REDdimension Wiki - User contributions [en]

Ro Reddick

2013-10-10T12:32:55Z

Adjel: /* Nickname */

[[Image:Example.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Ro Reddick]]{{tocleft}}'''Laurie "Ro" Reddick''' (born September 18, 1956) is the youngest of five children born to Sage “Jack" Alphonse Normand and Genevieve “Gene” Adams Normand. Called “the caboose” by her dad, she has three brothers and one sister: David Arthur, Glenn Anthony, Jeanine Anne, and Robert Andrew. She was told her name came from “Annie Laurie,” a traditional Irish song written in the late 1800’s. She was born in Fairhope, Alabama at the (now nonexistent) Jordan Clinic. Her birth was not uneventful, as her mother, who was ill with kidney disease, was told that her baby would probably be stillborn, as they could not hear a heartbeat. Emerging in a flood of black fluid (meconium stained), Laurie surprised the doctors by being alive, but tiny, weighing in at under 5 pounds. (Her mother was a 2-pack-a-day smoker, and at this time the hazards of smoking were not fully known.)
{{cleanbreak}}
==Nickname==
'''Ro''' was Laurie's nickname. She acquired it before her marriage to [[Jon Reddick]] while they were the Command Team (President/Vice President) of the [[USS Khai Tam]], and began using it nearly exclusively as her name in the late 1990's after having several confusing episodes at work involving herself and a co-worker named Lori.

===Why Ro?===
[http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Ro_Laren Ro] is a character from "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (1987-1994). Played by Michelle Forbes, she introduced in the fifth season episode "Ensign Ro," but was brought back for several other episodes. The character, Ro Laren (and Ro is actually the family name here) is from a race in of people in the Star Trek Universe known as the Bajorans, a displaced and nomadic people. Laurie felt the characteristics of the character of Ro Laren were similar to hers, and as many people in the Star Trek Fan Association adopted [[personas]], Laurie adopted the Bajoran persona, and the family name of Ro as her own. Club members agreed with the persona and began calling her Ro. The name has stuck ever since, and Laurie prefers it to her (family) given name as it is easier for others to pronounce and remember, since it is short, unusual, and alliterates nicely with Reddick.

===Making It Official===
After going by "Ro" for so many years (even well after having left the job with the co-working with a similar name), using "Ro" even on her checks, all her friends and even family calling her "Ro," Laurie decided to make it official and have a legal name change in 2012. Not wanting to completely rid herself of her birth name, she simply added "Ro" as another first name, and on November 6, 2012 became Ro Laurie Normand Reddick.

==Childhood==
Her entire childhood was spent in the small southern town of Fairhope, Alabama, on the eastern shore of Mobile Bay. Growing up on the water, nearly every day was spent playing on the beach, swimming, fishing or crabbing. Her father, “Jack,” was a musician, and discovered that all five of his children had musical talent. Laurie’s talent was that she had perfect pitch, and a very good ear for picking out songs, such that at around age four, her father would ask her to help him learn songs from the radio for which he had no sheet music. If he played a wrong chord, she could show him what notes needed to be in the chord, even though she didn’t know the names of the notes or chords. She began playing in public with her father at age five when her father’s trio played the opening of the Delchamps shopping center in Fairhope. She played trumpet on the song “Tea for Two,” not having any idea of the relation of the valves to notes, but rather “lipping” the entire song.

The Normand house was always an open house. People were always stopping by unannounced. Gene Normand was a great listener, and kids and adults were always stopping by to talk and pour their hearts out. They knew no strangers.

The Normands were always playing music at their house. Sometimes people would hear music while walking along the beach and would just walk up to their house to listen from the porch.

While growing up, there were always large family gatherings. Nearly all of Laurie's relatives lived in the New Orleans area – then about 5 hours away – and Thanksgiving and/or Christmas always meant a full house or lots of visiting. There was always someone to play with, always someone to stay with. She grew up believing that family and traditions were important.

From the age of six, Laurie began wanting a horse. She got her first horse (a pony named Rex) at age 12 from her sister-in-law's grandfather. With love and patience, she trained him to be a top-notch competitor, and entered horse shows for six years with him. He placed in everything he entered, winning more firsts and seconds than thirds, fourths, and fifths combined. After Rex, she had two more horses: an appaloosa she named J.D.R. Spooks, and a quarter horse/Arabian mix named Romulus (Rom, for short). Although J.D. won a few places, neither of the other two horses were ever as talented a competitor as Rex.

After graduating high school at age 17, she worked a half year before leaving for the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa.

==Education==
She attended Fairhope Elementary, which, when she began, contained all 12 grades. She attended Fairhope Elementary for grades 1-6, but finished grades 7-12 at the new Fairhope High School where she had a singularly unimpressive academic career.

She attended a variety of colleges and universities, putting herself through school, finally receiving her BS degree in English from the University of South Alabama in 1989 with a 3.45 GPA. She went on to attend graduate school at Florida State University, but elected not to finish the degree.

Colleges/Universities attended:
*Faulkner State Jr. College, Bay Minette, AL
*University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL
*Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
*Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN
*University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL
*Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL

==Occupations==
This is a general list of the different types of jobs Ro has had. There is also a [[List of Ro Reddick's Jobs|detailed list]] available.
*Professional musician
*Secretary for various universities and colleges
*Salesperson
*Insurance secretary
*Server/waitress at fast food restaurants, a Chinese restaurant, a steakhouse, and a college dormitory
*Ensign in the U.S. Navy
*Factory Day Worker
*Gymnastics Coach and judge
*Co-director of a gymnastics summer camp
*Music director at a summer camp
*Acrobatics instructor
*ESL instructor in Brazil
*Medical terminology and transcription instructor
*Medical Transcriptionist in 12 specialties

==Residences==
When Laurie was born, she lived at 58 Fels Avenue in Fairhope, Alabama. Her father paid around $8,000 for the house (which her eldest brother inherited and later sold in Nov, 2001, for $150,000). In those days, people left their houses unlocked, and keys in their cars. Since then she has lived several cities:

*Nashville, TN
*Murfreesboro, TN
*Orlando, FL (while in the Navy)
*Mobile, AL
*Tuscaloosa, AL
*Ft. Walton Beach, FL
*Pensacola, FL
*Tallahassee, FL
*Jacksonville, FL

==Marriage/Children==
In late November of 1990, Laurie/Ro met her future husband, Jonathon Reddick, when she attended what was only the second meeting of the [[USS Khai Tam]] (then Shuttle Heritage) on the campus of Florida State University.

The short story:

After a long courtship, they were married in a quiet, legal ceremony in the Leon County Courthouse (Tallahassee) on September 26, 1997, and then had a second ceremony with all friends in attendance on November 1, 1997. They have one child, daughter Dana Kathyrn Reddick, born January 17, 1998.

The long story:

After a courtship lasting approximately three years, Jon and Ro moved in together into an apartment on Hidden Place. Not long afterwards, during a weekend trip to Disneyworld, Ro and Jon were waiting in line for a ride when Ro spotted a man holding a baby in front of them. As if an arrow had been shot through her heart, Ro suddenly felt an overwhelming desire to now, at this point in her life, become a mother. The desire didn't wane over the ensuing weeks and months, and on Christmas day, Jon proposed to Ro, wanting to "do it right." Within two months, before a wedding could even be planned, Ro became pregnant. Jobs and life got in the way, and wedding plans were pushed on the back burner. Finally, in September, Ro began to panic as she began to show, and was afraid they would not get married before their child was born, which was her wish. She suggested they go ahead and marry quickly, to make it official, and plan a later ceremony. They were married at the Leon County Courthouse on September 26th, with no friends in attendance. They made plans to marry, with great ceremony and all their friends in attendance, at an upcoming Star Trek convention put on by Vulkon Enterprises on November 1, 1997. The marriage ceremony was held in the convention hotel ballroom with Ro and Jon in their Star Trek finery (Ro in a Starfleet uniform with Bajoran nose ridges, and Jon in his entire Klingon ceremonial wear), as were all their friends, with Chase Masterson (from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) as Maid-of-Honor, and George Sumpter, from the club's Marine Strike Group, as Best Man. The ceremony was fully Trek, everyone costumed but Chase, with the ceremony first being lead by Adm. Terry Hilliard (the Starfleet International club regional director), and then a Bajoran Kai and Vedek (Bajoran religious leaders) stepping in to perform the Bajoran wedding ritual.

As their September 26th legal wedding date is very close to Ro's birthday, Jon and Ro have opted to celebrate the November 1 ceremony date as their wedding anniversary.

==Achievements==
*Plays five instruments: piano, bass, drums, clarinet, guitar
*Inducted into Sigma Tau Delta, the English Honor Society (1974)

==Awards==
*Won summer highpoint trophy at Jubilee Saddle Club with her pony Rex, 1971
*Placed 1st twice in SCCA (Sports Car Clubs of America) rallies held in Mobile, Alabama in the late 1970's with her 1976 Toyota Corolla 1600
*Won 1st in Class III uneven parallel bars in the Alabama State Gymnastic Championships, 1978, at age 22

==Trivia==
*Is a closet geologist and collects rocks and fossils
*Collects miniature tea sets
*Biggest fears are sharks, alligators, tornadoes, and out-of-control elevators
*Dreams in color, serialized
*Is a descendant of James "Jim" Bowie, the 19th century pioneer for whom the Bowie knife is named.
*Wanted to be a ballerina (1st grade), racehorse jockey (high school), archaeologist (beginning college), geologist/paleontologist (mid college), but settled for medical transcriptionist
*Her family was featured on Paul Harvey's radio show in the 1970's
*Started beginner gymnastics classes at age 20, and went on to coach and judge gymnastics for 15 years
*Judged gymnastics for the Special Olympics in 1981 held in Nashville, TN
*Played music for two presidents (Reagan and G.W. Bush, Sr.), one vice president (Quayle), and 50 governors (U.S. Governors Convention held at the Grand Hotel in Point Clear, Alabama, 1969)
*Had her first (and only) child at age 41
*Speak Brazilian Portuguese
*Discovered [[geocaching]] in November 2009

[[Category:Biographies|Reddick, Ro]]

Dana Reddick

2013-10-10T12:11:04Z

Adjel: /* Work History */

[[Image:DANA 2011.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Dana Reddick]]'''Dana Kathryn Reddick''' born January 17, 1998 in [[Tallahassee, Florida]] to [[Jon Reddick|Jon]] and [[Ro Reddick]] as their only child.

