DaVinci Pilot

Newsletter of the USS DaVinci, NCC-74671, Columbus, GA

Volume 18 Number 02 October 2012

A Local Chapter of Starfleet, the

International Star Trek Fan Association

USS DAVINCI STAFF ROSTER

Commanding Officer RADM Russell Ruhland (334) 298-3998 Executive Officer FCPT Cami Houser (808) 372-5409 Operations Officer COMM Joe Perry (706) 457-9725

Community Service Officer ENS Jessie Sutton (706) 442-0371 Finance Officer COMM Connie Heller (706) 392-5100

Publications Officer ADM Freddy Heller (706) 325-TREK Records Officer ADM Freddy Heller (706) 325-TREK

Science Officer ENS Lech Mazur (706) 596-9542 Computer Science Officer ENS Leiko Koone (706) 663-2763 Counselor LTJG Diane Ruhland (334) 298-3998 Medical Officer COMM Jeff Kirkland (770) 253-6474 Morale Officer ENS Dutch Cummings (706) 407-9945

Engineering Officer VACANT

Communications Officer VACANT

Quartermaster LT Randy Dunn (334) 291-0150 Security Chief LTJG Jonathan Evans (910) 624-3586 Cadet Corps Commander VACANT

Starfleet Marines Commander VACANT

UPCOMING EVENTS

**06 October, Columbus Sci-Fi Convention & Toy Show, Coca-Cola Space Science Center,

10:00 AM – 5:00 PM

**13 October, Help the-Hooch River Clean Up, Golden Park, 9:00 AM

**15 October, Night Out at Houlihan’s (Doubletree Hotel). 7:00 PM

**20 October, Adopt-A-Highway Clean Up, 9:00 AM

**31 October, Halloween Fun East (Freddy’s, 6:00 PM) and West (Randy’s, 6:00 PM)

IT’S THE CAPTAIN CALLING

Nearly a dozen of the DaVinci crewmembers met at CiCi's Pizza in Bradley Park on Thursday, 6 September for their customer appreciation day celebration. The buffet cost was only $2.99 per person and oh boy did we all ever get our fill. The CiCi's staff was making pizzas at warp speed and the varieties of this Italian specialty just kept on coming and coming. I do believe that between the 11 of us we made the Klingon feast of the transfer look like a simple snack as the pizza kept coming and the dirty plates kept stacking. We also had the privilege of obtaining another new member during this event. Please join me in welcoming Jonathan Morgan to our crew. He also joined Starfleet several days later (wahoo!) and discovered the USS DaVinci through Craig's List.

The crew at CiCi’s: Margaret, Jonathan, Joe, Steve, Lech, Diane, Ariana, Connie, and Lisa.

The crew met again at Freddy and Connie’s house for Part II of the Super Hero movie night, this time on the Marvel side of the universe. Connie outdid herself again with a hodgepodge of out-of-this-world tasty snacks. There was Targ Meatballs, Molten Core Meteorites, Mama Bashir’s Mini Pitas, Horta Droppings, Hasperat, both the savory and sweet variety, Leola Root Chips with Earth Standard Red Sauce and Darvot Green Sauce, Tartelettes aux Pommes de Marie Picard, and Cinnamon Nebulae! Have no idea what the heck was served? Too bad because it was scrumptious! Four movies were shown – Thor, Captain America, Iron Man, and the Incredible Hulk. Most everyone stayed until the very end – somewhere around midnight. Freddy gave us a “hint” as to what the next marathon movie night will be. Would you believe a Star Wars super marathon? The date has not yet been determined but he said it would start around 11:00 AM on a Saturday. Stay tuned.

The delicious alien food and some of the crew – Kay, John-Michael, Maria, Joe, and Lech.

Ariana and Maria and Joe help themselves to the alien foods.

NEXT DAVINCI NIGHT OUT AND MEMBERSHIP

MEETING WILL BE AT

HOULIHAN’S (DOUBLETREE) ON MONDAY 15 OCTOBER AT 7:00 PM

COME FOR THE FOOD AND FRIENDSHIP!!

