The United States photographed on May 14, 2006.

Susan Gibbs dedicates the SS United States Library,
April 28, 2006 .

NCL's Colin Veitch imparts new hope for the future
of the SS United States on April 28, 2006.

Conservancy VP Rich Rabbett gives the
"state of the union" to open the meeting
on May 13, 2006 in Philadelphia.

President Susan Gibbs presents an illuminating
look at her grandfather, W.F. Gibbs.

Greg Norris debunks myths about the ship's top speed.

Lunch in the Spinnaker Room.

Joe Rota presents Toni Alexander with a plaque commemorating Mike Alexander's
dedication to saving the Big U. 

SS United States crew members are recognized.

SS United States crew member Richard Gearing
enthralled the audience with many amusing tales.

Dear Friend of SS United States:

It gives us great pleasure to share with you the overwhelming success of our recent SS United States Conservancy annual meeting in Philadelphia on May 13. Despite miserable weather across much of the eastern seaboard, the celebration went forward full speed ahead and resulted in a fantastic gala reunion for former crew, passengers, and friends of the SS United States. We're also pleased to offer the following updates on recent activities:

--SS United States Library Dedication aboard Pride of Hawaii

--Spreading the Word Through Film: SSUS Documentary Update

--Overview of the Conservancy's Annual Meeting

--Special Thanks

SS United States Library Dedication Aboard Pride of Hawaii

The SS United States Conservancy's ongoing efforts on behalf of the SS United States were recently recognized aboard the Pride of Hawaii, NCL America's newest US-flagged vessel. On April 28, Conservancy supporters and NCL leadership gathered in Baltimore to formally dedicate the new SS United States Library. The Conservancy collaborated closely with NCL in the design and development of the SS United States Library aboard the Pride of Hawaii and was proud to be a part of the celebrations surrounding the vessel's delivery. SSUSC President Susan Gibbs formally dedicated the library following remarks by Conservancy Vice President Greg Norris, NCL President and CEO Colin Veitch, and former crewmembers Joseph Belanger and Joe Muchulsky. During the ceremony, Gibbs presented Colin Veitch with a book belonging to her grandfather, William Francis Gibbs, designer of the SS United States. The book was one of his law school textbooks (as Mr. Gibbs never had any formal training in naval architecture or marine engineering!). Mr. Veitch was also presented with a framed original menu from a 1954 voyage of the SS United States by Greg Norris, who craftily remarked that the menu would hopefully serve as a reminder of what to serve on the "second maiden voyage" of the Big U. Mr. Veitch spoke at length about NCL's efforts to establish an American-flagged service in Hawaii and expressed enthusiastic optimism about the successful refurbishment of the SS United States. He reaffirmed the fact that NCL purchased the ship in 2003 and summarized NCL's ongoing engineering and architectural studies by indicating that "it's looking very encouraging" that the SS United States could be rebuilt to "today's safety and stability standards." He also suggested that the refurbished SS United States would not join the rest of the NCL America fleet in the Hawaii market but would instead occupy a special prestige niche, similar to Cunard's Queen Mary 2. He did note that NCL first needs to augment its international flag fleet before turning its attention to the Big U. Mr. Veitch noted that he sees the SS United States Conservancy as a "great partner" and that NCL will look to the Conservancy for guidance in "capturing the essence" of the original SS United States. In commending the Conservancy's collaboration with NCL on the SS United States Library, Mr. Veitch said, "It's nice that we've been able to do this together. So let's hope that this is the smallest thing that we do and that we have much greater and bigger and more successful things ahead of us." He also pointed out that the library itself would afford a great internal marketing tool to raise awareness of the SS United States to the thousands of passengers who will regularly sail aboard the Pride of Hawaii.

SS United States Conservancy and Food Chain Films Collaborate on Exciting Documentary Film

Major progress has been achieved on the SS United States Conservancy's forthcoming documentary film, tentatively titled "SS United States: Lady In Waiting." This film, envisioned as the first of two television specials, is going to be terrific! This past weekend documentary filmmaker Robert Radler and his colleagues shot new exterior footage of the Big U along the pier where she's currently berthed and also conducted extensive on-camera interviews with supporters and former passengers and crew. A big thank you to the many people who took the time this weekend and generously shared their stories, memorabilia and enthusiasm with us. We will keep you posted as the film's release date nears!

