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A New Year and a New President

By Erik Seither posted 01-09-2013 01:03 PM

  
"Dear Architecurel Engineers,

Hi my name is John.  I am 8 years old.  When I grow up I want to be a captain.  I'll pay you if you build my ship when I am adult.  I want to to creat the biggest ship bigger than the titanic, the Disney Pixar.  I want it to be like the Disney Dream Ships.  And it will sail on the pacific, atlantic, and carribean seas.  When I grow up I'll go to Texas A&M then fly back to new york when I am out of college.  Your new friend, John."

See the original handwritten letter,

This was my first correspondence for the New Year, dated 1 January and I wanted to share this with you.  It is slightly edited and the names have been changed but it is a fantastic letter.  As we enter this New Year we can all keep this spirit in mind.  The staff at SNAME will be doing exactly this as me move ahead this year to implement many important changes.

Peter Noble has just started his two year term as President and has an active agenda he wants to pursue.  Please welcome Peter when you have a chance.  I know Peter will be very visible and accessible to you all.  Peter has a broad background and a unique perspective.  If you don't know him, he has a very deep commitment to our members.  Engage him when you can.

Ed Comstock is stepping down after completing his term as President of SNAME.  Among the many things that our Presidents do, Ed strengthened the functional structure and organization of the Society that is necessary for our growth.  He, as Keith Michel before him, was extremely supportive and I want to personally thank him for this and for his devotion to the Society and its members.

One last thing to close, if you have not yet renewed your membership, please do.  There are some great things in store and you do not want to miss them.  Happy New Year to you all.

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02-05-2013 03:19 PM

Wonderful to see this excitement in our next generation of sailors, naval architects and boat type people! Reminds me of my son. One of his first sentences was, "Big boat Daddy!" after picking me up from a boat I was surveying ... we have to keep this level of enthusiasm in our young people.

01-14-2013 12:57 PM

Thanks for sharing, Erik. Very cool! Great story, Rik - we will need to keep that in mind as we work to capture new talent. :-)

01-11-2013 05:47 PM

Too funny. One day my father and I took my 8 year old son fishing on a party boat. He was the only kid. The mate took a rod and started fishing next to him. Then he handed the rod to my son and said: Hold this I have to help the Captain. My son took the rod and the reel started to spin out. He caught a big fish. My father was delighted and when we got to the dock wanted to give the mate a big tip. The mate said: I don't want your money. We just want to hook them when they are young.