Photo by Tom Martin

Saving The JFK

A Conversation With Paul Troxell

President, JFK CV-67 Memorial Foundation

November 12, 2007

by Nicole McMillan – Editor - SaveTheJFK.com

Nicole:  What is the mission of the JFK CV-67 Memorial Foundation?

Paul:  Well, first and foremost, to “Save The JFK.”  As you know, the aircraft carrier was retired from service at its homeport of Mayport, Florida in late March of this year.  I just hated to think this magnificent ship would end up either rusting at a pier or worse, being broken up for scrap or sunk.

Nicole:  What in the world compelled you to step forward and undertake such a monumental task?

USS JFK makes her way into Boston Harbor. US Navy Photo by Joshua Karsten

Paul:  At the invitation of good friend of the Navy, Joe Millsaps, I had the amazing opportunity to join him aboard “Big John” as she cruised from Mayport to Boston in 2005.  Sailing into Boston Harbor and witnessing the crew’s greeting was a sight to behold.  We later attended the ship’s decommissioning, and were filled with an indescribable melancholy.  The traditions of the ceremony were magnificent.  We were honored to be in attendance with all but two of the original Commanding Officers, dignitaries, shipmates and, of course, the final crew.

USS John F Kennedy Decommissioning Ceremony US Navy Photo

Nicole:  It almost sounds like watching something die.

Paul:  In many ways it was.  I felt empathy for what this day meant to the men and women who have served aboard her.  Add to all of those emotions the fact that it's not just any ship, but the “John F. Kennedy.” For a kid from the south shore of Boston, where the Kennedy legacy is as relevant today as ever, it was just a very emotional day for me.  It made me pause to think about all that has happened during the lifetime of the ship since entering service in 1968.

Nicole:  But you didn't serve aboard the ship as a sailor, and you were never even in the Navy, so why commit so much of yourself to this effort?  Why you?

Paul:  Ask not what your country can do for you…  Remember?  When I learned about the Navy’s plans to decommission the JFK, and the lack of plans to preserve her, I decided that I would work to save her, and create a lasting memorial to the ship, her namesake, and the sailors who served on her.  I was just selling my company which supplied specialty metals to the aerospace and defense industries and felt it was time to give something back.  I'm really just showing my appreciation to all of the men and women who wear the uniform in defense of our freedoms - preserving this single aircraft carrier as a museum, for all to visit.

Nicole:  So how does one go about acquiring an aircraft carrier from the US Navy?  How do you convince the Navy to donate the ship to your organization?

Malin Burnham

Paul:  The first thing you do is seek the advice of those who have done it successfully.  Within days of the “Big John’s” decommissioning, we were on the phone with Malin Burnham in San Diego.  Malin was the Chairman of the Board of the Midway Magic Foundation.  His leadership served to focus and fund the final push in Alan Uke’s decade-long effort to procure the USS Midway as the San Diego Aircraft Carrier Museum.  A respected leader in his community, Malin’s support and strategic guidance also helped San Diego native Dennis Conner to win back the America’s Cup from Australia in 1987, among other major accomplishments beneficial to that community.

Wall of Honor on the San Diego Aircraft Carrier Museum

Nicole:  Did you visit the Midway to tour their operation?

Paul:  Twice - the most recent of which was just in the past month to attend the Eighth Maritime Heritage Conference.

Back in April, within four-weeks of the JFK’s decommissioning, we spent three full days with CEO Mac McLaughlin and his team aboard the USS Midway.  We were welcomed aboard with open arms, in a spirit that we anticipate will foster a unique “Sister Carrier” relationship in the future.  Everybody needs to go tour the Midway and see what they’ve done with that ship.  What a first class operation.

We were provided the opportunity to immerse ourselves in their culture.  We studied  their approaches to procurement of the vessel, how they went about developing their educational and community outreach programs, and gained invaluable insight from their executives, their team, and most importantly, their docent volunteers - without whom the museum could not operate successfully.

