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In this Edition: Commanding Officer Report Executive Officer Report New Approvals New Recruits Featured Event Events Coming Soon Merchandise Spotlight Service Awards Q&A Spotlight Follow Us ?? ?? Hey all! Thanks for taking the time to check out our "Garrison Happenings" newsletter.?? These probably won't follow a specific release schedule or anything, but we figured it would be a cool way to give a shout out to some new recruits and approvals, highlight an event or two, let people know about any new merchandise they might want to get in on, and some other fun stuff! We're nearing the end of June already, and it feels like the year is flying by!?? ComiConn is less than a week away, and our signup list is huge this year.?? This year we accomplished a lot so far:??a complete overhaul of our forums; a new methodology for signups and tracking events; a new shirt run; armor parties that have had more recruits than I ever imagined for our small state garrison; and new lines of communications with our neighbors to the north, east, and west.?? This has all come with a ton of help from a lot of people, and I can't even begin to thank everyone who has helped make this year as amazing as it has been already enough! So what's next you might be asking? This weekend we'll be doing Blast-A-Trooper at ComiConn, in support NAMI.?? What's Blast-A-Trooper??? The quick explanation is folks donation in exchange for NERF darts to shoot at our troopers.?? It's a lot of fun, makes for some silly pictures and memories, and puts a lot of smiles on faces.?? ??If you've never participated in one I highly recommend coming down to ComiConn this weekend and checking it out. In July we'll be rolling out our new TroopTracker page, which will be integrated directly into the CTG website.?? Members will be able to see a tally of events they've participated in, as well as monthly, yearly, and all time standings across the Garrison.?? This will integrate into our forums with special badges for achieving participation goals.?? There's even exclusive merchandise in the works to show off your tour of duty for the Emperor! The next couple of events in the coming months include TV appearances, parades, conventions, and so much more!?? Stay tuned ~ Sarah Bailey I just wanted to take this opportunity to formally thank?? Sarah for her enthusiasm and efforts this year and the many often thankless hours she has put in to making sure the CTG was on good footing?? giving the group?? forward momentum.?? The CTG is growing faster than it has in Years and Sarah is one of the major reasons for us having a lot of good things to look forward to. Now having sufficiently tipped my hat to my boss... What I'm most looking forward to is we are in the late stages of coordinating a professional photo shoot for the group.?? We will be able to get individual and group shots of us in all of our nerdy costumed glory for use however you want!?? These pictures will also be used to create the first CTG TRADING CARDS!?? Once dates and venue are finalized the group will have something set up in the "Social Events" section of the forum so stay tuned! I also wanted to point out something that you guys may or may not have noticed.?? Since the beginning of this year we've been much more active at reaching out to the NEG, Rebel Legion and Mando Mercs to come participate with us at a number of events throughout the year.?? So far every one of the joint events has been a great success and we look forward to continuing and growing our relationship with our neighbors and the legion as a whole. I also wanted to congratulate all of our new troopers that have made it through their builds and the approval process.?? Way to go on finishing your costumes and I look forward to trooping with you all soon. ~ Joe Civitello We had several new costumes and members this year so far.?? Please join in congratulations of... Jan Abustan??- ID-37777 Imperial Staff Officer Approved March 1, 2018 ?? Dennis Vala - TI-11943 ANH TIE Pilot Approved March 3, 2018 ?? Sarah Bailey - ID-20466 Admiral Daala, Olive Drab Approved March 10, 2018 ?? ??Elyse Gillott??- TA-28669 Imperial Combat Assault Tank Driver Approved April 8, 2018 ?? ?? Michelle Crouch - TK-24124 ANH Stunt Stormtrooper Approved April 12, 2018 Full album here:??https://ctg501.com/community/index.php?/gallery/album/10-tk/ ?? Sarah Bailey - BH-20466 Dengar - Empire Strikes Back Approved June 12, 2018 ?? Andrew Tanski - TS-19736 Snowtrooper Approved June 24, 2018 ?? ?? Congratulations and great work to everyone on your costumes! ~ CTG Membership Team ?? Please welcome to the Connecticut Garrison our newest recruits: Nathan Philips working on a Republic Commando Grunt / Niner costume Richard Canto working on a Kylo Ren costume James Norris working on a Darth Vader or Stormtrooper costume Quentin Salgado working on a Del Mekko (TIE Uniform) costume Arthur Green working on a Jedha HWT Stormtrooper costume Joshua Schroeder, Costume choice pending! Devin Dziedzic working on an ARC Trooper or Clone costume Melanie Tiffen working on an Officer or TIE Pilot costume Marc Bellemare working on a Stormtrooper costume ~ CTG Membership Team Incoming Transmission... Field Report. Location Code:?? Location Id: New England Air Museum - Connecticut Transmission Details: The Connecticut 501st Garrison was joined by member of the New England Garrison as we took over the Air Museum in Windsor, CT for their annual Space Expo! ?? Transporting the prisoner ?? "You seen that new BT-16?" ?? ?? ?? Flight Simulations! ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ~ CTG Events Team ?? ?? We have a plethora of events coming up in the next few months!?? So far confirmed: ComiConn at Foxwoods -- June 30/July1st Bristol 4th of July Parade - July 4, with our good friends in the New England Garrison/Rhode Island area Summer Library Program at the Middletown Russell Library -- July 7th In Good Company TV Appearance - August 4th As always, we have pending events welcoming signups on our calendar as well.?? Be sure to check out the Events section of the CTG Forums for signups and info! ~ CTG Events Team ?? ?? Our first CTG Merch run of 2018 has just completed, and we're getting some Garrison T-Shirts with our updated logo! The initial run had custom ordered ones with 501st IDs on the back as an added option.?? We had a fantastic 30 shirts ordered! If you missed out on the run, we have a few extras in varying sizes.?? Talk to Sarah or Joan! Now Open CTG Challenge Coin / Bottle Openers! Order yours here today:??https://ctg501.com/community/index.php?/topic/171-ctg-bottle-opener-challenge-coin-are-here/ ?? The Connecticut Garrison Service Award is given to those that go above and beyond for the garrison.?? Those that help with tough logistical problems, taking on work to make the garrison flourish, coordinate special social events, and contribute in their own unique way that deserve special recognition.?? Those that are presented with the award receive a custom forum badge, forever commemorating their achievement. The Command Team is proud to present Jan Abustan, TK-37777, with the first Connecticut Garrison Service Award. Jan has been tirelessly helping the web liaison in cropping and resizing images for the 501st??Unit Listing page (viewable here).?? If you have a photo for your costumes up there, you probably have Jan's recent help to thank! Thank you Jan! ?? We sat down with Nick Scofield (TX-686) this edition to figure out what makes him tick and if there is anything we could to do stay on his "do not kill" list. Q: What made you decide to get into costuming? How did you learn about the 501st? A: Well now that???s a good question! It all started back in 2000 when Jesus was born! It wasn???t costuming per say that I wanted to get into. I was perusing the interspace on day as a young lad and found some pics of people who had built Stormtrooper armor. Being a fanboy of Star Wars my entire life, I knew immediately that I wanted one! I HAD to be a stormtrooper! So started my quest and that all led me to the 501st. I believe I found the 501st while looking for armor and had to be a part of it. Purchased my first TK Armor, an FX kit (the standard back then but horribly inaccurate) and built it at my grandma???s house. Submitted the pics and it was all downhill from there! Cool story bro Q: What was your first troop you did with the group? What were some first impressions? A: aahhh...first troop! It???s like a first date! But sweatier! Mine was at a place called Camp Coniston in New Hampshire. They had a Star Wars themed day of activities for the kids and we set it up so we walked in on them during camp breakfast and kidnapped one of the counselors dressed as Leia. Vader made the kids do challenges / activities all day to win here back. We stayed the night as a group in a private cabin and had a great time. The camp was amazing to us and all of the group was awesome to me. To this day it was one of the best troops I???ve ever done. Q: Who is your favorite Current Executive Officer in the CTG? A: why Joe Civitello of course! Q:?? What would you like to see out of the CTG or 501st in the near future? A: I think I would like to see more social gatherings like monthly meetings or armor parties, as well as a pillow fightd Q: How'd you like Solo? A: I thought it was just good the first time and was on the fence of it being great but saw it a second time last night and enjoyed it much more.?? Better than TLJ though, but not Rogue one ?? Q: Other than being an amazing Deathtrooper distributing peace and prosperity with extreme prejudice throughout the empire, what do you like to do for fun? A: Skateboard, Play Call of Duty <Redacted> and <Redacted>... and Knit ?? Q: You Knit? A: Only when spending the night in jail ?? OK I think that's where we're going to stop this interview! Thanks for participating Nick... I guess... ?? Stay tuned for future interviews with hopefully less terrifying CTG Members! ?? ~ Joe Civitello ?? ?? Want to keep tabs on the latest Connecticut Garrison happenings on social media? Visit our Facebook, Twitter, or Youtube Channel!