Author: Mary Pucel

This is the last call for nominations for Board members. You can turn them in by email, phone, online, or in person at the May meeting.

If you haven't played along at one of our road rallies yet, you're missing out! It's a fun way to solve puzzles and work as a team to find the path. Quite a few people have signed up to play already, and some need partners. Each team needs a car and at least two people, so you will be paired up if you don't already have enough. You'll get your hints and a sealed envelope with the solution, in case you get completely lost. No matter what happens, you'll have fun and end up at lunch with the group. Don't miss it. The  fun starts after the May membership meeting.

On Tuesday, July 19th we'll be packing meals at the Eagan location of Feed My Starving Children from 6 to 7:30pm. You can go online to sign up at www.fmsc.org under the group name USS Nokomis. As of this writing, there are 13 spots left in our group. After we pack, we'll feed ourselves at a nearby restaurant.

Mary

By popular demand, the Garden Party will return this year. Emma, Shannon and Harrison will host a four course gourmet summer evening, rain or shine. As usual for these events, if we get more signups than spots we'll do a drawing to determine attendees. You can sign up at the May and June meetings.

The release of the new Star Trek movie is slated for July 22nd. We are considering options for the event. We have been approached by a few theaters who would like to work with us. We may also choose to attend the movie at our leisure at a theater of our choice. I would suggest blocking both the evening of the 22nd and the afternoon of the 24th if you'd like to cover the options. More information will be available at the May meeting.

Mary

Greetings, crew!

I think it's finally here - the newsletter where I can say with confidence that the winter is over! That last storm was a big bummer, especially since it closed down a big bunch of high schools that were planning to have blood drives, but how long can it last when it's the last week of March, right? Now that we're in April, there is light at the end of that tunnel. Welcome, spring!

With spring comes our biggest fundraiser of the year. Please make a special point of coming to the Chuckwagon on April 16th. It promises to be fun, with chili and auction and socializing, but it also means a lot to our budget. We have great plans this year for Trek 50 - wait until you see the party we're planning on September 10th - and these plans will cost money. The tickets are not expensive, and this is purposeful so everyone can come. Please bring your family and friends and show them how much fun we can have. Let a board member know ASAP if you still need your tickets!

Do you know what year it is? It's Trek 50, but that's not what I mean. It's an election year. The election for our new Governing Board will take place in May and the installation will be in June. Nominations will be taken in April and May.

See you around the galaxy!

Mary

We had lots of fun at the beer tasting/St Patrick's party on March 19th. Over 30 people enjoyed food, fun, friendship and beer!

We blind-tasted 21 different beers in elimination rounds, and the results were very surprising. The Bad Beer Board, given each year to the beer that earns the fewest votes, went to Artie's Guinness Stout. Crazy, isn't it, as many consider Guinness to be one of the world's best? The surprises didn't end there. The second place winner didn't particularly shock us, as many of us know and love Barley John's beers. Their Old 8 Porter, named for Old Highway 8 in St Anthony Village (note the hometown pride there), took the second place honors for Jack. The biggest surprise of the evening was the top winner. Grover entered Hansen's Diet Creamy Root Beer and it stole the show. That's right, no alcohol and no sugar! It was pretty yummy.

The evening also included trips to the hot tub by many and a rousing game of Cards Against Humanity. We also had a special surprise for our birthday girl, Karen. We sang and enjoyed a giant cake for her big 70th. Happy birthday Karen, and congratulations to all of the winners. Thanks for coming, everybody!

Mary & Jack

USS Nokomis Star Trek Word Search

Come to the 13th beer tasting and completion on March 19th, 2016. From home to barn to hotel to other hotel, the event has traveled around over the years.
This time it will be at the Residence Inn Marriott in Roseville, where it's been for the last few years. Check it out at https://www.marriott.com/hotels/maps/travel/mspro-residence-inn-minneapolis-st-paul-roseville/ .

To enter the tasting you should bring 4-6 bottles of your entry. All types of beer, hard cider, malt beverage, near beer, maltini, non-alcoholic beer or malternative are welcome. You can even enter a soda if you'd like to, as you never know what will win. We are competing in a blind taste test for fabulous prizes, and sometimes the cheapest, most unlikely beer has won. There is also the USS Nokomis Bad Beer Board, which has sometimes gone to the most well-known and expensive beer. You never know!

Bring food to share with the group, from a main dish to side dish to dessert. Another thing that goes well with beer is hot-tubbing, and happily there is a tub in the hotel. Feel free to bring your suits and towels and to change in the two bathrooms in our suite. Some games and good conversation will round out the evening.

Please join us for the fun. If you're planning to come, drop a note to me by email or in the comments on the website. If you know what you're bringing for food, add it to your comment so other folks know, too.

Mary