Hey folks,
I am ready to pull the trigger on the escape room outing on April 8th, but I'm not sure of the final list! It will be at about 3pm on that day and cost between $25 and $36. Please let me know immediately if you are planning to attend. I will order the tickets on March 13th so I need to know by the 12th.
Thanks, Mary
Greetings, crew!
As I'm writing this, I think I may be blown away to Oz! Crazy winds we're having, yes? Not to mention the rain, the globby sleet and the sunshine. What month are we in? Lest we get too comfortable with warmth, let's not forget that every year we have the inevitable March High School Hockey Tournament Blizzard. Beware!
We are gearing up for our biggest fundraising event of the year right now. The April 22nd Chuckwagon Social at the Dan Patch American Legion will be a whole lot of fun, and it depends on you. There are several ways to participate and I ask that everyone do at least some of them. Our ability to fund our fun activities depends on it. Plus, this one big event means we don't have to sell candy bars and find other little ways to raise funds all year, which is better for everyone. In addition to fundraising for our cost of operations, we will also make a donation to the Veterans Administration Palliative Care division in honor of our dear Lucia.
Here are the ways for to be involved. First, you can buy tickets. They're just $12 and this includes the chili dinner and dessert, silent auction, games and social. At minimum, members can buy for themselves, but we also invite to you bring anyone you like or sell to friends and family. Our guests have had fun in the past and keep returning, so we are doing something right! Second, you can donate to the silent auction. This is much easier than it sounds. If you don't have a specific item already, stop at the thrift store and put together a basket, make a craft item, bake something, or ask others for donations. Third, buy items at the auction - there's always something fun. Fourth, there is a fun raffle this year. It's a 50/50 draw, so the cash prize will depend on the number of tickets sold. Tickets are only $5 or 3/$10, so please come to the March meeting to get some. If you need some and can't attend, let Pam know. The odds on this one will be super good, and you can let people know that a portion of the cost will go to our chosen charity. Finally, there will be other fun and games to play at the event that will raise funds for the club. Please, everybody, find a way to participate even if you can't attend in person. Thanks so much - this is the way we can have nice things and do fun stuff!
I hope everyone is well. If you need support or more information at any time, please let a board member know. That's what we're here for.
See you around the galaxy!
Mary
Don't forget that our general membership meeting is NOT on the second Saturday of the month, as usual. It's the third Saturday - the 18th.
After the meeting, we'll be heading over to the DoubleTree Bloomington Minneapolis South at 7800 Normandale Boulevard (corner of 100 and 494). Jack and I are hosting our annual St Patrick's Party and Beer Tasting Contest in one of the large suites on the first floor, east side. We hope it's the one right by the hot tub, since you're all invited to bring suits and towels and partake of the watery warmness. Please bring potluck food to share with the group, too, plus beverages you'd like to enjoy. We'll start the evening at 5pm and the meal at 5:30pm.
The beer tasting will also start about 5:30pm, so if you have a beverage to enter please be there by that time. The entries do not have to be alcoholic. You can bring soda or another beverage if you prefer, and you should bring at least 4 bottles/cans. We'll taste in rounds and there will be a first place winner, a second place winner and the winner of the (coveted) USS Nokomis Bad Beer Board.
We usually have some games and music and green fun, but mostly it's a chance to relax and visit together. Wearing green is fun, but not required! Several members are getting rooms in the hotel. As of this writing, there are rooms available for just $89.10. Those who stay over typically find breakfast together in the morning, too.
Please join us.
Mary
Thanks to everyone who participated in our fun at MarsCon this year! We had numerous members around the con during the festivities.
Our American Red Cross blood drive was a success! We had some rough moments, due to illness of regular donors, travel deferrals and other reasons that made it hard to fill our schedule. In the end, generosity was evident as we collected 24 units of blood - enough to save up to 72 lives! Great job again, and special thanks to Jane for her many hours of calling donors before the convention. Thanks to Jane, Roxanne and Lori for the long day spent in the lobby greeting donors, recruiting and doing the necessary paperwork for the drive. Great job saving lives, everybody!!
We also had a bunch of members in the WDF M*U*S*H tent. It was fun and popular, and we earned a prize from the room judges. It was great to have so many people to help make it a fun time.
And last but obviously not least, thanks to our members who serve in various official capacities at the convention. From running the show to running the camera, we are proud of your efforts and we thank you for providing us an opportunity to have fun. I saw 27 USS Nokomis members at the convention, and I'm sure that there were more there, so that's a testament to the great work you all do!
Mary
Nokomis sign-up deadline is Sunday February 19th!
LIVE AT ORCHESTRA HALL! Friday July 14th, 7:30 pm. -- ticket cost: around $65
See the full film with Michael Giacchino's thrilling score played live to picture!
