CONTENTS |
UPCOMING
EVENTS
Fri.-Sun., Mar. 6-8:
STARFLEET International
Region 2 Summit
Saturday, March 14: Atlanta St. Patrick's Parade
Wednesday, April 8: Star Trek Bingo Night
NEWS
& ANNOUNCEMENTS
"Star Trek Night" with the OutWorlders
comes to an end
USS Republic
web site updates and upgrades
USS Republic comm badges now available
First MCC food
bank replenished
Volunteers needed for Star
Trek movie premiere
Ship's Store loaded with
chapter merchandise
Member Recruitment Special: New Voyages/Phase
II DVDs
Personnel Records
Recent Chapter Event Photo
Classifieds
SIDEBAR
March Birthdays
Welcome Aboard!
March
Membership Renewals
Wish List
About the Republic
For More Information
Our Member Benefits Program Partners
16 Years Ago Aboard the USS Republic
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UPCOMING
EVENTS
STARFLEET
International Region 2 Summit
Friday - Sunday, March 6-8, 2009
Budget Inn & Banquet
1525 Ellis Ave, Jackson MS 39204
Phone: (601) 944-1150 |
Hosted
by the USS Haise NCC-74664, the 2009 STARFLEET International
Region 2 Summit will be held March 6-8 in Jackson, Mississippi.
Republic members confirmed to attend are
Commanding Officer Capt Eric L. Watts, Executive Officer
Cmdr Brian Holloway, Capt Michael Cowart, ENS2
Zannetta Law, Ens Joanne Trew and Ens Julianne
Trew.
The annual Summit can be one of the most rewarding experiences
in STARFLEET. Unlike typical conventions with Star
Trek stars, a Summit is a learning experience. Not
only is it a great chance to learn valuable skills in the
various informative panels and workshops, but it's also a
great chance to make valuable friendships with people you've
only heard about through The STARFLEET Communiqué,
Region 2 Update, online and other sources. Over
100 people from chapters throughout the Region attend the
Summit, along with some of the STARFLEET Executive Committee,
like the Commander, STARFLEET. It's a great opportunity
to learn in a very fun environment. You will also have
a chance to find out what is going on in your Region and in
STARFLEET.
One of the most important events at the Summit is the annual
Awards Banquet. The Republic has won five Regional
awards in the last two years and looks forward to another
triumphant year in 2009! This year, the Republic
has been nominated or is eligible for Commanding Officer of
the Year, Officer of the Year, Chapter of the Year, Mothership
of the Year, Starfleet Academy Achievement Award, Superior
Web Site Achievement and Performance, Most Informative Web
Site, Best Chapter Web Site, Best Printed Newsletter, Best
Electronic Newsletter and Newsletter of the Year awards.
The Budget Inn & Banquet in Jackson has given us a room rate
of $59 per night. The hotel is set up to receive phone
reservations ONLY. The number (601) 944-1150. When
making reservations, remember to use the group code "STARFLEET
Region 2" to get the special rate. The Fleet Admiral's
Dinner is set for Friday night at Sonny's Real Pit Bar-B-Q
in Jackson. The Awards Banquet on Saturday will be buffet
style and held in the host hotel. Banquet prices are
$19.95 for adults, $10 for children under 10, and free for
children under 3. Anyone wishing to attend who hasn't
already preregistered will pay $35 at the door and may not
be able to purchase an Awards Banquet ticket. Additional
information about the Summit in general can be found here.
Additional information about the 2009 Summit can be
found here.
MAP AND DIRECTIONS |
Atlanta
St. Patrick's Parade
Saturday,
March 14, 2009
Downtown Atlanta
10:00
a.m.: Assemble
on West Peachtree Street, Peachtree Street and Ralph McGill
Boulevard
12:00
noon: Parade
begins
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Join
the USS Republic as we march, for the very first
time, in Atlanta's St. Patrick's Parade!
From their web site: "2009 will be the largest, best-attended
St. Patrick's Parade & Festival since the first Atlanta
St. Patrick's Parade held 151 years ago, in 1858. The
parade ends at Underground Atlanta with vendors, food and
free entertainment, music and dancing.
