To quote Sir David Frost, “and that was the week that was”.  Once again, yours truly demonstrated the huge chasm that exists between activity and productivity.  Much time and effort, meetings and calls, with relatively little to show for it.  Oh, well, on to next week!

This week will start off quickly, with the quarterly meeting of the Board of Directors.  To reuse a line I’ve used before, we’ll look back at where we’ve been before looking forward to where we’re going.  Unfortunately, there’s no map app (or even a Thomas Map Guide) that will ensure we arrive at our intended destination without a few unintended detours.  Please note all Board members are volunteers who give their time, their money, and their connections.  (On many non-profit Boards there’s a sometimes spoken, sometimes implied, maxim of “Give, Get, or Get Off”.)  The Board is populated with care.  You don’t want “all of one thing” (including all accountants and CPAs), you want a wide variety of skills, talents, and backgrounds, which we’re fortunate to have.

We (read “Nui”) are making last minute adjustments to the 2025 financial statements before we send them to the auditor.  This should happen early this week.  For those of you interested in such things, we’re make 2 adjustments: one to record the discounted value of a multi-year donor pledge, the other to “gross up” the asset and liability associated with our leases, primarily our lease agreement with the Port of Los Angeles for use of the berth.  I’ll be honest with you, this latter exercise is a complete waste of time and I’ve never spoken to anyone, anyone, who thinks it makes sense.  I was always taught the purpose of the financial statements was to inform the reader of those statements.  So far, I haven’t found a single soul in- or outside the accounting profession who thinks this is an improvement over the previous accounting standard.

I know I’ve mentioned this next topic, oh, what?, a million times in the past, but we could really use some volunteers in the Accounting Department.  You DON’T need an accounting degree.  You do need to be organized, logical, and analytic.  I know Nui would really appreciate the help, as would Lana.

Finally, it’s Sunday, January 25^th as I write this.  That means the Super Bowl is exactly 2 weeks from today, and Christmas is exactly 11 months from now.  I’m just sayin’.

As always, I appreciate your reading to the very end.  Thank you!

Ross

From the desk of the Chief Engineer,

Another exciting note from the world of engineering and capital projects! Apologies for the one-week hiatus…

The BIG news this week was the final approval of the Coastal Development Permit or CDP at the Harbor Commission meeting on Tuesday. This was a huge hurdle…more than a year in the making, now allowing the Port of LA to sign off on permit applications in the LADBS system as they become available.

Our first request will be the Demolition Permit, which we hope to see issued within days or weeks. Once in our hands, we will begin isolating the construction site with temporary fencing. This fencing will be installed from the south corner of the restroom trailer, following the road to the west before cutting south again along the fire department driveway. Lot 61 will be completely isolated and no longer available.

While all of this is happening, Larry Olson and Mark Stanson are busy sharing design packages with various subcontractors, managing bids for equipment, and handling requests for information from the various bidders. As both the owner of the building and the General Contractor, we will be supplying major equipment such as air conditioning, electrical panels and kitchen appliances. Also, in motion this week was our “show” lighting effort with our friends at Visual Terrain, an amazing partner which has done our specialized lighting efforts since 2018.

The repair of the “expansion joint” in the middle of the superstructure has continued, largely unabated for the last two weeks. Now progressing up through the 01-deckhouse area, this combination of steel repair and membrane replacement has almost reached amidships. Our nemesis for many years, having this repair completed will make a huge improvement on the watertight integrity of the superstructure.

The Engineering team is finishing up the last “easy” cofferdam placement on the starboard side of the ship this week, with easy being defined as an area reachable by shoreside equipment and with the hull configuration fitting the shape of our current cofferdam. Chief Moser is working on the long-awaited transition to the port side, which will involve very serious safety and logistics planning.

Also, under safety and not commonly understood, there is a team of individuals who manage many of the physical safety items aboard the ship to include First Aid boxes, AEDs fire extinguishers, and life preservers among others. Recently, a well-intentioned individual removed and modified first aid boxes and inserted unapproved medications into the boxes. I am sure that we all mean well, but this was unauthorized activity which had to be corrected. As a reminder to all, if you have concerns about the first aid boxes, please communicate to the team responsible in the manner which is noted on each box.