Nicole:  What a great head start they gave you.

Paul:  \ They not only made available to us all of their business planning, financial and other background materials, they have provided us with a letter of endorsement for our specific concept, all of which in my opinion has given us a one-year head start.  We learned that a great location is the number one priority, followed by support from the community, a sound business plan, a solid environmental mitigation and usage plan - and of course, a bunch of money.  The business plan has to address the feasibility of sustaining this ship in perpetuity through visitor revenue, to the Navy’s high standards, demonstrating that the project will never reflect badly on the ship or the Navy.  As with the Midway, we need to create an attraction that residents will be proud to visit frequently, and tourists will include on their “must see” lists.

Nicole:  So if you are successful, where will the ship live out its next life as a museum?

Paul:  If we are successful, the ship will be docked permanently in South Florida, where there is a long, historic tie back to the Navy and a respect for our heritage.  We would want to place the ship where she is easily accessible by tourists, specifically cruise line passengers, and even more importantly, to the community.  Here she will play a major role in youth activities, education, convention events and many other things we are thinking about all the time.  We want her in a community that will appreciate what she represents and will use her to her full potential to advance education and an understanding of history.

Nicole:  Why not berth her in Boston?

Paul:  Of course Boston was our first choice, for all of the reasons that come to mind for anyone who understands the close relationship between the people of Boston and the Kennedy family in general - JFK in particular.  And of course the ship has drawn hundreds of thousands of visitors over the years during her visits to Boston Harbor. 

We had to confront a rather sad reality as we first studied this, that berthing the ship in Boston just didn’t seem feasible, given the realities of cost and opportunity.  There were many obstacles which in our mind could not be overcome.  For example we thought of berthing at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library but discovered it would require well over two miles of costly and environmentally impossible dredging.  Spectacle Island was a possibility until it became clear that the ferry to the island only runs 11 weeks per year.  A third alternative, the downtown area next to the USS Constitution, lacks sufficient affordable parking and support infrastructure. 

To top it off, we had real concerns about seasonal weather issues at all Boston locations and how they would affect attendance and revenue.  As a result, we abandoned our hopes of a Boston venue for warmer climates.

Nicole:  So where do you propose to berth the vessel?

Paul:  After we realized Boston was not feasible, we identified two locations where the in-place tourism market, infrastructure, parking, supportive local population and deep water port access all come together to provide for ideal potential homes for the JFK.  The irony is that they are barely 25 miles apart in South Florida.  Both Miami and Fort Lauderdale have tourism-dependent economies very much supported by not only pass through visits, but overnight stays.

“Museum Park Miami” design by Cooper, Robertson & Partners for the City Of Miami. Altered for purpose of Public Comment.

Proposed     Broward County Convention Center Fort Lauderdale, FL

After considering all potential sites with the necessary characteristics, we concluded that both cities, the world's #1 and #3 cruise ports respectively,  offered the best chances for developing the most successful, self-sustaining maritime attraction in United States history.

We’ve met with Chamber Of Commerce and Hospitality Industry leaders in both Miami and Fort Lauderdale.  They all identify their top priorities as successfully convincing cruise guests passing through their ports to spend additional nights, and persuading more corporations and other large groups to host annual conventions and meetings in south Florida.

Photo by Tom Martin

Nicole:  I can see where you're going with this.  You believe that the cruise industry alone could provide a significant base of museum visitors, who would tour the ship as part of their vacation experience.

Paul:  Exactly, and we've got a very specific plan to welcome aboard large groups of cruisers on the evening prior to their cruises, creating a new tradition in the process.

Nicole:  And for non-cruisers?

Paul: 5.4 million residents live along south Florida’s Gold Coast.  Add to that number those “snowbirds” who visit on an annual basis, plus the friends and family who, in turn, visit them.  Then factor in corporate conventions and meetings, as well as all of the educational and community outreach programs we envision, and the stage is set for a world class attraction.
 