"The 2009 Atlanta St. Patrick's Parade will have over
200 units, including floats, bands of every kind, military
units, bagpipe and drum corps, thousands of children, Irish
dancers, clowns, high-tech firefighting equipment, police
units, drill teams, dogs, horses, antique cars, dignitaries
from Ireland, and our own government leaders.
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Our
friends in KAG Atlanta in the 2007 St. Patrick's Parade. This
year, they'll be marching with us!
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"This
year is going to be an even bigger deal than previous years'
record-breaking parades and festivals. We expect to
significantly exceed prior crowds. Many dignitaries
and previous participants are already on board for 2009.
"Historically, Atlanta is strongly associated with
the Irish. The thriving city of Atlanta had many well-established
Irish businessmen, tradesmen and farmers at a time when
some cities still restricted immigration and settlement
of the Irish. At one time, all five of Atlanta's city
councilmen were Irish. Atlanta's fire department attracted
a large number of Irish.
"The Irish have always been an integral part of the
city. The Hibernian Benevolent Society of Atlanta
was founded in 1858 to help the newest wave of immigrating
Irish. An Irish priest, Father O'Reilly, was instrumental
in saving five churches and other parts of Atlanta from
General Sherman's armies during the Civil War. A huge
number of the Southern defenders were Irish, as were a great
percentage of the Northern troops.
"Margaret Mitchell, famed author of Gone with the
Wind, wrote about her Atlanta Irish ancestors. Her
great aunts, the Fitzgeralds, lived in Clayton County at
a place called Rural Home which became Tara in the novel. Anywhere
you look, the Irish have been in Atlanta, playing an important
role.
"In addition to Atlanta 'natives,' migration from the
traditional northern Irish cities has brought thousands
of Irish and their descendants to booming Atlanta. These
newer residents are accustomed to St. Patrick’s Day festivities
and are faithful supporters.
Almost
40% of Georgians claim Irish heritage
More than
1,000,000 Metro Atlanta residents claim Irish descent
Atlanta
ranks as the 7th largest “Irish City” in North America
"It's 'in' to be Irish in today’s dynamic times. Join
us for a great day and for a grand time as we celebrate
Atlanta and her Irish heritage in 2009."
The USS Republic will join our Klingon friends in
the IKAV
Nemesis behind the Republic's parade
banner. The Nemesis has marched in this parade
for the last few years. Republic
members confirmed to march include Commanding Officer Capt
Eric L. Watts, Capt Michael Cowart, ENS3 Reginald
Franklin, ENS3 Naomi Hemingway, Ens John Stump
and Beth Miller, Ens Joanne Trew, and Friend
of the Republic Rick Day. If you
would like to join us, please contact
the Captain as soon as possible for additional details. This
is a costume-encouraged event, so please wear your Republic
chapter sport shirt, chapter t-shirt or your best Star
Trek costume. If you don't want to march
with us, consider coming out with your camera and cheering
for us as we go by!
The route begins at the intersection of Ralph McGill Boulevard
and Peachtree Street and runs 1.1 miles from the start at
Ralph McGill to the end at Martin Luther King Boulevard
at Underground Atlanta, where there will be free entertainment
and vendors.
After
the parade, everyone is invited to join us at the Carne
N' Espeto Brazilian Steakhouse at 2555 Delk Road in Marietta. It
comes highly recommended by our friends in the Nemesis. The
price is $11.88 for a buffet-style, all-you-can-eat meat,
hot bar and cold bar. Marching in the parade
does not obligate you to join us for lunch afterwards.
ATLANTA'S
ST. PATRICK'S PARADE WEB SITE
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Star
Trek Bingo Night:
Trekkies, Tribbles and Klingons, Oh My!
A benefit for PALS Atlanta and the Republic
7:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 8, 2009
The Wild Mustang
2115 Faulkner Rd, Atlanta GA 30324
Phone: (404) 844-8800 |
The
USS Republic is pleased to partner with PALS Atlanta
for a charity event to benefit both PALS Atlanta and the
Republic. Hosted by the hilarious and outrageous
Bubba D. Licious and held at The Wild Mustang just off Cheshire
Bridge Road, proceeds from this event will help PALS Atlanta
continue its mission of providing free food and basic veterinary
care and support to the pets of critically ill and disabled
Atlantans. This event will also serve as a fundraiser
and member recruitment opportunity for the Republic
as publicity and promotion for the new Star Trek
movie will be reaching its zenith just four weeks before
its premiere.
