Members of the USS Avenger, USS Britannic, USS Sovereign and the future USS Odin came together with a variety of creative food and beverages. You could slurp down some fresh "Slurm" a galactic drink from Futurama, and chow down on Doomsday Machine Donuts.

There were entrees and loads of sweet deserts. No one went away hungry. We had close to 30 people turn up this year, and we had the added fun of watching those donuts pop down from the "Doomsday Donut" Machine owned by Challenger's XO and Sci Chief Jeff and Laura Victor.

CO and XO Adm. Bob Vosseller and Capt. Jeff Victor sported chef hats complete with ST emblems and there were a variety of uniforms worn by Avenger XO Todd Brugmans who went classic, Britannic CO Capt. Wayne Augustson was in his ST: First Contact uniform, and a certain SF Admiral wore his Picard smoking jacket.

Sovereign member Joe Horton known as the R7 and SFI's honorary Intergalactic Chef brought his cool portable grill and cooked up a number of things. He got some help from his shipmates. Avenger members traveled south with a variety of intergalactic goodies ranging from key lime pie to a special casserole.

You couldn't keep up with all the food, we all just made gluttons of ourselves and kept shoveling it in. There were loads of conversations and good times were had by all. This year the Challenger pushed back the Intergalactic Food Festival (which we believe to be in its 15th year of our 20 year old chapter) to the month of March, wishing to avoid a clash with the Super Bowl. Not that the Super Bowl really conflicts with attendance, but we just thought we would try a new month since February is packed with activities like Farpoint and the annual New Jersey Polar Bear Plunge.

Speaking of the Plunge, it seemed only appropriate that a certain food based super hero who took on the cold elements of the Atlantic Ocean just a week prior, would make an appearance at the food festival. Capt. Cornfusion who bore a striking resemblance to Adm. Vosseller came out from the shadows and proclaimed the occasion safe from evil doers, and said he fought for truth, justice and urging children to eat their vegetables. Unfortunately, Soup Man (Challenger Flt. Capt. David Singleton) and Bunny Man (Avenger Patrick Barnes) were battling crime elsewhere.

All Challengers present wish to thank everyone who attended the event, and who also contributed to Project Replicator, which is a canned food collection for our area food pantry. The event served up a great time and wonderful food, and also provided food for those who are in need of support. That is another part of this annual special event.

As for what is on the menu next year, who can say but this year will be hard to top!

Check out our Photo Gallery! 

Our "latinum celebration" will be held on October 11, 2008 at 7:00pm at the Sheraton Eatontown Hotel in Eatontown, New Jersey. Come join us as we celebrate 20 years of fun and fandom with folks from all across the region and beyond.

The cost for this event is $50.00 and includes a three course buffet dinner, coffee, tea and soft drinks. A cash bar will also be available. Entrees include Chicken Saltimbocca, Sliced Beef Sirloin and Vegetarian Lasagna. Assorted salads, side dishes and dessert will be served as well.

As a special added bonus, since there will not be a regional conference next year, the USS Challenger has secured the hotel's state-of-the-art Amphitheatre for a Region 7 Meeting at 1:00pm. Attendees of the party can use this opportunity to schmooze, catch up and discuss regional business in a comfortable face-to-face setting. However, no one will be allowed to take
advantage of this meeting without having registered for the dinner event and there will also be no "meeting-only" option offered.

The Sheraton Eatontown is convenient to the Garden State Parkway, the Jersey Shore and Interstate 195. The hotel offers amenities such as Free In-Room high speed internet, an indoor pool, exercise facility and two restaurants. If you wish to stay the night, the hotel is offering our attendees a special rate of $115.00 per room, per night.

To reserve a room, please call 732-542-6500 and ask for the USS Challenger rate. Rooms are available on a first come, first serve basis, so please be sure to reserve soon!

To register and pay online, please visit our Web site at http://20years.usschallenger.org/ or
http://www.usschallenger.org// and click on the "Event Registration" button on the left hand side of the page. We accept all major credit cards and personal checks through PayPal.

Registration ends on September 20, 2008 so make sure to get your registration in so that you may join us.

We look forward to seeing you join us for this special occasion. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at xo@usschallenger.org.

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