Literally moments ago, I was informed of the passing of a ship modeler of no small stature. Loren Perry, former Navy Recruiting Chief Petty Officer and creator of Gold Medal Models passed away several weeks ago in Washington State. A prolific modeler, ship model magazine editor, and reportedly the first American to win a Gold Medal at the London Model Engineers Exhibition with his extraordinary model of the USS VOGELGESANG, he almost singlehandedly created the modern photo etch movement within modeling circles. His other extraordinary model of the USS LONG BEACH can be seen at the LA Maritime Museum just a block away from IOWA.

Long ago, I was privileged to have been asked to work with Loren and William Upshaw on a museum quality model of the USS ARLEIGH BURKE for Todd Shipyards as part of their presentation to the Navy. Long days and nights at the old shop in North Long Beach culminated in the rushed transfer of the model to the shipyard early one morning, only minutes before the arrival of the admirals for a formal presentation. It was an amazing experience, one which I will not forget. Fair winds and following seas, my friend. Thank you for your service to our country, and for the inspiration you provided.

Richmond reminiscing…

Ok…enough about the cold. Let’s get into the work we had ongoing during the first few months of 2012.

With so much of the ship completely dark inside, almost all the large work being performed was on the weather deck. “Busting” decks as we called it involved the removal of the deck “margin boards” which are placed up against the deckhouse in all areas. The decision to do so was made early on, thus allowing us to access the rusted bulkheads behind. Make no mistake, this was tough work, usually involving every imaginable tool in our arsenal. Chisels, sledgehammers, prybars and drills were engaged and bleeding knuckles were common.

Less visible and completely in the dark, I was busy preparing for shore power which was nominally scheduled for February. I roamed the switchboards for three weeks with my new friends Jack Boise and Don Pomplun, both volunteers at the SS JEREMIAH O’BRIEN. With flashlights in our mouths, we tried to understand the configuration and align it correctly.

An early “meggering” effort, essentially checking for potential current leakage, suggested a possible short in the wiring, driving us to search for an invisible problem within the complex system. Endless trapsing up and down to six different switchboards in the dark was exhausting. Never found, it drove us nuts for many weeks.

As we said at the time…the book “Battleships for Dummies” didn’t exist, but there is no question that we could write that book now…

As always, I am grateful to be here,

Mike

Engineering from Chief Moser
– Prep and begin painting 05 level.
– Test boat repairs and prepare for port side cofferdam/hull work.

Development from Kyle Aube
We’ll be focusing in on the “big items” on our calendars over the next 6 months, making strides with planning and seeking funds for:

• Gravely Student Luncheon (2/24)
• Lamberti Service Award Prezo (3/10)
• Leadership Summit at LAFW (5/20-5/21)
• America 250 (7/4)

Programs with Mike Nguyen

Tours with VJ Alcomindras
Work will finally start on the admirals barge on the starboard side.

Events from Marguerite Mohney
N/A

Marketing with Hall Roosevelt
Still accepting applicants for the Paws for Freedom community campaign. Painters Wanted! Please help share with community organizations, youth groups, schools, first responders or even nominate yourself! Application window closes February 20th.

Tech from Troy Vail
LAFW fiber infrastructure repairs

IE&T from Gary Lopes
Major projects in the works:

• Complete stand light control system installation

Programs with Anna Borough
– We will begin planning our first-ever adult overnight pilot, scheduled for the end March. We will be opening this pilot to friends and family of crew to test this concept out. Look out for communications soon if you’d like to participate!
– The annual Gravely Student Luncheon will be held on February 24th. This launches our annual scholarship opportunity for students. This year we are expanding it from a traditional essay contest to a multimedia project opportunity.

Sales from Catherine Moreno
– Valentine’s Day Promo for the public
– FunEx February Updates for crew

Curatorial with Dave Way
– Begin incorporating a just purchased large roller scanner to document large ship plans and drawings.
– Continue to refurbish signs along the tour route.

Communications with Marann Fengler
– More fun content on our socials. Expect to see your friendly neighborhood comms team out and about with cameras.
– Prepping to cover the Gravely Luncheon in conjunction with the Programs team.