This is a costume-encouraged event and all members
and friends of the USS Republic are asked to wear
their best Star Trek costume (Starfleet, Klingon,
etc.), Republic sport shirt or t-shirt, or your own
club's t-shirt. We hope to hold a costume contest
of some sort during the event; details to be announced if
and when confirmed.
Doors at The Wild Mustang open at 6:30 p.m. with the first
Bingo number being called at 7:45 p.m. Tickets are
$20 and will be available from the USS Republic during
March and early April. A cash bar and food concessions
will be available. Your game card includes seven games
(six chances to win $100 cash and one jackpot game with
a $500 prize).
PALS
ATLANTA WEB SITE
THE
WILD MUSTANG MAP AND DIRECTIONS
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NEWS
& ANNOUNCEMENTS
"Star
Trek Night" with the Atlanta OutWorlders comes to
an end |
For
more than a year, Friend of the Republic Alan
Siler has hosted "Star Trek Night"
in his home in Doraville, usually on the last Friday of
the month, on behalf of the Atlanta
OutWorlders. USS
Republic has been pleased to promote and support
this monthly event and regrets to announce that Alan is
unable to continue serve as host, so until another member
of the OutWorlders volunteers, last month's event was its
last.
Commanding Officer, Republic, wishes to thank Alan
and the Atlanta OutWorlders for inviting us to participate
in their “Star Trek Night” events every month over
the past year.
This has been a fun event for those who attended and it
would be a shame for it to come to a permanent end. Any
member of the Republic who might be interested in
hosting a similar event in their own home on a regular basis
is encouraged to contact
the Captain.
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USS
Republic web site updates and upgrades |
Have
you visited the USS Republic's award-winning web
site lately? If not, you may not be aware
of several significant additions that have been made in the
last couple of months. First up is an awesome new
one-minute, nineteen-second audio/visual animation created
by former Republic member Bruce Peret that wonderfully
captures the fun and spirit of membership aboard our chapter. Another
significant addition is the increasing number of archived
newsletters that have been added to the "News
& Newsletters" section as PDF files. Thanks
to the combined efforts of Bruce Peret and ENS2 Mark A.
Ozanick, more than three dozen chapter newsletters from
1987 to 1999 have been added to the web site so far, making
it possible for all current members to learn about the rich
history of the Republic and to better understand and
appreciate the chapter's contemporary status and standing
in STARFLEET. Over the next few weeks, we hope
to have every chapter newsletter in our archives converted
to digital format and available to all members and friends
as a download to preserve and treasure forever. And
finally, while it's not a "big" thing (pardon the
pun), we've also added our chapter logo as a "favicon,"
which should appear as a small image in the address bar of
your Internet browser window to the left of the "http"
in the web site address. |
USS
Republic comm badges now available |
The
USS Republic is delighted to introduce our very own,
custom-designed chapter comm badges! Designed and created
by Capt Michael Cowart, these awesome new badges feature
the Republic's "Delta Shield/Capital R" logo rendered
in a Deep Space Nine/Voyager-style comm badge
that can be worn with your Next Generation-era style
uniform. Each badge is individually cast in urethane
resin and painted by hand to closely resemble the silver and
bronze colors of comm badges actually used on the modern Star
Trek series. Available in your choice of traditional
butterfly clutch (most secure) for $10.00 each or magnetic
backing (won't harm fabric) for $12.00 each, these unique
chapter comm badges will be a perfect addition to your uniform
for the Region 2 Summit, the St. Patrick's Parade and all
future chapter events. Show your pride in the Republic
and visit the Republic's Ship's
Store to order yours now! |
First
MCC food bank replenished |
Last
month, Republic members and friends who planned to
join us for our Valentine's Day Lonely Hearts Dinner were
asked to bring one or more nonperishable food items for the
First
Metropolitan Community Church of Atlanta's food bank,
which was depleted by an increased demand from our friends
and neighbors adversely affected by the economic recession.
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Items
donated to the First MCC food bank by members and
friends of the Republic.
|
Republic
was one of several organizations with ties to First MCC who
were asked to help restock their food bank.
