35th Memorial Auction
The Seattle Fishermen’s Memorial held its 35th annual Benefit Dinner, Live Auction, and Silent Auction on Tuesday, November 19, 2024, at Chinooks at Salmon Bay. THANK YOU, Anthony’s Restaurants for your support for 35 years! Thank you Seattle Seahawks and hometown hero Steve Largent for your support of this year’s benefit auction.
The SFM funds scholarships, supports safety training, offers grief counseling, and gives back to our local fishing community when needed. Fishermen’s Finest is proud of the efforts of the volunteers to keep this non-profit true to its mission and goals. The SFM counts on people like the Fishing Companies and Industry Vendors listed below to fund their programs.
Team #FishFinest attends the benefit auction at Chinooks
The Seattle Fishermen’s Memorial Board thanks you and provides this summary of the board’s efforts made possible through the generous support of the companies listed herein.
GRIEF SUPPORT
Seattle Fishermen’s Memorial has a long-standing commitment to supporting our families, friends, and crew during the grieving process that follows the loss of one of our own. Captain Dave Shoemaker serves as our Grief Coordinator and provides comfort and support to those in need.
SCHOLARSHIP
Seattle Fishermen’s Memorial maintains a needs-based scholarship to serve the families of those we honor on the Memorial. Our scholarships are benchmarked against the University of Washington tuition and expenses, which have steadily risen over time. The Seattle Fishermen’s Memorial recently had another scholarship recipient graduate and we currently have two scholarship recipients paying out over $30,000 in awards this year. We have also reimbursed more than $30,000 in safety training expenses for local fishers over the past year. That is our commitment our our community.
Thank you Sponsors and Supporters for your generosity.
Gunnar Ildhuso (1924-2018) was a pioneer of the Alaska fisheries and a generous benefactor of the Seattle Fishermen’s Memorial. The Memorial, consistent with its mission to promote safety and competence in the local fishing industry, recognizes a need to support and enhance the training of the next generation of fishermen. Therefore, in honor of Gunnar Ildhuso’s legacy, the Memorial established this scholarship in 2019 to promote safety training, skills training, or USCG licensing for committed fishermen. This scholarship provides assistance to applicants interested in enhancing or advancing their maritime qualifications and safety credentials. The scholarship provides up to $2,500 toward training or coursework for fishermen in the areas of marine safety or safety certification, skills enhancement (e.g., vocational training such as marine welding, electrical, refrigeration, shipwright, etc.), or USCG licensing procurement or upgrading.
MAINTENANCE OF THE MEMORIAL
Our Memorial is maintained in cooperation with the Port of Seattle, keeping it presentable year-round. The first Sunday in May each year we hold a Memorial Service attended by family and friends from across the country; at which time we honor fishermen and community supporters.
If you are interested in supporting the Seattle Fishermen’s Memorial, either through donations, volunteering, or both, please contact board member Kristian Uri. Click the links below for more information on the Seattle Fishermen’s Memorial:
2024 Fishermen’s Fall Festival
2024 Fishermen’s Safety Fair
2024 Fishermen’s Memorial
2023 Fishermen’s Fall Festival
2023 Fishermen’s Safety Fair
2023 Fishermen’s Memorial
2022 Benefit Auction & Dinner
2022 Fishermen’s Safety Fair
2022 Fishermen’s Memorial
Thank you to all our Sponsors - Highliners #AmericanSeafoods and #USIinsurance as well as the Captain, Chief, and Mate sponsors and our Supporters - we could not do what we do, without YOU. A special thank you to Anthony’s Restaurants for their generous support over all the years, hosting us at Chinook’s at Salmon Bay.
