2012 NDA Reunion

 

Reunion Update -- 02-19-2012

 

The major revisions made to this 2/19/2012 update are in the SCHEDULED EVENTS and AUCTION areas. Also added a hotel registration cut-off date to the Baymont Inn & Suites information.

 

2012 10th Bi-Annual NDA Reunion

BREMERTON, WASHINGTON

 

BAYMONT INN & SUITES
5640 Kitsap Way
Bremerton, WA 98312
MAY 6 - 10, 2012

 

http://www.baymontinnbremerton.com/

 

To date the following groups will be in attendance.

Navy Divers Association - NDA
Harbor Clearance Unit ONE (HCU-1) Vietnam Association
SEA LAB – Man-In-The Sea Program

 

Reunion Cost

 

There is NO REGISTRATION FEE to attend the NDA Reunion.  In other words – ADMISSION IS FREE.

Your only expenses you should expect to incur are:

  • Drinks / snacks in which you indulge in the Hospitality Suite – honor system
  • Travel expense - Lodging - Meals
  • Activities you decide upon

 

Baymont Inn & Suites Information

 

The Reservation Block is NOW OPEN for Reservations under “NAVY DIVERS REUNION” -- Room rates:  $78 per night. Telephone 360-377-7666 to make your reservations. The property will honor this rate for two days before and two days after the reunion dates.

 

DO NOT MAKE YOUR RESERVATIONS USING EITHER THE INTERNET OR THE TOLL FREE NUMBER LISTED ON THE INTERNET. To get the Group Rate, you must use the 360-377-7666 direct line. Verify you are getting the Group Rate.

 

The cutoff date for reservations at the above $78 per night rate is April 20, 2012.

 

Baymont Inn & Suites Hotel Bremerton offers 155 newly renovated and spacious guest rooms designed to accommodate your likes.

 

Each room is equipped with:

  • 32” Flat Screen TV
  • Cable TV
  • Premium Bedding
  • Coffee Maker and mini coffee packets
  • Mini Refrigerator
  • Microwave
  • Iron & Ironing Board
  • Hair Dryer
  • Desk & Executive chair
  • Chair & Ottoman
  • Balcony
  • Voice Mail & Wake Up Service
  • High Speed Internet & Ethernet Cable
  • 100% Smoke Free

Service/Amenities in Some Rooms:

  • Handicapped Rooms
  • In-Bath Whirlpool
  • Phone for Hearing Impaired
  • Turn Down Service

Room Sizes Available:

  • 2 Queen Beds with view
  • Single King Bed with View
  • Suite with 1 King and 2 Queen Beds with view
  • Single King Suite with view
  • Single Queen with view
  • Single King Bed
  • 2 Queen Beds

Baymont Inn & Suites Bremerton also offers an elegant lobby where you can sit back, relax and enjoy scenic views while sitting by the fireplace and enjoying a hot chocolate, hot cider, cocktail or beer of your choice.

 

Airport Shuttle

There is a shuttle from SeaTac Airport to the Baymont Inn & Suites.  Go to the following website for information on arrival and departure times from both the airport and the Hotel.  http://www.kitsapairporter.com/  Read the schedule thoroughly because there are some discounts.

 

I've asked Tom Hodgins to look into this more thoroughly and will pass along the information as I receive it either by email or newsletter.

 

RV Parking and Hookups

The Baymont Inn & Suites has some areas in the lower parking lot where campers could be used, but the elevator from that level is turned off and you would have to use the stairs to get up to the property. There are, however, two or three spaces in the upper lot where someone could park.  You would not, however, have any hook ups or dump station.

Larry stokes informed me the other day that he has plenty of room for dry camping at his place in Port Orchard, WA. He has one dump station and one full hook up and can arrange several power plug ins. Larry’s property at 8398 Spring Creek Road, Port Orchard, WA 98366, is 11 miles and approximately 14 minutes from the Baymont Inn & Suites. Larry's number is 360-710-2925.

