Volume I, Number 22  •  January 2010 
CONTENTS

UPCOMING EVENTS
•  Saturday, January 9: Victory Lunch & Photo Shoot
•  Friday, January 29: Fernbank Planetarium & Observatory
•  Saturday, March 13: Atlanta St. Patrick’s Parade & Festival

NEWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS
•  USS Republic smashes 100-member mark!
•  2009 Membership Awards presented
•  USS Republic to publish 2010 Chapter Calendar
•  Longtime directors Watts and Holloway cut from Dragon*Con
•  Visit the Republic's Forums web site
•  Personnel Records
•  Recent Chapter Event Photos

SIDEBAR
•  January
Birthdays
•  Welcome Aboard!
•  January Membership Renewals
•  Member Reenlistments
  Wish List
•  About the Republic
•  For More Information
•  USS Republic Online
•  Related Sites
•  Our Member Benefits Program Partners
•  News from TrekToday.com
    — Star Trek: Online Play Preview
    — Star Trek XI Digital Copy Code Problems
    — Stewart: Make It Sir

UPCOMING EVENTS
Victory Lunch & Photo Shoot

2:00 p.m. Saturday, January 9, 2010
Jason's Deli
230 10th St NE, Atlanta GA  30309
(404) 853-3760

WE DID IT!  The USS Republic hit its year-end goal of 100 members (see article below), and we're going to celebrate this huge achievement with a Victory Lunch and Photo Shoot this coming Saturday at Jason's Deli in Midtown.

This is a very important occasion, as the group photo taken at this time will be published on the front cover of an upcoming issue of the STARFLEET Communiqué, hailing our 100-member achievement.  We need as many members as possible to come out and be in this historic photo!

We'll gather at Jason's Deli at 2:00 for a reasonably priced lunch (menu and price list here) and then gather on the second floor of the restaurant around 3:00 for our photo shoot on their staircase.  We've arranged for a professional-quality camera to take a high-resolution portrait of the group, and Jason's management has been notified of our imminent arrival and is prepared for us!

Jason's is located on 10th Street near Piedmont Avenue in Midtown Atlanta, across the street from Blake's on the Park.  Free parking is available to the right of Jason's in the parking deck and the store is MARTA-accessible.  A children's menu is available and all forms of payment are accepted, so bring the whole family!

What to Wear: USS Republic sport shirt or t-shirt if available or Star Trek costume if desired.  Chapter shirt/Star Trek costume encouraged but not required; come in casual clothes if you'd like... just be sure to come!  We want everybody to be in the photo!

MAP & DIRECTIONS

"Away Mission" to Fernbank Planetarium & Observatory

8:00 to 10:30 p.m. Friday, January 29, 2010
Fernbank Science Center
156 Heaton Park Drive, Atlanta GA  30307
(678) 874-7102
The Fernbank Observatory at Fernbank Science Center—the largest telescope in the southeast!
Because you demanded it... the Republic returns to Fernbank Science Center for a planetarium program and a visit to the largest observatory telescope in the southeast.

"Two Small Pieces of Glass"—8:00-8:45 p.m. at Fernbank Planetarium; $4.00 for adults; $3.00 for students
Learn how the telescope has helped us understand our place in space and how telescopes continue to expand our understanding of the universe.  Along the way, we’ll take a look at seasonal stars and constellation patterns!

Public Observations—9:00-10:30 p.m. at Fernbank Observatory; free admission
The Fernbank Observatory houses a 36-inch Cassegrain reflector beneath a 30-foot dome.  This is the largest telescope in the southeastern United States and one of the largest instruments ever dedicated to education and public viewing.  An astronomer will be available to position the telescope and answer questions.

Come on out to the Fernbank Science Center and join your Republic crewmates for an evening of astronomical fun!

FERNBANK PLANETARIUM  ||  FERNBANK OBSERVATORY

Atlanta St. Patrick's Parade

Saturday, March 13, 2010
Downtown Atlanta
Additional details to be announced

Republic and IKAV Nemesis members marched together in the 2009 St. Patrick's Parade.

Save the date and make plans now to join the USS Republic as we march in the Atlanta St. Patrick's Parade!  Last year, we marched with our friends aboard the IKAV Nemesis; this year, we're proudly marching under our own name!  Additional details will be announced in next month's Republiqué.

ATLANTA ST. PATRICK'S PARADE WEB SITE

NEWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS
Republic smashes 100-member mark!
In an ongoing and aggressive member recruitment campaign that might have best been dubbed "Operation: Resistance Is Futile," the USS Republic successfully reached and surpassed its year-end goal of 100 active members on board.  Thanks to a final, nearly last-minute push by Ens Eddie Hines, Ens Marilyn Teague and ENS3 Joanne Trew, all of whom recruited friends and family members in late November and early December, as well as a push by Capt Eric L. Watts to get some membership renewals in, the Republic's crew count hit 100 in mid-December and actually climbed to 102 by year's end.