{{tocleft}}
==Education==
*[[Kinderschool]], Tallahassee, FL
:2000-2003, Preschool
*DeSoto Trail Elementary, Tallahassee, FL
:2003-2007, First Grade - Third Grade
*Mandarin Elementary School, Jacksonville, FL
:2007-2008, Fourth Grade
*Loretto Elementary School (technology magnet), Jacksonville, FL
:2008-2009, Fifth Grade
*Mandarin Middle School, Jacksonville, FL
:2009-2012, Sixth Grade - Eighth Grade
*Douglas Anderson School of the Arts, Jacksonville, FL
:2012- , Ninth Grade -

==Work History==
*Make Believe Costumes and Dancewear, 10/8/13 - @ $8/hr (national minimum $7.25, Florida minimum $7.79)

==Trivia==
*Nicknames for Dana have included, "''Pumpkin''", "''Pumpkin Pie''", "''Dane''", "''Dana Bug''," "''D.K.''" and "''Sugar Pop''"
*Her name, Dana Kathryn, comes from her parents' love of science fiction, specifically of character Dana Scully of ''The X-Files'' (1993-2002) and character Captain Kathryn Janeway of ''Star Trek: Voyager'' (1995-2001).
*Is a fan of [[Gorillaz, The|The Gorillaz]]
*Took her first steps at age 6-1/2 months
*Started using a computer before 9 months of age
[[File:Dana san marco statue.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Posing as a statue in the San Marco Theater lobby]]
*Has her own [[Little Dana|personal lullaby]], written in celebration of her birth by her Uncle Robert (Normand), and has been sung for her virtually nightly since her birth
*Started Irish dance in spring 2005
*First got her ears pierced on December 9, 2007 at a Claire's boutique in the Orange Park Mall in Jacksonville, Florida; stopped wearing them in May 2008, as it was "too much trouble" to keep her ears clean, and slightly painful to change earrings (which she couldn't and wouldn't do on her own).
*Wrote the poem, [[Dad]], for her father on the occasion of his fortieth birthday.
*Started playing softball in spring 2009. ([[Crushers]])
*Became a [[geocacher]] in November 2009.
*Did a television voice-over for a commercial for Mike's Limousines in Tallahassee, FL at age {{tellmemore}}
*Took hip-hop lessons from Dance Trance at age 12

==Achievements==
*Invited to join the Tallahassee Irish Step Dancers performance company after only one year of instruction, and performed with the company for a year prior to moving from Tallahassee
*Scored a perfect 6 on the 2008 4th grade FCAT (Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test) Writing+ Prompt (scored 0-6 points), and was one of only two children in her entire school to do so. Students are given 45 minutes to write on an assigned random topic and graded on the overall quality of the response. (This prompt was to "Write a story about what happens when someone plays a game with family or friends.") Only 1% of all 4th grade students statewide scored a 6 on the 2008 writing prompt.

==Awards==
*First place in the DeSoto Trail Elementary School Science Fair, April 2007. She won as a grade representative (3rd grade) and school representative, and went on to have her project displayed at the Tallahassee Science Expo Center. Her project was entitled, "How Does Age Effect Reaction Times."
*Tied for first place in a costume contest at [http://www.assimilationcon.com/ Assimilation Con] in Kissimmee, Florida, on September 29, 2007 dressed as [[Gaz]], a character from "Invader Zim," an animated series formerly on the Nickelodeon channel.
*Won a 1st and two 4th places in her very first Irish dance competition (called a feis) in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida on June 22, 2008. She competed at the beginner level in three dances: reel, jig, and slip jig. She placed 1st in the slip jig out of 5 competitors, and 4th in her other two dances against 7 competitors each.
* April 2009 took 1st place out of a field of 13 in the treble jig, her first time competing in Irish dance hard shoe (sort of like tap). Continued with seven more competitions through November 2010 placing in all her dances in all her competitions before leaving Irish dance.

==Her Irish Dance History==
By age 7, Dana began becoming increasingly interested in participating in some type of club or sport, showing interest in Karate, music, and ballet. One spring Sunday in 2005 while going with her parents to eat at a restaurant near her Tallahassee home on [[Lucky Debonair Trail]], her mother spotted a new dance school a few doors away from the restaurant: Killearn Performing Arts [http://www.killearnpa.com/content.agent?page_name=Home], which specialized in Irish dance. After eating, they went to look in at a class in progress. Dana was intrigued with the dance, and her mother felt like Irish dance might be more interesting for her daughter than ballet, which is very rigid and, at times, boring. Dana began classes shortly after this, but since it was already late spring, she only got about two months of instruction (one class per week) before the school took their summer break.

In the fall of 2005, she began beginning Irish dance softshoe classes. By the end of her first year of class in June 2006, she had advanced so rapidly that she was asked to try out for the children's performance company for the fall. She was the only child with no previous Irish dance experienced asked to tryout, but qualified for the "Kid's Company" with ease. To perform in Kid's Company, she needed to learn Irish hardshoe dancing, and began beginner classes in fall 2006.

In 2007, her family moved from Tallahassee to Jacksonville, and she began a new phase in her dance history: competition. She first started (briefly) with Glas Tara Irish dance school in St. Augustine in July 2007, but by August, it was apparent that her new instructors' aggressive style of teaching did not fit Dana well and, for a time, quit dance completely. Eventually, her mother found the Drake Irish Dance School in Palm Coast, Florida, about an hour from home, where Dana's love for dance was renewed. Within a month, Drake opened a branch in Jacksonville, meeting at an old ballet school, and Dana's competition phase of dance began. Despite having danced for two years in Tallahassee, she had to start over at Drake, as the styles and methods were completely different for competition.

In 2009, the dance school broke away from the Drake name, as Dana's instructor married another instructor with schools in Georgia. They merged names and became Glor na Daire. This was not an easy transition for the students, as many things changed regarding instruction and competition, and there was poor planning and communication about it. The school lost many good dancers, and finally early in 2011, Dana was one of the casualties, due to personality clashes, and her adventure with Irish dancing sadly ended.

==Related Links==
*Science Fair at DeSoto Trail{{tellmemore}}

[[Category:Biographies|Reddick, Dana]]

Dana Reddick

2013-10-08T12:21:55Z

Adjel: /* Her Irish Dance History */

[[Image:DANA 2011.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Dana Reddick]]'''Dana Kathryn Reddick''' born January 17, 1998 in [[Tallahassee, Florida]] to [[Jon Reddick|Jon]] and [[Ro Reddick]] as their only child.

{{tocleft}}
==Education==
*[[Kinderschool]], Tallahassee, FL
:2000-2003, Preschool
*DeSoto Trail Elementary, Tallahassee, FL
:2003-2007, First Grade - Third Grade
*Mandarin Elementary School, Jacksonville, FL
:2007-2008, Fourth Grade
*Loretto Elementary School (technology magnet), Jacksonville, FL
:2008-2009, Fifth Grade
*Mandarin Middle School, Jacksonville, FL
:2009-2012, Sixth Grade - Eighth Grade
*Douglas Anderson School of the Arts, Jacksonville, FL
:2012- , Ninth Grade -

==Work History==
*Make Believe Costumes and Dancewear, 10/8/13 -

==Trivia==
*Nicknames for Dana have included, "''Pumpkin''", "''Pumpkin Pie''", "''Dane''", "''Dana Bug''," "''D.K.''" and "''Sugar Pop''"
*Her name, Dana Kathryn, comes from her parents' love of science fiction, specifically of character Dana Scully of ''The X-Files'' (1993-2002) and character Captain Kathryn Janeway of ''Star Trek: Voyager'' (1995-2001).
*Is a fan of [[Gorillaz, The|The Gorillaz]]
*Took her first steps at age 6-1/2 months
*Started using a computer before 9 months of age
[[File:Dana san marco statue.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Posing as a statue in the San Marco Theater lobby]]
*Has her own [[Little Dana|personal lullaby]], written in celebration of her birth by her Uncle Robert (Normand), and has been sung for her virtually nightly since her birth
*Started Irish dance in spring 2005
*First got her ears pierced on December 9, 2007 at a Claire's boutique in the Orange Park Mall in Jacksonville, Florida; stopped wearing them in May 2008, as it was "too much trouble" to keep her ears clean, and slightly painful to change earrings (which she couldn't and wouldn't do on her own).
*Wrote the poem, [[Dad]], for her father on the occasion of his fortieth birthday.
*Started playing softball in spring 2009. ([[Crushers]])
*Became a [[geocacher]] in November 2009.
*Did a television voice-over for a commercial for Mike's Limousines in Tallahassee, FL at age {{tellmemore}}
*Took hip-hop lessons from Dance Trance at age 12

==Achievements==
*Invited to join the Tallahassee Irish Step Dancers performance company after only one year of instruction, and performed with the company for a year prior to moving from Tallahassee
*Scored a perfect 6 on the 2008 4th grade FCAT (Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test) Writing+ Prompt (scored 0-6 points), and was one of only two children in her entire school to do so. Students are given 45 minutes to write on an assigned random topic and graded on the overall quality of the response. (This prompt was to "Write a story about what happens when someone plays a game with family or friends.") Only 1% of all 4th grade students statewide scored a 6 on the 2008 writing prompt.

==Awards==
*First place in the DeSoto Trail Elementary School Science Fair, April 2007. She won as a grade representative (3rd grade) and school representative, and went on to have her project displayed at the Tallahassee Science Expo Center. Her project was entitled, "How Does Age Effect Reaction Times."
*Tied for first place in a costume contest at [http://www.assimilationcon.com/ Assimilation Con] in Kissimmee, Florida, on September 29, 2007 dressed as [[Gaz]], a character from "Invader Zim," an animated series formerly on the Nickelodeon channel.
*Won a 1st and two 4th places in her very first Irish dance competition (called a feis) in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida on June 22, 2008. She competed at the beginner level in three dances: reel, jig, and slip jig. She placed 1st in the slip jig out of 5 competitors, and 4th in her other two dances against 7 competitors each.
* April 2009 took 1st place out of a field of 13 in the treble jig, her first time competing in Irish dance hard shoe (sort of like tap). Continued with seven more competitions through November 2010 placing in all her dances in all her competitions before leaving Irish dance.

==Her Irish Dance History==
By age 7, Dana began becoming increasingly interested in participating in some type of club or sport, showing interest in Karate, music, and ballet. One spring Sunday in 2005 while going with her parents to eat at a restaurant near her Tallahassee home on [[Lucky Debonair Trail]], her mother spotted a new dance school a few doors away from the restaurant: Killearn Performing Arts [http://www.killearnpa.com/content.agent?page_name=Home], which specialized in Irish dance. After eating, they went to look in at a class in progress. Dana was intrigued with the dance, and her mother felt like Irish dance might be more interesting for her daughter than ballet, which is very rigid and, at times, boring. Dana began classes shortly after this, but since it was already late spring, she only got about two months of instruction (one class per week) before the school took their summer break.

In the fall of 2005, she began beginning Irish dance softshoe classes. By the end of her first year of class in June 2006, she had advanced so rapidly that she was asked to try out for the children's performance company for the fall. She was the only child with no previous Irish dance experienced asked to tryout, but qualified for the "Kid's Company" with ease. To perform in Kid's Company, she needed to learn Irish hardshoe dancing, and began beginner classes in fall 2006.