 

There are also several websites you can go to to check out RV Parks.  Not being an RVer, I am not that proficient in finding the best websites to go to for information.  I did, however, find this one http://www.rvparkreviews.com/regions/Washington/Bremerton.html that will give you some info on the Bremerton area.

 

SCHEDULED EVENTS

 

We will run this reunion exactly as we have in the past.

 

Hospitality Suite:  We will have our usual hospitality suite where the property allows us to bring in our own beer, wine, liquor, soft drinks, etc.  We may also bring in our own snacks, (i.e., pretzels, chips, nuts, etc.).

 

The hospitality suite, as we have done in the past, will run on the honor system where we put out a can and participants donate based on what drinks or snacks they believe they consume.

 

Sunday:  Check-in, complete the registration sign-in sheet if you haven't already done so. Hospitality suite will be open at 3:00 P.M.

 

Pre-registration sheets have been sent out. The Pre-registration sheet is for attendee information and to sign up for the events. If you wish, you may send your payments for all events to me via snail mail for the events you wish to attend. The Pre-registration sheets should be completed and either emailed or snail-mailed to me at 3804 Wildwood Road, San Diego, CA 92107-3750.

 

IMPORTANT: The only money I need before April 15, 2012, is the bus fee ($15) if you plan on riding the bus to attend the Monday reception at DIT. This is important as I need to hire the buses. The reception is no cost to you.

 

Once these sheets are complete, you only have to check in at our table at the Baymont after you arrive to let us know you are there.

 

During your on-site Registration (if you have not already pre-registered), you may also sign up for the Tuesday meeting, the Naval Undersea Museum tour, and the Wednesday night Buffet.

 

Monday:  Hospitality Suite will be open all day.  Continue check-in for those that didn’t yesterday. We will have an afternoon no-cost-to-you "get acquainted” reception at DIT.

 

If you are taking the bus to the reception at DIT, you MUST PRE-REGISTER and PRE-PAY before April 15, 2012.

 

The reception is sponsored by the Divers Institute of Technology (DIT) http://www.diversinstitute.edu/ at their facility in Seattle.  The menu is still being planned, but we are tentatively looking at having a cookout with hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken wings, etc. and various liquid refreshments.  Bruce Banks may even throw in a few Dungeness Crabs. We are also looking at a picture taking session where attendees may again dress in the old MK V and have their picture taken as well as tour the facility and view on-going student training.

 

These Monday receptions are scheduled to get everyone together to meet, greet, have a little fun, find out who is attending, and make plans with each other for the rest of the week.  Only this time, we are trying to make it a little more interesting for you all.

 

Tuesday:  Hospitality Suite will be open all day. Our bi-annual business meeting will be held at 0900 today due to scheduling the Naval Undersea Museum tour on Wednesday. The purpose of this business meeting is to discuss the location of the next reunion, whether or not we want to go to annual reunions or stick with the current two year plan. We also need to discuss changes in leadership, the website, newsletters, funds, items NDA is currently selling, etc.  We currently have approximately $8,000 in our bank account and need to discuss what we want to do with the funds.

 

The remainder of today is a free day for all. Larry Stokes and Tom Hodgins are still working on drawing up a list of possible events we can send out to you all and get some feed back as to whether or not enough are interested before setting up one or more of these events.

 

We are still looking at a harbor cruise and golf. I will get the list out to all of you in the couple of weeks so I can get some feedback and, if we get enough interest, schedule an event or two.

 

Wednesday:  Hospitality Suite will be open all day.

 

As was approved at the 2010 Reunion, I used some of the funds to purchase additional Challenge Coins, NDA/HCU-1 T-Shirts and Divers ball caps and we have a good inventory.  Sales are still constant and generate a few bucks for the treasury.  We, of course will have these items for sale at the reunion. A recent purchae was a U.S NAVY SATURATION DIVER ball cap.

 

We will hold our banquet in the evening.  We are planning on the usual buffet style sit down meal followed by our fund raising auction. I am still finalizing the menu and will be certain to have chicken, salmon and beef as our entrees. I should have something out to you by April 1, 2012.

