Comments from Howard Doble 50-52 Web Administrator

At annual business meetings for the past several years I have requested to be advised as to the number of people who pay dues. In other words how many in numbers belong to our organization?  Another question (relating to the same subject) would be - how many shipmates are actually receiving our newsletter three times a year? I’ve come to the conclusion that nobody really knows or cares.

My asking for this information has been taken by some as questioning their integrity. The general response to these questions has been – that as an organization, we don’t want to humiliate anyone who couldn't pay the $20 a year dues. I do not believe there is anyone (myself included) within our association who would wish to embarrass a fellow shipmate for not having the means necessary to pay a $20 annual fee.  However, not coordinating this information allows for several instances wherein we are either sending newsletters to shipmates who are no longer with us, or (as importantly) we ARE NOT including new members in our newsletter distribution – thereby keeping them informed etc.

Case in point: Jim Horn recently went to the trouble of accumulating and printing a 182 page booklet from his records of names, addresses etc. and presented it to me while in Jacksonville. During my 12 week hiatus of maintaining our website, I took two weeks to compare our records. As you would expect, there were a few missing records, but what I did find (unexpectedly) was that of the large number of people who discovered our Association by way of the website, many were not listed in Jim's record, so needless to say these folks were not contacted or  they didn't receive our newsletters. I'm not faulting anyone, however there needs to be some procedure such that all new members get our newsletters and invitations to attend reunions, etc.

My procedure has always been such that when someone finds my website --- I first enter whatever information they give me at the time into my Database. Then, if not already included, I add them to the Crews Roster on the website --- then I send a copy of their e-mail or whatever information I gathered to the necessary parties. 

We only have in the neighborhood of 650 shipmate’s addresses. As to what our association’s official membership count is or as to how many shipmates are actually receiving the newsletter's, I really don't have a clue. 

In essence, what I am saying is that when people found our website, I advised them that they would be receiving the newsletter. By coordinating this information, we would know if someone fell through the cracks and were not receiving the newsletter. We’d also know who has or hasn’t joined the Association and/or received invitations to do so – as well as being invited to attend reunions, etc.  The bottom line is that we are missing the opportunity to have more fellow shipmates communicating with us and meeting up at the reunions. With this information we eliminate scenarios wherein we are sending out newsletters to people who have passed on or we fail to get them to people who should be, or at least wish to receive them.

How can we best keep up with those that want to continue receiving our newsletters and those who do not?

I suggest that each year in the final August edition of the newsletter, the following Notice should be added and a small self-addressed envelope with the newsletter editor’s address preprinted should be inserted within the folded newsletter.
 
The message could read as follows:

“Due to the ever increasing printing and postage expenses that mount up to a couple thousand dollars a year, we are asking that you simply check off that you wish to continue receiving the USS Haynsworth Newsletter and place a return address label or address the envelope, and place a stamp on it and drop it in the mail.” 

This could serve multiple purposes --- including remitting dues --- a simpler method of notifying the Association that a member has died, etc. or they no longer desire to be on the mailing lists.                  

How can we be better prepared to present recommendations to the general membership?

I suggest that each year prior to the USS Haynsworth Business Meeting, the officers of the Association would meet for a short session for the purpose of discussing upcoming proposals etc.  This would certainly help prevent what occurred at the Jacksonville business meeting. 

Why is having a website important to our Association?

I submit that other than word-of-mouth, our two USS Haynsworth websites are the only sources of finding the thousands of shipmates that are still unaware that our Association even exists. I would venture to say that the majority of our membership discovered it by way of the internet, either through Bill Morton's site or by the website that I built and have maintained for nearly 10 years.  During this period hundreds of shipmates discovered our Association in this manner. The 12 weeks that my site was down we failed to receive more than 7,400 unique visits and I want to add that I appreciated hearing from a number of you who requested that the site be put back up. 

A further comment on our websites www.USSHaynsworth.com  and www.USS-Haynsworth.com .

May I suggest that when you call a long lost shipmate be sure to refer to our websites, as it is an important link to all of us. The websites depict the ship's history and there are photos of the ship, crew rosters, etc. Be sure to pass these website addresses on to them and have them write it down and read it back to you and if they have an e-mail address get it, write it down and pass it on to other shipmates. I have personally heard from some members who contacted past shipmates and have failed to inform that we even have a website. 

Point of Interest….

Most senior citizens really don't know the difference between an Internet website and a Database. Quite often they combine the two, but they are distinctly two different items. If you have access to a computer and you are able to go online (either at your own residence or at a public library), you are able to view all the many pages of information, history, photos, etc. on the Internet.  However, the Haynsworth Database is not viewable online, this information can only be viewed by those of us that have been furnished with a database and have the necessary permission. 

Why did I build and regularly maintain the Official USS Haynsworth Database?

The Database that I maintain now has more than 3549 names of men who served on the USS Haynsworth during the 26 years the ship served our country.  The majority of these names, approximately 2,500, contain only the first and last name and the date the shipmate reported to the Haynsworth, but no addresses, telephone numbers or contact information. The majority of this information was obtained from 13 microfiche tapes from United States National Archives that I acquired from Bill Morton in 2001. Unfortunately, there were several years missing. It took nearly a year to transcribe this information from the hard to read microfilm records that our ships Yeoman filled out many years ago, but at least we now have some official information that our family members, children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren can look at on our website’s Crews Roster.  

Much of the information such as the Crews Roster, Taps Report, and the Reunion attendance comes by way of my Database. There is a lot of information in this database and some is published online and other portions of information are not.  Some information is confidential and is only shared with the Treasurer or the Newsletter Editor.                     

How can a new Nationwide Toll-free telephone service benefit our Association?

Recently we added Nationwide Toll-Free Telephone Service to our cable and it has cut down our long-distance telephone charges. I discovered that a number of our membership have also done the same. I was speaking with Jack Gross a while back and he asked me if I would send him a listing of the telephone numbers of all the shipmates that served on board during the 62-64 era. He would then personally call these people and invite them to the 2009 Independence, Missouri Reunion. Jack made a good suggestion, that others who have the Nationwide Toll-Free Telephone Service could be part of a committee to look up the telephone numbers and call and invite others to join our Association. Anyone that has Toll-Free service and is willing and able to make some calls --- send me an e-mail at Howard5052@charter.net and I will gladly send you a list of names that you might start calling.  

In closing, I don't recall much of the subject matter that I have written about here has ever being published to any degree, or at least not since I started receiving the newsletter's in 1999. I believe much of what I've stated here needed to be said, and so far my request for it to be published in “OUR NEWSLETTER” has not taken place.

I know that many appreciate Jim Horn's willingness to take on the full responsibility of running the Association, but I personally feel that's a step backwards for the Association. I hope that a few good men will step forward at this years Reunion and help Jim.

I also believe that we owe much gratitude to a small number of shipmates that served this Association since it's inception in 1988. 

I welcome your comments and suggestions, 

Best Regards,

Howard R. Doble  50-52            

USS Haynsworth DD700

Website Administrator &

Database Manager