In 2007, her family moved from Tallahassee to Jacksonville, and she began a new phase in her dance history: competition. She first started (briefly) with Glas Tara Irish dance school in St. Augustine in July 2007, but by August, it was apparent that her new instructors' aggressive style of teaching did not fit Dana well and, for a time, quit dance completely. Eventually, her mother found the Drake Irish Dance School in Palm Coast, Florida, about an hour from home, where Dana's love for dance was renewed. Within a month, Drake opened a branch in Jacksonville, meeting at an old ballet school, and Dana's competition phase of dance began. Despite having danced for two years in Tallahassee, she had to start over at Drake, as the styles and methods were completely different for competition.

In 2009, the dance school broke away from the Drake name, as Dana's instructor married another instructor with schools in Georgia. They merged names and became Glor na Daire. This was not an easy transition for the students, as many things changed regarding instruction and competition, and there was poor planning and communication about it. The school lost many good dancers, and finally early in 2011, Dana was one of the casualties, due to personality clashes, and her adventure with Irish dancing sadly ended.

==Related Links==
*Science Fair at DeSoto Trail{{tellmemore}}

[[Category:Biographies|Reddick, Dana]]

Dana Reddick

2013-10-08T12:11:52Z

Adjel: /* Awards */

[[Image:DANA 2011.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Dana Reddick]]'''Dana Kathryn Reddick''' born January 17, 1998 in [[Tallahassee, Florida]] to [[Jon Reddick|Jon]] and [[Ro Reddick]] as their only child.

{{tocleft}}
==Education==
*[[Kinderschool]], Tallahassee, FL
:2000-2003, Preschool
*DeSoto Trail Elementary, Tallahassee, FL
:2003-2007, First Grade - Third Grade
*Mandarin Elementary School, Jacksonville, FL
:2007-2008, Fourth Grade
*Loretto Elementary School (technology magnet), Jacksonville, FL
:2008-2009, Fifth Grade
*Mandarin Middle School, Jacksonville, FL
:2009-2012, Sixth Grade - Eighth Grade
*Douglas Anderson School of the Arts, Jacksonville, FL
:2012- , Ninth Grade -

==Work History==
*Make Believe Costumes and Dancewear, 10/8/13 -

==Trivia==
*Nicknames for Dana have included, "''Pumpkin''", "''Pumpkin Pie''", "''Dane''", "''Dana Bug''," "''D.K.''" and "''Sugar Pop''"
*Her name, Dana Kathryn, comes from her parents' love of science fiction, specifically of character Dana Scully of ''The X-Files'' (1993-2002) and character Captain Kathryn Janeway of ''Star Trek: Voyager'' (1995-2001).
*Is a fan of [[Gorillaz, The|The Gorillaz]]
*Took her first steps at age 6-1/2 months
*Started using a computer before 9 months of age
[[File:Dana san marco statue.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Posing as a statue in the San Marco Theater lobby]]
*Has her own [[Little Dana|personal lullaby]], written in celebration of her birth by her Uncle Robert (Normand), and has been sung for her virtually nightly since her birth
*Started Irish dance in spring 2005
*First got her ears pierced on December 9, 2007 at a Claire's boutique in the Orange Park Mall in Jacksonville, Florida; stopped wearing them in May 2008, as it was "too much trouble" to keep her ears clean, and slightly painful to change earrings (which she couldn't and wouldn't do on her own).
*Wrote the poem, [[Dad]], for her father on the occasion of his fortieth birthday.
*Started playing softball in spring 2009. ([[Crushers]])
*Became a [[geocacher]] in November 2009.
*Did a television voice-over for a commercial for Mike's Limousines in Tallahassee, FL at age {{tellmemore}}
*Took hip-hop lessons from Dance Trance at age 12

==Achievements==
*Invited to join the Tallahassee Irish Step Dancers performance company after only one year of instruction, and performed with the company for a year prior to moving from Tallahassee
*Scored a perfect 6 on the 2008 4th grade FCAT (Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test) Writing+ Prompt (scored 0-6 points), and was one of only two children in her entire school to do so. Students are given 45 minutes to write on an assigned random topic and graded on the overall quality of the response. (This prompt was to "Write a story about what happens when someone plays a game with family or friends.") Only 1% of all 4th grade students statewide scored a 6 on the 2008 writing prompt.

==Awards==
*First place in the DeSoto Trail Elementary School Science Fair, April 2007. She won as a grade representative (3rd grade) and school representative, and went on to have her project displayed at the Tallahassee Science Expo Center. Her project was entitled, "How Does Age Effect Reaction Times."
*Tied for first place in a costume contest at [http://www.assimilationcon.com/ Assimilation Con] in Kissimmee, Florida, on September 29, 2007 dressed as [[Gaz]], a character from "Invader Zim," an animated series formerly on the Nickelodeon channel.
*Won a 1st and two 4th places in her very first Irish dance competition (called a feis) in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida on June 22, 2008. She competed at the beginner level in three dances: reel, jig, and slip jig. She placed 1st in the slip jig out of 5 competitors, and 4th in her other two dances against 7 competitors each.
* April 2009 took 1st place out of a field of 13 in the treble jig, her first time competing in Irish dance hard shoe (sort of like tap). Continued with seven more competitions through November 2010 placing in all her dances in all her competitions before leaving Irish dance.

==Her Irish Dance History==
By age 7, Dana began becoming increasingly interested in participating in some type of club or sport, showing interest in Karate, music, and ballet. One spring Sunday in 2005 while going with her parents to eat at a restaurant near her Tallahassee home on [[Lucky Debonair Trail]], her mother spotted a new dance school a few doors away from the restaurant: Killearn Performing Arts [http://www.killearnpa.com/content.agent?page_name=Home], which specialized in Irish dance. After eating, they went to look in at a class in progress. Dana was intrigued with the dance, and her mother felt like Irish dance might be more interesting for her daughter than ballet, which is very rigid and, at times, boring. Dana began classes shortly after this, but since it was already late spring, she only got about two months of instruction (one class per week) before the school took their summer break.

In the fall of 2005, she began beginning Irish dance softshoe classes. By the end of her first year of class in June 2006, she had advanced so rapidly that she was asked to try out for the children's performance company for the fall. She was the only child with no previous Irish dance experienced asked to tryout, but qualified for the "Kid's Company" with ease. To perform in Kid's Company, she needed to learn Irish hardshoe dancing, and began beginner classes in fall 2006.

In 2007, her family moved from Tallahassee to Jacksonville, and she began a new phase in her dance history: competition. She first started (briefly) with Glas Tara Irish dance school in St. Augustine in July 2007, but by August, it was apparent that her new instructors' aggressive style of teaching did not fit Dana well and, for a time, quit dance completely. Eventually, her mother found the Drake Irish Dance School in Palm Coast, Florida, about an hour from home, where Dana's love for dance was renewed. Within a month, Drake opened a branch in Jacksonville, meeting at an old ballet school, and Dana's competition phase of dance began. Despite having danced for two years in Tallahassee, she had to start over at Drake, as the styles and methods were completely different. However, to date she has placed in all her competitions (about one per month), and seems to be transitioning well into the world of competition.

==Related Links==
*Science Fair at DeSoto Trail{{tellmemore}}

[[Category:Biographies|Reddick, Dana]]

Dana Reddick

2013-10-08T12:07:46Z

Adjel:

[[Image:DANA 2011.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Dana Reddick]]'''Dana Kathryn Reddick''' born January 17, 1998 in [[Tallahassee, Florida]] to [[Jon Reddick|Jon]] and [[Ro Reddick]] as their only child.

{{tocleft}}
==Education==
*[[Kinderschool]], Tallahassee, FL
:2000-2003, Preschool
*DeSoto Trail Elementary, Tallahassee, FL
:2003-2007, First Grade - Third Grade
*Mandarin Elementary School, Jacksonville, FL
:2007-2008, Fourth Grade
*Loretto Elementary School (technology magnet), Jacksonville, FL
:2008-2009, Fifth Grade
*Mandarin Middle School, Jacksonville, FL
:2009-2012, Sixth Grade - Eighth Grade
*Douglas Anderson School of the Arts, Jacksonville, FL
:2012- , Ninth Grade -

==Work History==
*Make Believe Costumes and Dancewear, 10/8/13 -

==Trivia==
*Nicknames for Dana have included, "''Pumpkin''", "''Pumpkin Pie''", "''Dane''", "''Dana Bug''," "''D.K.''" and "''Sugar Pop''"
*Her name, Dana Kathryn, comes from her parents' love of science fiction, specifically of character Dana Scully of ''The X-Files'' (1993-2002) and character Captain Kathryn Janeway of ''Star Trek: Voyager'' (1995-2001).
*Is a fan of [[Gorillaz, The|The Gorillaz]]
*Took her first steps at age 6-1/2 months
*Started using a computer before 9 months of age
[[File:Dana san marco statue.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Posing as a statue in the San Marco Theater lobby]]
*Has her own [[Little Dana|personal lullaby]], written in celebration of her birth by her Uncle Robert (Normand), and has been sung for her virtually nightly since her birth
*Started Irish dance in spring 2005
*First got her ears pierced on December 9, 2007 at a Claire's boutique in the Orange Park Mall in Jacksonville, Florida; stopped wearing them in May 2008, as it was "too much trouble" to keep her ears clean, and slightly painful to change earrings (which she couldn't and wouldn't do on her own).
*Wrote the poem, [[Dad]], for her father on the occasion of his fortieth birthday.
*Started playing softball in spring 2009. ([[Crushers]])
*Became a [[geocacher]] in November 2009.
*Did a television voice-over for a commercial for Mike's Limousines in Tallahassee, FL at age {{tellmemore}}
*Took hip-hop lessons from Dance Trance at age 12

==Achievements==
*Invited to join the Tallahassee Irish Step Dancers performance company after only one year of instruction, and performed with the company for a year prior to moving from Tallahassee
*Scored a perfect 6 on the 2008 4th grade FCAT (Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test) Writing+ Prompt (scored 0-6 points), and was one of only two children in her entire school to do so. Students are given 45 minutes to write on an assigned random topic and graded on the overall quality of the response. (This prompt was to "Write a story about what happens when someone plays a game with family or friends.") Only 1% of all 4th grade students statewide scored a 6 on the 2008 writing prompt.

