08 February 2004

 Restoration Log 34

Ben Koether, Chairman

Senior team members will be in Anchorage and Barrow, Alaska the week of February 16 meeting with state leaders and representatives of the Alaskan Native American community to develop support for Glacier's medical, global climate change and educational missions.

The preparations for movement to the pier continue although somewhat slower than we had hoped. However, the most important task at hand now is to line up major funding for the project. Your Finance Team is hard at work traveling from the United Kingdom to Washington, DC to Alaska. Our high level support is growing. You will see that when the Operations report for last year is published.

The Navy's David Taylor Model Basin has located the records pertaining to the design of the hull and propellers. This will be used to interpret our new mission and improve our screw design and power plant to hopefully yield lower running costs. Captain Hatch is leading this effort.

We presented a recognition award to Captain William G. Schubert, the Maritime administrator at his office in January. Visit: http://www.glaciersociety.org/press/Schubertpress.htm

After many delays Glacier Society now is running its own dedicated physical secure server, not a rented or shared facility. Our membership database is therefore now available to a committed remote staff via a VPN. We will attempt to add additional services, such as our project management and volunteer work schedules and VOIP telephone services for remote workers.

Glacier Society is establishing an office in FT. Lauderdale, FL for the specific purpose of broadening our membership and more importantly focusing upon the center of our cruise ship industry. The Port of Ft. Lauderdale is the largest passenger port for the USA, processing 50,000 visitors over the Christmas/New Year Holiday weekend. The industry leadership is here in South Florida. We are seeking participation and support from within the Industry to help us operate Glacier efficiently.

A special thank you to Mike Devine for his ongoing work and dedication to the Glacier Society's PowerPoint presentations!

As always, we need donations so please donate if you can..

Ben Koether
Chairman Glacier Society