Commanding
Officer, Republic, would like to thank all those who
brought food items to donate, and is pleased to report that
after several weeks of being closed, First MCC was able to
reopen their doors in mid-February and feed more than 100
families in need during the second and third weeks of the
month. |
Volunteers needed for Star Trek movie premiere |
Commanding
Officer, Republic, had a meeting in late January with
the general manager of the Regal
Cinemas Hollywood Stadium 24 cineplex in Chamblee
to discuss possible plans for the Republic to have
a membership recruitment table set up inside the theater lobby
throughout the new Star Trek movie's opening weekend. The
good news is that the GM is very interested in working
with us; the bad news is that any such promotion must be approved
by corporate headquaters and no such approval will be granted
before April. If we receive permission to have
a table inside their lobby, we MUST be prepared to have it
manned by volunteers throughout the weekend. Please
contact
the Captain if you are interested in being a part
of this very important member recruitment campaign.
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Ship's
Store loaded with chapter merchandise |
The
USS Republic's Ship's Store has plenty of merchandise
still available. Help stimulate your chapter's
economy by purchasing one or more of these exclusive, custom-made,
Republic-branded items that are the envy of all other
Region 2 chapters.
Calendars: Printed in full color and on heavyweight
card stock, drilled and comb-bound for easy wall-hanging,
the USS Republic's 2009 calendars feature twelve photos
from the Republic's highest-profile events and activities
from 2008, as well as member birthdays, federal holidays,
major religious and seasonal observances, and most Atlanta-area
science fiction convention dates. THE calendar
for all your fannish needs, this full-sized (10¾"
x 17"), limited edition calendar can be yours for only
$10.00 postpaid. Visit the Ship's
Store to order yours now!
GPB
Pledge Drive DVDs: We came, we answered phones, we conquered! Twenty-one
members and friends of the USS Republic answered phones
for two hours during Georgia Public Broadcasting's live semi-annual
Pledge Drive on Saturday, December 6... and we've got it on
DVD! See Capt Eric L. Watts be interviewed
on live TV! See Ens Eddie Hines ham it up
for the cameras! See two fully ridged Klingons
try to hold phones to their heads! See it all for
only $5.00 per each postpaid DVD! In addition to
40 minutes of televised Republic samaritanism, this
four-hour DVD also includes the last half-hour of Celtic
Woman–The Greatest Journey: Essential Collection; Victor
Borge: 100 Years of Music & Laughter! (1½ hrs); Yanni
Voices (30 min.) and the first hour of My Music: My
Generation–The 60s, hosted by Michelle Phillips. Visit
the Ship's
Store to order yours now!
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Ens
Claire Willis, ENS3 Chadd Franklin and Ens Julianne
Trew look fantastic in Republic t-shirts!
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20th
Year Celebration T-Shirts: These
high-quality, 100% preshrunk cotton tees are available in
sizes Medium, Large, XL, 3XL and 4XL and feature the two-color
USS Republic 20th Year Celebration logo screenprinted
on the full chest. Each limited edition, collector's
item shirt is only $15.00 postpaid. Sizes Small and
2XL are already sold out, so order yours now before they're
gone forever. Visit the Ship's
Store to order yours now! |
Member
Recruitment Special:
Star Trek: New Voyages/Phase II DVDs |
Attention
Friends of the Republic! For a limited time,
we're offering free DVDs of the Star
Trek: New Voyages and Phase II episodes
"To Serve All My Days," starring Walter Koenig
as Ensign Chekov; the award-winning "World Enough
and Time," starring George Takei as Lt. Sulu; and
"Blood and Fire, Part I," written and directed
by David Gerrold ("The Trouble with Tribbles") to
new members who join STARFLEET and the Republic during
March at
the regular combined rate of $25.00 per person. Each
DVD comes in a deluxe DVD case with the official (and no longer
available to the general pubic!) STNV/P2 DVD case art
as shown above. Please visit the Republic's
web site for information on how to join and please
mention "Star Trek: New Voyages" on your
membership application and/or PayPal payment "memo." |
Personnel
Records |
Congratulations
to Cmdr John R. Sims, commanding officer of the USS
Republic's chapter-in-training, the USS
Exeter, who won multiple awards at the 2009
JaxCon Model Show, held last month in Jacksonville, Florida. John
swept the Space & Sci-Fi Diorama catagory, placed both First
and Second in the Spaceflight catagory, and even won Best
of Show for his entry in the Space category.