==Awards==
*First place in the DeSoto Trail Elementary School Science Fair, April 2007. She won as a grade representative (3rd grade) and school representative, and went on to have her project displayed at the Tallahassee Science Expo Center. Her project was entitled, "How Does Age Effect Reaction Times."
*Tied for first place in a costume contest at [http://www.assimilationcon.com/ Assimilation Con] in Kissimmee, Florida, on September 29, 2007 dressed as [[Gaz]], a character from "Invader Zim," an animated series formerly on the Nickelodeon channel.
*Won a 1st and two 4th places in her very first Irish dance competition (called a feis) in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida on June 22, 2008. She competed at the beginner level in three dances: reel, jig, and slip jig. She placed 1st in the slip jig out of 5 competitors, and 4th in her other two dances against 7 competitors each.
* April 2009 took 1st place out of a field of 13 in the treble jig, her first time competing in Irish dance hard shoe (sort of like tap)

==Her Irish Dance History==
By age 7, Dana began becoming increasingly interested in participating in some type of club or sport, showing interest in Karate, music, and ballet. One spring Sunday in 2005 while going with her parents to eat at a restaurant near her Tallahassee home on [[Lucky Debonair Trail]], her mother spotted a new dance school a few doors away from the restaurant: Killearn Performing Arts [http://www.killearnpa.com/content.agent?page_name=Home], which specialized in Irish dance. After eating, they went to look in at a class in progress. Dana was intrigued with the dance, and her mother felt like Irish dance might be more interesting for her daughter than ballet, which is very rigid and, at times, boring. Dana began classes shortly after this, but since it was already late spring, she only got about two months of instruction (one class per week) before the school took their summer break.

In the fall of 2005, she began beginning Irish dance softshoe classes. By the end of her first year of class in June 2006, she had advanced so rapidly that she was asked to try out for the children's performance company for the fall. She was the only child with no previous Irish dance experienced asked to tryout, but qualified for the "Kid's Company" with ease. To perform in Kid's Company, she needed to learn Irish hardshoe dancing, and began beginner classes in fall 2006.

In 2007, her family moved from Tallahassee to Jacksonville, and she began a new phase in her dance history: competition. She first started (briefly) with Glas Tara Irish dance school in St. Augustine in July 2007, but by August, it was apparent that her new instructors' aggressive style of teaching did not fit Dana well and, for a time, quit dance completely. Eventually, her mother found the Drake Irish Dance School in Palm Coast, Florida, about an hour from home, where Dana's love for dance was renewed. Within a month, Drake opened a branch in Jacksonville, meeting at an old ballet school, and Dana's competition phase of dance began. Despite having danced for two years in Tallahassee, she had to start over at Drake, as the styles and methods were completely different. However, to date she has placed in all her competitions (about one per month), and seems to be transitioning well into the world of competition.

==Related Links==
*Science Fair at DeSoto Trail{{tellmemore}}

[[Category:Biographies|Reddick, Dana]]

Dana Reddick

2013-10-08T12:00:57Z

Adjel: /* Education */

[[Image:DANA 2011.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Dana Reddick]]'''Dana Kathryn Reddick''' born January 17, 1998 in [[Tallahassee, Florida]] to [[Jon Reddick|Jon]] and [[Ro Reddick]] as their only child.

{{tocleft}}
==Education==
*[[Kinderschool]], Tallahassee, FL
:2000-2003, Preschool
*DeSoto Trail Elementary, Tallahassee, FL
:2003-2007, First Grade - Third Grade
*Mandarin Elementary School, Jacksonville, FL
:2007-2008, Fourth Grade
*Loretto Elementary School (technology magnet), Jacksonville, FL
:2008-2009, Fifth Grade
*Mandarin Middle School, Jacksonville, FL
:2009-2012, Sixth Grade - Eighth Grade
*Douglas Anderson School of the Arts, Jacksonville, FL
:2012- , Ninth Grade -

==Trivia==
*Nicknames for Dana have included, "''Pumpkin''", "''Pumpkin Pie''", "''Dane''", "''Dana Bug''," "''D.K.''" and "''Sugar Pop''"
*Her name, Dana Kathryn, comes from her parents' love of science fiction, specifically of character Dana Scully of ''The X-Files'' (1993-2002) and character Captain Kathryn Janeway of ''Star Trek: Voyager'' (1995-2001).
*Is a fan of [[Gorillaz, The|The Gorillaz]]
*Took her first steps at age 6-1/2 months
*Started using a computer before 9 months of age
[[File:Dana san marco statue.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Posing as a statue in the San Marco Theater lobby]]
*Has her own [[Little Dana|personal lullaby]], written in celebration of her birth by her Uncle Robert (Normand), and has been sung for her virtually nightly since her birth
*Started Irish dance in spring 2005
*First got her ears pierced on December 9, 2007 at a Claire's boutique in the Orange Park Mall in Jacksonville, Florida; stopped wearing them in May 2008, as it was "too much trouble" to keep her ears clean, and slightly painful to change earrings (which she couldn't and wouldn't do on her own).
*Wrote the poem, [[Dad]], for her father on the occasion of his fortieth birthday.
*Started playing softball in spring 2009. ([[Crushers]])
*Became a [[geocacher]] in November 2009.
*Did a television voice-over for a commercial for Mike's Limousines in Tallahassee, FL at age {{tellmemore}}
*Took hip-hop lessons from Dance Trance at age 12

==Achievements==
*Invited to join the Tallahassee Irish Step Dancers performance company after only one year of instruction, and performed with the company for a year prior to moving from Tallahassee
*Scored a perfect 6 on the 2008 4th grade FCAT (Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test) Writing+ Prompt (scored 0-6 points), and was one of only two children in her entire school to do so. Students are given 45 minutes to write on an assigned random topic and graded on the overall quality of the response. (This prompt was to "Write a story about what happens when someone plays a game with family or friends.") Only 1% of all 4th grade students statewide scored a 6 on the 2008 writing prompt.

==Awards==
*First place in the DeSoto Trail Elementary School Science Fair, April 2007. She won as a grade representative (3rd grade) and school representative, and went on to have her project displayed at the Tallahassee Science Expo Center. Her project was entitled, "How Does Age Effect Reaction Times."
*Tied for first place in a costume contest at [http://www.assimilationcon.com/ Assimilation Con] in Kissimmee, Florida, on September 29, 2007 dressed as [[Gaz]], a character from "Invader Zim," an animated series formerly on the Nickelodeon channel.
*Won a 1st and two 4th places in her very first Irish dance competition (called a feis) in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida on June 22, 2008. She competed at the beginner level in three dances: reel, jig, and slip jig. She placed 1st in the slip jig out of 5 competitors, and 4th in her other two dances against 7 competitors each.
* April 2009 took 1st place out of a field of 13 in the treble jig, her first time competing in Irish dance hard shoe (sort of like tap)

==Her Irish Dance History==
By age 7, Dana began becoming increasingly interested in participating in some type of club or sport, showing interest in Karate, music, and ballet. One spring Sunday in 2005 while going with her parents to eat at a restaurant near her Tallahassee home on [[Lucky Debonair Trail]], her mother spotted a new dance school a few doors away from the restaurant: Killearn Performing Arts [http://www.killearnpa.com/content.agent?page_name=Home], which specialized in Irish dance. After eating, they went to look in at a class in progress. Dana was intrigued with the dance, and her mother felt like Irish dance might be more interesting for her daughter than ballet, which is very rigid and, at times, boring. Dana began classes shortly after this, but since it was already late spring, she only got about two months of instruction (one class per week) before the school took their summer break.

In the fall of 2005, she began beginning Irish dance softshoe classes. By the end of her first year of class in June 2006, she had advanced so rapidly that she was asked to try out for the children's performance company for the fall. She was the only child with no previous Irish dance experienced asked to tryout, but qualified for the "Kid's Company" with ease. To perform in Kid's Company, she needed to learn Irish hardshoe dancing, and began beginner classes in fall 2006.

In 2007, her family moved from Tallahassee to Jacksonville, and she began a new phase in her dance history: competition. She first started (briefly) with Glas Tara Irish dance school in St. Augustine in July 2007, but by August, it was apparent that her new instructors' aggressive style of teaching did not fit Dana well and, for a time, quit dance completely. Eventually, her mother found the Drake Irish Dance School in Palm Coast, Florida, about an hour from home, where Dana's love for dance was renewed. Within a month, Drake opened a branch in Jacksonville, meeting at an old ballet school, and Dana's competition phase of dance began. Despite having danced for two years in Tallahassee, she had to start over at Drake, as the styles and methods were completely different. However, to date she has placed in all her competitions (about one per month), and seems to be transitioning well into the world of competition.

==Related Links==
*Science Fair at DeSoto Trail{{tellmemore}}

[[Category:Biographies|Reddick, Dana]]

KhaiCon

2013-07-25T15:06:25Z

Adjel: /* The KhaiCon Lineage */

{| {{prettytable}} align=right cellpadding="5"
|-
|{{Hl1}} align=center|'''KhaiCon Event Logos'''
|-
|[[Image:khaicon7_logo.jpg|150px|center]]
|-
|[[Image:khaicon8_logo.jpg|150px|center]]
|-
|[[Image:khaicon9_logo.jpg|150px|center]]
|-
|[[Image:khaicon10_logo.jpg|150px|center]]
|-
|[[Image:khaicon11_logo.jpg|150px|center]]
|-
|[[Image:ehk1_logo.jpg|150px|center]]
|-
|[[Image:ehk2_logo.jpg|150px|center]]
|}
Since the early days of the [[USS Khai Tam]], the ship has gotten together once a year to throw a big party. At first, it was to celebrate the season premier of whatever ''Star Trek'' show was on the air at the time, but it eventually degenerated into a simple excuse to party all weekend. From 1992 to 2002, '''KhaiCon''' dominated the ''Khai Tam'' calendar. Even with it's smaller numbers today, ''Khai Tam'' still holds its [[KhaiCon #Emergency Holographic KhaiCon|Emergency Holographic KhaiCon]], or EHK, in honor of this tradition.

==Origins==
In September of 1991 the Reddick command staff started the tradition of having a season premiere party. The following year, the party was officially dubbed '''KhaiCon''' - a miniature convention complete with games and episode viewings and panels and a lot of fun to be had by all. Each year, '''KhaiCon''' evolved, encompassing more and more activities and growing to mammoth proportions...well, as mammoth as it could be and still be called a "miniature" convention.

While the club's parties were legendary, none compare to the '''KhaiCons''' held in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Whether it was one member having to pull another's head out of the water because they'd just gotten whacked by a canoe or whether it was the Captain pontificating from atop a chair after he'd had a bit too much Romulan Ale, '''KhaiCon''' was always a great deal of fun.

==Facilities==
When '''KhaiCon''' started in 1992, the ''Khai Tam'' was still a student organization at [http://www.fsu.edu Florida State University]. This allowed the club access to all kinds of FSU facilities including the "Reservation" - a 73-acre facility, with 10 active acres, located on beautiful Lake Bradford. The "Rez" encompassed several cabins and featured activities like canoeing, kayaking, picnicking, swimming, etc.