The Nokomis will be purchasing a group of tickets for this concert, but we need to know if you are planning to attend! Since the Minnesota Orchestra is offering a discount to groups of 10 or more, we will be purchasing a block of tickets next week, so we need your FIRM COMMITMENT to this concert by this Sunday, February 19th. While payment will not be needed before the 19th, you will be committing to paying for a concert ticket or tickets. If you have not signed up for this event at the meeting, please contact a board member to let them know you are planning on going. Further details on payment and exact cost will be coming soon.
I have the unfortunate duty of informing you that one of our board members has resigned her position. Dawn has other commitments that will take her time, so I have appointed Emma Frazee to the office of Operation Officer according to the by-laws to our constitution. Emma considered running for the office at the last election cycle and is willing to step in to the position immediately on an interim basis. We will move forward with a formal election in the coming months.
Dawn has given many years of service to the club. She has taken a leading role in many of our activities and has created many beautiful costumes to grace our events. She will be sorely missed on the Governing Board, but we plan to keep her busy at events for years to come!
Captain Mary
Greetings, crew!
I hope everyone is having a good new year so far. We've already had four get-togethers, including the two meetings, Feed My Staving Children and January Dance. If you haven't yet joined us, please plan to do so in the coming months. We have many fun things planned.
If you have any science background, try the Twin Cities Regional Science Fair. It's a very rewarding experience and fun to exercise those critical thinking skills. If you aren't a scientific mind, come along to help with other tasks. This event can sound a bit intimidating, but really, it's fun. Plus, after we're done we'll go out to eat and talk about the evening.
Details are in this newsletter for MarsCon and the St Patrick's Beer Tasting Party. We hope to see you at both of those events. They are both opportunities to relax, visit and have fun.
Also, it's time to be thinking about the 2017 Chuckwagon. The event is on April 22nd. Information will be coming in the next few newsletters, but here's the important thing to think about right now - we need auction items! Please keep your eyes open for items you can donate. This includes your own creations as well as purchased items, so if you have a special talent please consider donating the fruits of your labor. My family will be donating (at least) a Christmas ornament wreath, a decorated cake for 100 people and two gift baskets. Does that give you some good ideas? Tickets will soon be available and we hope each of you will buy and sell some!
Finally, here's a scoop. We have decided on the room theme for CONvergence. We'll be recreating the original series episode A Piece of the Action, complete with gangsters and The Book. Some of us have gangster costumes already, and those who don't should be able to find the necessary accoutrements at a thrift or customer store. You could also consult The Book if you can find a copy! Save the dates from July 6th to the 9th and register at www.convergence-con.org.
See you around the galaxy!
Mary
We had a great time on January 28th at the Dan Patch American Legion. There were almost 40 of us, and we really enjoyed the new location. The food was good and the service fantastic. We will definitely return here in the future.
Rob, our favorite DJ, kept us hopping for the evening. Because there was no specific dance floor, we had folks dancing all around the room! We also had some fun door prizes to give away. The theme for the evening was Renaissance, and many of us were dressed accordingly. Whatever the choice of finery, everybody looked pretty great in my opinion.
Special thanks go out to Pam and Jim Kline for their great work on this event. Pam worked with the new venue to set up the logistics, and she and Jim did a wonderful job on the decorations. We even had a knightly photo op to share! There were a committee of two, and we are thankful for their efforts.
We are tentatively planning on January 20th for next year's event, in case you're like me and plan a year ahead!
Mary
We had 14 members at the Coon Rapids facility on January 24th to pack food. It was us and a whole tribe of young people from St John's church. We had a great time, as usual, and the crew packed 92 boxes of food. That's 19,872 meals and enough to feed 54 kids in Haiti for a whole year. It's was another great night of service to the community and we will plan to do it again in the summer. Thanks to everyone who came!
There are two ways to participate in this year's MarsCon on March 3rd through 5th.
The USS Nokomis will host its 12th annual MarsCon, and 29th all-time, blood drive with the American Red Cross on Saturday, March 4th. The drive runs from 10:30am to 4:30pm and we need lots of blood donors. Please make your appointment at www.redcrossblood.org under the drive at the Hilton, or use the blood donor app, or ask First Officer Jane to schedule you at your chosen time. Please ask family and friends to donate, too. They don't have to be registered at the convention to come and make a donation. We'll be in the lobby greeting donors during the drive and we hope you stop by to visit. We also need a few folks to do some day-of-drive recruitment around the hotel, so please let Mary or Jane know if we can count on you. We will touch over 80 lives with units we collect on that day, and your help is most appreciated.
The other fun thing to do with us at the convention is visiting the WDF room. This group, which is made of some folks from the USS Nokomis, will be in room 1113 this year on both evenings. We hope you'll come and hang out with us. We could also use some help with set-up and take-down of the room, so contact Dawn if you can help on Friday or Sunday.
See you at the convention!