Get Well Soon
to Republic shuttle USS
Exeter member Ens Marian LaPlaca and
her daughter, who were in a bad car accident last month. They
both went into the windshield and have serious injuries,
but are receiving excellent medical care and, according
to Cmdr John Sims, are doing well. Marian,
a single mother who John says is barely able to make ends
meet, will be out of work for a couple of weeks, which will
be difficult for her and her daughter. Please
keep the LaPlaca family in your thoughts.
Friend
of the Republic Joy Keltner, also a member
of the IKAV
Nemesis, is training for a half-marathon
(13.1 miles) through the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's "Team
in Training" program to raise money to support finding a
cure for these diseases. (Leukemia was the disease
that claimed the life of Majel
Barrett-Roddenberry in December.) The
money raised by this program not only supports researchers
who are daily coming closer to a cure, but it also helps
current patients as well. The Society helps patients
monetarily by making sure they have transportation and access
to the treatments they need. Please support Joy in
this effort by visiting her fundraising web
site and blog and making a donation to this very
worthy cause.
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Recent
Chapter Event Photo |
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Valentine's
Day Lonely Hearts Dinner || February
14, 2009
Friend of the Republic Beth Miller,
Ens John Stump, ENS2 Mark A. Ozanick, Ens Zannetta
Law, Capt Eric L. Watts, Ens Chris Jones.
Present but not pictured: Capt Michael Cowart.
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Classifieds |
VHS
preservation -- Do you need your VHS or S-VHS tapes preserved
as MP4 or MPG files? Contact Bruce
Berryhill for details. |
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MARCH
BIRTHDAYS
Sunday, March 8
ENS3 Katherine Akin
Monday, March 9
ENS3
Lea
Hepler
Tuesday, March 17
ENS3
Anita
Letendre
Monday, March 23
Ens Wilford B. ("Will") Sims
Tuesday, March 24
Ens Chris Jones
Thursday, March 26
ENS3
Reginald
Franklin
Friday, March 27
Ens Mike Sollie
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WELCOME
ABOARD!
1 New Member in January/February!
Commander Joseph A. Campbell
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The
Republic needs certain items on a continuing basis
to operate. To help keep our expenses and membership
dues as low as possible, donations of the following items
would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for
your support!
CRITICAL NEED: one or more HP 10 black printheads
Also:
HP 10 cyan, magenta and yellow printheads
HP 10 black, cyan, magenta and yellow ink
cartridges
postage stamps
13 x 19 70-lb. smooth white opaque text stock
Avery 8160 or compatible address labels
9 x 12 manila clasp envelopes
8½ x 11 90-lb. white index card stock
(Springhill 15101)
clear packing tape
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ABOUT
THE REPUBLIC
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Commissioned
on May 14, 1988 at Dixie-Trek, the USS Republic
NCC-1371 is a chapter of STARFLEET International (SFI)
and a member of STARFLEET Region 2. The Republic
currently has 64 active members (as of March 2)
and is one of the largest chapters of STARFLEET in the
world. The Republic plans and coordinates
an active schedule of events for its members, frequently
partnering with other local science fiction groups in
the Atlanta area for joint activities, but does not hold
meetings on a consistently fixed date each month.
Membership in the Republic includes membership
in STARFLEET International. Annual dues are $25
per person for both groups (family discounts are available
with certain conditions and restrictions). Membership
in the Republic includes a subscription to our
award-winning quarterly magazine, The Sovereign Star,
access to our YahooGroups message board, voting privileges
in chapter elections and a personalized laminated membership
card which entitles the member to discounts and rebates
on products and services offered by our Member Benefits
Program partners. Additional information on Republic
membership and how to join is on our award-winning web
site.
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FOR
MORE INFORMATION
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XBox
Live Gamertag:
"USS Republic"
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OUR
MEMBER BENEFITS PROGRAM PARTNERS
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*
16 *
YEARS AGO ABOARD THE USS REPUBLIC
From the Center Seat
Captain Kelly Hilliard
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Attention
all hands -- this is the Captain speaking...
