Happy Thanksgiving from the staff of Region 7.

SUB SPACE CHATTER: The Pre-R7 Command Summit Edition

The “as official as it gets” Region 7 Command News Bulletin
By Adm. Bob Vosseller, Vice Regional Coordinator, Region 7

I am typing this on a very rainy Wednesday afternoon. Yup, its pouring out and the weather report says the temps will descend later today. Finally we are going to get a regular dose of autumn temperatures.

Weather for the weekend however is expected to be perfect for the second R7 command summit in Mt. Laurel N.J. R7 Chief of Staff Rear Adm. Jeff Victor has provided numerous posts on the details of the free event and its location so I won’t include that here as we have a lot of other ground to cover.

What I will add though is our excitement over the interest that this event has had. We expect close to 50 people to turn up to discuss regional activities, how we can improve communication, generate some enthusiasm and bring more ST/Sci-Fi fans into the fold.

FALL FUN
It has been a pretty active autumn. Chapters have been busy with a range of fall activities ranging from collectible shows, Ren Faires, camping trips, science programs to the recent R7 Halloween Party in Atlantic City. All we can say is FANTASTIC. The fall always generates a lot of seasonal activities that bring us out for some fresh air and even a bit of walking like Whatkins Glen, the Gettysburg Camping Trip and those aforementioend Ren Faires like the one I attended in September in Challenger’s turf of Lakewood, Ocean County NJ. There was also the annual Junior Diabetes Walk which the Avenger took part in which had exceptional good weather this year. I enjoyed a brisk walk on the Seaside Heights boardwalk as well. Thankfully, no Snookie sightings.

HOLIDAY HAPPENINGS
Many chapters are also focusing on the wind up of 2011 and that means holding toy, food and clothing collections for the needy as well as collections for our troops overseas.
The holiday season also means festive functions like the 9th Annual Cookie Swap/Holiday Party that will be held on Sun. Dec. 4 at the Seaside Heights Community Center in …where else, Seaside Heights N.J. We are not only exchanging 3 dozen cookies, eating some pizza, drinking hot and cold beverages but also holding a dollar store present exchange. So find the goofiest item you can valued at 99 cents plus a penny, or buy something at your local dollar store and be prepared to have some holiday fun. Optional but encouraged is a donation of non perishable food and/or a toy both for the needy. This is part of Starfleet wide goal to … (paraphrase of a well known ST quote), “let us help.”

WE FACED DOOMSDAY IN 2011 AND WE SURVIVED
Some folks (not in Starfleet mind you) predicted the end of the world in 2011, May 21, 2011 to be precise. Obviously, they were wrong. If that happened how would we have enjoyed all those great summer picnics, BBQs, Shore Leave and best of all, Starfleet International Conference 2011 at the Poconos Manor??
On a serious note, while we survived the end of the world (and did so again during the predicted Oct. 21, date) many of us have faced quite a bit in our personal lives this year.
We’ve read the e-mail or Facebook posts of illness, death in the family, job reduction, job loss, personal health issues etc.
While this isn’t the place to preach or give a pep talk I will say that we’ve weathered the best we can and I’ve observed a lot of kind words and support to those fellow members and friends of ours who are dealing with things. I think that makes our organization a pretty nice environment and while at times we do disagree and even pass a few cross words, for the most part, we rally around each other in times of stress and crisis.

CHANGES IN COMMAND
This year has also marked a number of changes within chapters concerning command level positions. Adamant and Britannic are two chapters that come to mind as having hired new XOs. The USS Avenger is about to select a new commanding officer and I know there have been other new personnel taking on positions of leadership be it CO, XO or section chiefs. This is one of the reasons that is always important to foster interest and leadership skills within our chapters. We wish those in these new spots continued success.

NEW SHIPS ON THE BLOCK
The USS Storm and USS Serling are among those newbie chapters that are doing fantastic since they commissioned. The Storm hosted an R7 Halloween Party on Oct. 31 (yes, on Halloween itself) and we saw the paperwork for the USS Serling signed in August at IC2011. Keep up the good work and keep sharing your ideas (and photographs) through our website, articles in the CQ and don’t forget our R7 Facebook page.

WHAT’S NEXT?
Well a lot of things will be discussed on Saturday at R7 Command Summit II. We’ll laugh, we’ll joke, we’ll roll up our sleeves and get some work done on plans and goals for the future.
Next year will see the return of a STAR TREK motion picture in theaters and that is just one of several Trek milestones that will be happening.
That said, there are special events outside Trek that we’ll also enjoy.
Shore Leave is moving to August, Farpoint will return in February and maybe we can get more of you out to I*Con in Long Island next spring as it is one of the best fan run cons in our region.
Despite the Mayans ending their calendar early, I do not believe this means the end of the planet next year. Lets face it, the Mayans simply ran out of room and calendar sales were not as good as they once were. I mean really, would you buy a calendar a few centuries in advance?

ONE LAST WORD ABOUT R7 COMMAND SUMMIT II
Reviewing the criteria for the R7 Awards program, recruiting and retention, fostering leadership within our chapters, planning regional activities, inspiring our membership, those are all topics that will be explored during the summit. There will also be some STARFLEET news reported on as well of course. We’ll also have lunch and dinner together, no food fights please.

Wayne, Jeff and I look forward to seeing you on Saturday. If you can’t make it, feel free to send off any questions you have, ideas you want to propose or suggestions to Wayne or I. We always enjoy hearing from you. A wrap up of what transpired at the summit will appear in our a soon to be released Sub Space Chatter bulletin later this month or early in December.

