Captain's Blog

YMKN lead by our King Gordon Krueger and his Queen Preya Persaud our krewe sailed into a phenomenal parade season with the Gasparilla parades. First ushering the start of the of festivities with a Children’s parade. Our Royalty helped spread joy to our children guests on our float and the thousands of children from the Tampa Bay area that came out to watch the parade. Parade Chairman Tom Callahan did a great job coordinating a pizza party at the cove and arranged a party bus to our float. He thought of everything from face painters to specialty tailored music selections to bring joy to the kids. Everyone one of the kids left the event with a Smile. Our XO, Tony shams kicked off the Gasparilla weekend at the Embassy Suites with a boot kicking Diamond and Denim Cowboy theme party. Over 120 members and their guest danced and partied into the night, assuring a sparkling hoedown of fun. Bobbi and sponsored a ‘frosting” event that left the woman sparkling even more than they normally do. It was a night of many sparkling smiles. Our Invasion chair Vic Krauze again sailed our early risers into a memorable invasion. Broken rudders or disable ships could not stop our krewe from partying all the way into the port of Tampa to invade the city with smiles. The Gasparilla parade event was the centerpiece to the day with, as Brother Todd Moss is fond of saying, millions and millions of beads being thrown to the adoring crowds. The ducks punctuated the throws again this year with the crowds shouting their approval of all the booty being thrown. Hip Hip Hip Hooray !!! for our Chairs Tom and Vic and our Gasparilla chairman and XO Tony Shams. Our krewe is in debt to their service and the service of the many members that served on their committees. It was a proud moment for our Krewe, the IKC and the Tampa Bay area.

In the coming week you will be receiving notices and reminders for Gasparilla events chaired by our XO, Tony Shams. Its Important that you check your email and the Krewe Website often during the busy parade season. I ask you to help fellow brothers that are not familiar with the technology – we need everyone to be on board for what will be a wonderful ride this season King Gordon Kurger and His Queen Preya Persaud want to make sure the entire krewe family is SMILING through-out the their year. This happiness starts with you planning and attending as many Krewe events as possible. I, our XO and board are committed to achieving our Royalty’s goal to build the krewe to 100 members, and to make sure we are all engaged and enjoying all that the Krewe offers. Our communications is undergoing revisions and tests in December to assure it is as inclusive as possible. Please make sure you check you spam filters and junk mail to assure that you are not missing any important Krewe notifications. We have been in transition over the last year- and believe we on the verge of resolving all the past communication challenges. Thank you for your continued support and patience as we move our technology and communication forward. REMEMBER- check NOW If my XO ( Tony Shams) or I can be of any assistance to you enjoying the Krewe more let us know. My email is 4roberthill@gmail.com Bob Hill- Captain 43, YMKN

BEADS:  Here is how you get beads for Gasparilla if you missed the YMKN group bead order Maybe you are new to the Krewe or you just missed the group order we placed in the summer…how do you get beads for parade season? This article tells you how you can get beads, as well as what options you have when you buy them. WHERE CAN YOU GET THEM?  Start by asking your sponsor if they have any beads or know anyone that does. Many members have stockpiled beads and are happy to share them with you or sell them to you.  Come to a Board meeting and ask around, and you will be surprised how many guys have extra beads. If you cannot get beads from other members, you will have to purchase them from a vendor.  Locally, the two best places are in Tampa: You can also buy beads online.  There are many vendors but be careful about buying very cheap beads because the color will rub off all over your hands and clothes. Your best online options are: WHAT TO BUY? To the spectators, smaller beads are not desirable, but you have to consider where you will be when you are throwing beads. If you plan to be on the top floor of the float, you want to buy smaller beads, either 10 millimeter or 12 millimeter in diameter. Throwing larger diameter beads from the top of the float can actually injure someone, particularly if they are very long. If you will be tossing them while walking down the road, the larger beads are very popular and are preferred.  You will get much better reaction from the crowd if you are throwing 14 millimeter, or even better 18 millimeter or above. The most popular colors include Pearl and Gold, though Green is very popular (and you want those for St. Patrick’s Day).  You can get as creative as you wish. PLAN FOR NEXT YEAR:  YMKN typically places a group bead order in the summer each year.  Members order by the case.  Quantities depend on the size beads you order.  We pre-pay through the Krewe Store on the website, and the beads are shipped in bulk to the Cove, typically around November or December.  We then have bead pickup days where members come and claim their beads.

To all YMKN members, I want to Congratulate the new Board members elected last night at the Annual meeting. YMKN elected and welcomes six new Board members to replace the six members retiring following an extended 4 year term. The new Board members include: 1. Tom Callahan 2. Chris Fitzpatrick 3. Tony Shams 4. Mark Baserap 5. John Morrow 6. Chris Ostrander Please feel free to reach out to them and extend all of our appreciation for their commitment to YMKN.  I also want to offer my sincere “Thanks and Appreciation” to the six retiring members that have served YMKN so admirably. Serving on the YMKN Board of Directors is a tremendous commitment of time, energy and patience. The six Board members include: 1. Stuart Simm 2. K.C. Clark 3. Mike Wyckoff 4. Steve Beaty 5. Peter Klinkenberg 6. Don Dietrich Again, please offer a “YMKN Thank You”  to these gentlemen. We all appreciate your service and sacrifice to YMKN. All 12 of these Board members should plan to attend the May 4, 2023 Board meeting at the Cove at 7:00. One of the key functions at this meeting will be to elect the 2024 Board Officers to a 1 year term. These positions include: Captain, XO, Master of Arms, Purser and Yeoman. Only the current and new Board Members are entitled to vote. If you have a calling to serve in any of these roles, please notify me and we can get your message of interest conveyed to the entire Board to secure their vote. Please copy Eric Long to forward out your message to the Board members. In closing, a loud HIP!, HIP!, Hurray for all of these gentlemen for continuing a long succession of successful events and comradery within YMKN. Also, a big shout out to Bob Hill for coordinating the Annual Meeting last night. Great event! It’s been a great year!. Al Guenthardt Captain XLII 

YMKN members were wowed with a great Super Bowl LVII game, but even more by the hospitality of Bob and Bobbi Hill. The Hills threw a fantastic party for all, and spared no detail in providing a bounty of food and drink. I would like to extend my personal thanks to the Hill family that put this together. Smiles  and cheerful exchanges were the mood of the day!  A big Hip Hip Hooray to the Hills for making this event so awesome and enjoyable for all. Al Guenthardt Captain XLII

We’ll be posting updates and notices here, so check back often. Bead Loading for Gasparilla The Cove will be open at 6:00 pm on January 25, 2923 (the Wednesday before Gasparilla) for everyone to restock their Bead Lockers on the float. Note that NO Bead Boxes can be left on the float. Everything will need to be in duffels or other carriers.