Sailing Science Center News
December 2018
Vol. 2, No. 4
Happy Holidays, and welcome to the December issue of the Sailing Science Center News. There's a lot in the news this month, both from happenings in November and in things to look forward to in 2019. Please read on to see the details!

If you only do things that are certain to succeed
then you will only do things that are very obvious.

Elon Musk
Volunteer Spotlight - Morgan Davidson
This month's spotlight is on Morgan Davidson. Morgan joined the ranks of SSC volunteers just last month and it already looks like she's going to be a huge contributor. Morgan has agreed to step into the role of SSC Volunteer Coordinator, filling a much-needed opening. Morgan is a Gaucho! She holds a BA in Global Studies/International relations from UCSB. She developed her passion for sailing during her time in Santa Barbara, where she sailed with her Uncle Mike, who owned a boat there.

Morgan now works for a company in Hillsborough that does corporate team building framed around cooking. She organizes most of the operations, and when asked, agreed that her job was much like that of an event planner. 

Morgan adds that she is innately social. She likes getting out and meeting new people, being active, and spending time with friends. Of course, this is the perfect background and demeanor for a Volunteer Coordinator. You can also see from her smile that she is someone who will automatically attract people to our group. Later in this newsletter is a notice about our first volunteer event for 2019, which Morgan is already preparing for. We're really looking forward to having you be part of the project, Morgan! Welcome aboard!

If you're not living on the edge you're taking up too much room.

Bob Proctor
Dos Pueblos at the Exploratorium
On November 3, Meagan Strout and I met with Amir and Emily Abo-Shaeer at the Exploratorium. Amir and Emily are the founders of the Dos Pueblos Engineering Academy. The purpose of the meeting was to make introductions and to discuss ways in which our organizations can benefit one another. I was later interviewed by Emily on video for about 10 minutes.

For those who are reading about this organization for the first time, Dos Pueblos Engineering Academy is a program within Dos Pueblos High School, a public high school in Goleta California. They provide a four-year career technical education to their students in the areas of engineering and design, culminating in a senior-year project. About three years ago their board determined that their projects should focus on creating museum exhibits. The result has been a close association with the MOXI museum in Santa Barbara, as well as with San Francisco's Exploratorium.

We view Dos Pueblos as an important partner going forward in order to construct all the exhibits we will need. We are therefore working hard to build and foster that relationship.

Dos Pueblos Engineering Academy's
One Calorie Exhibit
at the Exploratorium, November 3
Far and away the best prize life has to offer
is the chance to work hard at a work worth doing.

Theodore Roosevelt
November 10 Stakeholders Gathering
On November 10 we held a meeting at Fort Mason Center to generate interest and input for the Sailing Science Center project. We called the event a Stakeholders Gathering. Its purpose was to gather decision-makers, difference-makers, influencers and interested parties in the room together to discuss how the project can benefit all the constituent communities it is touching.

Among the constituents in the room were representatives from the Treasure Island Citizen Advisory Board (TI-CAB), the Treasure Island Sailing Center (TISC), the Treasure Island Yacht Club, One Treasure Island, Treasure Island Community Development (TICD), the Bay Model, the Call of the Sea, Latitude 38 Magazine, the Presidio Trust, the St. Francis Yacht Club, and the UC Berkeley Naval Architecture Department.

After a short description of the project, the floor was opened for discussion and Q&A. The comments that followed were engaged and supportive. In our directors' wrap-up of the event afterward we all agreed that it was a huge success.
Following our November 10 Stakeholders Gathering we received a very positive write-up in the online version of the local sailing magazine, Latitude 38, known as 'Lectronic Latitude. Click here to see the write-up. Our thanks go to publisher John Arndt for this contribution.
TI News

The December issue of the TI News will be carrying an article about the Sailing Science Center. Due to overlap of our publication dates we're not able to give you a link here, but one will be posted on our blog once the newsletter is sent. This is part of our effort to increase outreach and awareness of the project.
St. Francis Yacht Club, Wednesday Yachting Luncheon

We have been graciously invited to speak at the St. Francis Yacht Club on Wednesday, January 16. This event is open to the public. Put this date on your calendar if you're interested in coming to the talk and learning more about the project. Click here to learn more about the Wednesday Luncheon Series at the St. Francis Yacht Club's.
First Donation

On November 14 we received our first cash donation! It was a generous and unsolicited donation received from one of the invitees to our November 10 event. We want to publicly thank the person who made that donation!

It's important to stress that, while we have not yet received a determination on our tax-exempt status from the IRS (see adjacent column), we are still allowed to accept donations. However, we cannot promise that they will be deductible from your income taxes. If the IRS does grant our 501(c)(3) status, donations made within 12 months prior to that determination will be deductible.

Tax-Exempt Status

On November 20 our form 1023 was officially filed with the IRS. This is the application that requests our 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status. If and when that status is conferred, donations to the project will be deductible against income on donors' income taxes. This is a major milestone in our status as an organization and in our ability to fundraise. Barring any difficulties, we anticipate a determination within 30 to 60 days.
February Volunteer Gathering
Morgan Davidson, our new Volunteer Coordinator, is working to arrange a special visit to the Bay Area Discovery Museum in early February. At this point no date has been set, but we are shooting for one of the first two weekends of the month. If you are on our list of volunteers you will be notified once we have something firm.
New Volunteers - We want to extend a hearty welcome to the enthusiastic new volunteers who joined the project in November. These include Morgan Davidson, Anton Ross, Laura Ross, George DeVore, Dan Pruzan and Emma Sarkisyan. Expect to hear more about, and from, these volunteers in the coming months. They each bring their own unique and valuable skills to what we are doing. Oh, and do I need to say this... they're all sailors. (-:
Volunteers Needed – We continue to seek volunteers in all areas of expertise. Specific areas of interest at this time are in marketing, fundraising, web development and accounting. Please reply to this email if you or someone you know is interested in volunteering.
That's all for this month.

Cheers!

Jim Hancock
President and Founder
OUR MISSION

TO INSPIRE A PASSION FOR SAILING AND SCIENCE BY DELIGHTING PEOPLE THROUGH DISCOVERY AND PLAY

OUR VISION

AN INTERACTIVE HANDS-ON LEARNING CENTER:

DELIGHTING “KIDS” FROM 5 TO 95
PROVIDING STEM* LEARNING EXPERIENCES
FOCUSING ON THE PHYSICAL SCIENCES AND MATH
KEEPING IT FUN!!!

*STEM – Science, Technology, Engineering & Math

DIRECTORS
James Hancock * Travis Lund * Jeff Owens * Ken Done * Lindsay Hartman * Dominique Roddier * Meagan Strout
The Sailing Science Center News is published on the first business day of each month. It is sent to team members, partners, volunteers, sponsors and supporters of the San Francisco Sailing Science Center Project. You are receiving this because you are considered to be in one of these groups. If you wish to be removed from the mailing list, please click the Unsubscribe link below. We do not sell, share or otherwise give out our mailing list beyond our organization.
San Francisco Sailing Science Center
One Avenue of the Palms, Suite 16A
San Francisco, CA 94130
510.390.5727