How significant is this achievement?
STARFLEET is unfortunately unable to research such numbers and nobody seems to know how long it's been since any chapter had this many members, but it is generally agreed that... it's been a long time.  The USS Blackheart in Delaware reached 70-something members in 2008, but prior to that, records appear to be unavailable.  Commanding Officer, Republic, is chagrined that better records about chapter memberships have not been kept by STARFLEET over the years.

But what about the Republic?  Is this the largest crew we've ever had in our 21½-year history?  Surprisingly... no!  In the summer of 1988, when the Republic was the only Star Trek fan club in town, our membership hit an astounding 123 members!  Soon afterwards, local fandom splintered into multiple groups and the Republic has never seen numbers like that since.  As recently as 2006, the Republic's crew roster was down to only nine members, until Capt Watts was elected CO and the Republic was resurrected under his command.  The Republic's emergence as the largest chapter in STARFLEET in less than four years is a testament to his extraordinary leadership abilities.  Congratulations to everyone aboard the Republic for making this amazing achievement possible!  Boldly Going... Boldly Doing!
2009 Membership Awards presented
At the USS Republic's Christmas Party & Awards Ceremony held at the Hampton Inn in Woodstock, Georgia, on Sunday, December 20, CO Capt Eric L. Watts and XO Cmdr Brian Holloway presented four distinguished membership service awards.

For designing and creating a beautiful "comm" badge based on the USS Republic's chapter logo that has significantly raised the chapter's profile by identifying members who wear them on their uniforms as members of the Republic, a Certificate of Distinguished Service Award was presented to Capt Michael Cowart.
Capt Michael Cowart, center, receives a Distinguished Service Award from XO Cmdr Brian Holloway, left, and CO Capt Eric L. Watts, right.
For obtaining the domain name ussrepublic.info and for designing, creating and maintaining an online forums web site for all USS Republic members, a Certificate of Distinguished Service Award was awarded to Ens Drew Schlosser in absentia.

For providing huge amounts of refreshments for and hosting the USS Republic's chapter presence at several events throughout the year, including TimeGate, Sci-Fi Summer Con and the Happy Hour at Ten Forward party at Dragon*Con, a Certificate of Distinguished Service Award was awarded to Ens Sue Lin Lange in absentia.

The fourth and final award of the evening was the prestigious Member of the Year Award, presented to the member who has demonstrated the greatest amount of service to the chapter through a combination of attendance, participation, dedication and personal contribution. The 2009 Member of the Year Award was presented to ENS3 Joanne Trew, who attended virtually every chapter activity throughout the year, provided refreshments and served as hostess for several events, successfully coordinated the Republic's presence in the Dragon*Con parade, and purchased 1,000 full-color two-inch circular stickers with the chapter logo and contact information to hand out during the parade.  For service to the Republic above and beyond the call of duty, Ens Trew received a deluxe 8 x 10 engraved wooden plaque, which will soon take a place of honor in her home.
ENS3 Joanne Trew, center, receives the prestigious 2009 Member of the Year Award from CO Capt Eric L. Watts, left, and XO Cmdr Brian Holloway, right.
USS Republic to publish 2010 Chapter Calendar
Coming soon: the 2010 edition of the USS Republic's amazing chapter calendar!  Currently in production and scheduled to be ready for distribution by month's end, it will feature twelve full-sized photos from the Republic's highest-profile events and activities from 2009, plus member birthdays, federal holidays, major religious and seasonal observances, and most Atlanta-area science fiction convention dates.  Printed in full color on heavyweight card stock and drilled and comb-bound for easy wall-hanging, every member of the Republic will want one of these limited edition calendars.  Only $10 each, stay tuned for additional details and availability!
Longtime directors Watts and Holloway cut from Dragon*Con
In a surprising move that has both local and national fandom abuzz with speculation and gossip, Dragon*Con has cut two of its most prominent programming directors: Republic CO Capt Eric L. Watts, creator and longtime director of the award-winning TrekTrak, and Republic XO Cmdr Brian Holloway, director of the costuming track since 2002.

These decisions come following a year that many have said was TrekTrak's best ever, with William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Patrick Stewart and Kate Mulgrew among last year's guests, and other signature events such as the Miss Klingon Empire Beauty Pageant and The TrekTrak Show drawing record-breaking crowds.  Capt Watts has not publicly commented on this decision except for the following statement, which he issued at the request of Roddenberry.com:

As I'm sure many of you are, I am surprised, disappointed and more than a bit confused by Dragon*Con's decision.  However, I wish to express only my deepest appreciation to Dragon*Con founder Ed Kramer and current chairman Pat Henry for allowing me the opportunity to bring my unique vision of quality Star Trek programming to Dragon*Con for the last 17 years.