Monday, September 17th brought to us our monthly Night Out at the New China Buffet on Veteran's Parkway in Columbus. Unfortunately there were only 9 members present at this activity. Still, the food was great and the fellowship even greater. Justin won the free meal and Randy and Ariana won the Captain’s perks, a DVD copy of an animated version of the USS Farragut and a copy of Leonard Nimoy's book, “I Am Spock” respectively. Next month we will be meeting at Houlihan’s inside the Double Tree hotel. Hope to see everyone there!

Justin raises his glass in a toast to the DaVinci while Ariana tries and likes sushi! Diane and Lech talking Trek across the table and the rest of the DaVinci crew.

The 22nd of September was our annual “Good-Bye Summer, Hello Fall” get together which was gracefully hosted by Freddy and Connie at their home in Columbus, GA. This event, initially scheduled to be held at the Coca Cola Space Science Center in conjunction with a volunteer party that Dutch was hosting; was canceled due to Columbus University budgeting changes. We had changed the location to the Fellowship Hall at St. Mark FWB Church in

Phenix City but the response was low so it was decided (change # 1,031,684) to have the event at Freddy's home. Twenty-two members of the crew responded with an RSVP and about 14 managed to arrive with the pizza ready and waiting. Our Fort Benning crewmember, Jonathan, and his family came with their new baby boy, Elliot, and to all of our amusement he won the door prize! What a way to start off a new Starfleet cadet and his memorabilia collection. Leiko was present at this event and was awarded a Meritorious Achievement Commendation (7 months late) for her work on the DaVinci website, which allowed us to receive our award at the Region 2 Summit for most informative website. Overall, another wonderful DaVinci activity for one and all! Jessie and Joe grab some pizza while Connie looks on while Russell, Joe, Vanessa, James,

Leiko, and Jessie enjoy the pizza.

Joe discusses the finer points of World of Warcraft while Vanessa, Leiko, and Jessie listen.

Freddy downs some ice cream while good Samaritan Russell drops money in the donation Jar.

Leiko receives her long-overdue certificate and the winner of the door prize drawing, Elliott, poses with his dad! Humm, I wonder if the autographed photo is really going into the nursery?

About 12 or so of the crew gathered together at Chili's on the 24th of September for their annual St. Jude charity night dinner. All of the proceeds that evening went to St. Jude Children’s Hospital and the USS DaVinci's total contribution from everyone's meal came to nearly $160. The food was great and I add my personal appreciation to those who attended.

Steve and Lisa and Russell and Diane order their dinners from Xavier.

Lech and Connie and Joe and Jessie wait to order their dinners. Hey, please do not forget about the upcoming Sci-Fi Convention and Toy Show taking place at the Coca Cola Space Science Center on Saturday, 6 October. The DaVinci will have a membership table and members in good standing will receive free admission. Special guests include a couple of the zombies from the AMC television series “The Walking Dead.” I encourage everyone planning on coming by to wear your DaVinci shirt or even come in your uniform if you have one.

As a footnote, I had the honor and privilege of performing a wedding ceremony for a former member of our crew, Skye Cameron. Skye was married to Anthony Brown on Saturday, 15 September and our congratulations go to the newlyweds upon their joyous union. Randy was also in attendance at this event. Check out the photos on this one, folks.

Skye and Anthony share a kiss and members of the wedding party! Until next time, live long and prosper!

