Legion Commander Inspects the Troops

[tk210]

Hello Bloodfin Garrison!
Albin Johnson here, your notorious Legion Commander, lurking about and setting up a thread for me to prepare for future visits. I'm about to engage in a Legion-wide tour of visiting the Garrison forums, something that will happen on a rotating schedule. Your CO will know the date of my next stop, as I will work that out with your command staff. I hope to have Ron Garner, my XO, join me for some visits. Our purpose is to say hello, answer questions, hear what YOU have to say, and get a feel for how our troopers are doing on the ground. Each visit will have a different theme, but each one will have the same points in mind - to make sure you know I'm accessible and get a feel for what's important to our troopers today.

So feel free to post some Q's here or share some thoughts for me to read for when I stop back by or pictures of Summer Glau - anything that you want to share. I'm excited at the idea of a "virtual inspection of the troops" until the day I can finally come and visit you in person.

Stand strong. YOU are the Legion.

Long Live Vader's Fist

AL (Tk210)

p.s. remember the Legion archives are growing and we're going to be putting on quite a show at CV - so if there are any cool pics of your time trooping, or artifacts of any kind from your Garrison's history including patches, stickers, memorabilia of any kind please send it all on to me directly and I will have it processed. I'm at : 300 Braewick Rd Columbia SC 29212 if you're shipping anything - I'm at albinj@sc.rr.com if you have cool pics to share (please include names and dates for each pic). Thank you.

p.p.s. 501st lanyards are back for the first time in 2 years. You can order black or red toplan lanyards for only $6 apiece (shipping included) via paypal to albinj@sc.rr.com - $5 apiece for orders of 10 or more - you can view the lanyard art and model (the top one pictured) below. Feel free to email me with any questions.

http://www.albinjohnson.com/501stLegion/merch/lanyard-501st.jpg
http://www.albinjohnson.com/501stLegion/merch/lanyard-toplan.gif

[tk210]

Hey gang!
Albin here - kicking off 2010's series of Virtual Inspection Tours of the Legion. I'll keep it brief - please post whatever topics are on your mind about the Legion and I'll address them. This is your chance to take it to the top and let me know what's going on. Even if it's not a serious topic, I'd love to hear what you think - what's your best experience in the Legion? What would you like to see us improve? What questions do you have about how we're run? Let me hear you.

One of the projects I'm working on for this year is to establish our Legion Charity Network, with a Legion Charity Representative serving at the top in my cabinet making formal agreements with top-level national and international charity organizations. Our current LCR is Scott Allen and his email address is darthvader501@gmail.com . Please feel free to contact him with any questions or ideas you have about how the Legion works with charities. He will be looking for Charity Reps from each Garrison, so if you don't have one now it might be a good idea to name one so he/she can work directly with Scott on how to best share information and maximize our impact on charity. Scott will also be asking for all the fund-raising totals your unit has made for the year so we can add it to a running total for the Legion each year - we want to see what the Legion has accomplished!

Another project we're working on is our 501st Legion Archives. Our Legion Archivist, Cheralyn Lambeth, is busy collecting hundreds of items from all over the world that relate to the Legion and our accomplishments. Those items are stored and cataloged at her house and at mine and serve as a permanent repository for the legacy of the Legion. A big part of it will be on display at Celebration V. Please help the Archives by sending whatever items your Garrison creates or uses at events, anything from patches to trading cards (signed!) to fliers for events to promo items to retired signage used at your table - anything, really! Whatever tells the story of the Legion. We don't want your unit to be left out! You can contact Cher at genivanova@prodigy.net or at cheralyn.lambeth@yahoo.com . You can send any items directly to me at 300 Braewick Rd Columbia, SC 29212 and I promise they will receive a proper place in the vault for future generations to see. We would also encourage you to name a Garrison Archivist and share that with Cheralyn - a network of historians would be a powerful thing.

Lastly, I want to share with each unit the news (since some do not go to the forums) that we have official 501st Legion Key Chains and R2-KT key chains for sale while they're still available. They look fantastic and would be great for members to have to show their Legion pride. The 501st key chains are here, the R2-KT ones are being made. Both are $6 apiece, shipping included inside the U.S. (add a buck for outside the U.S.) and are $5 apiece on orders of 10 or more (great for group orders). You can paypal payment to albinj@sc.rr.com or send check or money order to the address above. You can see images of each here:
http://www.albinjohnson.com/501stLegion/501stkeychain.jpg
http://www.albinjohnson.com/501stLegion/r2kt-keychain.jpg

Okay, enough of a commercial. I'll be around regularly to check on this thread. Please post freely and let's have a good conversation about what's going on in your neck of the woods.

Thanks and God bless

AL (Tk210)

[ShockNurse]

Howdy Albin! Welcome back to Bloodfin and it's certainly good to see you!

I wanted to say that I *think* that things with the CRL are finally on the right track. The visual entries are great so far and I'm anxious to see more of them get approved and posted in the coming months.

