Having trouble with the formatting of this email? Click here to open as a web page.

June 15, 2019

David Macaulay poses with Big U supporters and members of the Conservancy.

Photograph courtesy of Michael Wolfe.

Last weekend, the Conservancy was delighted to welcome an enthusiastic group of supporters aboard the Big U for our special members appreciation event.

Five supporters were randomly selected — along with their guests — to tour America's Flagship with award-winning author-illustrator, David Macaulay. Additionally, the group was joined by John Mark, who won our recent essay contest with a moving entry that was chosen by the author himself.

Macaulay, who traveled aboard the SS United States as a 10-year-old boy bound for his new home in America, developed a new level of appreciation for the vessel as he researched her for his latest book, Crossing on Time (out now, courtesy of Macmillan/Roaring Book Press ). He tapped into his seemingly encyclopedic knowledge of the ship — offering our supporters an intimate, guided tour of the ship's interior and exterior spaces.

Additionally, David took the time to get to know each of the tour participants personally, and even autographed copies of Crossing on Time for the group. The tour concluded with a champagne toast, led by the Conservancy's Executive Director Susan Gibbs — who modified the toast preferred by her grandfather, the SS United States ' designer, William Francis Gibbs.

His customary toast — "To everything you want doubled, to good health, and to the big ship" — was expanded to include a tribute to Macaulay's "big book."

David Macaulay speaks with supporter John Mark, whom he chose personally to tour the ship, based on his passionate written tribute to the SS United States . Photograph courtesy of Michael Wolfe.

This special event has already received glowing coverage in the press, including The Sun Chronicle and Travel Agent Central.

We owe a huge debt of gratitude to David Macaulay for helping us make this inspiring event a reality. Additionally, we'd like to thank Bill Magee, Kyle Ober, and Michael Wolfe for documenting the festivities, as well as James R. Ducker (who donated SS United States Conservancy lapel pins to each of our guests).

Finally, we'd like to thank everyone who joined or renewed their Conservancy membership in the weeks leading up to this event. Without your continued support , our efforts would simply not be possible.

To see more photos from this event, check out our new blog post . And stay tuned for Bill Magee's forthcoming video chronicle of the exciting day. Finally, be sure to stay tuned to this newsletter for the first word about future member events!

Captain John S. Tucker played a pivotal role in the history of America's Flagship. Beginning with her sea trials and concluding with her final voyage, he proudly served aboard the SS  United States . In our last update, we shared the news of his family's generous donation of the Captain's uniform to the Conservancy's permanent curatorial collection.

Captain Tucker's daughter, Kim Sacco, also sent along photos of her father from his service days (including the one pictured here), which we are honored to include in our collection.

Additionally, she shared with us a pair of memories of her father that we've posted over at our blog . The following is an excerpt from that post:

"[In 1966], we were living in New Jersey, and my entire 2nd grade from Selzer School bussed into NYC to Pier 86 for a field trip to see the SS United States . We all got off the buses and were waiting to board.

I looked up toward that massive ship, and down the gangplank came my dad, as captain, in his dress whites. I know we all had a wonderful tour, but the image of my dad walking down the that gangplank toward us is etched so vividly in my memory!"

CLICK HERE to read more of Kim Sacco's memories of her father, Captain John Tucker.

Countless model makers have created highly realistic replicas of America's Flagship, and we've been to delighted to showcase a few of them in recent issues of this newsletter.

For some other creative individuals, she's provided a jumping-off point for more inventive and imaginative pieces. Thomas Fritze, an SS United States enthusiast from Munich, Germany, has reimagined the vessel as an aircraft carrier named "SS 1 - Summit Ship No. 1."

This unique, yet familiar-looking vessel would serve as an aircraft carrier for US Air Force One, while also allowing access to other world leaders and dignitaries from nations all over the world. Thomas Fritze explains:

"The SS 1 serves as a floating venue for political summits such as the G-10 summit, containing several helipads and landing pads for the VIP guests to arrive."

View more photos of this captivating model by CLICKING HERE .

Help Us Save America's Flagship!

It's no secret that the incredible generosity of our members buoys our efforts to keep America's Flagship afloat.

Our supporters often ask what they can do to help. One of the most powerful ways to amplify your contributions is by securing a matching donation from your employer. Many organizations are willing to match employee donations (in whole or in part), which gives our members a chance to maximize the impact of their generous support.

Scott Savett is one of many Conservancy supporters who has, for many years, secured matching donations from his employer.

"My wife and I started supporting the Conservancy in 2012. The SS United States was celebrating the 60th anniversary of shattering the Atlantic crossing speed record," he says. "The thought that such a storied and iconic ship could be scrapped tore at me. We have given to SSUSC every year since then, sometimes multiple times in a year."

Savett's employer, Thermo Fisher Scientific , offers a generous 50% match of charitable contributions — doubling individual contributions up to $1,000 per employee each year.

"They make it really easy," Savett says. "It's just a matter of visiting a company Web page, filling out an online form, and uploading the donation receipt."

If you haven't already, we'd greatly appreciate it if you would ask your employer to match your donations to the SS United States Conservancy. You can also make a huge impact in other ways, such as donating appreciated stock or scheduling a recurring monthly contribution.