Some, like Avenger's Brenda Bell walked briskly and with great pace. Most of us though, enjoyed the sights, stopped here and there, chatted and caught up on things ranging from the latest episode of Doctor Who to Regional news to just plain conversation.

Highlights included our stop at a candy store on the boardwalk (the fact that we were walking for a Diabetes fundraiser was not lost to us in the irony of that stop) watching a Golden Labrador Retriever decide to take a break even if his walk team didn't want to had us laughing. He just stopped near a pavilion and layed down for awhile and looked up to his owner as if to say…I'm taking a break so don't even think about going forward.''

Avenger XO Todd Brugmans enjoyed walking in his monster maroon and got some notice for it even from the Fun Town Pier carousel operator who gave us the hand gesture of "May the Force Be With You" and then got a crash course on the difference between ST and SW.

Food is always a big part of the after event scenario and the Starlord who were in full force with Cadet Taryn Podesta, her parents Joe and Michelle, family and crew heading out to Tiffany's Restaurant in Toms River invited the rest of the 7th Fleet reps along and we had a great time. Challenger MSG OIC Col. Pat Comune nearly lost his hat to sneaker skating Taryn but that was okay it gave some exercise to our Marine since he slept through the walk this year. (Next year Pat we're getting you up in time!) <G>

We all shared new and old stories and discussed the fun we've all had at recent Ren Faires, and fall festivals.

Michelle and Annie Slonski who took point on the two teams of Fleet members  who were part of the walk will have even more details to post but I just wanted to say it was a great, day, we had a fun and morning and every bit of  donated money helped the cause of getting one step closer to finding a cure.

This is shaping up to a real sector tradition each fall and it was also great to see some friends from our PA Sector as well.

It was great seeing everyone again in Seaside Heights especially on the boardwalk where we usually assemble before a painful dip into icy water during the annual Polar Bear Plunge. Walking was much more fun.

Adm. Bob Vosseller
NJ Sector Chief
CO USS Challenger NCC-1676-D

UPDATE: View the JDF Walk Photo Gallery!

Connor was born on September 10, at 12:45PM, 7lbs. 4oz., brown hair and (maybe) gray eyes like Kyle, 19.5" long. He is doing very well, a very content baby.

On behalf of all members…congratulations Jen!

The site is now using a content management system called Joomla!, which allows us great flexibility in the services we offer to our members.  This is the same system that Starfleet uses for its Web site, SFI.org.  While a lot of the content remains the same, it is now much easier to handle and administrate.  It is also much easier for non-technical folks to add to the "meat" of the site, which is mainly our calendar and news.  Some of our features include:

• A fully editable calendar module with events catagorized by color, based on the type of event.  Also, all members can add events to the calendar with no need to go into the back end of the system, and with no knowledge of HTML or any other code.  It's easy and simple to do!
• RSVP to upcoming events & receive important event updates.
• Easier to browse photo galleries, with the ability to view slideshows.
• A better organized navigation system, making it easy to find what you're looking for.
• A member login on the front page, which allows you to see members-only content, such as our handbook, roster and fictional history (coming soon).
• A members-only Documents Center to organize important member and recruitment materials for you.
• RSS feed of our latest news.
• Automatic posting of news from the SFI.org Web site.
• Vanity "@usschallenger.org" e-mail addresses, which foward to your regular e-mail address.  This is automatically give to all c-staff members (c-staff, visit the Senior Staff page to see yours) and available upon request for general members.
• A help desk for users, allowing members to send a message to the c-staff when they need assistance with an issue.
• A template chooser, so you can choose the look and feel that you like best for the Web site.
• Polls, so we can take your pulse on different issues anonymously.

More features, such as reservation/RSVPs for future events, will be added in the coming months, so keep checking back for news and information.

Until next time,
Laura & the Web Team