Paul Troxell on the USS Midway

The Midway’s CFO, Rich Benard, told me that the Midway's visitor and education programs are hitting on all cylinders in their third year of operations.  This year they will welcome an estimated 950,000 visitors aboard, and will enjoy a net operating profit of over $4 million.  They’ve already managed to pay down all of their debt in their first two years of operation.

While San Diego is a wonderful year-round tourism destination in its own right, the comparisons to both Miami and Fort Lauderdale end there.  San Diego has an estimated 180,000 cruise embarkations per year, while Fort Lauderdale boasts well over a million cruise passengers per year, and Miami serves nearly 1.9 million – that’s over 3 million cruise passengers per year who will pass within 25 miles of the museum, regardless which port they sail out of.

We calculate that the size of the south Florida cruise market gives us the opportunity to capture an additional 250,000 visitors per year more than San Diego.  Of course the name of our proposed museum also brings to mind one of the most revered Presidents in US history.  The greatest concentration of south Florida cruise passengers comes from the northeast and northern Midwest region of the country. These are among the areas where the memory of President Kennedy lingers most strongly.

For these reasons and more, we feel safe in projecting an estimated 1.2 million visitors per year to the John F. Kennedy Maritime Museum by year two or three and beyond, whether in Miami or Fort Lauderdale.

Nicole:  What’s next?

Paul: It’s going to require significant community support and involvement.  Unlike other floating museums, our plan requires the construction of a permanent dry-dock at the waters edge in which the JFK will be preserved in perpetuity.  We need to develop two sets of fully engineered plans for the purpose of acquiring construction bids for inclusion in our proposal to the Navy.

Nicole:  A dry-dock?

Paul:  The Navy insists upon a sound hurricane and mooring plan as a requirement of any ship’s donation.  We tackled the biggest issue first – what to do with a 1,050 foot long vessel when a hurricane threatens the area, as you can’t very well tow the vessel out of harms way every time the Weather Channel mentions the word “hurricane.”

The USS JFK at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard for the Service Life Extension Program (SLEP). Photo Courtesy www.MaritimeQuest.com

We’ve decided that the best possible hurricane and mooring plan includes literally welding the vessel to steel beams, imbedded in reinforced concrete, at the floor of a permanent dry-dock – effectively turning the ship into a building.  Once in place, we’ll fill the tank with fresh water to present the appearance that she’s floating.  Unlike the USS Intrepid museum in New York, who has had to pull their museum out of service for two years for maintenance and dock upgrades, any future maintenance on the JFK can be performed in place, without losing a day of revenue or laying off our staff.

Nicole:  This all sounds very expensive.

USS John F. Kennedy visits New York US Navy Photo by Catherine R. Kee

Paul:  It is, but the business plan provides for this upfront expense, and the best time to raise all of the money for the restoration and long term maintenance of the ship is before she opens for business.  We compare it to the restoration and preservation of other American icons like Ellis Island and the Statue Of Liberty.  As in those instances, we’ve developed our 501(c)(3) for the purpose of raising tax deductible donations from the public, other foundations, governmental entities and corporations.

While we anticipate a groundswell of support and donations from the public at large, we’re confident that corporate America will see the wisdom of the sponsorship benefits that will flow from their support of this worthy cause, to say nothing of the brand association with her namesake.

Nicole:  It all sounds very big, and very exciting.

USS Midway - San Diego Aircraft Carrier Museum

Paul:  We are optimistic that, with the groundwork we are painstakingly putting in place, we will earn the necessary community, government and financial support to follow in the wake of the USS Midway, to the Navy’s most stringent specifications, paraphrasing the late President:
“not because it is easy, but because it is hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our skills and talents, because that challenge is one we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone and one we intend to win.”

For further information, contact:

JFK CV-67 Memorial Foundation, Inc.

3418 N. Ocean Blvd.

Fort Lauderdale, FL  33308

SaveTheJFK.com

(954) 563-0525

info@SaveTheJFK.com