Have fun stuff you’d like to share in this newsletter or on socials? Drop us a line! marketing@labattlehip.com

Crew Services from Hershell Hardimon
Looking to recruit new volunteers for the Safety department

Accounting & Finance from Nui Valletta
We are looking for additional volunteer team members. If you are interested, you may reach out to me directly and contact Sue and Claudia in Volunteer department for additional information and requirements. We lost one volunteer team member, Joe Dragicevich, due to the time constraints. His main volunteer commitment requires more of his time. I would like to express my gratitude and wish him the best. Hope our path will cross again.

Volunteering with Sue Schmidt
We have some great crew events coming up in February. Mark your calendars:

* Wednesday, February 11th we’ll have a Crew Lunch under the crew tent, 12 – 1pm. Sign up and information to follow soon!
* Monday, February 16 will be our first field trip in a while. This one will be to the All Era Western Railroad HO Train Layout up by the Del Amo Mall. Click here to sign up. Lunch will be included. Many thanks to Doug Lawrence, Deena Gribben, and our host, Ron Varnell.
* Saturday evening, February 21, the annual Richmond Reunion will be taking place a the Point San Pablo Yacht Club in Richmond – Northern California. Again, be on the lookout for a separate email with the sign up information. All hands are welcome. Participation will run about $40 and reservations are required. Thank you Electric Bill and Russ Farnell!
* It’s never too soon to start planning for the Long Beach Grand Prix, April 17-19, LA Fleet Week, May 22-25, and the State Fair in IOWA, August 13-23.

From Volunteer Manager Sue Schmidt:

Quick volunteer Salesforce update

What’s the big news? The transfer off Volgisitics, and into Salesforce! Woo-hoo!!

* You will need an labattleship email to access the Crew Portal if you don’t already have one.
* If you have one. Try it to make sure your password works and you can access the crew portal. If your password doesn’t work, let us know and we’ll have IT reset it for you.
* To access the Crew Portal, type: crewportal.pacificbattleship.com into the TOP bar of your browser, not into the search bar mid-page.
* If you need an labattleship email let us know and we’ll put it on the list.
* If you are waiting for help, please be patient. There’s a LOT happening all at once. It’s always okay to send a reminder to the volunteer department.
* We are currently working on sorting out the individual assignment issues. Don’t panic if you see inactive assignments from past events on your sign up. We’re aware and working on removing these from your sign in screens.
* We are also assigning active assignments to individual records. Some assignments may not show up due to scheduling issues. That’s next.
* Feel free to swing by the Volunteer Office so we can update your assignments. I do respectfully ask 2 things however:
1. That you come back later if we’re with someone else, and –
2. Please take care of business, then politely leave. Much as I love a good social visit, we have a ton of records to get through and we have to stay focused on taking care of business. Thanks so much for understanding.

As I mentioned before, please keep track of your hours for now. Volgistics will be shut down permanently today (Feb 3).

By all means, log in and out at the Security shack or in the Volunteer Center. Schedules and information may work, or might be incomplete. Just try it and keep track whether or not you get in. If you are new, and have a hand-written, temporary badge., you have to use the computer in the Volunteer Center to sign in and out.

It’s a process. We’ll get there.

Love you guys! -Sue

From Sue Schmidt

An update on Gisela:

Many, many thanks to all who have contributed to the campaign for Gisela while she is undergoing breast cancer treatment. The first batch of contributions has been delivered and we’ll be heading over with another soon. As long as contributions keep coming, they will be delivered to her in Long Beach. It’s not far.

Because of her compromised immune system, she can not have any visitors, but on the phone she sent heartfelt love and thanks to the crew. She misses everyone terribly.

From Larry Olson

We are planning on having an estate sale for the Bishop house on Saturday, February 14, for volunteers and staff only to allow them to have first look at all the items.

The address is:  12041 Davenport Rd, Los Alamitos.
Sale time: 9am until 3pm.

Items being sold are:
Furniture (mostly oak items, tables, wall unit, roll top desk), household items, (pots, pans, storage boxes),  golf bags and shoes (new), leather jackets, mountain bike, sea kayak, skin diving gear, appliances (washer, dryer, microwave), books, bookcases, file cabinets, sea shells, and lots of miscellaneous other items.

Cash only and haul away.  Everything must go!  All proceeds go to the ship.