RADM Russell Ruhland

COMMUNITY SERVICE Greetings Officers and Crewmates Well, our Adopt-a-Highway cleanup date came and went. The only two in attendance was Mr. Freddy and myself. Too bad because Mr. Freddy brought donuts! Now with that said it was my fault, as I did not give out a fair amount of warning. So please forgive me and shall we try this clean up date again? How about we shoot for 20 October, beginning at 9:00 AM. After we are done with the cleanup we can go somewhere to chow down. I’ll leave that up to you all. Okay, our 16th annual participation in the Help-the-Hooch River clean up will take place on 13 October. We were not able to get our usual location, Rigdon Park but we did manage to get something a little better. We will meet in the parking lot at Golden Park at 9:00 AM. Golden Park is located just off Victory drive right before the bridge into Phenix City. Following the clean up will join the other hundreds of volunteers at Golden Park for the Watershed Festival and volunteer thank-you party. There will be free hot dogs, chips and sodas for all plus many activities for adults and children alike. Hope to see you there. Well that is it from my area for now. Till the next time. ENS Jessie Sutton

TABULATIONS

At the Night Out, Russell donated 4500 tabs! With the rest of the other donations our total is slowly rising but we are still far from our goal! Some of you have may have lots of uncounted tabs. If you do bring them to a DaVinci event and we will have a tab counting party! There is only 3 months left to reach our goal of 155,000 tabs! Our combined total for all the years we have been collecting tabs (as of press time) is 922,154 tabs! The DaVinci has over 73 members. Come on, folks, we can do better than that! Please start saving tabs for the effort – as many or as little as you can! It will still make us that much closer to our goal. So, help us reach one million tabs! Thanks. Here are the latest numbers as of press time:

Starting Balance 107

Jeff Kirkland 25000 Jessie Sutton 16842 Freddy Heller 13714 Russell Ruhland 7187 Lech Mazur 3700 Karen Pynenburg 3500 Tony Fleming 2797 Connie Heller 2720 Jonathan Evans 800 Todd Kes 800 Hal Stewart 280 Ricky Howe 350 Dutch Cummings 90 Maria Morgan 42 Joe Perry 25

Total 77954

NEXT DAVINCI NIGHT OUT AND MEMBERSHIP

MEETING WILL BE AT

HOULIHAN’S (DOUBLETREE) ON MONDAY 15 OCTOBER AT 7:00 PM

COME FOR THE FOOD AND FRIENDSHIP!!

CONVENTIONAL WISDOM The arrival of fall weather at the Coca-Cola Space Science Center means more than just cooler weather. It means it is time for the coolest Sci-Fi Saturday in the Columbus/Phenix City area! There will be comics, games, action figures, collectible, omnisphere theater shows, laser concerts, sun scopes, and much, much more! The admission price is only $5.00 and children under 3 get in free with a paid adult ticket. So bring the entire family for a day of fun! There will be many clubs from the surrounding area in attendance. A few are the 501st Legion, Dented Helmet, Central Georgia Ghostbusters, Rebel Legion, League of Columbus, Mandalorian Mercs, Dark Empire, and of course your very own USS DaVinci! Whoa! Did I forget to mention that a couple of zombies from the hit AMC show Walking Dead will be in attendance to meet the fans and sign autographs for a nominal charge! So be sure to attend this great event. Vulcan Events has finally scheduled another convention! Here is the latest information. The convention will be held at the Hilton Orlando Resort in Lake Buena Vista, FL on 05-07 October! Room rates are $99.00 per night. Guests include Avery Brooks (CPT Sisko on Deep Space Nine), Colin Ferguson (Jack Carter on Eureka), Dwight Schultz (Reginald Barclay on Next Generation), Dirk Benedict (Starbuck on Classic Battlestar Galactica), Robert Duncan McNeill (Tom Paris on Voyager), Robin Curtis (Saavik in Star Trek II and III), Eric Menyuk (Traveler on TNG), and Herb Jefferson Jr. (Boomer on classic Battlestar Galactica). Several authors are also scheduled to appear. Tickets prices are $299 for Platinum Reserved; $125 for Gold Reserved; $65 for Bronze Reserved; and General Admission prices are $15 for Friday, $30 for Saturday, and $20 for Sunday. For more information check out their web site at www.away-mission.com!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Many happy returns to the following DaVinci personnel, Star Trek celebrities, and events that are celebrating birthdays or anniversaries in October! Stephen Collins (Cpt Decker from The Motion Picture) 1st