Well, it's me again. I hope the News Flash
brought everyone up to date. In this issue
are all the things I promised you. A calendar,
a quartermaster's order sheet for our new merchandise,
and a new crew roster. As you can see, it has
shrunk considerably since the last one. Not
to worry, this is an annual event. With the
coming con season, we should be back up to speed in no
time.
In this issue, you will get to meet our new XO Jeff Kirkland
as well as the ship's counselor, Jesse Feldberg. Both
of these guys are a credit to the ship, and I look forward
to their participation and input into the running of this
ship.
Our work with SciTrek and the Star Trek: Federation Science
exhibit is going well, and most crewmembers are having
lots of fun as well as a feeling of well-being by being
able to help teach people about the fundamentals of science
and introduce them to the world of Trek. We
have worked two overnight sessions with one being totally
staffed by Republic volunteers. More of these
overnight sessions are planned in the future. You
can still join in. Most of the initial volunteeers
for the exhibit never showed, so they are in desparate
need of volunteers for this exhibit. If you
can help at all, please contact Ginny Plumber at SciTrek
(522-5500). Let her know you are a Republic
member who would like to volunteer to help out.
Well, that's about it. I hope everyone fared
OK during the blizzard last month. See you
at the meetings!
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Notes from Number One
Cmdr Jeff Kirkland
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My
thanks to our captain for having enough confidence in me
to ask me to be his exec. I hope that I can live
up to his expectations -- and yours.
One thing I would like to see if we can do (and it will
take all of us) is to contact all our old members and invite
them to come back and rejoin the club. There
are so many new things and exciting activities happening
that we have to offer. And we need everybody's
help with the con season at the recruiting table.
I would like to thank our Chief Engineer for all the hard
work he did for Vulkon by printing all the divisional badges
to sell and also the personalized individual badges for
our club members.
I would also like to see all our members order at least
one of the new Region 2 shirts and one or two of the new
Republic shirts with our logo on it. For more
information, contact our Captain. That's all
for now, see you soon! |
Sciences
Lt. (jg) Jeff Kirkland
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I
don't have a lot to say from my science desk, but things
are changing in this field rapidly. Until I
started working at SciTrek, I did not realize how fast
things are changing.
If you have not been to SciTrek, you need to go -- not
just for the Star Trek Federation science exhibit that
is there now, but for the science and learning process
of the complete museum. SciTrek is a fun place
for all ages. We are about halfway through
the Star Trek visit, so it will not be long before this
exhibit will be leaving. May 2, 1993 will be
the last day, so come and see it and LEARN.
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Sick Bay
CMPO Dianne Fisher,
Chief Medical Officer
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Several
local clubs, including the Republic, are currently planning
participation in this year's Muscular Dystrophy Association
fundraising activities. As most of you know,
muscular dystrophy is a group of diseases in which muscle
fibers undergo progressive damage and eventual destruction. The
diseases are cosidered hereditary, and most often become
evident in early childhood, although some forms affect
adults. Some women with no clinical evidence
of the disease are carriers; Some of their sons may have
the disease, their daughters may be carriers. Testing
includes muscle tests, biopses, and blood tests for certain
enzymes (especially CPK or creatine phosphokinase) displayed
in high levels in people with the disease and in carriers. There
is no cure; principal treatment is in the area of physical
therapy, braces, and other supportive measures.
It is distressing to think of the thousands of people
afflicted with this disease, mostly small children who
cannot run and skip and jump, and sometimes cannot even
dress or feed themselves. It certainly makes
me stop and think when I complain that I am always so
busy; I need to be grateful for the fact that I am able
to do so many things. There is always hope
for a breakthrough in treatment or even a cure, especially
now with the field of genetics making such great strides
almost daily.
We would very much like for as many Republic members as
possible to assist or volunteer in these fundraising activities
to support medical research and development. We
will be doing something to help some people who really
need support, and we will be having fun at the same time. Most
people do not have a lot of spare time these days and
hesitate to volunteer; but just an hour from several different
people adds up to a lot of hours in the long run; if you
can help out more, that would be fantastic! If
you are interested and willing to help in some way, please
let Captain Hilliard know; the sooner he has an idea of
how much commitment the club can make, the sooner he can
plan our participation and know which activities to volunteer
us for. We will let you know more details as
they become available.
