I know I keep ragging on you to keep your profiles on the website up-to-date, but there is method to my madness. Your profile is the mechanism by which the USS WILLIAM H. BATES (SSN 680) Association keeps you informed using the Familygram newsletter, and now, by text message.

We have just upgraded the website to allow us to send you periodic SMS text messages for notifications of major events or to track you down when your email no longer works.

Don’t expect many - it does cost us about 3/4 of a cent for each message that goes out, so don’t expect more than one or two a month.

Once everybody has a few days to update their profiles, I’ll send a couple of texts. One will allow you to opt out, if you desire to not be bothered, but I’d encourage you to stay with it and let me use texts to keep you in the loop. After that, they’ll be relatively infrequent, unless your Familygram bounces, and of course, your phone numbers, like your street address, are never revealed to anyone without your permission.

All this means that it is more important than ever to keep your profile information up-to-date. So get hot, or get dink, and watch your phone for text messages from the USS WILLIAM H. BATES (SSN 680) Association.