Speaker of the Day: Todd French, Yacht Sequoia
16 January 2020
Buckets on the Table: Rescue Relief for Australia
Speaker of the Day: Todd French, Yacht Sequoia
Todd is the project manager of the The US Presidential Yacht Sequoia was built in 1925 for a woman, Emily Roebling Cadwalader! Her grandparents were key in the building and design of the Brooklyn Bridge, her two brothers died on the Titanic and she became a yacht builder! The yacht became the gold standard of design and was built to run up and down the east coast…it’s like a beautiful floating home. The boat ended up in the government hands. Hoover was the first president to use it and Carter did sell it….though he did regret selling it. The Sequoia served 9 presidents over its lifetime. The boat is being restored back to its original glory and will be used for conservation assistance once restoration is complete, and is built with sustainable materials. It is like the floating White House. Combined stories of its history will be added to the restoration process. The boat is in Belfast and cannot float, was broken in half, placed on a barge in Virginia and brought to Cambridge Maryland where it was picked up and continued onto Maine. In 1934, FDR floated under a bridge dedication in Cambridge. The boat left Cambridge via the east river, floated under the Brooklyn Bridge in honor the family of the original builders. The will be a documentary coming up with PBS. Public viewing will be available during the restoration and many craftsmen volunteering to assist in the restoration. Welcome everyone up this summer to visit the restoration!
Committee Reports:
Toboggan Parking – should be at 1 hour 15 minutes working outside by now!!!
Chili Challenge – Feb 8, still need signups!!
Fellowship – our team did a great job at the Trivia game. They won proceeds to go to Shield Mission (Rodney is amazing!)!
Painting will Jan 26 and Feb 1 at Ira’s project – Signup sheets floating around
Next Week’s Speaker: Peter Garrett