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2003 Annual Meeting

On February 22nd more than fifty friends of "Nobska" attended their annual review meeting in the Whaling Museum of New Bedford. A little after ten o'clock in the morning, NESF Chairman Warren Hartwell opened the session by asking Art to brief the members on the year's activities.

President's Review

Through many meetings, phonecalls and letters we kept "Nobska" visible and maintained her place in line with State and Federal Goverment, made progress with regulatory agencies, and developed our commercial contacts. Officials at all levels from the many agencies, organizations, and corporations we dealt with are, without exception, positive and eager to help.

• We obtained endorsements from representatives Frank, Delahunt, and McGovern, have been in contact with the Governor, and opened new communications with the Federal Government.
• We continued to work with MARAD, the Steamship Authority, and the Park Service.
• Through cooperation with Packaging Trends we are developing plans with Spirit Marine and Aggreko.

Art continued to list highlights of his efforts in chronological order:

March -

Negotiated a loan extension with the Compass Bank.

April -

Met with and obtained endorsements from Massachusetts' representatives Frank, Delahunt, and McGovern.

Met again with the Highway Dept., to keep "Nobska" on their radar screen.

As reported earlier, in this month we received the expected letter from ABS Americas that approved the reconstructed steelwork. This solid certification helps our efforts to secure funding and attract partners.

May -

Completed and presented our business plan to MARAD. This plan explains that with revenues from plying historic routes, excursion cruises, and national tours, NESF will be in a position to repay her rebuilding costs.

June -

Met with the Steamship Authority to discuss conditions for amending our existing licensing agreement to land and embark passengers at Martha's Vineyard.

July -

In a follow-up meeting with the Park Service our new video, with David McCullough's wholehearted support, stole the show. This professional movie made the importance of our project all the more compelling.

Deputy Park Superintendent David Brouillette described several factors influencing the Charlestown Navy Yard, and the Foundation responded with the positions of all "Nobska" parties.

August -

Submitted the Foundation's financial status and balance sheet to Packaging Trends. This promotional firm from Atlanta led us to contacts with Spirit Marine Dinner Cruises and Aggreko Event Services, the firm that staged the Winter Olympics. Together we developed a concept for an exhibition centering on our nation's transportation history.

September -

Provided assistance and materials for the appearance of "Nobska" on the TV program "Chronicle".

October -

Kicked-off our very successful Sustaining Drive.

Initiated contact with Flagship Cinema to gauge their interest, and received a proposal to participate in the opening of a new theater complex in Wareham, at the entrance to Cape Cod, in 2003.

November -

Met with the Park Service to explore our concept of a "Transportation Exposition" with "Nobska" as the centerpiece of a national tour.

December -

Discuss compensation for the Foundation's renovation of the Sundial Building in connection with the expiration of the lease for NESF offices.

Throughout Art stressed that to himself, and the people he worked with and contacted it has become clear that Federal Government assistance in the form of a grant or loan guarantee must be the major source of restoration capital. Operating funds can possibly be raised with private contributions and membership but restoration is beyond our capability without Federal help. In this context Art added that he'd like much more emphasis on involving the members.

Nevertheless, while everything turns on obtaining further funding, we should all realize that NESF is by no means a poor beggar. In our "Nobska" we have a valuable property, an asset in which government agencies have large financial investments.

Treasurer's Report

As in previous years Robert Iadicicco's P/L statement showed a negative result for 2002. However he noted with great pleasure that NESF's cashflow improved markedly because, to reduce the interest payments, Art Flathers personally paid off the Foundation's banknote of $99,212 with Compass Bank. The members enthusiastically expressed their appreciation for Art's latest generosity and his show of undiminished confidence in an eventual positive outcome.

New Trustees

Secretary Barry Eager obtained the members' approval of the trustees' stewardship. Five members were nominated and unanimously elected as trustees: for the full three-year term: Barry Eager Robert Iadicicco, Richard Volkin, David Wolfendon and Peter Yoars.

Barry further reported that NESF had settled a legal case at minimal expense; the terms of the settlement required confidentiality.

Pump Award

For his outstanding contribution in documenting "Nobska", her sisters, and their world in a professional video Jim Carroll, who is also the son of trustee Tom Carroll, received the 2003 Pump Award.
In accepting the award Jim thanked the many members that made the video possible through interviews, providing pictures, and assistance.

Video

Subsequently the audience watched a pre-release copy of Jim's compelling video. Her friends cheered the long missed sights and sounds of "Nobska" playing her trade. All agreed that this stirring documentary, with David McCullough's appeal, illustrates our "Nobska" better than ever and vividly underlines the historical significance of saving America's last remaining coastal steamship.
The video can be ordered from NESF. Additionally the Foundation plans to make the tape available through Wood's Hole and Mystic Seaport.
In case you're still undecided whether to get involved, watching this moving show will convince you to join our efforts to save "Nobska".

Discussion

The meeting closed with questions from the floor:

On the topic of funding:

NESF did chase many foundations, especially also those that helped the Whaling Museum, and continues to do so.
Our application with MARAD is pending. We still need to satisfy some of their conditions. Plus we need to meet some requirements toward a licensing agreement with the Steamship Authority.
In answer to the question when we could expect government assistance, Art candidly replied:"In the future".

Plans for "Nobska"'s operation:

Our target is to get "Nobska" back on her original route. However that trade is not sufficient to sustain costs. The business plan indicates that the vessel needs 250 operational days a year. On the original route we can project no more than 125-150 days annually. Therefore we'll need additional visits to major ports and events. Further we are planning a dining area and "Moonlight Cruises" to defray operation expenses.

Commercial contacts:

Over the past few years together with Packaging Trends, we have developed excellent contacts to achieve our business plan. Spirit Marine is the world's largest dinner cruise company, and Aggreko staged the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. So we are working with people who know how to do this.

Calendar

You can already set aside the date for next year's Annual Meeting; the Saturday after President's Day, i.e. February 21, 2004.
For completeness, the 2003 trustees meeting schedule will be: May 10th, September 13th, and November 8th.