CADET Jadzia Houser 1st Avery Brooks (CPT Benjamin Sisko on DS9) 2nd

Persis Khambatta (Lt. Ilia from The Motion Picture) 2nd Wally Schirra Orbits Earth in Sigma Seven (1962) 3rd Gordon Cooper (Mercury 7 Astronaut) Dies (2004) 4th First Non-Stop Flight Across Pacific Ocean (1931) 5th Todd Bryant (Klaa from The Final Frontier) 8th First Woman to Fly Across US (Laura Ingalls 1930) 9th Scott Bakula (CPT Jonathan Archer on ENT) 9th ENS Kay Nepote 9th CRMN Maritza Fleming 10th First Apollo Mission (Schirra, Eisele, & Cunningham 1968) 11th First Multiple Crew (3) in Space (Voskhod 1964) 11th First US Woman to Walk in Space (Kathy Sullivan 1984) 11th Man Breaks Sound Barrier (Chuck Yeager 1947) 14th First Live Telecast from US Spacecraft (Apollo 7, 1968) 14th Mark Lenard (Ambassador Sarek on TOS) 15th CADET Christopher Dunn 18th Ira Steven Behr (Executive Producer, DS9) 23rd John Winston (LT Kyle on TOS) 24th Gene Roddenberry Dies (1991) 24th

Space Shuttle Enterprise Lands (1977) 27th John Glenn Returns to Space Aboard Discovery (1997) 29th CRMN Mandel Cabrera 30th William Campbell (Koloth & Trelaine on TOS) 30th

MEMBERSHIPS

Many of you do not know when your membership in the DaVinci or Starfleet is due for renewal. So to help you remember, the following lists your family expiration dates. Please note that if your name is highlighted in RED in the DaVinci column this will be your last newsletter. If in BLUE you membership is expired or nearing it expiration so please renew as soon as possible. Thanks!

DaVinci Starfleet Gage Brazie Jul 13 Steve Brown Dec 12 Mandel Cabrera Jul 13 James Carey Ju1 13 Sep 13 Mackey Carter Jul 14 Jun 13 Don Cotton Jan 13 Dutch Cummings Jul 13 Randy Dunn May 13 Jun 13 Jonathan Evans Dec 12 Dec 12 Tony Fleming Jul 13 Aug 13 Bart Glabman Jul 13 Ray Hannagan Jan 13 Jan 13

Freddy Heller Jul 13 Sep 13 John Hood Mar 13 May 13 Cleveland Hooper Aug 13 Cami Houser Jan 13 Jan 13 Richard Howe Jun 13 Benlee Huguley Feb 13 Todd Kes Oct 12 Jeff Kirkland Oct 12 Aug 13 Leiko Koone Nov 12 Nov 12 Lech Mazur Jul 13 Nov 12 Margaret McGillicuddy Jul 13 Nov 12 Jonathan Morgan Sep 13 Sep 13 Maria Morgan May 13 May 13 Lisa Neal Jul 13 Kay Nepote Jul 13 Jul 13 Andrea O’Connor Jul 14 Mar 13 Joe Perry Jul 13 Nov 12 James Prince Feb 13 Karen Pynenburg Jul 13 Jun 13 Russell Ruhland Aug 13 Aug 13

Park Scully Mar 13 Dennis Shaw Jul 13 Jul 13 Gisela Stephens LTM Nov 12 Harold Stewart Feb 13 Apr 13 Jessie Sutton Nov 13 Nov 12

Darel Troby Jul 13 Corey Webb May 13

Justin Whitaker Apr 14 Apr 13 Janet Winkles Jul 13 Jul 13

DAVINCI NIGHT OUT

The restaurants for the 2012 Night Out locations were selected at our Thanksgiving dinner celebration. What a great list indeed! Unfortunately three of the locations chosen have since closed: Mi Casa (March), River City Grill (June), and Capone’s (December). In their place similar restaurants were selected. October Houlihan’s (Doubletree Hotel) November Panera Bread Company December Johnny Carino’s

Congratulations to our September Night Out winners: Justin (free meal), Randy (Starship

Farragut DVD, and Ariana (I Am Spock book)

WELCOME ABOARD! Welcome aboard to the following crew personnel who have recently joined (*) or renewed their membership in the DaVinci (D) or Starfleet (S).

