C is for cookie, that’s good enough for Challenger!Come one, come all to the 9th Annual USS Challenger Cookie Exchange, on Sunday,Dec. 4 at 1pm @ the Seaside Heights Community Center in Seaside Heights, NJ! Bring 3 dozen cookies to swap & eat(please TRY to use better manners than Cookie Monster) and we’ll provide milk,hot chocolate and other delights.

.And $8 per person for pizza if you wish to join us for dinner later on.. Dollargrab bag please bring something funny or something from dollar store,

• Optional, Starfleet food collection and Toys For Tots as part of the SF program to aid those in need during this holiday season.

Please let us know if you plan to attend. E-mail to co@usschallenger.org

Thank you!

Adm. Bob Vosseller
CO USS Challenger NCC-1676-D

Hi guys and ghouls here is our Halloween plans for this season coming during our ship meeting of the month.

In a change from long standing tradition, this year the USS Challenger will not be hosting a Halloween party. We will be doing something different this year and it is open to those in Region 7 who wish to join us.

We are going to the Tuckerton Seaport Museum and meeting at 5 pm on Oct. 29 at the Atlanta Bread Company in Toms River on Rt. 37 for dinner first Then we are going off to Tuckerton to arrive around 6 p.m. for their “Haunted Seaport” which runs from 6 to 9 pm  This is $8 per permission, ($10 separate is a boat rid eon the Black Pearl Haunted pirate ship) and hayrides are $2 more.

The Seaport is located at 120 W. Main St. Tuckerton Exit 58 GSP. Their phone # is 609-296-8868 should you need specific directions if you are going there directly.

We are asking that those interested in attending, please RSVP by e-mailing me at co@usschallenger.org

It has been a hot and active summer around the region and I want to start off by apologizing for the delay in the release of this bulletin. Several personal demands on my time have prevented me from being able to sort through all the news we’ve had and finally, getting a day off from work I was able to put this together. Recent technical issues didn’t help either but that said lets move on to the report.

BBQ/PICNIC SEASON CONTINUES
The USS Abraham Lincoln held its annual picnic this past (and very hot) July 23 and I’m told they had a great time despite the heat and even netted two more members. Way to go guys.

SHORE LEAVE 33
The weekend of Shore Leave 33 was fantastic. It was great to see so many old friends and some new faces as well. Everyone was in great spirits and our Starfleet R7 meeting was full of fun. Thanks to the good folks of the USS Susquehannock provided a CQ from 1995 and I read off the R7 roster noting a number of chapters that are still with us. It was fun reading off the current list as well one of my favorite duties at a SL Starfleet meeting.

If you didn’t see R7 Comm. Chief Joe Dorfner’s meeting minutes currently posted on the R7 website I’ll touch on the highlights here.
As of June 30, 2011, Starfleet – Region 7’s bank balance was at $197 at PNC Bank. Since May 2005, we’ve received $393 from Empties4Cash.com for 298 qualified ink jet and laser toner cartridges. We also received more than $200 in Kilometer of Pennies donations.
The USS Susquehannock unveiled the R7 calendar that they produced and which was also a fundraiser for the region. It looks fantastic and I know we’ll see even more participation on this project with more chapter photos submitted next year. Good job Susquehannock crew!
R7 Awards were presented by Adm. Beryl Washington They included:
Chapter of the Year: U.S.S. Avenger
Shakedown Chapter of the Year: U.S.S. Storm
Support Ship of the Year: U.S.S. Challenger
Flag Officer of the Year: Glendon Diebold (USS Niagara)
Officer of the Year: Eric Schulman (USS Matrix)
Edgar Torres Memorial CO of the Year: Debbie French (USS Inferno)
Enlisted Member of the Year: Maggie Restivo (USS Richthofen)
Staff Member of the Year: Bob Vosseller (USS Challenger)
Electronic Newsletter of the Year: “The Peacekeeper”- USS Niagara
Printed Newsletter of the Year: “Avenger News”- USS Avenger
Helping Hands: John Wilson (USS DeBraak)
Other Regional Awards included R7 Commendations by RC Wayne Augustson Bob Vosseller, Jeff Victor, Joe Dorffner, Mike Stein, Beryl Washington, Mary Ann Pugliese Mike Allen and 7th Fleet Achievement Awards to Joe Hoolihan (for arranging/overseeing the recent softball event in MD) Karen Carothers (for continuing to co-host the Trek Olympics) Gary Ensey (for continuing to co-host the Trek Olympics) and to the crew of the USS Susquehannock (for creating/overseeing the aforementioned regional fundraiser- the R7 Calendar).
Promotion
USS Matrix XO Eric Schulman was promoted to Captain, on July 17.
Major Gen. Dorffner presented some awards for Fleet members from the Marines. The Naval Achievement Citation was presented to: Wayne Augustson, Bob Vosseller and Jeff Victor
STARFLEET NEWS
Also discussed at the SL Starfleet meeting was a little SF business. Right now the AB is looking at questions about background checks for those seeking positions on the Regional and Fleet levels, and possible membership fees for Mexican chapters.
As I am touring Playa Del Carmen in the next few days I will do my best to recruit some new members, form a new chapter and see if I can serve as proxy to Region 18 in time for the upcoming IC.

