The Lafayette Association is a fraternal organization for United States Navy Submariners who served aboard the nuclear powered fleet ballistic missile submarine USS Lafayette (SSBN-616). The primary purpose of the association is to provide an opportunity for the members to enjoy camaraderie with former shipmates and other submariners with a common background of service aboard the Lafayette, and to provide the opportunity for members to actively participate in reunions and other activities of the association.
Shipmates Identified: 255 Officers & 1796 Crew
including 65 on Eternal Patrol for a total of 2051
Association President's Message
Greetings to all shipmates and friends of the USS Lafayette. I am taking this opportunity to communicate to all of you. As always your inputs and comments are desired so please feel free to pass them on to me. The continuing success of the association depends on all of us being involved.
Reunion 2009:
It has been six months since the reunion at Charleston and time to move on with the 2009 reunion. The consensus of the members at the Charleston reunion was the next reunion would be held in the Northwest and I have been working toward that goal. Reviewing our options it appears the most practical area would be on the Kitsap Peninsular which includes the Bremerton, Silverdale, Keyport areas. I have contacted several facilities in this area and am receiving replies as to size and capabilities of their venues. This area is very scenic and includes the TRIDENT Submarine Base at Bangor (tours would be available), an excellent undersea museum at Keyport (outside the gate, open to the public, and free), several good golf courses, a large shopping mall at Silverdale, and an Indian casino. Seattle is easily accessible by ferry or road but is about one hour travel time. Seattle –Tacoma provides an excellent airport for those flying in. Seattle is also a major rail hub and also a major port for people going on Alaska cruises. Exploring the local weather and tourist season it appears that September would be the ideal time to visit this area. The weather is moderate and clear at this time of year and the mountain passes to the East are all open for those driving out. This area has heavy tourist traffic during the summer months which would impact the availability of motels. The final selection of time and place will be made by the board of directors and I intend to present my findings to them in the near future. I always welcome any inputs on this subject and would like to hear from any members with your thoughts to make this reunion successful.
Dues:
The association established dues of $10 per year payable in two year increments. The dues for 2008/2009 of $20 are now due. Our treasurer, Joe Geiger has set up a secure PAYPAL account which allows you to pay theses dues online via credit card. This is a simple way to handle this and can be done via our website. Joe still accepts checks if you so desire. His address is:
Joe Geiger (Treasurer), 2211 Riding Ridge Rd, Columbia, S.C. 29223
Volunteers:
The association depends on volunteers to keep going. I desperately need people to lead and staff our committees. We need to establish a reunion committee with a chairman. We would be best served by some people who live in the Northwest. Up until now I have been working this project by myself but need someone to take it over and watch out for the myriad of things that will come up. I’m sure we can spread this task out such that no one person is overload. While people in the local area are needed there are many items that can be handled from outside of the area. I have been quite successful in gathering information and establishing contacts from here in Florida. Please consider volunteering to help. The second major area that needs attention is a newsletter. We need an editor and some staff members to keep up the communications with the membership.
If you can help with any of these areas or have any input on this subject please contact me or any of the board members.
Membership:
I initially considered a membership committee but really feel we are all the membership committee. The greatest contributions for adding members have been individuals who have contacted old shipmates or supplied names of shipmates. The website continues to attract new members. If each of you would look over the lost shipmates section on the site and see if you can help locate these individuals it would be appreciated. Even if you just supply some information to me on these people we will try to track them down.
Don McBrideAssociation PresidentETCM(SS) USN RetiredGold Crew Plank Owner7241 Maple Tree DriveJacksonville, FL904-745-0741Copyright (c) 2004-2007
all rights reserved
USS Lafayette Association
