This week, we celebrate the 250th birthday of the United States Navy — a milestone that reminds us of our shared mission to honor service, inspire purpose, and build community. Here aboard IOWA, we’re marking the occasion with the launch of our special invite-only Great Ships Experience receptions. We’ll be scheduling a crew open house in late October or early November, so stay tuned for your special invitation.
With the completion of the Great Ships Experience, our focus now shifts to the next phase of the Life of a Sailor experience. This work continues in large part thanks to the Legacy Gift left by our shipmate Greg Bishop — a reminder of how one person’s lasting impact can help inspire generations to come. To learn more about our Legacy Gift program, visit https://legacygift.
As we’ve grown, so have the needs of the organization. With several years of capital projects on the horizon, we’re fortunate to have skilled volunteers stepping into project management roles, allowing our engineering team to remain focused on the foundation of our mission — Battleship IOWA.
At the same time, the changing economic landscape requires us to continue evolving. In the coming months, we’ll unify our education and veterans programs under a new Director of Programs position, bringing two teams into one. This change will strengthen collaboration, align strategy, and leverage our incredible network of professionals who support both youth and veteran career development. Eventually, this same network will also integrate with LADRRC to maximize impact across all of our community initiatives.
As we move forward, we’ll continue to refine our structure, increase accountability, and measure impact through both revenue and outcomes. We’ll review our strategy every 90 days to stay focused and adaptable. Most importantly, we’ll continue to prioritize our people-first, professional excellence culture, welcoming aboard our first Director of Crew Services, who will oversee HR, volunteer services, security, and training.
Together, we’re building the path toward America’s 250th celebration and the opening of a first-of-its-kind National Museum of the Surface Navy.
Thank you all for your continued dedication and teamwork — your efforts make all the difference.