Joe Dorfner held the annual R7 Marine Muster after the Starfleet meeting where Marine awards for the Brigade were presented plans to update the marine website were made and where better usage of the 7th Brigade’s Facebook page was discussed.

IC 2011 COMING IN JUST A FEW WEEKS

Commodore Jeff Victor our chief of staff is the chairman of IC2011 which held it final preparation meeting on July 23 at the Challenger’s headquarters in Seaside Heights N.J Jeff and the IC staff went over program planning, the IC Program Book, various details that needed to be reviewed and it served as a very productive meeting.
As program chair I have to say I think those coming will definitely enjoy the movies, panels and activities we have lined up and I want to commend Laura and Jeff Victor for the outstanding detail oriented work they have done in the last two years to make this event happen. Great job guys. If you have not registered please do. Time is growing near and prices will be going up. Check out our FB page and our link ic2011.com that will tell you everything you need to know about IC2011 coming in just TWO WEEKS.
On Sunday of the IC there will be a R7 mini-conference at IC 2011/R7 Conference in 2012?? – We will have a mini R7 Conference Sunday at the IC. It should last about an hour.
We are looking forward to seeing you there!

REGION 7 CONFERENCE 2012
The Region did not receive any bids for the Regional Conference for 2012 and therefore, the R7 Command Staff will be hosting the event. Details of date, location, theme, programming to be announced when finalized.

KEEPING UP ON STARFLEET MEMBERSHIP STRENGTH
The Region is in good shape with about 579 members as of Shore Leave 33. We did have a few chapters with lower than the required 10 members. In both cases those issues have been settled. In the case of the USS Thor, they are back up to full strength and have a new commanding officer while the USS Blackheart has opted to decommission as a chapter of Starfleet. We wish them well.

REPORTING IN
We have 30 chapters and over 579 members. For the most part, chapters have been properly submitting their MSRs on-time.

COMING THIS FALL
Looking ahead to autumn we have Command Summit 2011 – Based on feedback from last year’s R7 Command Summit, there will be another Command Summit at the same location Mt. Laurel NJ, in mid to late October or early November. There were 13 chapters represented last year at the Summit.
The USS Richthofen will be hosting a Gettysburg Battlefield Tour in September.
The USS Accord will once again host Watkins Glen Weekend in September.
The USS Storm is throwing a Region 7 Masquerade party on Halloween night. Check out their link http://starfleetmarines.com/USSStorm/aux/hparty.html for all the details.

STARFLEET SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
Your assistance is requested to help educate our members. The Scholarship Committee wishes to award 10 $500 Scholarships this year. For that, we need $5,000. At this time, we are short in the Scholarship Fund account by a tiny bit. Please consider making a donation of what you can to the Starfleet Scholarship Program. Be it $1, $5, $15 or more.

BIG MOVIE SUMMER
I couldn’t conclude this bulletin without noting that this summer has been great for films, actually when you think about it we’ve had a number of cool flicks this year starting with The Green Hornet, Thor, Green Lantern, Super 8, Transformers, Captain American: The First Avenger, the final Harry Potter movie, and this week the release of the much anticipated and very well cast, Cowboys & Aliens based on a graphic novel.

FACEBOOK PAGE BEING USED
Our Starfleet Region 7 Facebook page is being used more and more and I noticed yesterday that more photos are being added from different chapters focusing on their future and past events. That is great to see and it’s nice to share scenes from around the region. Keep it up. Share in the conversations and introduce some topics. One thing we know as members of Starfleet and this region is that we have many opinions out there and this is just another way to communicate. It is also a good way to advertise your club events that are open to the rest of the 7th Fleet.

THAT’S A WRAP
Well that concludes this bulletin. I know I will see many of you at IC2011 and I look forward to that. As always should you have an idea, compliment, complaint, project proposal or question for the staff of SF Region 7, reach out to us. Our contact information can be found on the R7 website or simply post us an e-mail to this list.

Enjoy the summer and keep cool.