CEO Corner
Updates from Jonathan Williams
Jonathan Williams is the President & CEO of the Pacific Battleship Center, home of the Battleship IOWA, LA Fleet Week, and the National Museum of the Surface Navy. A purpose-driven leader and storyteller, he shares updates and insights from one of the nation’s most innovative nonprofit organizations. His writing explores leadership, community, and culture — connecting lessons from the deck plate to the boardroom while highlighting the people, progress, and purpose that continue to drive the mission forward.
Newest Updates
This Week’s Update 01/27/20
This Week’s Update 01/20/20
This weeks update! SNA, tour programs, and Plank Owner program. Thank you for your support! See the full video at
Happy New Year! Week of 01/07/20
This weeks update includes SNA attendance, Surface Navy Museum Plankowner Campaign, Special Add-On Tours, and more with a backdrop of OPS work and the Vincent Thomas Bridge. #b attleship #museum #lamuseum #surfacenavy
CEO Update for 12/29/19
This weeks update of Battleship IOWA, includes our upcoming Plank Owner Program for National Museum. To watch the full video, go to
Daily Breeze Article: Biggest stories of the decade:…
CEO Update for 12/09/19
Veterans Day LA – Thank You!
On behalf of Supervisor Janice Hahn, LA County Department of Military & Veterans Affairs, and Battleship IOWA, thank you for your efforts in making Veterans Day LA a great success! We received compliments from numerous individuals about how great the event was and your passionate efforts to bring it alive. Supervisor Hahn voiced to me her sincere appreciation for your commitment and was deeply touched by how beautiful the program was. This wouldn’t have been possible without your...
CEO Weekly Update for 11/04/19
Good Morning Team: We start off this week with a beautiful Monday! I received a note from Mike G. highlighting the exciting progress of George Musulin and associated team members for being able to swap over our 1MC system over to a more efficient transformer. This change alone will save us a chunk of money in our electrical bills! Thank you George and Team! David Canfield and I have a call scheduled at 11am on Monday morning to discuss our "Life at Sea" tour concept with video screens. This...
CEO Weekly Update for 10/28/19
Greetings Team: It has slowed down a bit over the past week. Looking at the numbers year over year, attendance was flat last week and revenue was up 15% for ticket sales online and at the POS. Continuing to see revenue up affirms our long-term plan of rolling out guided tour add-on options as identified in our master plan. Our Executive Committee met last week and discussed numerous items including our National Museum fundraising efforts. The IT team is currently working on our future...
CEO Update for Week of 10/20/2019
Team: I had an opportunity to stroll the decks last week and see first hand some of the wonderful work you are doing. It is humbling to see the improvements that we make on a weekly basis due to your commitment and work. I am excited to see what the team has in store with the upcoming gunnery tour planned. This will be the first in a series of new concepts that we hope will define the future of the museum. These tours were written into our master plan for the National Museum concept and...

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