[Unregistered]

Hey Gang!
You can thank Mark Haskell for getting the CRLs back on track - doing a great job, that group.

Well, at least I can share news about our upcoming 501st party at CV:
The 501st Legion Imperial Bash! Not all of you get on the main forums but I hope we'll see you at CV in Orlando Aug 12-15. This is huge!

Join fellow 501st members, friends and family for a night of music, food, drinks, prizes and a whole lot of fun. This will be the not-miss event at Celebration V. Surprises guaranteed!

Unfortunately we are forced to cap this event at 800 attendees, this includes VIP guests due to maximum room attendance by the Fire Marshall.

Tickets in the form of collectible bracelets will be on sale in advance ONLY. They will not be on sale at Celebration V, so don’t wait to order. The first 350 tickets sold will receive a FREE 501st Imperial Bash patch with their bracelet. So don't wait to order!

Tickets can be picked up at the 501st Legion room at CV (preferred method) due to possible line congestion at the event door. While this is a 501st Legion event, friends and family (18 years and up) are welcome to attend and purchase tickets directly.
Tickets: $21. This includes admission, food, soft drinks and entertainment. A cash bar with great prices and special drinks will be available as well.

Sponsor an Honorary Member! We want to invite all the 501st Honorary Members to our event, but we’ll need YOUR help! You can sponsor an Honorary Member for only $10! An invitation with your name as the sponsor will be delivered to the Honorary Member at CV.

Advance price Deadline: July 9th. After this date the price will increase to $25, so don’t wait! Final deadline is July 30th.

To order tickets and sponsor an Honorary Member, and for more details on entertainment, food, drinks and venue, visit the official 501st CV Imperial Bash website: http://www.501stBash.com.

Feel free to share the website with friend and family who will be attending. Get ready for an incredible experience!

Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=122284511120972&ref=mf

http://www.albinjohnson.com/501stLegion/501stImperialBashFlyer.jpg

[tk210]

Hey everyone! Checking in regularly as promised. I don't see any new questions or comments, which makes me sad. :(

But while I'm here, how is everyone?

[Perkeo]

Hey Albin,

I don't have any questions or concerns but I would like to thank you for starting this wonderful club. I joined in August of 2008 and couldn't be happier with my decision. I've always had a love of Star Wars and when I found out about the 501st I knew I had to find a way of being a part of it. To combine my love of Star Wars and help spread cheer and charity to those who need it is a great pleasure and then to meet up with my Bloodfin family in the process has been even more of a blessing.

Thanks again for everything you do and have done to make this the greatest club in the galaxy.

Perkeo
DZ 1641

[ShockNurse]

Hey everyone! Checking in regularly as promised. I don't see any new questions or comments, which makes me sad. :(

But while I'm here, how is everyone?

Hey Albin! I certainly wouldn't take the lack of questions/comments to mean that we're not engaged! Our garrison is extremely active, but perhaps we just don't have a lot of the problems that some of the larger garrisons have.

I'll throw a question out there to get some discussion going: Why allow characters like Captain Rex into the 501st? As he appears in TCW, he is clearly a "good guy". To take this to the extreme, why allow Ep.2 clone troopers into the 501st? One can make the arguement that they will eventually turn against the Republic in Ep.3, but strictly speaking, clones in Phase I armor are still loyal to the Republic. Have there been any discussions with the RL regarding shifting these characters such that they are exclusive to the RL?

[Unregistered]

You're quite welcome, Perkeo. I'm happy it's become so successful.

Mike, you're absolutely right. Hard thing about a club this big is turning this thing around once it gets momentum. There were HEATED talks with the RL when EP2 hit and we started approving clone troopers. You're right, they kinda belong on the other side strictly speaking. But then there's the debate that they were programmed from before birth with Order 66 so you have to think they were the Emperor's babies before anything else. Now we sorta share custody with the RL and it's an uneasy truce. Right now I'm more motivated to get new characters approved that are waiting to become official. One of these days maybe we'll be able to clean up the edges a bit. Good Q!

While I'm here, let me spread the word about my personal project: the Galactic Cadet Academy. I am starting a new costuming project for all the young SW fans too young to join the Legion. It will be a combined Imp/Reb costume gallery. Altho it has no official ties with the 501st or RL, it will be in place for kids to feel the same sense of belonging we do with our clubs. Imagine the pride boys and girls and teens will feel when they see their pic in their own age category and wear their unit logo on their sleeve!

http://www.albinjohnson.com/501stcadets/cadets-promopic.jpg

Tell all your friends who have little SW fans with costumes! Together we can rule the galaxy! For more information, just email us at info@galactic-academy.com

Now let's see more pics/cookies/questions/rotten tomatoes! :)

[hofmann]

Of course, Al, if we were just one big, happy group we wouldn't have all these who gets which costume issues, right? ;)

Here's a fun one-- as people in the upper echelons of command we get insight into true inter-legion relations. Here in Indiana the legions get along well and share space and don't have really any problems and more or less act as a cohesive group with two command staffs. In other parts of the world inter-legion relations are like oil and water. What are some of the hurdles you see and what are your possible solutions for dealing with those as the groups continue?

