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| In this Issue: Upcoming Events |
Issue #10 July 2006 |
| Heart of the Alliance contacts: President: Vice President: Secretary: Treasurer: P.R. Officer: |
Upcoming Events (HotA Calendar) July Meeting - Sunday, July 16, 6 PM - Cinemark Theatre on the Country Club Plaza
By Valerie (MaraJade) It is almost time to elect the new council, and in preparation for this grand event, we have the official nominees for the positions. There are several people who will be running unopposed; however, they will still need at least 50% of the votes cast to be elected. Write in votes for those eligible to run will be accepted for all positions in the official election, so if someone you want to win was not nominated, you can still vote for them. But please, do not vote for Mickey Mouse as he is not an official member. For those of you not at the June meeting, several people have chosen to decline their nominations. Those individuals would be: Angie (Darth3PO), Mary (Mamafett), Michael (Darth Dijnn), Valerie (MaraJade), and Bradley (LukeSkiewalker). And the Nominees Are: President Vice President Secretary Treasurer PR Officer [top] Midwest Regional Meeting Recap By Sarah (GsWookie) and Mike (Darth_Djinn) An event over a year in the making, the first FanForce Midwest Regional Meeting (MRM) was a hit in St. Louis on June 9 though 11. For what was the first of hopefully many times, the St. Louis FanForce hosted about 30 fans from Springfield, Des Moines, Minneapolis, and of course from HotA here in Kansas City. In fact, besides the host city, Kansas City had the biggest turnout there. The planning of the meeting caused Del-Ray Books to have a book signing with author Aaron Allston (author of New Jedi Order and X-Wing novels) at the local Borders to promote his newest release Betrayal. The group was able to meet and have a private Q & A with him on Friday night. The Saturday book signing was a costumed success with the help of most of the FanForcers and the local 501st group, the 70th Explorers Garrison (http://www.70thexplorers.com) making it even better. Saturday began with several of the costume folks paying a visit to the local Shriner’s Children’s hospital to brighten (with lightsabers) the day for several lucky children. When they arrived there were two beautiful little girls, but they had never seen Star Wars so we gave them a couple Star Wars coloring books and sat down at the table and played Uno Extreme. The book signing was also a very happy event for two of our members Darth Djinn and QueenPadme who became engaged at the event. Then after the book signing, everyone gathered for a BBQ (and a fluid game of wiffle ball). But even though a sudden thunderstorm drove us to our cars, it couldn’t dampen the night as everyone enjoyed the St. Louis nightlife both on the town or just hanging out in everyone’s hotel rooms. The trip was ‘topped off’ Sunday with a trip to the ‘top’ of the city, or up the Arch. But of course, the best thing about events like this is the company of so many other Star Wars fans. Whether it was dressing up for mock lightsaber fights, or mini-road trips to find “Slingers” and “Sliders” (with the help of a GPS), it was a great time because of the people. Already there is talk among several of the other Midwest cities to repeat this next year (or even two years out), so keep an eye out and be ready for a summer road trip with Star Wars fans all around the Midwest. For Photos see these links: here and here. [top] By Bradley (Luke_Skiewalker) For our third annual Bantha BBQ we went from Kamino like conditions the year before to almost Tatooine conditions this year. However, like last year the day ended up mimicking Naboo lake retreat conditions. While the turnout for this years BBQ wasn’t as high as last years, some proclaimed having even more fun this year. Not only did we have a Star Wars Trivial Pursuit contest, a Star Wars Battleship contest, and water fights, but we also had fun throwing the football and baseball around. This years Trivial Pursuit winners were Jaime and Matt. The Battleship tourney was once again a grueling one. The championship game was between Michael and Jamie’s significant other, Angela, lasted almost 2 hours! At the end Michael was able to become the new Battleship champion after finishing 2nd last year. Thanks again to everyone who showed up this year. We all had a lot of fun. So much so, that as many of you know we are in the process of planning for a Bantha BBQ in the Fall. Keep an eye on the Alderaansas Base forums for more details in the future. [top] By Bart (GandalfBMG) With the phenomenal growth of Heart of the Alliance in the last year and a half, several things have changed. We’ve gone from a handful of people meeting in a busy bookstore café or restaurant to a largish group with our own website, private meeting rooms, and some pretty large events. And with all that comes some extra burdens. What started as a labor of love built with spare time and some often-considerable sums of ‘spare’ money has grown into more. And in order to keep thing running in a way that shares the burden, plus give us the opportunity to keep having the big events and share HotA with more and more people, we decided to create a ‘formal’ class of membership that are willing to pay yearly dues. Asking for money is never an easy thing, and so we felt as another “HotA year” begins it would be appropriate to talk again about why we ask members to pay a small yearly fee, as well as outline the things that the money allows us to do. The basic costs of the group include about $84 a year for web hosting. The website is the circulatory system of the group, connecting all the parts around the city and even the world as we travel. And the money for the hosting fees is the heart that keeps the system pumping. The Bantha BBQ was our first recurring event, the cornerstone of the busy summer season. But in order to hold it in a central, public facility that is spacious and lets us do all the activities we want, we need to pay for a park shelter. This cost usually is around $60. There are also many other important costs that help us ‘spread the word’. We have a lot of tools for helping spread the word (such as business cards to carry and hand out, or flyers, or even tables at conventions). In any organization, growth is the key to remaining healthy and vibrant. The more people we can attract, the more friends we can make. The more people that become ‘supporting members’, the more cool (and bigger) events we can plan. We hope that everyone here sees $15 as a small investment in bettering their social life and the group we all love. If you do the math it’s pretty simple. At 6 members we’ve paid for the web hosting. At 10 members we’ve paid for that and the BBQ. At 14 members we’ve paid for those and a table at the convention. So just imagine what we can do when we get 25 members who are contributing. Also, since being a full member is requisite for voting or nominating or holding office, more members means a larger pool of talent, ideas, and ‘willing hands’ from which we can draw to lead, shape, and direct the group. Of course, our events and boards are still open to everyone regardless, but if you’re willing to go a bit further we hope you’ll consider all this and join us. Thanks, and may the force be with you. [top] |
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