1.   Our By-Laws are listed on the web site and all potential members can peruse the By-Laws before they join.

     2.   We are the only known U. S. Naval ship reunion organization that is a corporation. This is very important when it comes to legal matters.

     3.   Term limits for the officers are written into the By-Laws. This is very important because the leadership will not become stagnant. New innovative minds will also bring new ideas that will flow through the organization.

     4.   No one has to be a member of the organization for any length of time to be elected to serve as an officer. All members are treated equally, as stated in “Roberts Rules of Order.”   

     5.   Our membership dues, on average, are below $10.00 per year, which is the most reasonable found on The Internet.

     6.   Rosters of the entire membership are up-dated daily and issued at least quarterly to all members via e-mail. When a member discovers an error, the entire roster is generally re-issued the same day. Some organizations do not even have a roster, others are only issued once a year and errors are not corrected in a timely manner.

     7.   Bank Statements are issued to all the members via e-mail periodically. All members know exactly how their money is being spent.

     8.   All checks are paid on-line for all members, with computers, to see. The corporation does not have a checkbook so there are no hand-written checks. 

     9.   The corporation does not plan to return to the same reunion city unless the membership wants to return.

    10.   Members who attend consecutive reunions will be able deduct 1% for each prior reunion attended from the total amount of all reunion fees, which includes registration fees, venue costs, banquet fees, etc. For example, if a member has attended 13 consecutive reunions, he or she may deduct 13% from the sub-total amount of their fees for the 14th reunion and so on. This policy is only in effect if prior reunions do not result in a deficit.  If you add up the bonuses for 13 reunions, it will equal 91%, almost the total price of one reunion. No other reunion organization is known to have this policy.

11.   It is common practice for many hotels to offer large groups a free night stay for every 50 paid nights. Some hotels offers as low as one free night for each 25 nights sold. At each reunion we raffle off all these free night stays rather than give them to the officers or reunion organizers. As an example, if 200 rooms are paid for and each room is booked for 5 nights, that is a total of 1000 nights. The organization would receive 20 free nights stays and each night would be a prize at the annual raffle held the night of the banquet. In this way the members receive more value from their membership for attending reunions. No other U.S. Naval Reunion organization offers this benefit.

12.   We provide all members with individualized ID cards. The ID Card contains a photograph of the ship when the member served on it. All plank owners are recognized on their membership ID Cards.

13.   Squadrons & Shipmates offers a 50/50 Bonus Plan for members who may have financial difficulties and find it difficult to pay their annual dues.  For members who would find it helpful, the corporation will pay 50% of their annual dues.

14.   The organization will also actively assist members in finding lost comrades and in most cases are able to locate your buddies.

15.   The corporation offers Lifetime Memberships. The Lifetime Membership dues are 10 times the annual membership dues. It is a one-time fee for your lifetime, no matter how young you are.

16.   We are the only organization that has a custom-made design on our hats and we are very proud of it. Many aircraft carrier organizations use the same silhouette of a ship and just change the name. There are also no patches on our hats as everything is embroidered directly on the hat. Our corporation name is embroidered on the back of the hat. (see “Merchandise” page on the web site) 

17.   Reunion attendee rosters are sent out before the reunion to all members. Everyone knows beforehand who will be attending the reunions. All reunion attendees are also given a list of everyone who attends the reunion. This is something other organizations have not done before.

18.   There is never a fine for late registration for the reunion and walk-ins are always welcome. 

19.   Members who attend the reunions decide where future reunions will be held. The officers or any one individual does not decide this.  Reunions are also held in all 4 time zones. 

20.   We have a Board of Directors and if a problem cannot be resolved among the officers, the Board is called upon to resolve the issue. No one person has complete authority within the organization.

21.   We can find almost anyone for you free of charge when you become a member. However, comrades with common names such as Brown, Jones, Johnson or Smith are nearly impossible to find. No other known organization offers this benefit. 

22.   The organization will issue a profit or loss statement at the end of each reunion and it will be sent to the members via e-mail. The 2011 Statement for the San Diego Reunion is listed below.

2011_FINANCIAL_REPORT_Sheet1.pdf