Though the facility was enjoyable, it was not handicapped friendly, and kitchen facilities were sparse. Add to the equation the fact that the ''Khai Tam'' was increasing its non-student membership to the point where it soon would no longer qualify as a student organization, and the writing was on the wall: a new home for '''KhaiCon''' would have to be found.

Fortunately, the ship found the Camp For All Seasons (CFAS), a campground on Lake Talquin owned by Girl Scouts of America. When not in use by scout troops, the camp could be rented to other groups for their non-scouting events. Its large, two-floor lodge had a full professional-style kitchen, showers, and all of the space needed for the event. There was also no shortage of cabins out away from the noise and commotion of the main lodge.

'''KhaiCon''' was notorious for being a party where plenty of alcoholic beverages would be consumed, but CFAS had a rule against any such substances on the premises. Knowing that attendees would surely ignore that rule, and not wanting to lose favor with the camp, the ship created it's own [[It's the official policy...|official policy]] to deal with the logistical hiccup, and many fantastic '''KhaiCons''' ensued.

==Events==
Of course, the whole thing started off as a season premiere party, so a group vieiwing of that episode was one of the original activities. The timing of '''KhaiCon''' was always tricky as we tried to reserve facilities early enough to be guaranteed a spot come the fall, not always knowing exactly when the season premire would be at the time. ''Khai Tam'' Captain [[Jon Reddick]] even came through a year or two by sneaking the episode off satellite before it even aired in Tallahassee (thanks to the TV station that employed him at the time). This viewing easily developed into one room at '''KhaiCon''' being dedicated all weekend long to genre shows and movies.

Somewhere around KhaiCon IV, Jon had the big idea to have a film contest. Due in no small measure to his being employed at a televsion studio, having a degree in TV & Film, and being almost the only person to ever enter the contest, he won quite a few [[Turd d'Oro]] awards over the years.

Each year, members would cook their most bizarre recipes and mix their most potent drinks for the [[Alien Food & Drink Contest]]. Everything from Cardassian Vole in Yamok Sauce to the dreaded Borg Lubrication Fluid were sampled by judges year after year.

Once KhaiCon moved to the big-room venue of the Camp for all Seasons, a lip sync competition was added. The members seized on the idea and it became a '''KhaiCon''' favorite for many years.

Members would also put on panels, game shows ([[Khai Tam Jeopardy]] anyone?), athletic (using the term lightly) events like frisbee golf and vollyball...basically anything anyone wanted to sponsor that anyone else would sign up for. The registration table would be strewn each year with contestant and judge sign-up sheets, and events typically filled up fast.

The apex of activities was hit at '''KhaiCon XI''' when [[Ro Reddick]] spearheaded the effort to obtain guest star [http://www.alienactor.com/ Bill Blair]. The self-billed "Alien Actor", Bill has spent much more than his fair share of time in the makeup chair, playing aliens on ''Start Trek'', ''Babylon 5'',and ''Sliders'' as well as having more traditional roles in dozens of films, shows and commercials. He was a phenomenal guest and a great sport who hung out with the whole crew all weekend. All in attendance agreed it was fantastic to have a real part of the ''Trek'' experience join the ship for the weekend of revelry. The precedent-setting guest star would, however unintentionally, assure that '''KhaiCon''' went out with a bang.

==The End of an Era==
By the time '''KhaiCon XI''' was done, there were a lot of crew members who were exhausted. Many of the events were planned and executed every year by the same people. There was a growing sense that someone else needed to step up and do their share. Unfortunately, no one did. Fall 2003 came and went. There would be no more '''KhaiCon'''.

==Emergency Holographic KhaiCon==
The memory of '''KhaiCon''' would not go quietly into that long night. It would instead be reborn in a more diminutive size that was more manageable for the ship's smaller crew. It was named after the doctor on ''Voyager'' as the '''Emergency Holographic KhaiCon''' or '''EHK'''.

One of the dedicated few who made '''KhaiCon''' happen year after year was [[Ro Reddick]], and though she had announced that she couldn't manage the Herculean effort required by '''KhaiCon''' anymore, neither could she let another fall pass without an event. She and Jon decided, in the fall of 2004, to host the first '''EHK''' at their home.

As membership in the club curtailed, the "EHK" turned out to be just the ticket, and the EHK has taken place in the Captain's home ever since (2004, '05 at [[Jon Reddick|Jon Reddick]]'s and since '06 at [[Richard Graham|Richard Graham]]'s).

==The '''KhaiCon''' Lineage==
{| {{Prettytable}}
|-
!{{Hl2}} align="right" |Year
!{{Hl2}}|Title
!{{Hl2}}|Dates
|-
!align="right" |1992
|KhaiCon I
|-
!align="right" |1993
|KhaiCon II - The Wrath of Con
|-
!align="right" |1994
|KhaiCon III - The Search for Beer
|-
!align="right" |1995
|KhaiCon IV - The Journey to the Keg
|-
!align="right" |1996
|KhaiCon V - The Final Free Beer
|-
!align="right" |1997
|KhaiCon VI - The Undiscovered Beer
|-
!align="right" |1998
|KhaiCon VII - Inebriations
|October 23-25
|-
!align="right" |1999
|KhaiCon VIII - Thirst Contact
|October 15-17
|-
!align="right" |2000
|KhaiCon IX - Misdirection
|October 20-22
|-
!align="right" |2001
|KhaiCon X - Improvise
|October 12-14
|-
!align="right" |2002
|KhaiCon XI
|October 25-27
|-
!align="right" |2004
|Emergency Holographic KhaiCon I
|October 8-10
|-
!align="right" |2005
|Emergency Holographic KhaiCon II
|April 22-24
|-
!align="right" |2006
|Emergency Holographic KhaiCon III
|September 9-10
|-
!align="right" |2007
|Emergency Holographic KhaiCon IV
|October 19-21
|-
!align="right" |2008
|Emergency Holographic KhaiCon V
|-
!align="right" |2009
|Emergency Holographic KhaiCon VI
|-
!align="right" |2010
|Emergency Holographic KhaiCon VII
|-
!align="right" |2011
|Emergency Holographic KhaiCon VIII
|August 12-14
|-
!align="right" |2012
|Emergency Holographic KhaiCon IX
|August 10-12
|-
!align="right" |2013
|Emergency Holographic KhaiCon X
|July 26-28

|}

[[Category: Khai Tam Trivia]]

KhaiCon

2013-07-25T14:35:35Z

Adjel: /* The KhaiCon Lineage */

{| {{prettytable}} align=right cellpadding="5"
|-
|{{Hl1}} align=center|'''KhaiCon Event Logos'''
|-
|[[Image:khaicon7_logo.jpg|150px|center]]
|-
|[[Image:khaicon8_logo.jpg|150px|center]]
|-
|[[Image:khaicon9_logo.jpg|150px|center]]
|-
|[[Image:khaicon10_logo.jpg|150px|center]]
|-
|[[Image:khaicon11_logo.jpg|150px|center]]
|-
|[[Image:ehk1_logo.jpg|150px|center]]
|-
|[[Image:ehk2_logo.jpg|150px|center]]
|}
Since the early days of the [[USS Khai Tam]], the ship has gotten together once a year to throw a big party. At first, it was to celebrate the season premier of whatever ''Star Trek'' show was on the air at the time, but it eventually degenerated into a simple excuse to party all weekend. From 1992 to 2002, '''KhaiCon''' dominated the ''Khai Tam'' calendar. Even with it's smaller numbers today, ''Khai Tam'' still holds its [[KhaiCon #Emergency Holographic KhaiCon|Emergency Holographic KhaiCon]], or EHK, in honor of this tradition.

==Origins==
In September of 1991 the Reddick command staff started the tradition of having a season premiere party. The following year, the party was officially dubbed '''KhaiCon''' - a miniature convention complete with games and episode viewings and panels and a lot of fun to be had by all. Each year, '''KhaiCon''' evolved, encompassing more and more activities and growing to mammoth proportions...well, as mammoth as it could be and still be called a "miniature" convention.

While the club's parties were legendary, none compare to the '''KhaiCons''' held in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Whether it was one member having to pull another's head out of the water because they'd just gotten whacked by a canoe or whether it was the Captain pontificating from atop a chair after he'd had a bit too much Romulan Ale, '''KhaiCon''' was always a great deal of fun.

==Facilities==
When '''KhaiCon''' started in 1992, the ''Khai Tam'' was still a student organization at [http://www.fsu.edu Florida State University]. This allowed the club access to all kinds of FSU facilities including the "Reservation" - a 73-acre facility, with 10 active acres, located on beautiful Lake Bradford. The "Rez" encompassed several cabins and featured activities like canoeing, kayaking, picnicking, swimming, etc.

Though the facility was enjoyable, it was not handicapped friendly, and kitchen facilities were sparse. Add to the equation the fact that the ''Khai Tam'' was increasing its non-student membership to the point where it soon would no longer qualify as a student organization, and the writing was on the wall: a new home for '''KhaiCon''' would have to be found.

Fortunately, the ship found the Camp For All Seasons (CFAS), a campground on Lake Talquin owned by Girl Scouts of America. When not in use by scout troops, the camp could be rented to other groups for their non-scouting events. Its large, two-floor lodge had a full professional-style kitchen, showers, and all of the space needed for the event. There was also no shortage of cabins out away from the noise and commotion of the main lodge.

'''KhaiCon''' was notorious for being a party where plenty of alcoholic beverages would be consumed, but CFAS had a rule against any such substances on the premises. Knowing that attendees would surely ignore that rule, and not wanting to lose favor with the camp, the ship created it's own [[It's the official policy...|official policy]] to deal with the logistical hiccup, and many fantastic '''KhaiCons''' ensued.

==Events==
Of course, the whole thing started off as a season premiere party, so a group vieiwing of that episode was one of the original activities. The timing of '''KhaiCon''' was always tricky as we tried to reserve facilities early enough to be guaranteed a spot come the fall, not always knowing exactly when the season premire would be at the time. ''Khai Tam'' Captain [[Jon Reddick]] even came through a year or two by sneaking the episode off satellite before it even aired in Tallahassee (thanks to the TV station that employed him at the time). This viewing easily developed into one room at '''KhaiCon''' being dedicated all weekend long to genre shows and movies.

Somewhere around KhaiCon IV, Jon had the big idea to have a film contest. Due in no small measure to his being employed at a televsion studio, having a degree in TV & Film, and being almost the only person to ever enter the contest, he won quite a few [[Turd d'Oro]] awards over the years.

Each year, members would cook their most bizarre recipes and mix their most potent drinks for the [[Alien Food & Drink Contest]]. Everything from Cardassian Vole in Yamok Sauce to the dreaded Borg Lubrication Fluid were sampled by judges year after year.

