Happy Anniversary!

The St. Petersburg (Russia) Submarine Club is celebrating their 10th Anniversary! We received a nice email from them, signed by our friends Fleet Admiral GEORGY EGOROV (2535-1992) and Captain 1st Rank IGOR KURDIN (6015-2000). We met Admiral EGOROV on our "Patrol' in Russia in 1992, and IGOR KURDIN was with us for our 2000 "Patrol" in Florida.

IGOR helped write the book and assisted with movie about the death of the Soviet submarine dubbed "the Widowmaker".

Goodbye WAYNE

WAYNE PICKELS (768-1988) is a veteran of the USS GUADALCANAL Task Force that captured U-505 on the high seas in June 1944. He was stationed aboard the destroyer escort USS PILLSBURY and was one of the first Americans down the hatch of U-505. This brought him a SILVER STAR medal!

WAYNE served on our Sharkhunters Board of Advisors for ten years and his term is now up. We thank WAYNE for his service to our Sharkhunters, and look forward to seeing him again.

Who will replace our two outgoing Advisory Board Members? Watch KTB #181 next month for the details.

It's the Kids!

Ever wonder how your KTB Magazine got put together? It's the kids. Here in this area is a school for kids who are mentally and/or physicality handicapped and for the past 14 years, they've done it.

After we put the "hard copy" together here in HQ. it is taken to a local printing shop where it is printed professionally. It comes back to us in the form of thousands and thousands of pages in a great many boxes. It is not yet ready to mail out to our Members

We take all these boxes full of pages to this school where it is set up in an assembly line. Students gather the pages into individual magazines, collate pages. staple them into individual magazines, staple at the spine, fold in half, stuff into envelopes and finally, they seal the envelopes. So if you have ever wondered how your KTB Magazine gets from the computers here in the HQ to your hands in your home, it's the kids.

Yes, we pay them just the same as we would pay anyone else for this job. It's just that the money goes to a great cause and helps these kids who were dealt a pretty tough hand of cards in life. This is a photo of diver Richie Kohler on the boat we knew only as U-Who at the time, which we later determined to be U-869. to the best of our knowledge, this is the first photo ever taken of that boat and it was our front cover at the time. This KTB gave the complete history of the dive operation. Sharkhunters offers not one, but two excellent videotapes covering two different dives on that U-Boat Check your catalog or the website for full details.

AUTOMATIC RENEWAL

The automatic renewal program, which has been in effect since the early part of 2002, is well received by our Members. It saves time and the headaches of having to fill our a form each year, sticking it in the envelope and licking the flap, then hunting up a stamp etc.

For our Members with credit card numbers in our file - there is nothing for you to do. When your dues are due, we simply charge them to the account and the Membership is renewed for another year. It is THAT simple! When you see the charge appear on your statement, send us an e-mail, FAX or phone us to let us know which FREE audio CD you want and it will be on its way.

If you have been a Member for five or more consecutive years, pick ANY of the great Sharkhunters videotapes and let us know you want that tape IN ADDITION to your free CD, and the tape will come to you - also FREE! Select ANY videotape you want from our extensive videotapes, and it is yours. Members love it!

Dud Torpedo

Sorry, we stumbled again. We reported that Captain (Dr.) FRED McLAREN (5835-1999) was Skipper of USS KAMEHAMAHA and that was not correct. He was Skipper of US.S QUEENFLSH (SSN 651). We regret the error. FRED tells us in no uncertain terms that he never rode a 'floating Grand Hotel'. Ooooopppss!

KTB #179: A Little `Different'

Did you notice that KTB #179 was a little different than normal? The borders were not quite the same - the top and bottom margins a bit different -- the page numbers not quite what we are used to?

Why did KTB #179 look different? At the suggestion of a large number of Members, we are experimenting with putting the entire KTB Magazine on a PDF file (which means nothing to this computer untrained dummy) but putting the KTB onto a PDF file, we can send it immediately direct to Members over the Internet and they receive their copy (electronically) weeks before the printed KTB would reach them. We are still working with this but when it is ready, Members will have the option whether to receive their KTB the way it is coming now or electronically.

Don't Hate the I.R.S.: Pleasant Surprise

Quite some time ago, we reported that Sharkhunters had requested that the I.R.S. grant us what is known as a 501 (c)(3) exemption in the tax code. We actually filed in November 2003 for what we were told would take AT MOST, six months. Well, the I.R.S. is perhaps not as fast as that. Actually, they are NOT that quick.

Under this form of tax exemption, there are benefits in two directions. Naturally, Sharkhunters would not have to pay taxes and that is nice, but since there is virtually no money left over at the end of the year on which to pay taxes anyhow. Nobody takes a salary at Sharkhunters at all - haven't had any salaries to anyone at all for quite some years.

