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
Battleship USS Iowa’s ‘Living Museum’
They call her “The Big Stick.”
It’s a nickname aptly earned.
She’s the battleship USS Iowa, still bristling with firepower after being decommissioned and harbored as a floating museum in the Port of Los Angeles’ Berth 87 since July 4, 2012.
Museum Report: New Technology Highlights Old Battleship’s Former Glory
NOEL MASSIE, TO RECEIVE SAMUEL L. GRAVELY LEADERSHIP AWARD
L.A. WATERFRONT, CA (February 11, 2016) – Pacific Battleship Center (PBC) has selected Noel Massieto be this year’s recipient of the Vice Admiral Samuel L. Gravely Leadership & Service Award. The award celebration will take place on board Battleship IOWA during a brief ceremony on Thursday, February 18 at 6:00 p.m. Massie is President for United Parcel Service’s (UPS) Southern California District, where he is responsible for a $190 million budget and oversees every aspect of the district’s...
‘Man, this is not a drill,’ survivor remembers Pearl Harbor attack
Seventy-four years ago, Howard Bender, 93, was aboard the USS Maryland in Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, when he heard the sounds of war.
“I remember it all,” the Laguna Woods resident said. “I was in my office getting ready to do all my reports when I heard something go off.”
Bender went to the porthole window of his office and saw chaos outside.
Patriot Day 2015: Honoring the Fallen First Responders of 9/11 on the battleship IOWA
The bell aboard the USS Iowa in San Pedro chimed after the names of 40 first responders who died during 911 were read during as special ceremony marking the 14th anniversary of the terror attacks in New York, Washington DC and Pennsylvania.
Families gather aboard Battleship Iowa in honor of 9/11 victims
People gathered on the Battleship Iowa Friday to honor victims of 9/11 as part of the 14th anniversary of the terror attacks, including a mother and father who lost their son on that fateful day.
Los Angeles Navy Days Concludes
The 18th annual Navy Days Los Angeles concluded Aug. 10 when visiting U.S. Navy ships, the guided-missile cruisers USS Bunker Hill (CG 52) and USS Cape St. George (CG 71), the guided-missile destroyer USS Halsey (DDG 97) and nearly 1,000 Sailors departed from the Port of Los Angeles.
Marine officer competes on NBC’s ‘American Ninja Warrior’
Capt. Kristin Dalton, a Camp Lejeune, North Carolina-based reservist, competed on an all-military edition of the show, which pits athletes against grueling timed obstacle courses. During the July 7 airing on NBC, active-duty and retired troops scrambled through a new course in San Pedro, California, next to the historic battleship Iowa.
France Gives Nation’s Highest Honor To 19 WWII Veterans In SoCal
The French government is presenting its highest honors to 19 Southern Californians who served in World War II.
On Friday, the French consul general presented the veterans with the rank of knight in the National Order of the Legion of Honor. All of the men are in their 90s.
A consulate spokeswoman said the award is the highest France gives its citizens or foreign nationals.
The veterans received the recognition during a ceremony on board the battleship USS Iowa, which is docked in the Port of Los Angeles.
USS Iowa’s Music Under the Guns series expands in May with high school band lineup
The River Heights School Jazz Band opens a month of music with a May 9 concert at the USS Iowa as part of its Music Under the Guns series. Photo courtesy Jonathan Hartling.
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