Once KhaiCon moved to the big-room venue of the Camp for all Seasons, a lip sync competition was added. The members seized on the idea and it became a '''KhaiCon''' favorite for many years.

Members would also put on panels, game shows ([[Khai Tam Jeopardy]] anyone?), athletic (using the term lightly) events like frisbee golf and vollyball...basically anything anyone wanted to sponsor that anyone else would sign up for. The registration table would be strewn each year with contestant and judge sign-up sheets, and events typically filled up fast.

The apex of activities was hit at '''KhaiCon XI''' when [[Ro Reddick]] spearheaded the effort to obtain guest star [http://www.alienactor.com/ Bill Blair]. The self-billed "Alien Actor", Bill has spent much more than his fair share of time in the makeup chair, playing aliens on ''Start Trek'', ''Babylon 5'',and ''Sliders'' as well as having more traditional roles in dozens of films, shows and commercials. He was a phenomenal guest and a great sport who hung out with the whole crew all weekend. All in attendance agreed it was fantastic to have a real part of the ''Trek'' experience join the ship for the weekend of revelry. The precedent-setting guest star would, however unintentionally, assure that '''KhaiCon''' went out with a bang.

==The End of an Era==
By the time '''KhaiCon XI''' was done, there were a lot of crew members who were exhausted. Many of the events were planned and executed every year by the same people. There was a growing sense that someone else needed to step up and do their share. Unfortunately, no one did. Fall 2003 came and went. There would be no more '''KhaiCon'''.

==Emergency Holographic KhaiCon==
The memory of '''KhaiCon''' would not go quietly into that long night. It would instead be reborn in a more diminutive size that was more manageable for the ship's smaller crew. It was named after the doctor on ''Voyager'' as the '''Emergency Holographic KhaiCon''' or '''EHK'''.

One of the dedicated few who made '''KhaiCon''' happen year after year was [[Ro Reddick]], and though she had announced that she couldn't manage the Herculean effort required by '''KhaiCon''' anymore, neither could she let another fall pass without an event. She and Jon decided, in the fall of 2004, to host the first '''EHK''' at their home.

As membership in the club curtailed, the "EHK" turned out to be just the ticket, and the EHK has taken place in the Captain's home ever since (2004, '05 at [[Jon Reddick|Jon Reddick]]'s and since '06 at [[Richard Graham|Richard Graham]]'s).

==The '''KhaiCon''' Lineage==
{| {{Prettytable}}
|-
!{{Hl2}} align="right" |Year
!{{Hl2}}|Title
!{{Hl2}}|Dates
|-
!align="right" |1992
|KhaiCon I
|-
!align="right" |1993
|KhaiCon II - The Wrath of Con
|-
!align="right" |1994
|KhaiCon III - The Search for Beer
|-
!align="right" |1995
|KhaiCon IV - The Journey to the Keg
|-
!align="right" |1996
|KhaiCon V - The Final Free Beer
|-
!align="right" |1997
|KhaiCon VI - The Undiscovered Beer
|-
!align="right" |1998
|KhaiCon VII - Inebriations
|October 23-25
|-
!align="right" |1999
|KhaiCon VIII - Thirst Contact
|October 15-17
|-
!align="right" |2000
|KhaiCon IX - Misdirection
|October 20-22
|-
!align="right" |2001
|KhaiCon X - Improvise
|October 12-14
|-
!align="right" |2002
|KhaiCon XI
|October 25-27
|-
!align="right" |2004
|Emergency Holographic KhaiCon I
|October 8-10
|-
!align="right" |2005
|Emergency Holographic KhaiCon II
|April 22-24
|-
!align="right" |2006
|Emergency Holographic KhaiCon III
|September 9-10
|-
!align="right" |2007
|Emergency Holographic KhaiCon IV
|October 19-21
|-
!align="right" |2008
|Emergency Holographic KhaiCon V
|-
!align="right" |2009
|Emergency Holographic KhaiCon VI
|-
!align="right" |2010
|Emergency Holographic KhaiCon VII
|-
!align="right" |2011
|Emergency Holographic KhaiCon VIII
|-
!align="right" |2012
|Emergency Holographic KhaiCon IX
|-
!align="right" |2013
|Emergency Holographic KhaiCon X
|July 26-28

|}

[[Category: Khai Tam Trivia]]

KhaiCon

2013-07-25T14:34:14Z

Adjel: /* The KhaiCon Lineage */

{| {{prettytable}} align=right cellpadding="5"
|-
|{{Hl1}} align=center|'''KhaiCon Event Logos'''
|-
|[[Image:khaicon7_logo.jpg|150px|center]]
|-
|[[Image:khaicon8_logo.jpg|150px|center]]
|-
|[[Image:khaicon9_logo.jpg|150px|center]]
|-
|[[Image:khaicon10_logo.jpg|150px|center]]
|-
|[[Image:khaicon11_logo.jpg|150px|center]]
|-
|[[Image:ehk1_logo.jpg|150px|center]]
|-
|[[Image:ehk2_logo.jpg|150px|center]]
|}
Since the early days of the [[USS Khai Tam]], the ship has gotten together once a year to throw a big party. At first, it was to celebrate the season premier of whatever ''Star Trek'' show was on the air at the time, but it eventually degenerated into a simple excuse to party all weekend. From 1992 to 2002, '''KhaiCon''' dominated the ''Khai Tam'' calendar. Even with it's smaller numbers today, ''Khai Tam'' still holds its [[KhaiCon #Emergency Holographic KhaiCon|Emergency Holographic KhaiCon]], or EHK, in honor of this tradition.

==Origins==
In September of 1991 the Reddick command staff started the tradition of having a season premiere party. The following year, the party was officially dubbed '''KhaiCon''' - a miniature convention complete with games and episode viewings and panels and a lot of fun to be had by all. Each year, '''KhaiCon''' evolved, encompassing more and more activities and growing to mammoth proportions...well, as mammoth as it could be and still be called a "miniature" convention.

While the club's parties were legendary, none compare to the '''KhaiCons''' held in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Whether it was one member having to pull another's head out of the water because they'd just gotten whacked by a canoe or whether it was the Captain pontificating from atop a chair after he'd had a bit too much Romulan Ale, '''KhaiCon''' was always a great deal of fun.

==Facilities==
When '''KhaiCon''' started in 1992, the ''Khai Tam'' was still a student organization at [http://www.fsu.edu Florida State University]. This allowed the club access to all kinds of FSU facilities including the "Reservation" - a 73-acre facility, with 10 active acres, located on beautiful Lake Bradford. The "Rez" encompassed several cabins and featured activities like canoeing, kayaking, picnicking, swimming, etc.

Though the facility was enjoyable, it was not handicapped friendly, and kitchen facilities were sparse. Add to the equation the fact that the ''Khai Tam'' was increasing its non-student membership to the point where it soon would no longer qualify as a student organization, and the writing was on the wall: a new home for '''KhaiCon''' would have to be found.

Fortunately, the ship found the Camp For All Seasons (CFAS), a campground on Lake Talquin owned by Girl Scouts of America. When not in use by scout troops, the camp could be rented to other groups for their non-scouting events. Its large, two-floor lodge had a full professional-style kitchen, showers, and all of the space needed for the event. There was also no shortage of cabins out away from the noise and commotion of the main lodge.

'''KhaiCon''' was notorious for being a party where plenty of alcoholic beverages would be consumed, but CFAS had a rule against any such substances on the premises. Knowing that attendees would surely ignore that rule, and not wanting to lose favor with the camp, the ship created it's own [[It's the official policy...|official policy]] to deal with the logistical hiccup, and many fantastic '''KhaiCons''' ensued.

==Events==
Of course, the whole thing started off as a season premiere party, so a group vieiwing of that episode was one of the original activities. The timing of '''KhaiCon''' was always tricky as we tried to reserve facilities early enough to be guaranteed a spot come the fall, not always knowing exactly when the season premire would be at the time. ''Khai Tam'' Captain [[Jon Reddick]] even came through a year or two by sneaking the episode off satellite before it even aired in Tallahassee (thanks to the TV station that employed him at the time). This viewing easily developed into one room at '''KhaiCon''' being dedicated all weekend long to genre shows and movies.

Somewhere around KhaiCon IV, Jon had the big idea to have a film contest. Due in no small measure to his being employed at a televsion studio, having a degree in TV & Film, and being almost the only person to ever enter the contest, he won quite a few [[Turd d'Oro]] awards over the years.

Each year, members would cook their most bizarre recipes and mix their most potent drinks for the [[Alien Food & Drink Contest]]. Everything from Cardassian Vole in Yamok Sauce to the dreaded Borg Lubrication Fluid were sampled by judges year after year.

Once KhaiCon moved to the big-room venue of the Camp for all Seasons, a lip sync competition was added. The members seized on the idea and it became a '''KhaiCon''' favorite for many years.

Members would also put on panels, game shows ([[Khai Tam Jeopardy]] anyone?), athletic (using the term lightly) events like frisbee golf and vollyball...basically anything anyone wanted to sponsor that anyone else would sign up for. The registration table would be strewn each year with contestant and judge sign-up sheets, and events typically filled up fast.

The apex of activities was hit at '''KhaiCon XI''' when [[Ro Reddick]] spearheaded the effort to obtain guest star [http://www.alienactor.com/ Bill Blair]. The self-billed "Alien Actor", Bill has spent much more than his fair share of time in the makeup chair, playing aliens on ''Start Trek'', ''Babylon 5'',and ''Sliders'' as well as having more traditional roles in dozens of films, shows and commercials. He was a phenomenal guest and a great sport who hung out with the whole crew all weekend. All in attendance agreed it was fantastic to have a real part of the ''Trek'' experience join the ship for the weekend of revelry. The precedent-setting guest star would, however unintentionally, assure that '''KhaiCon''' went out with a bang.

==The End of an Era==
By the time '''KhaiCon XI''' was done, there were a lot of crew members who were exhausted. Many of the events were planned and executed every year by the same people. There was a growing sense that someone else needed to step up and do their share. Unfortunately, no one did. Fall 2003 came and went. There would be no more '''KhaiCon'''.

==Emergency Holographic KhaiCon==
The memory of '''KhaiCon''' would not go quietly into that long night. It would instead be reborn in a more diminutive size that was more manageable for the ship's smaller crew. It was named after the doctor on ''Voyager'' as the '''Emergency Holographic KhaiCon''' or '''EHK'''.

One of the dedicated few who made '''KhaiCon''' happen year after year was [[Ro Reddick]], and though she had announced that she couldn't manage the Herculean effort required by '''KhaiCon''' anymore, neither could she let another fall pass without an event. She and Jon decided, in the fall of 2004, to host the first '''EHK''' at their home.

As membership in the club curtailed, the "EHK" turned out to be just the ticket, and the EHK has taken place in the Captain's home ever since (2004, '05 at [[Jon Reddick|Jon Reddick]]'s and since '06 at [[Richard Graham|Richard Graham]]'s).