But the other benefit, if the exemption is granted, is that anyone or any corporation, may donate ANYTHING to Sharkhunters, and deduct the fair value from their own taxes. That means - well, it would mean so much to the continued growth of Sharkhunters as the world's leading research center on the boats.

We Have Our 501 (c) (3)

We just received confirmation from the I.R.S. that we have been granted this status. That means that now Members (and anyone else) can donate what they wish and take the fair value off their own taxes. Corporations are also now able to donate and take the tax break. This is great news for several reasons.

If your tax burden will be too great, you may donate anything of value you wish and deduct the fair value from your taxes. Donate money, a boat one Member donated an airplane to a similar organization some years ago, before we had our tax exempt statute. We will immediately be looking for larger quarters for our HQ and it is not impossible to have a local corporation donate a building.

We are also now eligible for government grant money for exploration purposes - and we have several locations that we feel are well worth looking into.

If you wish to donate anything, please contact this office first for the proper procedure and of course, ALWAYS ask your accountant first to make sure it is in your best interest. If you have donated anything in the past - books, models etc. - no worries. We were also granted a 501(c)(4) which makes all donations IN THE PAST also legal.

NOTE - Any Member who is experienced in grant writing, please contact us ASAP. Thanks.

WOW! That was great news, wasn't it?

The LAST Patrol

Remember - our "Patrols" to Germany in 2005 will be the last of their kind ever. Make. sure you have your vacation time saved up. Full details will be on the website by the time this is in your hands, and will also be in KTB #181. See you there!

The First CD

As Members now know, when they renew each year, they may select any of the audiotapes we make available. This is a free gift from Sharkhunters to loyal Members.

We reported some months ago that, by the end of 2004, we would begin to phase OUT the audiotapes and phase IN the same music etc. on CDs. We wrote last month, that the CDs would be ready in a few weeks.

Well - the CDs are ready now! We make all the same great music available to Members on CDs but we also have other CDs on the list including more and different music as well as speeches by figures of world history. The first Member to claim a free CD with his Membership renewal is RUSS LOCKWOOD (6486-A-2001).

When your dues notice comes in the mail, it will have the selection on the back. Just pick the one you want - we ship it to you FREE! If you are on the automatic renewal program, when you see the annual dues on your statement, go to the website and pick the CD you wish and let us know. We'll ship it.

Don't want to wait? Check the website - the CDs are for sale too.

Wow! I didn't know I was the first. The one I received was professionally produced and sounded greta.--RL

Jeff and Sharon: Thanks!

Okay, we have already read that our 501(c)(3) and also 501(c)(4) have been granted - but how do these things happen? We have already described some of the benefits we will derive from having these tax breaks - they'll be fantastic & will help our organization grow bigger and faster now. But how did we get these breaks?

If you know the I.R.S. in this country, you know that they are not the most likeable or friendly people in the world, and they certainly did not come knocking on our doors here offering these tax breaks.

Quite some time ago, we approached one of our Sharkhunters legal advisors, JEFF GREEN (5505-C-1998) and asked him for his help and advice, he very kindly said that he would take care of our problems in getting our 501 status granted.

It is true that he turned the project over to his associate Sharon Prisco and she did a terrific job! The mountains of paperwork just didn't seem to end. The endless questions posed by the I.R.S. went on and on and on and each one seemed more ridiculous than the last. There were times when we were about to tell the I.R.S. where they could stick all the paperwork but Sharon never got rattled, never lost her cool -moved steadfastly forward and got the job done - one step at a time until success was achieved.

JEFF and Sharon - many thanks! !

Goodbye FRANK

This is the time of year when we say our goodbyes to the outgoing Members of our Sharkhunters Advisory Board and thank them for their service. And so say many thanks to Admiral FRANK KELSO (2919-1993), retired CNO of the US Navy.

Countries

# COUNTRY MEMBER
l3 France PATRICE ENAULT (334-1987)
14 Argentina HUGO ALVEREZ (374-1987)
15 Puerto Rico FEDERICO ALMIROTY (438-1988)
16 Korea ROBERT SMITH (283-1987)
17 Panama Capt. RICHARD BRIGHT (525-1988)

IMPORTANT -The eKTB

Members suggested that we offer the KTB as a "PDF' file, which would be sent directly to the Member's email address. That way, the Member could store their KTBs on their hard drive and download them whenever they wanted. Over the past few months, we have been experimenting with this and will soon be able to offer our I Members the option between the KTB as it is now or the eKTB. Look for the details soon.

Benefits of the eKTB include: Will reach you some three weeks sooner; Many photos will be in color; Instant breaking news.

When there is quick breaking news, such as the information on the new Japanese OYASHHO Class submarine - Members on the eKTB list will receive a HOT MAIL flash at their email with all details - and that will be instantaneous. Keep this in mind and if you would like your Membership transferred over to receive our new eKTB, there will be information in KTB #181 about this.