Take care and a very Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!

By Adm. Bob Vosseller, Vice Regional Coordinator, Region 7

I am typing this on a very rainy Wednesday afternoon. Yup, its pouring out and the weather report says the temps will descend later today. Finally we are going to get a regular dose of autumn temperatures.

Weather for the weekend however is expected to be perfect for the second R7 command summit in Mt. Laurel N.J. R7 Chief of Staff Rear Adm. Jeff Victor has provided numerous posts on the details of the free event and its location so I won’t include that here as we have a lot of other ground to cover.

What I will add though is our excitement over the interest that this event has had. We expect close to 50 people to turn up to discuss regional activities, how we can improve communication, generate some enthusiasm and bring more ST/Sci-Fi fans into the fold.

FALL FUN
It has been a pretty active autumn. Chapters have been busy with a range of fall activities ranging from collectible shows, Ren Faires, camping trips, science programs to the recent R7 Halloween Party in Atlantic City. All we can say is FANTASTIC. The fall always generates a lot of seasonal activities that bring us out for some fresh air and even a bit of walking like Whatkins Glen, the Gettysburg Camping Trip and those aforementioend Ren Faires like the one I attended in September in Challenger’s turf of Lakewood, Ocean County NJ. There was also the annual Junior Diabetes Walk which the Avenger took part in which had exceptional good weather this year. I enjoyed a brisk walk on the Seaside Heights boardwalk as well. Thankfully, no Snookie sightings.

HOLIDAY HAPPENINGS
Many chapters are also focusing on the wind up of 2011 and that means holding toy, food and clothing collections for the needy as well as collections for our troops overseas.
The holiday season also means festive functions like the 9th Annual Cookie Swap/Holiday Party that will be held on Sun. Dec. 4 at the Seaside Heights Community Center in …where else, Seaside Heights N.J. We are not only exchanging 3 dozen cookies, eating some pizza, drinking hot and cold beverages but also holding a dollar store present exchange. So find the goofiest item you can valued at 99 cents plus a penny, or buy something at your local dollar store and be prepared to have some holiday fun. Optional but encouraged is a donation of non perishable food and/or a toy both for the needy. This is part of Starfleet wide goal to … (paraphrase of a well known ST quote), “let us help.”

WE FACED DOOMSDAY IN 2011 AND WE SURVIVED
Some folks (not in Starfleet mind you) predicted the end of the world in 2011, May 21, 2011 to be precise. Obviously, they were wrong. If that happened how would we have enjoyed all those great summer picnics, BBQs, Shore Leave and best of all, Starfleet International Conference 2011 at the Poconos Manor??
On a serious note, while we survived the end of the world (and did so again during the predicted Oct. 21, date) many of us have faced quite a bit in our personal lives this year.
We’ve read the e-mail or Facebook posts of illness, death in the family, job reduction, job loss, personal health issues etc.
While this isn’t the place to preach or give a pep talk I will say that we’ve weathered the best we can and I’ve observed a lot of kind words and support to those fellow members and friends of ours who are dealing with things. I think that makes our organization a pretty nice environment and while at times we do disagree and even pass a few cross words, for the most part, we rally around each other in times of stress and crisis.

CHANGES IN COMMAND
This year has also marked a number of changes within chapters concerning command level positions. Adamant and Britannic are two chapters that come to mind as having hired new XOs. The USS Avenger is about to select a new commanding officer and I know there have been other new personnel taking on positions of leadership be it CO, XO or section chiefs. This is one of the reasons that is always important to foster interest and leadership skills within our chapters. We wish those in these new spots continued success.

NEW SHIPS ON THE BLOCK
The USS Storm and USS Serling are among those newbie chapters that are doing fantastic since they commissioned. The Storm hosted an R7 Halloween Party on Oct. 31 (yes, on Halloween itself) and we saw the paperwork for the USS Serling signed in August at IC2011. Keep up the good work and keep sharing your ideas (and photographs) through our website, articles in the CQ and don’t forget our R7 Facebook page.

WHAT’S NEXT?
Well a lot of things will be discussed on Saturday at R7 Command Summit II. We’ll laugh, we’ll joke, we’ll roll up our sleeves and get some work done on plans and goals for the future.
Next year will see the return of a STAR TREK motion picture in theaters and that is just one of several Trek milestones that will be happening.
That said, there are special events outside Trek that we’ll also enjoy.
Shore Leave is moving to August, Farpoint will return in February and maybe we can get more of you out to I*Con in Long Island next spring as it is one of the best fan run cons in our region.
Despite the Mayans ending their calendar early, I do not believe this means the end of the planet next year. Lets face it, the Mayans simply ran out of room and calendar sales were not as good as they once were. I mean really, would you buy a calendar a few centuries in advance?

ONE LAST WORD ABOUT R7 COMMAND SUMMIT II
Reviewing the criteria for the R7 Awards program, recruiting and retention, fostering leadership within our chapters, planning regional activities, inspiring our membership, those are all topics that will be explored during the summit. There will also be some STARFLEET news reported on as well of course. We’ll also have lunch and dinner together, no food fights please.

Wayne, Jeff and I look forward to seeing you on Saturday. If you can’t make it, feel free to send off any questions you have, ideas you want to propose or suggestions to Wayne or I. We always enjoy hearing from you. A wrap up of what transpired at the summit will appear in our a soon to be released Sub Space Chatter bulletin later this month or early in December.

Take care and a very Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!