Navy League of the United States Fort Lauderdale Council, Inc.

• Increase public awareness and educate the public on the mission of the Navy League of the United States
• Recruit and retain new members for our local Navy League council which supports active duty sea service members and their families (Navy, Coast Guard, Marines, Merchant Marine) as well as the local youth programs that we sponsor (U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps, NJROTC Programs)
• Find additional fundraising opportunities
• Find and attract corporate sponsorships and community partners
• Research and apply for additional Grants relevant to our mission

• We are currently updating the Fort Lauderdale Navy League and the Fort Lauderdale Sea Cadets websites and social media sites. We hope to gain more visibility for our fundraising efforts and to recruit and retain Navy League council members.
• We are researching additional funding sources for our ongoing Capital Campaign to completely renovate and expand our Fort Lauderdale Sea Cadet training facility here in Fort Lauderdale. (Officially, the Capital Campaign for the Mary N. Porter Sea Cadet Training Center)
• We are hosting our major annual fundraising event, the 9th Annual Pursuit of Honor, Courage, and Commitment 5K Run/Walk to benefit the Fort Lauderdale Sea Cadets and the Wounded Warrior Project in October 2020.
• We are planning the Commissioning Ceremony of the USS Fort Lauderdale, one of the US Navy’s newest ships, which will take place in Port Everglades, Florida in 2021. We will promote the event and obtain sponsorships and donations from residents and businesses to support the Commissioning Ceremony and associated events. We look forward to hosting the ship and her crew in Fort Lauderdale.

• We have successfully sponsored the Commissioning Ceremonies of several US Navy Ships in the past.
• We host monthly dinner meetings for our members and guests with excellent guest speakers from our local Sea Service commands. We host members and families from our local Sea Service commands at all our events.
• We sponsor networking events during the year where members can interact with active duty sea service members, including the Navy League Day at the Races, Summer Beach Picnic, Enlisted Person of the Year Awards Dinner, Oktoberfest, Holiday Dinner & Toys for Tots Campaign
• We host an Annual Sea Cadet Night where our cadets share their summer training experiences with our Navy League members and Sea Service members.
• We sponsor several annual fundraising events including the Black-Tie Seven Seas Gala and the Pursuit of Honor, Courage and Commitment 5K Run/Walk
• We publish monthly newsletters to keep members informed
• We receive regular communications from National Headquarters through emails, newsletters, and conference calls. There are also resources made available to all Navy League Members through the National website.
• Council Board Members attend National Conferences and some of our current and former Board Members also serve at the Regional and National levels.
• We maintain close contact with the other councils in the Florida Region through monthly conference calls, and share ideas for fundraising and other events.

• We have successfully sponsored the Commissioning Ceremonies of several US Navy Ships including the USS Bainbridge (2005), USS Jason Dunham (2010), USS Paul Ignatius (2019) and the US Coast Guard Cutter Richard Etheridge (2012). We are now in the planning stages for the Commissioning of the USS Fort Lauderdale (LPD 28) which we will be hosting in July 2022.
• Due to our fundraising efforts the Capital Campaign for the Mary N. Porter Sea Cadet Training Center has reach more than 85% of our goal. This includes grants from the Community Foundation of Broward and the Broward Sheriff’s Department and generous donations from community partners and council members. We are hoping to break ground in the Fall of 2020.
• Once the construction is complete, our council will continue to incur all costs associated with the maintenance and repair of the building and will continue to support our Sea Cadets and their families by providing much needed funds for enrollment fees, training events, summer programs, uniforms, awards, travel assistance, etc.
• We will be looking for new ways to support our active duty Sea Service members and their families.