BREMERTON, Wash. –
Thousands of workers pass by Building 857 going to and from their worksites every day. For many years, hanging on the top right face of the building was an unassuming sign letting passersby know it was the home of Puget Sound Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Maintenance Facility’s Shop 11/17, Shipfitters, Forge and Sheet metal team. But now, unbeknownst to most, hangs an upgraded sign with hidden writing on the back — a sign that holds a deeper meaning for the men and women of Shop 11/17.
At the beginning of the year, Jeremy Stephens, superintendent for Shop 11/17, recognized that the current home for his team of employees would not be their permanent home as the shipyard undergoes facility upgrades. Building 857 has been Shop 11/17’s home for the past 50 years. Noticing the state of the former Shop 11/17 sign, Stephens commissioned work on its replacement. With a building full of talented sheet metal workers, it wasn’t a tall order. But, he wanted to use the opportunity to help his workers develop an appreciation for the job they do daily and their shop’s legacy.
“The history is what makes us,” said Stephens. “We moved into this building when it was built in the 70s. Before that Shop 11/17’s former building [Building 120] was built in the 1900s. The legacy of what they did in those buildings is in the ground, and is what drives us forward every day. When we move, we want to be able to take that legacy with us.”
On the back of the new sign, a pair of dates commemorating the shop’s two locations at PSNS & IMF were memorialized alongside signatures of approximately 35 current workers assigned to the shop. The effort turned an ordinary sign into a time capsule.
“With all the Shipyard Infrastructure Optimization Program changes in the future, this building may not be here. But the people who worked here and the legacy they created — I wanted to be able to take that with us to the next building when it’s time for us to move,” explained Stephens.
Stephens believes his workers value being part of this organization. He also believes the history of his shop has encouraged them to “buy in” and take greater pride in what they produce every day.
“They were excited to be a part of something bigger than them,” he said. “All of them wanted to pay it forward to the next building and the next generation of shipyard sheet metal employees. I think it’s pretty cool to be a part of that legacy. Obviously, they are part of it every day, but now they have a tangible representation that serves as an extra daily motivation.”
While the new sign and the words etched on the back of it do represent his workers and his shop’s history, Stephens also believes it is an apt symbol of what they produce each day.
“On the logo, the words ‘pride and professionalism’ are there,” he explained. “I want our people to read that and understand that those two words are out there in their work hundreds of miles away on a ship when it’s defending our country. Our workers can’t see that, but hopefully this sign helps them keep that in their minds as they go about their day.”