I am enormously proud of my work and what I have accomplished, and I believe my legacy of interesting, entertaining, educational and intellectually challenging discussion panels, workshops, presentations, celebrity interviews, theme parties and signature events like the Miss Klingon Empire Beauty Pageant and The
TrekTrak Show will remain well-regarded far beyond my tenure as Dragon*Con's Director of Star Trek Programming.  I am enormously grateful to the dozens of Star Trek actors and industry professionals with whom I have had an opportunity to work for nearly two decades, as well as to the many thousands of fans who have supported TrekTrak for all these years.  I also wish to thank the many hard-working fans who served on my volunteer staff during each year's convention, without whom TrekTrak could not have been nearly as successful as it was.

I wish Dragon*Con in general and their new
Star Trek programming director in particular, whoever he or she may be, only the very best for continued success in the years to come.

Eric L. Watts
Former Dragon*Con Director of
Star Trek Programming (1993-2009)

Cmdr Holloway has also issued a statement about these decisions, which can be found here.

The USS Republic has enjoyed a long and strong relationship with Dragon*Con for the last 17 years and expects to continue to have a strong chapter presence in the years to come, including a member recruitment table and participation in the Dragon*Con parade.
Visit the Republic's Forums web site
Thanks to the efforts of Ens Drew Schlosser, the USS Republic's Forums web site is an online community where our membership can log in, create a variety of topics for discussion, post messages and announcements and, best of all, not have such messages emailed to every member subscribed to our members-only YahooGroups message board!  All members are encouraged to visit the site, register and get the discussions going!  And be sure to thank Ens Drew Schlosser for his excellent work!  The Forums web site can be found at www.ussrepublic.info!
Personnel Records
Capt Eric L. Watts was recently hospitalized with an acute case of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and was found to have no less than three blood clots in his right leg.  This potentially deadly condition has caused him to be out of work since Christmas and as of this writing, he is confined to his home, unable to walk more than a few steps at a time.  He is under his doctor's care, taking powerful anticoagulants and hopes to be able to return to work—and his normal daily routine—within a few days.  Several members of the Republic, including Lt. JG Dave Churvis, Ens Barry Bynum, Ens Ken Cribbs, Ens Eve Gidion, Ens Tom Dempsey and Ens Brad Carrne have all stopped by the Captain's quarters to deliver food, help with errands and keep the Captain company during this difficult time—friends for which he is enormously grateful.
Something special going on in your life?  Submit your Personnel Record for publication in the next issue of The Republiqué!
Recent Chapter Event Photos

Christmas Party & Awards Ceremony  ||  December 20, 2009
At the Hampton Inn in Woodstock, Georgia.
Front row: Ens Rob Gilliam, Capt Michael Cowart,
Republic CO Capt Eric L. Watts, Ens Ken Cribbs, ENS3 Chris White, Republic XO Cmdr Brian Holloway, ENS3 Todd Dissinger.
Back row: Ens Sarah Burroughs, Crmn3 Julianne Trew, ENS3 Joanne Trew, ENS3 Julianne Trew, ENS3 Jeff Trew, ENS1 Zannetta Law, ENS3 Naomi Hemingway, ENS3 Marilyn Teague, ENS3 John Stump, Ens Eddie Hines, Ens Barry Bynum, Ens Beth Miller.

JANUARY BIRTHDAYS

Friday, January 1
Ens Gann Monroe

Sunday, January 3

Ens Beth Miller

Tuesday, January 5

Crmn Jessica Anne Curtiss

Saturday, January 9

Ens Tom Dempsey DVM

Tuesday, January 12
Ens Michael D. Peck

Wednesday, January 20

Ens Robert Teague

Thursday, January 21

Ens David Donaldson

Wednesday, January 27
Ens Sheena Hendrix

WELCOME ABOARD!
4 New Members in December!


Ens Rob Gilliam
Ens Donnie Hendrix
Ens Sheena Hendrix
Ens Robert Teague

JANUARY MEMBERSHIP RENEWALS
These members' SFI and chapter dues expire in January


ENS2 Tony Cade

Cmdr Joe Campbell

Lt JG David Churvis

ENS3 Naomi Hemingway

MEMBER REENLISTMENTS
These members renewed their SFI and chapter dues in December


Cmdr Brian Holloway

WISH LIST
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: HP 10 black, cyan, magenta and yellow ink cartridges and print heads

Also:
Wi-fi enabled Windows XP laptop with remote mouse
postage stamps
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

ABOUT THE REPUBLIC
Commissioned on May 14, 1988 at Dixie-Trek in Atlanta, Georgia, the USS Republic NCC-1371 is a chapter of STARFLEET International (SFI) and a member of STARFLEET Region 2.  The Republic currently has 103 active members (as of January 3) and is the largest chapter 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.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

USS REPUBLIC ONLINE

RELATED SITES

OUR MEMBER BENEFITS PROGRAM PARTNERS

NEWS
from
Star Trek: Online Play Preview
by T'Bonz
Reviewer Kyle Horner gives fans an idea of what to expect in the early stages of Star Trek: Online.