[tk210]

Hey gang,
Making the rounds, albeit not as often as I'd like. Pretty soon I'll be asking for a new thread (if you're interested) called Founder Visits since I won't be running for LCO next term. I know some have criticized me for not making visits regularly enough and for that I apologize. However, I think a little is better than not-at-all and I will continue to make the rounds next year. If you have suggestions for what you'd like to see let me know.

To Mat: Some of the hurdles I see are that some clubs take it for granted that the success of the Legion should be passed on to them without the work put into it. I am all for partnering with other club and fostering good relations, but I would like to see proper respect paid to the 501st for trail-blazing opportunities. We have created a F.O.R.C.E. group (Fan Overseeing Responsible Club Enterprises) that has invited delegates from the various clubs to join and discuss. We've also appointed club envoys (Percy Ricaud and Christian Shepherd) to reach out to other clubs in hopes of clearing up any misunderstandings and avoiding future ones by preparing the way to partnership. More than anything we need to just be patient and remember we're all doing this for fun and for the fans. As our opportunities grow, so will the cry for more involvement from other clubs so the real challenge is to be proactive and prepare for this now by working out boundaries while we're all doing casual projects together. There's room for everyone and the Legion has to take up the leadership to show the way.

Okay, so allow me to make some announcements if I may.

Item #1 - We no longer have mass-email support in the main forums so my news announcements have not been going out. I was not aware of this so please know we are still looking for submissions for Trooper of the Month for September and October.

Item #2 - We have a new poll up for ratifying an amendment to the charter. It has to do with minimum requirements for folks running for offices. Important stuff, so please vote. The discussion period is over for this proposal, but we have a couple more coming up so please be on the lookout on the main forums. You can view the current proposal and vote here:
http://www.501stforums.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=60134

Item #3 - new LXO - please welcome Angela Mash as the new LXO. Ron Garner had to step down due to military obligations. Please feel free to contact Angela at bfett333@shaw.ca and congratulate her (or just complain about the food in the Death Star cafeteria).

Item #4 - Christmas Lanyards - Due to repeated requests for a run of these, we are now offering 501st lanyards in Christmas colors. We are also offering R2-KT lanyards in pink and we also still have a few regular 501st lanyards left in red and in black (less than 20 of the black left). All lanyards are $6 apiece plus $1 shipping for every five ordered. (Lanyards are $5 each for orders of 10 or more). You can paypal to albinj@sc.rr.com - please specify what you're ordering including color(s). You can see the goods here (click to enlarge):

http://www.albinjohnson.com/501stLegion/lanyards/lanyards-christmas_resize.jpg (http://www.albinjohnson.com/501stLegion/lanyards/lanyards-christmas.jpg)
http://www.albinjohnson.com/501stLegion/lanyards/lanyards-r2kt_resize.jpg (http://www.albinjohnson.com/501stLegion/lanyards/lanyards-r2kt.jpg)
http://www.albinjohnson.com/501stLegion/lanyards/lanyards4_resize.jpg (http://www.albinjohnson.com/501stLegion/lanyards/lanyards4.jpg)

Don't be shy. Make your Garrison buddies jealous. Get 'em now as the runs are limited. Make sure you troop with the Force *and* the Christmas spirit. :)

Item #5 - Charity Totals
Not sure if you heard the news, but the Legion Charity Representative, Scott Allen, reported last week that thanks to all the reports from Garrison Charity Reps from all over that we now have records showing $3.1 Million in charitable donations that the Legion had a hand in in 2010. Can you believe that? That's a crazy amount of money and enough to inspire us that we're making a huge difference. We're sure that's on the low-side as many units didn't report all of their activities. Please join us by helping boost that total with your report of charitable donations made on behalf of the 501st or generated as a result of activities in your community. Appoint your own unit Charity Rep and get in touch with Scott at darthvader501@gmail.com

So let me close up here before I go on too long. Post anything you want here: questions, comments, whatever and I'll be back soon. Your feedback is important and I do want to continue visiting the forums to get your input. If you can't reach me here, feel free to pm me at albinj@sc.rr.com.

As we go into the holidays let me say how much it means for me to have an extended family like the 501st. It may not be perfect, but we're over 5,000 strong and built to last. Please be safe. And thanks for making the Legion strong!

[tk210]

Troopers!

As you are likely aware, there has been a discussion respecting an amendment to the Charter with respect to defining "good standing".
The discussion period is now at an end and a poll has been created (please see the below link).

http://www.501stforums.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=685163#685163

Please take the time to head over and vote on this amendment! The poll is up for a period of 10 days ending on December 10th. If you
have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the LXO/DLCotG - Angela Mash either by PM on the forums or at her email address of
bfett333(at)shaw(dot)ca.

Thanks!