==The '''KhaiCon''' Lineage==
{| {{Prettytable}}
|-
!{{Hl2}} align="right" |Year
!{{Hl2}}|Title
!{{Hl2}}|Dates
|-
!align="right" |1992
|KhaiCon I
|-
!align="right" |1993
|KhaiCon II - The Wrath of Con
|-
!align="right" |1994
|KhaiCon III - The Search for Beer
|-
!align="right" |1995
|KhaiCon IV - The Journey to the Keg
|-
!align="right" |1996
|KhaiCon V - The Final Free Beer
|-
!align="right" |1997
|KhaiCon VI - The Undiscovered Beer
|-
!align="right" |1998
|KhaiCon VII - Inebriations
|October 23-25
|-
!align="right" |1999
|KhaiCon VIII - Thirst Contact
|October 15-17
|-
!align="right" |2000
|KhaiCon IX - Misdirection
|October 20-22
|-
!align="right" |2001
|KhaiCon X - Improvise
|October 12-14
|-
!align="right" |2002
|KhaiCon XI
|October 25-27
|-
!align="right" |2004
|Emergency Holographic KhaiCon I
|October 8-10
|-
!align="right" |2005
|Emergency Holographic KhaiCon II
|April 22-24
|-
!align="right" |2006
|Emergency Holographic KhaiCon IV
|September 9-10
|-
!align="right" |2007
|Emergency Holographic KhaiCon V
|October 19-21
|-
!align="right" |2008
|Emergency Holographic KhaiCon VI
|-
!align="right" |2009
|Emergency Holographic KhaiCon VII
|-
!align="right" |2010
|Emergency Holographic KhaiCon VIII
|-
!align="right" |2011
|Emergency Holographic KhaiCon IX
|-
!align="right" |2012
|Emergency Holographic KhaiCon X
|-
!align="right" |2013
|Emergency Holographic KhaiCon XII
|July 26-28

|}

[[Category: Khai Tam Trivia]]

KhaiCon

2013-07-25T14:09:46Z

Adjel: /* The KhaiCon Lineage */

{| {{prettytable}} align=right cellpadding="5"
|-
|{{Hl1}} align=center|'''KhaiCon Event Logos'''
|-
|[[Image:khaicon7_logo.jpg|150px|center]]
|-
|[[Image:khaicon8_logo.jpg|150px|center]]
|-
|[[Image:khaicon9_logo.jpg|150px|center]]
|-
|[[Image:khaicon10_logo.jpg|150px|center]]
|-
|[[Image:khaicon11_logo.jpg|150px|center]]
|-
|[[Image:ehk1_logo.jpg|150px|center]]
|-
|[[Image:ehk2_logo.jpg|150px|center]]
|}
Since the early days of the [[USS Khai Tam]], the ship has gotten together once a year to throw a big party. At first, it was to celebrate the season premier of whatever ''Star Trek'' show was on the air at the time, but it eventually degenerated into a simple excuse to party all weekend. From 1992 to 2002, '''KhaiCon''' dominated the ''Khai Tam'' calendar. Even with it's smaller numbers today, ''Khai Tam'' still holds its [[KhaiCon #Emergency Holographic KhaiCon|Emergency Holographic KhaiCon]], or EHK, in honor of this tradition.

==Origins==
In September of 1991 the Reddick command staff started the tradition of having a season premiere party. The following year, the party was officially dubbed '''KhaiCon''' - a miniature convention complete with games and episode viewings and panels and a lot of fun to be had by all. Each year, '''KhaiCon''' evolved, encompassing more and more activities and growing to mammoth proportions...well, as mammoth as it could be and still be called a "miniature" convention.

While the club's parties were legendary, none compare to the '''KhaiCons''' held in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Whether it was one member having to pull another's head out of the water because they'd just gotten whacked by a canoe or whether it was the Captain pontificating from atop a chair after he'd had a bit too much Romulan Ale, '''KhaiCon''' was always a great deal of fun.

==Facilities==
When '''KhaiCon''' started in 1992, the ''Khai Tam'' was still a student organization at [http://www.fsu.edu Florida State University]. This allowed the club access to all kinds of FSU facilities including the "Reservation" - a 73-acre facility, with 10 active acres, located on beautiful Lake Bradford. The "Rez" encompassed several cabins and featured activities like canoeing, kayaking, picnicking, swimming, etc.

Though the facility was enjoyable, it was not handicapped friendly, and kitchen facilities were sparse. Add to the equation the fact that the ''Khai Tam'' was increasing its non-student membership to the point where it soon would no longer qualify as a student organization, and the writing was on the wall: a new home for '''KhaiCon''' would have to be found.

Fortunately, the ship found the Camp For All Seasons (CFAS), a campground on Lake Talquin owned by Girl Scouts of America. When not in use by scout troops, the camp could be rented to other groups for their non-scouting events. Its large, two-floor lodge had a full professional-style kitchen, showers, and all of the space needed for the event. There was also no shortage of cabins out away from the noise and commotion of the main lodge.

'''KhaiCon''' was notorious for being a party where plenty of alcoholic beverages would be consumed, but CFAS had a rule against any such substances on the premises. Knowing that attendees would surely ignore that rule, and not wanting to lose favor with the camp, the ship created it's own [[It's the official policy...|official policy]] to deal with the logistical hiccup, and many fantastic '''KhaiCons''' ensued.

==Events==
Of course, the whole thing started off as a season premiere party, so a group vieiwing of that episode was one of the original activities. The timing of '''KhaiCon''' was always tricky as we tried to reserve facilities early enough to be guaranteed a spot come the fall, not always knowing exactly when the season premire would be at the time. ''Khai Tam'' Captain [[Jon Reddick]] even came through a year or two by sneaking the episode off satellite before it even aired in Tallahassee (thanks to the TV station that employed him at the time). This viewing easily developed into one room at '''KhaiCon''' being dedicated all weekend long to genre shows and movies.

Somewhere around KhaiCon IV, Jon had the big idea to have a film contest. Due in no small measure to his being employed at a televsion studio, having a degree in TV & Film, and being almost the only person to ever enter the contest, he won quite a few [[Turd d'Oro]] awards over the years.

Each year, members would cook their most bizarre recipes and mix their most potent drinks for the [[Alien Food & Drink Contest]]. Everything from Cardassian Vole in Yamok Sauce to the dreaded Borg Lubrication Fluid were sampled by judges year after year.

Once KhaiCon moved to the big-room venue of the Camp for all Seasons, a lip sync competition was added. The members seized on the idea and it became a '''KhaiCon''' favorite for many years.

Members would also put on panels, game shows ([[Khai Tam Jeopardy]] anyone?), athletic (using the term lightly) events like frisbee golf and vollyball...basically anything anyone wanted to sponsor that anyone else would sign up for. The registration table would be strewn each year with contestant and judge sign-up sheets, and events typically filled up fast.

The apex of activities was hit at '''KhaiCon XI''' when [[Ro Reddick]] spearheaded the effort to obtain guest star [http://www.alienactor.com/ Bill Blair]. The self-billed "Alien Actor", Bill has spent much more than his fair share of time in the makeup chair, playing aliens on ''Start Trek'', ''Babylon 5'',and ''Sliders'' as well as having more traditional roles in dozens of films, shows and commercials. He was a phenomenal guest and a great sport who hung out with the whole crew all weekend. All in attendance agreed it was fantastic to have a real part of the ''Trek'' experience join the ship for the weekend of revelry. The precedent-setting guest star would, however unintentionally, assure that '''KhaiCon''' went out with a bang.

==The End of an Era==
By the time '''KhaiCon XI''' was done, there were a lot of crew members who were exhausted. Many of the events were planned and executed every year by the same people. There was a growing sense that someone else needed to step up and do their share. Unfortunately, no one did. Fall 2003 came and went. There would be no more '''KhaiCon'''.

==Emergency Holographic KhaiCon==
The memory of '''KhaiCon''' would not go quietly into that long night. It would instead be reborn in a more diminutive size that was more manageable for the ship's smaller crew. It was named after the doctor on ''Voyager'' as the '''Emergency Holographic KhaiCon''' or '''EHK'''.

One of the dedicated few who made '''KhaiCon''' happen year after year was [[Ro Reddick]], and though she had announced that she couldn't manage the Herculean effort required by '''KhaiCon''' anymore, neither could she let another fall pass without an event. She and Jon decided, in the fall of 2004, to host the first '''EHK''' at their home.

As membership in the club curtailed, the "EHK" turned out to be just the ticket, and the EHK has taken place in the Captain's home ever since (2004, '05 at [[Jon Reddick|Jon Reddick]]'s and since '06 at [[Richard Graham|Richard Graham]]'s).

==The '''KhaiCon''' Lineage==
{| {{Prettytable}}
|-
!{{Hl2}} align="right" |Year
!{{Hl2}}|Title
!{{Hl2}}|Dates
|-
!align="right" |1992
|KhaiCon I
|-
!align="right" |1993
|KhaiCon II - The Wrath of Con
|-
!align="right" |1994
|KhaiCon III - The Search for Beer
|-
!align="right" |1995
|KhaiCon IV - The Journey to the Keg
|-
!align="right" |1996
|KhaiCon V - The Final Free Beer
|-
!align="right" |1997
|KhaiCon VI - The Undiscovered Beer
|-
!align="right" |1998
|KhaiCon VII - Inebriations
|October 23-25
|-
!align="right" |1999
|KhaiCon VIII - Thirst Contact
|October 15-17
|-
!align="right" |2000
|KhaiCon IX - Misdirection
|October 20-22
|-
!align="right" |2001
|KhaiCon X - Improvise
|October 12-14
|-
!align="right" |2002
|KhaiCon XI
|October 25-27
|-
!align="right" |2004
|Emergency Holographic KhaiCon I
|October 8-10
|-
!align="right" |2005
|Emergency Holographic KhaiCon II
|April 22-24
|-
!align="right" |2006
|Emergency Holographic KhaiCon IV
|September 9-10
|-
!align="right" |2007
|Emergency Holographic KhaiCon V
|October 19-21
|-
!align="right" |2008
|Emergency Holographic KhaiCon VI
|-
!align="right" |2009
|Emergency Holographic KhaiCon VII
|-
!align="right" |2010
|Emergency Holographic KhaiCon VIII
|-
!align="right" |2011
|Emergency Holographic KhaiCon XIV
|-
!align="right" |2012
|Emergency Holographic KhaiCon XV
|-
!align="right" |2013
|Emergency Holographic KhaiCon XVI
|July 26-28

|}

[[Category: Khai Tam Trivia]]

KhaiCon

2013-07-25T14:05:16Z

Adjel: /* Emergency Holographic KhaiCon */

{| {{prettytable}} align=right cellpadding="5"
|-
|{{Hl1}} align=center|'''KhaiCon Event Logos'''
|-
|[[Image:khaicon7_logo.jpg|150px|center]]
|-
|[[Image:khaicon8_logo.jpg|150px|center]]
|-
|[[Image:khaicon9_logo.jpg|150px|center]]
|-
|[[Image:khaicon10_logo.jpg|150px|center]]
|-
|[[Image:khaicon11_logo.jpg|150px|center]]
|-
|[[Image:ehk1_logo.jpg|150px|center]]
|-
|[[Image:ehk2_logo.jpg|150px|center]]
|}
Since the early days of the [[USS Khai Tam]], the ship has gotten together once a year to throw a big party. At first, it was to celebrate the season premier of whatever ''Star Trek'' show was on the air at the time, but it eventually degenerated into a simple excuse to party all weekend. From 1992 to 2002, '''KhaiCon''' dominated the ''Khai Tam'' calendar. Even with it's smaller numbers today, ''Khai Tam'' still holds its [[KhaiCon #Emergency Holographic KhaiCon|Emergency Holographic KhaiCon]], or EHK, in honor of this tradition.

