 2015 Goals, 2015 Public Events, and a Great Close to 2014!
The New Year begins and so does a fresh slate of mission driven goals. We are excited about what the future holds for is as a unique platform for education, tourism, and activities. In fact, our 2015 core goals are primarily focused on these three items.
Every December, the leadership team gathers to discuss what our primary objectives for the following year will be. The objectives generally fall within the predefined role of our overall 5 year capital improvement goals as approved by the Board of Directors. We also review our previous year crew feedback, actual critical needs, and our customer reviews to determine the best possible next steps.
This coming year will have a focus on fundraising and implementation of:
We had a great holiday season at the IOWA! Our attendance was stabilized, our Events team pulled off a couple of great programs, our OPS team completed Camp Battleship, our Tour team accommodating the increase in kids and guests, and our Security team provided a safe experience. There are many unsung heroes behind the scenes that include ticketing, accounting, administration, volunteer services, donors, and many others that deserve recognition. Please thank these folks for there service when you see them.
Our stabilized attendance is enormous progress for us. As many of you know, we have had the typical second year blues for most for most of 2014. To see our attendance finally stabilize and now start building on is a sign of relief and forward progress as an institution. The number of families and children that visited during the holiday season was noticeably higher in comparison to earlier in the year. Key to our future success will include engaging programs and services for all of our guests to enjoy.
During the holiday season the everyday work of operating Battleship IOWA continued. The crew worked on closing out the Camp Battleship program including filling in the trench for the fire line. Even the security team stepped in and helped shovel the dirt and a nice change of pace for me personally to operate the track loader during the work. I am proud of the tremendous effort and teamwork that the crew put into bringing Camp Battleship and the heads alive by the end of 2014.
The recent storms tore up many of our tents and awnings. It also caused a temporary down period with our gunnery video on the side of Turret 1 (it is now up and running again). But the awnings are still missing. We are hoping to get those fixed sooner then later and could use some funding assistance to repair these.
Our education programs are actively in development with a focus on youth and public education. Our core youth education programs include Victory STEAM Field Trip Program, Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROV's), and Camp Battleship Overnight program. The public education experience will include enhanced exhibits and tour improvements to create a innovative hands on experience.
With the strong youth attendance, we will focus on providing more engaging hands on activities for our guests throughout the future. As a hint of our direction, we will be combining the natural STEAM activities and history on board to create a hands on experience. We are excited about the opportunity to serve our community and advance our mission!
Of course, the regular maintenance will be required to keep the entire operation progressing. We are focused on raising funds and working on decks, hull and waterline, and preservation / restoration. A major goal for us in the future is raising the necessary restoration capital over the next couple of years and are looking at numerous opportunities and resources. Our recent deck fundraising campaign for the aft quarterdeck has raised over $15,000 as of January 5, 2015. To participate in this campaign, please click here or donate on our website at http://www.pacificbattleship.com.
We have received a lot of assistance in participation by our crew and loyal supporters in marketing the Battleship IOWA museum. The new posters have arrived with the purpose of our supporting businesses and individuals to show their pride in our veterans and Battleship IOWA museum. Please feel free to pick up posters to distribute at our ticketing booth or in the tour office. In addition to the posters, we will continue our BOGO campaign into 2015. We encourage everyone to grab a handful and handout and/or place at local retailers, restaurants, clubs, buildings, businesses, etc. Help us spread the word of the importance of the IOWA to the community.
Our 2015 public events calendar has been released at http://www.pacificbattleship.com/page/eventcalendar. A new addition for 2015 is our popular Movie & Music Under programs in partnership with community performers and sponsors. This is part of our public outreach program to increase engagement with the community and strengthen our community relationships. Please consider attending or sponsoring one of these fun events on board the IOWA. For more information or to sponsor, please email tcaleca@labattleship.com.
In addition to our public programs, we also will once again offer the "Curator Tour" beginning again in February 2015. This special tour is led by David Way, IOWA's curator and includes lunch, conversation, and areas off of the normal tour route. It is an exciting behind the scenes opportunity not usually offered to the public. For more information, visit our website at http://www.pacificbattleship.com.
