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
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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
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"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 |
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The
Fernbank Observatory at Fernbank Science Centerthe
largest telescope in the southeast!
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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 Observations9:00-10:30 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
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Republic
and IKAV Nemesis members marched together in the 2009
St. Patrick's Parade.
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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
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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.
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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.
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Capt
Michael Cowart, center, receives a Distinguished Service
Award from XO Cmdr Brian Holloway, left, and CO Capt
Eric L. Watts, right.
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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.
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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.
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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!
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Personnel
Records |
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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 workand his normal daily routinewithin
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
timefriends 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! |
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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.
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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
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WELCOME
ABOARD!
4 New Members in December!
Ens Rob Gilliam
Ens Donnie Hendrix
Ens Sheena Hendrix
Ens Robert Teague
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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
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MEMBER
REENLISTMENTS
These members renewed their SFI and chapter
dues in December
Cmdr
Brian Holloway
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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: HP 10 black, cyan, magenta and yellow
ink cartridges and print heads
Also:
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Wi-fi
enabled Windows XP laptop with remote mouse |
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postage
stamps |
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Avery
8160 or compatible address labels |
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9
x 12 manila clasp envelopes |
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8½
x 11 90-lb. white index card stock (Springhill 15101) |
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clear
packing tape |
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ABOUT
THE REPUBLIC
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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.
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FOR
MORE INFORMATION
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USS
REPUBLIC ONLINE
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RELATED
SITES
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OUR
MEMBER BENEFITS PROGRAM PARTNERS
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NEWS
from
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Star
Trek: Online Play Preview |
by
T'Bonz
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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.” |
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Star
Trek XI Digital Copy Code Problems |
by
T'Bonz
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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.” |
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Stewart:
Make It Sir |
by
T'Bonz
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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. |
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