Star Trek: Online releases next month, and some are working their way through the game now, sharing their experiences and thoughts on the game.

Star Trek Online begins as every other MMO does, with character creation,” explained Horner.  “This being a Cryptic game means a mountain of options awaits you, practically begging you to slide, tweak and adjust every possible scale or option.  Champions Online’s character creator’s stances make a return here, albeit with new options like ‘Android’ and ‘Gruff’ for those looking to create a very Star Trek character.”

Horner made a robot as a character, because, “What Data fan wouldn’t?”

After creating his character, it was time to move on to the tutorial for the game.  “The tutorial starts off with a bang in the form of the monotone meanies known as the Borg,” said Horner.  “You’ll begin aboard the bridge of your assigned ship as a simple ensign.  The ship’s captain will ask to speak with you and upon doing so, you’ll be given orders to assist a nearby ship.  There’s some movie/TV show references here I won’t spoil.  After running around fighting off Borg and helping to stabilize various situations, you’ll be asked to take the helm of the very ship you were sent to rescue.  This is where you get your field promotion and to opportunity to prove that you can handle a starship.”

Speaking of starships, Horner found customizing them “equally as impressive as character customization.  With your starting ship—a Miranda class vessel, there’s three choices within each of those four sections (nacelle, strut, saucer and pylon types).  I’ve been pretty surprised with how much variety people can squeeze out, especially since you can apply colored patterns to your ship as well.  The patterns have an organized, military feel to them.  So don’t fret, you won’t see people flying around in ships that have flames or skulls on them.  This is still Star Trek, after all.”

After the tutorial, it was on to actual missions.  “Most of my missions took place near and on planets, but some occurred within space stations or in unexplored territory,” said Horner.  “Missions are given out by all sorts of NPCs, but Admirals are a primary source of the story-driven Episode Missions.  These are designed to simulate the feel of a Star Trek episode within the game itself and I completed quite a few of them.  Most of them last quite some time and consist of several different objectives, although, yes, once in a while I killed X of Y.”

Horner summed up his experience.  “I’ve come away from my early impressions of Star Trek Online with a very positive feeling,” he said.  “Being a beta, it’s impossible to discuss level pacing, enemy difficulty and other aspects of the game that are still in development.  However, I can say that my time spent with the game seemed to slip away into the late hours of the night and that’s never anything but a good sign.  Time will tell how everything pans out for Cryptic’s second project post NCsoft, but, and you’ll have to excuse the pun, the stars seem to be aligning in a promising position.”

Star Trek XI Digital Copy Code Problems
by T'Bonz
Some Star Trek fans found that their authorization code for a digital copy of Star Trek XI didn’t work.

Star Trek fans who purchased Star Trek XI in either Blu-ray or DVD format received an authorization code to allow them to download a digital copy of the movie to their iTunes library, but then ran into a snag when trying to obtain their copy of the movie.

When trying to redeem the authorization code, some fans saw a message that said that the authorization code had already been used, and could not be used again.

The theory regarding the message is that the codes may have somehow been stolen and posted to a torrent file where unauthorized users redeemed them.

A representative of Deluxe Digital Studios posted to an Apple Discussions thread to assure customers that “if they contact support via the website, they will receive a new code for their digital copy of Star Trek for iTunes or Windows Media.”

Stewart: Make It Sir
by T'Bonz
It’s official: Patrick Stewart is now Sir Patrick Stewart.

As reported by TrekToday several weeks ago, Stewart, best-known to Star Trek fans for his role as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation, was on the New Year’s Honours list to be knighted for his services to drama.

“I am very proud to receive this honor,” said Stewart.  “The theatre is and has always been my great joy.  In particular, the past six years have given me acting opportunities that at one time I could not have imagined possible.”

“This is an honor that embraces those actors, directors and creative teams who have in these recent years helped fill my life with inspiration, companionship and sheer fun.”

According to Palace sources, the Queen is a “huge fan” of the sixty-nine-year old actor.
USS Republic NCC-1371
B O L D L Y    G O I N G
B O L D L Y    D O I N G
2902 Aspen Woods Entry
  Atlanta, Georgia  30360-2759
  www.USSRepublic.com
Commanding Officer
  Captain Eric L. Watts
Executive Officer
  Commander Brian Holloway

The Republiqué Volume I, Number 22, January 2010.
Published monthly by and Copyright © 2010 USS Republic NCC-1371.
Captain Eric L. Watts, Editor.

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