In closing, I would like to personally thank our entire crew and supporters for a wild ride since the award of the ship in 2011. Each and everyone of you have played an important role in the history of our beloved battleship. Your pride, perseverance, dedication, and contributions are tremendous and has shown what it means to be a proud patriot. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for everything you do!
Every December, the leadership team gathers to discuss what our primary objectives for the following year will be. The objectives generally fall within the predefined role of our overall 5 year capital improvement goals as approved by the Board of Directors. We also review our previous year crew feedback, actual critical needs, and our customer reviews to determine the best possible next steps.
 |
| New Years Eve at the Battleship IOWA. The final close to 2014! |
This coming year will have a focus on fundraising and implementation of:
- Public & Youth Education programs to engage our visitors, community, and students in an authentic hands on experience at the IOWA.
- Tour & Museum improvements that are interactive and enjoyable for guests of all ages. A few specific projects are the IOWA Veterans Association exhibit, 2nd deck expansion, Wardroom movie, aviation and missile exhibit.
- Ship Maintenance, Preservation, and Refurbishment that include aft quarterdeck wood replacement, possible waterline work, and electrical infrastructure.
As you can see, we have an exciting 2015 ahead of us. We will need everyone's assistance in pulling off these goals, so please consider how you may be able to contribute.
 |
| Where's Vicky??? |
Our stabilized attendance is enormous progress for us. As many of you know, we have had the typical second year blues for most for most of 2014. To see our attendance finally stabilize and now start building on is a sign of relief and forward progress as an institution. The number of families and children that visited during the holiday season was noticeably higher in comparison to earlier in the year. Key to our future success will include engaging programs and services for all of our guests to enjoy.
 |
| The Security Team hard at work shoveling dirt for the trench. |
The recent storms tore up many of our tents and awnings. It also caused a temporary down period with our gunnery video on the side of Turret 1 (it is now up and running again). But the awnings are still missing. We are hoping to get those fixed sooner then later and could use some funding assistance to repair these.
Our education programs are actively in development with a focus on youth and public education. Our core youth education programs include Victory STEAM Field Trip Program, Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROV's), and Camp Battleship Overnight program. The public education experience will include enhanced exhibits and tour improvements to create a innovative hands on experience.
With the strong youth attendance, we will focus on providing more engaging hands on activities for our guests throughout the future. As a hint of our direction, we will be combining the natural STEAM activities and history on board to create a hands on experience. We are excited about the opportunity to serve our community and advance our mission!
 |
| The wonderful job the ship's carpenter performed on bringing back the deck on the Signal Bridge during 2014. More to come in 2015 with our deck restoration campaign! |
We have received a lot of assistance in participation by our crew and loyal supporters in marketing the Battleship IOWA museum. The new posters have arrived with the purpose of our supporting businesses and individuals to show their pride in our veterans and Battleship IOWA museum. Please feel free to pick up posters to distribute at our ticketing booth or in the tour office. In addition to the posters, we will continue our BOGO campaign into 2015. We encourage everyone to grab a handful and handout and/or place at local retailers, restaurants, clubs, buildings, businesses, etc. Help us spread the word of the importance of the IOWA to the community.
 |
| Our first community outreach program of the year is the Battleship IOWA Blood Drive. |
In addition to our public programs, we also will once again offer the "Curator Tour" beginning again in February 2015. This special tour is led by David Way, IOWA's curator and includes lunch, conversation, and areas off of the normal tour route. It is an exciting behind the scenes opportunity not usually offered to the public. For more information, visit our website at http://www.pacificbattleship.com.
In closing, I would like to personally thank our entire crew and supporters for a wild ride since the award of the ship in 2011. Each and everyone of you have played an important role in the history of our beloved battleship. Your pride, perseverance, dedication, and contributions are tremendous and has shown what it means to be a proud patriot. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for everything you do!
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