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!

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

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!