 

AUCTION  AUCTION  AUCTION

 

The auction will follow the dinner and, will again be headed up by Larry Stokes as Auctioneer extraordinaire with his beautiful wife, Shirley, handing the collections.

 

This auction is our main fund raiser for the NDA. We always need items for this auction.  So please continue cleaning out your attics, garages, etc. and dig up anything you think will sell…no matter for how much or how little.  Every little bit helps.

 

Gary Holtz dug up several diving related items and shipped them to my place.  I've looked his donations over and am certain they will do very well for us at the auction. One item in particular -- a very will tuned ship's bell -- should bring considerable attention. Incidentally, we will be using this bell during our "Tolling of the Bells" ceremony for those divers and diver support personnel who have passed away during the past two years.

 

We accept pretty much anything for the auction. Some of our ladies have made beautiful comforters, shawls, etc. for past auctions and I am hoping many will do so again for this one.

 

In the past Larry has auctioned off a deep sea dress, a jacket with a MK V on the back, scuba tanks, diving knives, dive bags, an underwater torch, various dive books and journals and the list goes on and on.  So, you all get the idea.  Start cleaning the old homestead and find something for which Larry can get us a few bucks.

 

Rick Armstrong CWO-5, Ret., has graciously offered to commission a piece of artwork specifically for the reunion and donate it for our auction.  You can see some of Rick’s beautiful work at www.deepseadiveart.com   You can also go to this link on our NDA website under links.  If you would like to have Rick commission a design specifically for you, go to deepseadiveart@yahoo.com

 

Fortunately, some lucky couple(s) may again have the opportunity to bid on a one week stay at Bruce Banks’ luxury condo close to Jaco, Costa Rica (the west coast).  Ceil and I, Bobby & Becky Moore, and Gad & Marjorie Hitchcock bid on the condo at the 2008 auction and spent a couple of weeks in Costa Rica.  In 2010 Bruce donated two weeks --  one week each to two separate bidders.  Dave & Sue Peterson were the lucky bidders on one and Tom Hodgins & Don Ferguson got the second week. So hopefully, Bruce will provide a lucky bidder or bidders the opportunity to spend a week in his luxury condo.  Bruce continues to study the possibility of donating again.

 

NOTE - We recently purchased MK V Statuette #273 from the MK V Monument Project www.markvmonument.org and will either auction or raffle off. We have not yet decided. But, this is your last chance to buy one of these beautiful and extremely well-detailed statuettes. Only 300 of these have been built - there will be no more and the Project has either sold or accounted for all 300 statuettes. You can see the list of those who have purchased these collector's items by going to the Replica Sales tab. Think it over. This is an important piece that played a huge part in your history.

 

Thursday:  Hospitality Suite will be opened until 11:00 A.M.  This is check-out day.

 

As I mentioned earlier, the Baymont has graciously extended the low rate to two days before the reunion and two days after.  So, if you all want to hang around for a couple of days after the reunion, the Baymont has made it economical for you to do so.

 

History of the NDA / HCU-1 Reunions

 

A few thoughts about the reunion.  The original reunion was held in Las Vegas in 1994 as the HARBOR CLEARANCE UNIT ONE – VIETNAM (HCU-1) reunion.  After several reunions the group decided to open the reunions to ALL Navy Divers and Support Personnel as the number of HCU ONE vets was a finite number that was slowly decreasing.  The intention of the current reunion format is to make it possible for shipmates to get together to renew old friendships.  There is plenty of opportunity for mini-reunions and the swapping of Sea Stories that get better every year. Attendance is open to ALL NAVY DIVERS, ALL HCU ONE vets, and more importantly ALL DIVER SUPPORT PERSONNEL (who made and continue to make it possible for the diver’s to complete their missions), their spouses and friends.

 

Also, don't forget to checkout the HCU-1 website on which Jack Faessler has posted info on past reunions as well as all the HCU-1 Command Histories Dave Peterson researched several years ago. You can reach it by going to the website at: http://www.seastory.us/hcu1/