Jonathan Morgan (D*) (S*) James Carey (S) Vanessa Winfield (S) Harry Turner (S) Derick Turner (S) Joshua Turner (S)

DAVINCI T-SHIRTS

There are plenty in stock in varied sizes and are available for immediate sale. Prices are very reasonable (S-XL - $10.00; 2X - $12.00; 3X - $14.00; 4X - $15.00) and the shirts are now in color according to Star Trek departments, those of course being red for Operations, yellow for Engineering, and blue for Science. We do also have some shirts in the non-traditional ash gray if you desire. Please contact Freddy for size availability. Take advantage of this unique offer now if possible as the cost of the shirts may be going up by $2 or $3 due to economy changes. Check out the photos BELOW:

Operations Science

Engineering Generic Gray

ACCOLADES A BIG Bajoran thanks or congratulations go to: Hal for his weekly donation of cans and stamps Jonathan Evans for his large donation of cans

FINANCIALLY SPEAKING

Opening Balance 244.14 Deposit $80.00 Night Out $11.00 Party (GSHF) $58.00 Postage $17.50 Printing Supplies $15.00

Closing Balance $222.64

COMM Connie Heller

TV SHOWS ON DVD Here are some scheduled DVD releases for October that may interest you: “Six Million Dollar Man, Season 2” (2nd) “Sanctuary, Complete Series” (23rd) “Star Wars: Clone Wars, Season 4” (23rd) “Coma, Miniseries” (30th) “My Favorite Martian, Season 3” (30th)

USS DAVINCI IN PICTURES The following is a trip down the USS DaVinci memory lane. Each month I will show a series of photographs from our very beginning, as the Shuttle DaVinci, up until the present time. Many of you will remember these faces. To others they will be complete strangers. But, they made the USS DaVinci what it is today. Enjoy! Reminisce. If you have any photographs that you would like to see published in the Pilot, feel free to send them to me with a brief explanation as to who is in the photo and when and where it was taken. If I get a name wrong, please let me know! The following are from our 9th annual Christmas party from 17 December 2005.

The hungry DaVinci crew line up to get platefuls of turkey, ham, and other delicious goodies!

The crew enjoying the food: Gisela, Park, Ariana, Randy, Todd, Russell, Lech, Joe, Benlee, and James are just the recognizable ones. If you know who the others are, let me know.

A 7-year-old Ariana smiles for the camera while Benlee listens to James discussing Trek.

Following dinner the crew relaxes: Park, Randy, Gisela, Roger, Elaine, and Lisa.

Next month, Part II of our 9th annual Christmas party!

LINKS Here are a few important web sites relevant to the DaVinci:

Starfleet Home Page: www.sfi.org Starfleet Region 2 Home Page: www.region2.org USS DaVinci Home Page www.ussdavinci.org Craig’s List: http://columbusga.craigslist.org/grp

CARGO BAY

Receive a $25.00 Discount On Tax Return Preparation!

Receive a Free Regular Drink with Adult Buffet Purchase!

DaVinci Members Receive a 20 % Discount!

DaVinci Members Receive a 10-15% Discount!

DaVinci Members Receive a Discount!

Purchase $5.00 Worth of Food and Get a Free Drink! Want to put an ad in the Pilot? Just send it to me and it will go in. Does not matter what it says, wanted, for sale, or something more personal! Deadline is the 20th of each month.

NEXT DAVINCI NIGHT OUT AND MEMBERSHIP

MEETING WILL BE AT

HOULIHAN’S (DOUBLETREE) ON MONDAY 15 OCTOBER AT 7:00 PM

COME FOR THE FOOD AND FRIENDSHIP!!

A LITTLE HUMOR AND DISMISSED!