Each and every day, we attack the challenges presented by the bucketful of projects that are ongoing in the yard and in
Bremerton
and
Everett
as well. Okeanos Explorer, Taku, Salvor, Excavator, the launch trestle, cutter Walnut shafting and a host of other jobs in Todd Industrial, advance planning for Polar Sea, CMAVs in progress on Ford and Ingraham, Momsen just started up, Stennis and Davis advance planning, the list goes on and on. On the (very) near horizon,
Flint
, Ilahee, Klickitat, and
Polar
Sea
plus other vessels will be arriving, and we will hear about the SBX platform and other recently submitted proposals soon.
Amidst the hubbub of getting the job done and the mountain of “stuff” going on that supports Project Execution and Project Development, getting recognized for a good job by a customer and also by an oversight agency is both welcome and a good thing. It helps us straighten up, take a breath and say, “that’s nice”, “thanks”, or maybe even “about time”.
Most of you have worked on or been involved in one or more Polar or Healy availabilities. Some of you probably know those cutters better than your counterpart in the crew on board the ship. Todd has been working on the Polars since they were built down the street at Lockheed in the 70’s, and we have performed every dry docking on the Healy since it left the builder’s yard at Avondale and entered Todd for a Post Shakedown Availability in 2001.
The most recent Healy dry docking was an exceptional challenge that experienced 30% growth and 600 CFRs. That much growth in any project is not necessarily a good thing. It plays havoc with attempts to meet schedule and get the job done efficiently, on time, and within budget. The Healy is now underway conducting science operations in the
Arctic
, thanks to your hard work. Similarly, the
Polar
Sea
just returned to
Seattle
from its latest five month deployment to the Antarctic after you completed an exhaustive availability that made the ship ready to sail. Unique to that job was the first ever changeout of a main motor on a Polar class cutter.
The fact that you confronted extraordinary challenges during those two availabilities and that it took extra effort, day in and day out to get the job done did not go unnoticed by our customer, the United States Coast Guard. On 23 April at the Department of Homeland Security in
Washington
,
DC
, Todd was presented with a 2006 Small Business Achievement Award for exceptional performance in ship repair for the Coast Guard. The award is an expression of trust and confidence in Todd and in your skills and abilities by our second largest customer. Only two such awards were given by the Coast Guard for the year.
On the Healy project, kudos and well done to
Liz Ugorcak
,
Mike Hughes
, Lonnie Saisslin, Vic Voellger, Kenny Douglas, Ricky Roulst, Jerry Pitts, John Corey, Bob Wilker, Clint Ritter, Don Charles, Ed Foltz,
Fred Smedley
, Milo Wintersteen, Bob LeCompte, Ray Hite, Wayne Jarvis, Chuck Steele, Pat Lux, Dave Bergey,
Dave Anderson
, Esther Schmall, Don Fountain, John Nygard, Frank Empfield, Dag Lunde, and Phil Hughes.
For the Polar Sea project, sincere thanks for all the hard work to
Liz Ugorcak
, Mike Mitts,
Mike Hughes
, Kevin Johnson, Zach McLeod, Greg Pharris, Joe Rehm, Kenny Douglas, Josh LaWall, Ricky Roulst, Keith Tiegan, Matt Mulanax, Jerry Pitts, Mike Tomaso, Ron Meyers,
Fred Smedley
, Milo Wintersteen, Wayne Jarvis, Chuck Steele, Ric Weber,
Larry Mowrer
, Scott Jackson, Dave Bergey,
Dave Anderson
, Esther Schmall, Don Fountain, Dexter Mullis, Ray DeCicco, and Dag Lunde.
Repairing vessels and other watercraft and how we go about it carries with it a number of serious responsibilities. One of the most important of those is the protection of the marine environment and the need to strictly safeguard the waters of
Elliot
Bay
and the Duwamish to our north and west, respectively. The State of
Washington
and local governments in the
Puget Sound
area have some of the most stringent environmental protection requirements in the entire country. Receiving an award for enhancing the marine environment is a big accomplishment.
King
County
has just presented Todd its Gold Award for our 2006 compliance record covering both the Dockwater and Stormwater systems.
Congratulations and Way to Go to Vinnie Brundage, Dan Powers, Scott Carnahan, Don Platt, Chim Saechao,
Vic Striedinger
, Dale Lockwood, Tim Pratt, Craig Schnabel, and Ernest Thompson for their stewardship of the environment and a job well done.
Again, to all the above and to anyone we may have inadvertently overlooked, thank you, and keep up the good work.
Tom Perrine
TODD RECEIVES SMALL BUSINESS AND ENVIRONMENTAL AWARDS