Philadelphia Meeting and Celebration May 13, 2006

Morning Sessions

One hundred-thirty (130) participants signed in for the Conservancy's meeting and festivities at the Independence Seaport Museum. The meeting kicked off with Vice President Richard Rabbett welcoming guests and providing an opening overview of the SS United States Conservancy, which has established itself as the premier organization dedicated to preservation of the SS United States. Rabbett presented a detailed overview of the organization's structure and governance, membership and finances as well as a review of current and future projects on behalf of the SS United States.

Susan Gibbs, Conservancy President, provided an intimate portrait of her grandfather, William Francis Gibbs, designer of the SS United States, beginning with her family's early roots in 19th century Philadelphia business and high society. She then detailed the extraordinary career of her legendary grandfather which ultimately resulted in his prominent position in this country's maritime history.

The Conservancy's own resident marine structural engineer and Board member, John Milligan, then took the stage to provide a technical overview of the development of the hull of a ship, with specific reference to the development of the lines of the SS United States.

Nick Manzi of Atlantic Logistics, the company NCL contracts to secure and maintain the Big U in Philadelphia, outlined their role as stewards of the vessel following her purchase by NCL in 2003. Nick also delighted the crowd by showing real-time closed circuit TV images from multiple cameras situated along the pier where the United States is docked.

Media Director Dan McSweeney presented details of the Conservancy's recent collaboration with NCL on the creation of the SS United States Library aboard the new Pride of Hawaii. Meeting participants then viewed a videotaped speech from the library's dedication in which NCL President and CEO, Colin Veitch, reiterated NCL's pride of ownership in the SS United States and commitment to returning her to active service, provided regulatory and other engineering challenges can be successfully met.

The morning session closed with Conservancy Vice President Greg Norris delivering a short tribute to the overall design aspects of the Big U based on his own multiple travels aboard the ship.

Meeting participants then broke for a fantastic lunch in the museum's Spinnaker Room, enjoying the view of the SS United States through a huge glass wall overlooking the Delaware River.

Afternoon Sessions

The afternoon session opened with Charles Anderson, son of the late Commodore John Anderson, the Big U's second and longest-serving master, presenting a lovely tribute to his father and the great ship through never-before-seen-images from his parents' personal photo albums. Mr. Anderson provided a delightful overview of the least well- known of the United States' masters and wowed the audience with many spectacular images, including a series of shots of his father docking the ship without tugs during a seaman's strike in the 1950s.

Conservancy Board member Mark Perry next introduced documentary filmmaker Robert Radler, who took the stage to screen a trailer for the documentary film he is currently shooting on the Big U. Mr. Radler, an award-winning filmmaker, detailed his love for the ship, going back to the early 1970s, and his passion for getting this new and exciting film of America's flagship "in the can." It's safe to say that there wasn't a dry eye in the house when the lights came up!

Joe Rota and Jeff Henry then presented a moving video tribute to the late Mike Alexander, arguably the Big U's most passionate fan and supporter. The Conservancy brought Mike's mother and two brothers to Philadelphia for the tribute, after which the Conservancy presented the family with a beautiful plaque honoring Mike's love for the ship and his commitment to securing a bright future for her. Mrs. Alexander was moved by the outpouring of love and affection for her son and requested that in his memory, if and when the SS United States is ultimately rebuilt, that the Conservancy work to install this plaque aboard the ship, so that people will learn of the good work Mike has done on behalf of the Great Lady.

The meeting concluded on an upbeat note with a wonderful crew roundtable featuring Richard Gearing, Joe Rota and Joe Muchulsky, who entertained the audience with fascinating and amusing stories from their many years of service aboard the Big U and then fielded questions from participants about life aboard the great ship. The day closed with a lovely cocktail reception sponsored by NCL at a nearby Italian restaurant, where meeting recipients continued to share their stories of the Big U and dreams for her future.

Special Thanks

The SS United States Conservancy would like to express its gratitude to the following individuals/entities for their generous support and assistance in making this year's Conservancy meeting and gala reunion an overwhelming success: Mark Brown and Steve Jones, Independence Seaport Museum; Spasso's Italian Grill; Nick and Ray Manzi, Atlantic Logistics; John Reynolds and Patty Kurczewski, GAC-RURCO; Norwegian Cruise Line; Charles Keates, The Philadelphia Club; The Alexander Family; Charles and Chris Anderson; Robert Radler; Bonnie Davis; Carmine and Laura Balsama; Robert (Hutch) Hutchings; James Ducker and Antonio Aguirre of Oceanlinerlapelpins.com; Don Leavitt of Nautiques.net; Joe Muchulsky; the Reverend John Mann; Richard Gearing; Jim Green; Maureen Keating and family; and all the former crew and passengers and SS United States and supporters who joined us: THANK YOU!