We have a very cool opportunity to have two Halloween events at the end of October. One of them will even fall under our Community Service mission. First we’ve been invited to the First Annual Ogden Zombie Crawl in downtown Ogden on Friday, October 29th. It was specifically requested that we have several dead Trekkies on hand for the crawl at 4:30-5:00pm at the Union Station. They extended the offer for our group through Robert Aswin of the ERT Ghostbusters of Salt Lake. Robert use to be a member of the Ticonderoga and after moving to Salt Lake is now a member of our sister ship, the USS Kelly. We hope to see other members of the Seventh Fleet in attendance as well. Any of us who show up to be dead Trekkies (or help in other matters) will be able to get into the post-party for free. There will also be a special showing of Night of the Living Dead and (for an extra charge) an overnight ghost hunt/Paranormal sleepover at the Ogden Union Station. If you would like to participate in this, please contact Captain Carl Stark so he can pass on your name to Robert. I would recommend reading the rules listed and then deciding how you would like to help. The Zombie Crawl will have make up artists on hand to help zombify you. The proceeds from this event are donated to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Thus we will be awarding service points towards rank advancements for those who participate.
Our second fun Halloween event is our annual USS Ticonderoga Halloween Party on Saturday, October 30th. This year we have moved the party to the home of Crewman Hollie Caudell in Clinton. Anyone can show up after 4:30pm. There will be three firepits and we are looking at watching some comedy/horror films together. Currently in the running is Zombieland and Shaun of the Dead. Crewman Caudell will be providing hamburgers and hot dogs for grilling. Bring your own drinks and a dish to share. Also for the trick or treaters, please bring a bag of candy. We will have several adult volunteers to take the kids trick-or-treating around the neighborhood. This is our official activity for the month.
Looking forward to seeing everyone.
At our September meeting the crew voted for our September USS Ticonderoga activity. We will be going to the Wings and Wheels Car and Airplane show at the Hill AFB Museum on Saturday, September 18th. This will also count as one of our community service events since the “cost” of admission is a non-perishable item for the local food drive. 
As requested, here is the schedule for the upcoming Seventh Fleet Olympics. This fleet wide event will be held on Saturday, August 21 at the Chapel Park (152 South 900 East) in Layton and will be hosted by the USS Retributor. I would recommend arriving early to sign up for the entries that you wish to participate in. I’m not certain if the number of slots are limited.
So for the month of July the Acting Captain of the USS Ticonderoga will be Lt. Dave Stock. The Acting Captain program was set up to give Ticonderoga Crewmembers experience in leadership and command. For our activity in July, we will be taking a road trip over the Independence Day weekend. Acting Captain Stock has beachfront property at Bear Lake (with all of the amenities such as fire-pits, plumbing, etc.) and has invited anyone from the Seventh Fleet to join us for camping and relaxing. We haven’t had a USS Ticonderoga campout in about 4-5 years. This beachfront property is the same location that the 2004 Seventh Fleet Olympics was held. We will have fireworks, swimming, group breakfast and a Shisk-ka-Bob BBQ. There is also a 4th of July Parade at a small town nearby and a cave we can visit as well. If you are interested in going, contact the Captain ASAP.
Friends and family of the USS Ticonderoga will be getting together on Saturday, June 19th. We will be meeting at Noon at Island View Park in Clearfield (address: 1800 South Main St). Bring your own lunch for you and your family. When we are done eating we will be holding a practice for the upcoming Seventh Fleet Olympics. There is a playground next to the pavilion for the kids to play at while we are eating and having fun. This event is open to anyone so feel free to bring your friends.