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Communications
Lt. Cmdr Edmund Trafford
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By
this time, you all should have received a copy of The
Republic Reader, a labor of literary love produced for
your pleasure. The articles and various columns
and features were compiled from past issues of the chapter
newsletter as well as from the archives. I
hope The Republic Reader was not only an enjoyable publication
for you -- the crew of the Republic -- but most of all,
I want it to be an inspiration and an example and an encouragement
for what an outstanding, exciting, thoughtful, and provocative
newsletter can be. I sincerely hope that some
of you out there are not writing for the newsletter just
because you feel that you don't write well. You
don't have to be a famous author to have an original or
creative thought and put it down on paper in your own
words. What you have to say is usually more
interesting to others than how you say it (up to a point,
of course, and that's what editors are for -- to help
with grammar and punctuation and dreary stuff like that). I
want to hear from you regarding The Republic Reader! Did
you like it? Did you hate it? Did
you care? Do you want to see another issue
like it? (To produce another Reader, we've
got to have a series of features to choose from appearing
in every newsletter -- hint, hint.) How about
a "one-time" issue of special features -- either
a range of columns on various topics (con reviews, book
reviews, show reviews, Trek philosophy, scientific items,
etc. etc. etc.) or an issue of responses from everyone
on a specific topic? (That might be fun --
to just throw out an "off the wall" statement
and let everyone respond to it, pro or con, politely,
passionately, factually, emotionally.)
I've got lots of ideas, but I can't make them happen without
you (and you, and you, and you...)! My hailing
frequencies are always open.
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Engineering
Lt. (jg) Shane Shadrix
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Greetings,
everyone! Well, we survived Snowjam '93. I
don't believe that I have seen as much snow as that ever
before. After the first day, I was ready to
go someplace warm. Where's a transporter when
you really need one?
I would like to throw out a couple of ideas for the crew
to debate and discuss. First of all, I would
like to ask how do you feel about refitting the ship. Now,
when I say "refit," I do not (and I stress NOT)
mean a name change. What I am talking about
is a change in the ship design. According to
The Next Generation Officer's Manual by FASA (if you go
by it), our ship is a Transwarp Enterprise Class, but
the name has a suffix of two and the NCC number is different. If
you look in The Ships of Starfleet by Calon Riel, the
Republic never made it out of the original Constitution
Class configuration (like the original Enterprise). So
if you would write me and let me know how you feel about
this, I would greatly appreciate it. If you
feel that we do need to be refitted, please make some
suggestions as to what type (class) of ship we should
be. My address will be at the end of this column.
This is the easiest way to reach me.
Second, I would like to get your response to a possible
trip to the Space and Rocket Center at Huntsville sometime
around the last of August. This is a real good
trip, and I highly recommend it.
Before I close, I would like to ask all members of the
Engineering Department to drop me a line so I can get
to know my department. My address is as follows: Shane
Shadrix, P.O. Box 323, Temple, GA 30179.
Engineering Room out.
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Counselor's Corner
LT (j.g.) Jesse Feldberg
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Thanks
to Captain Kelly Hilliard and Chief Medical Officer Dianne
Fisher, I am your new Ship's Counselor. For
those of you who don't know me, I am 17 years of age and
I go to North Springs High School. I have been
with the USS Republic for about a year. With
my new position, I hope to become more active and I also
plan to open a new column in the newsletter called "Dear
Counselor." Dear Counselor will be like
Dear Abby. I hope to use comical questions
in the Star Trek Universe, trivia questions, serious question
like politics, and any problems you might have. The
column can be as much fun as you want it to be. All
you have to do is call or send in any questions you might
want me to answer. Another thing I would like
to as Ship's Counselor is to just be there when somebody
wants somebody to talk to. My number is (404)
587-4378. My Address is 2903 Queen Anne Ct.,
Dunwoody GA 30350.
May your emotions be free and your mind full of happiness.
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Reprinted from
And to the REPUBLIC
Vol. IV, Issue Two, Mar/Apr 1993
Copyright © 1993 USS Republic.
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