The minutes of the previous eBoard meeting submitted by Secretary Wayne Siekowski were reviewed and approved.

The Treasurer Paul Theisen reported that we have a current balance of $63,409.60

Currently the Base has 255 Members

The COB Wayne Peterson reported that all is ready for the Base Picnic at the Bremerton Elks Club on Saturday, September 18, 2021. Set up for the day will begin at 0900, if you would like to help. Members are welcome to bring family members and side dishes if you would like to do so. There is no charge, and this is the September General Meeting.

Past Commander Steve Corcoran update the eBoard on the status of the Float. Construction is proceeding very nicely and it is likely that the float will be ready for Veterans Day. An additional cheque of $5,320 was approved for materials costs.

Over Labor Day weekend the Ivy Green Cemetery SubVets Corner was weeded and cleaned. Over the last twenty years this was done by Dutch Kaiser each month. After discussion it was felt that it was unlikely that a volunteer would be found to take on this duty. Steve has obtained a material which will fill in the areas between the flagstones on a permanent basis, thus eliminating the need for weeding. This will look very nice and reduce the need for constant maintenance. This will be installed on Saturday, September 25th at 0800 at Ivy Green. A work crew will be needed and very much appreciated.

We continue to accept Nominations for Base Offices. The nomination period closes at the end of October, so if you have a nominee or would like to be a nominee, please be in contact with Stave ASAP.  The nomination form is available on the Base website. A reminder that ALL officers are open for nomination and election. Currently there is at least one nominee for each of the Base Offices. If you want to serve YOUR base, this is an excellent way to do it.

Vice Commandee Ileene Davis reported that her audit of financial records was completed with no exceptions.

Puget Soundings Editor Dave Pittman reported that the Base News Letter has once again won Best Overall Newsletter.

The deadline for submissions for the next edition of the Puget Soundings is November 1st. Dave Pittman is looking for some good submarine book reviews and an eMail was sent out with instructions as to how to submit one to the newsletter.

Historian John Clear reported that the media cabinet has been acquired and installed. Numerous Submarine Films are available for checkout and some are available for purchase at a very reasonable cost.

Chaplain Fred Borgmann stated that at this time there is no information available as to arrangements for Ronald Seedorf, who went on Eternal Patrol this past week.

Base Commander Dave Bowman reported the following:

• The USS Providence is travelling to NBK for decommissioning. The Navy League has arranged for a Welcome Event on Saturday, September 25th from 1500-1700 at the Horse & Cow in Bremerton.

• Recently Base Members who use smile.amazon.com received an eMail from Amazon showing the donations made to the USSVI Charitable Fund on behalf of Amazon. There was some confusion as to how these funds are accounted for in our books, but it should be understood that the Amazon donation is to the Charitable Fund, not the Base. USSVICF Executive Director Ken Earls followed up with an eMail stating that in August of 2021, the USSVI received $406 from Amazon on behalf of members who used the smile.amazon feature.

• We need to form an “Awards Committee” to insure that the Bremerton Base is represented in the National Awards system. If you are interested, please contact the Base Commander.

• Additionally, the Base Commander would like to have nominations for the Bremerton Base Member of the Year Award. This is a Western District 04 Award, and our Base nominee will be considered for the WD04 Member of the Year. Please eMail your nominee to the Base Commander (dolphindave@slipperyfish.com) ASAP.

• There were numerous eMails which bounced on the last mass eMailing. These folks are NOT dead, but clearly have not updated the eMail in some time. starting with the next Newsletter, we will list the eMails that have bounced so that folks will see and can determine if they need to update their eMail.

• The Western Roundup will be October 17-22 in Reno, NV. If you are going, you need to have your Hotel reservation in place before September 16th. Also, if you are planning to go via RV, you need to be award that there is no RV parking on the site of the Roundup.

• Base and National Dues are coming up very quickly. Please be planning to make your Dues payment in the next few weeks as we close the year.

• As a part of making things easier and dragging ourselves into the 21st Century,  the eBoard has approved the use of a credit/debit card system for making payments at meetings and events. This will be in place by the November General Meeting and will be available for Dues and other purchases.

Following these items, the floor was opened for a full and frank discussion of how to get members more involved in addition to reaching more potential members. This discussion was intentionally not minuted so that members present could speak freely and frankly. The following recommendations were made:

• On Friday, October 29th, a Social Event for the Base will be held at the Fleet Reserve from 1500-1700. This is a purely social event with food and fellowship for the sole purpose of getting to know each other better and enjoying ourselves. Please feel free to bring potential members and friends.

• New Business Cards are available to Members for use in conversations and contacts with potential members. These will be available at the Meetings.

• A “Telephone Tree” will be tried starting in October. Each Base member will receive a call from an eBoard Member, reminding them of the interest that the Base has in them, as well as an invitation to upcoming meetings/events.

• We will be in contact with a Public Relations expert who will  be asked to present a full plan for PR and media exposure.

The meeting was adjourned and a small celebration of Past Commander Steve Corcoran’s Birthday was held. Happy Birthday, Steve!