==Origins==
In September of 1991 the Reddick command staff started the tradition of having a season premiere party. The following year, the party was officially dubbed '''KhaiCon''' - a miniature convention complete with games and episode viewings and panels and a lot of fun to be had by all. Each year, '''KhaiCon''' evolved, encompassing more and more activities and growing to mammoth proportions...well, as mammoth as it could be and still be called a "miniature" convention.

While the club's parties were legendary, none compare to the '''KhaiCons''' held in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Whether it was one member having to pull another's head out of the water because they'd just gotten whacked by a canoe or whether it was the Captain pontificating from atop a chair after he'd had a bit too much Romulan Ale, '''KhaiCon''' was always a great deal of fun.

==Facilities==
When '''KhaiCon''' started in 1992, the ''Khai Tam'' was still a student organization at [http://www.fsu.edu Florida State University]. This allowed the club access to all kinds of FSU facilities including the "Reservation" - a 73-acre facility, with 10 active acres, located on beautiful Lake Bradford. The "Rez" encompassed several cabins and featured activities like canoeing, kayaking, picnicking, swimming, etc.

Though the facility was enjoyable, it was not handicapped friendly, and kitchen facilities were sparse. Add to the equation the fact that the ''Khai Tam'' was increasing its non-student membership to the point where it soon would no longer qualify as a student organization, and the writing was on the wall: a new home for '''KhaiCon''' would have to be found.

Fortunately, the ship found the Camp For All Seasons (CFAS), a campground on Lake Talquin owned by Girl Scouts of America. When not in use by scout troops, the camp could be rented to other groups for their non-scouting events. Its large, two-floor lodge had a full professional-style kitchen, showers, and all of the space needed for the event. There was also no shortage of cabins out away from the noise and commotion of the main lodge.

'''KhaiCon''' was notorious for being a party where plenty of alcoholic beverages would be consumed, but CFAS had a rule against any such substances on the premises. Knowing that attendees would surely ignore that rule, and not wanting to lose favor with the camp, the ship created it's own [[It's the official policy...|official policy]] to deal with the logistical hiccup, and many fantastic '''KhaiCons''' ensued.

==Events==
Of course, the whole thing started off as a season premiere party, so a group vieiwing of that episode was one of the original activities. The timing of '''KhaiCon''' was always tricky as we tried to reserve facilities early enough to be guaranteed a spot come the fall, not always knowing exactly when the season premire would be at the time. ''Khai Tam'' Captain [[Jon Reddick]] even came through a year or two by sneaking the episode off satellite before it even aired in Tallahassee (thanks to the TV station that employed him at the time). This viewing easily developed into one room at '''KhaiCon''' being dedicated all weekend long to genre shows and movies.

Somewhere around KhaiCon IV, Jon had the big idea to have a film contest. Due in no small measure to his being employed at a televsion studio, having a degree in TV & Film, and being almost the only person to ever enter the contest, he won quite a few [[Turd d'Oro]] awards over the years.

Each year, members would cook their most bizarre recipes and mix their most potent drinks for the [[Alien Food & Drink Contest]]. Everything from Cardassian Vole in Yamok Sauce to the dreaded Borg Lubrication Fluid were sampled by judges year after year.

Once KhaiCon moved to the big-room venue of the Camp for all Seasons, a lip sync competition was added. The members seized on the idea and it became a '''KhaiCon''' favorite for many years.

Members would also put on panels, game shows ([[Khai Tam Jeopardy]] anyone?), athletic (using the term lightly) events like frisbee golf and vollyball...basically anything anyone wanted to sponsor that anyone else would sign up for. The registration table would be strewn each year with contestant and judge sign-up sheets, and events typically filled up fast.

The apex of activities was hit at '''KhaiCon XI''' when [[Ro Reddick]] spearheaded the effort to obtain guest star [http://www.alienactor.com/ Bill Blair]. The self-billed "Alien Actor", Bill has spent much more than his fair share of time in the makeup chair, playing aliens on ''Start Trek'', ''Babylon 5'',and ''Sliders'' as well as having more traditional roles in dozens of films, shows and commercials. He was a phenomenal guest and a great sport who hung out with the whole crew all weekend. All in attendance agreed it was fantastic to have a real part of the ''Trek'' experience join the ship for the weekend of revelry. The precedent-setting guest star would, however unintentionally, assure that '''KhaiCon''' went out with a bang.

==The End of an Era==
By the time '''KhaiCon XI''' was done, there were a lot of crew members who were exhausted. Many of the events were planned and executed every year by the same people. There was a growing sense that someone else needed to step up and do their share. Unfortunately, no one did. Fall 2003 came and went. There would be no more '''KhaiCon'''.

==Emergency Holographic KhaiCon==
The memory of '''KhaiCon''' would not go quietly into that long night. It would instead be reborn in a more diminutive size that was more manageable for the ship's smaller crew. It was named after the doctor on ''Voyager'' as the '''Emergency Holographic KhaiCon''' or '''EHK'''.

One of the dedicated few who made '''KhaiCon''' happen year after year was [[Ro Reddick]], and though she had announced that she couldn't manage the Herculean effort required by '''KhaiCon''' anymore, neither could she let another fall pass without an event. She and Jon decided, in the fall of 2004, to host the first '''EHK''' at their home.

As membership in the club curtailed, the "EHK" turned out to be just the ticket, and the EHK has taken place in the Captain's home ever since (2004, '05 at [[Jon Reddick|Jon Reddick]]'s and since '06 at [[Richard Graham|Richard Graham]]'s).

==The '''KhaiCon''' Lineage==
{| {{Prettytable}}
|-
!{{Hl2}} align="right" |Year
!{{Hl2}}|Title
!{{Hl2}}|Dates
|-
!align="right" |1992
|KhaiCon I
|-
!align="right" |1993
|KhaiCon II - The Wrath of Con
|-
!align="right" |1994
|KhaiCon III - The Search for Beer
|-
!align="right" |1995
|KhaiCon IV - The Journey to the Keg
|-
!align="right" |1996
|KhaiCon V - The Final Free Beer
|-
!align="right" |1997
|KhaiCon VI - The Undiscovered Beer
|-
!align="right" |1998
|KhaiCon VII - Inebriations
|October 23-25
|-
!align="right" |1999
|KhaiCon VIII - Thirst Contact
|October 15-17
|-
!align="right" |2000
|KhaiCon IX - Misdirection
|October 20-22
|-
!align="right" |2001
|KhaiCon X - Improvise
|October 12-14
|-
!align="right" |2002
|KhaiCon XI
|October 25-27
|-
!align="right" |2004
|Emergency Holographic KhaiCon I
|October 8-10
|-
!align="right" |2005
|Emergency Holographic KhaiCon II
|April 22-24
|-
!align="right" |2006
|Emergency Holographic KhaiCon IV
|September 9-10
|-
!align="right" |2007
|Emergency Holographic KhaiCon V
|October 19-21

|}

[[Category: Khai Tam Trivia]]

USS Khai Tam

2011-11-30T12:30:47Z

Adjel: /* Community Service */

{| align="right"
| __TOC__
|}
[[Image:Kt logo.jpg|left|thumb|300px|USS Khai Tam Logo]]
'''USS Khai Tam''' is the the Tallahassee, Florida chapter of Starfleet: The International Star Trek Fan Association.

One of the most successful chapters in Starfleet's history, the ''Khai Tam'' boasted over 140 members during its heyday, making it one of the largest chapters in the world during that time.

The members of the Khai Tam also created and published '''[[USS Khai Tam (fictitious vessel)#Technical Manual|USS Khai Tam Technical Orientation Manual]]''', a book which attained international acclaim among Starfleet members, and is still available as of 2007 at conventions and on the internet.

==History==
The ''Khai Tam'' has a long and storied past about which books could literally be written. However, the necessarily brief synopsis below reveals much of the club's flavor, traditions and achievements.

===Birth of a Heritage===
In the Fall of 1990, Sharon Stewart, a student at [http://www.fsu.edu Florida State University] in Tallahassee, FL, was inspired by her love of '''[http://www.startrek.com Star Trek]'''. She wanted to form a fan club where she and others who shared a passion for [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene_Roddenberry Gene Roddenberry]'s creation
could unite. But rather than form an isolated club, Stewart chose to start a chapter of [http://www.sfi.org Starfleet], an organized alliance of Trek fan organizations from all over the world.

Every new chapter in Starfleet must start out as a "shuttlecraft" under the nine month tutelage of an established club. Sponsored by the USS ''Guardian'' in Cocoa, FL, Stewart's Shuttle ''Heritage'', NCC 26244/1, was officially launched on June 27, 1991. The club's name was taken from the spine of a textbook in Stewart's bookcase which she happened to glance while completing the Starfleet paperwork to start the chapter.

Seeing the benefits it would bring a new and struggling club, Stewart also established the ''Heritage'' as a student organization of FSU. This provided the club with regular on-campus meeting space, free advertising on campus media and a token budget. But being a student organization also added additional obstacles.

FSU understandably required all its student organizations to maintain at least 51% student membership. This was sustainable given the opportunity to recruit on campus, but it also created financial challenges for the group given the number of students, whose lack of cash is legendary. This often left ''Heritage's'' ledgers in the red. Another challenge with a student membership was that it was inevitable that many would head home for the
summer, leaving the club with a skeleton crew for nearly four months out of every year.

The ''Heritage'' was up to the task, though, and not only maintained its member/student ratio, but also managed to meet STARFLEET's requirements for membership. They were well on their way to becoming a full-fledged ship. ''Heritage'' developed what would become a legendary ability to overcome financial, personal and political obstacles in order to excel as a cohesive group. The group also developed a compelling instinct to party, and even now, ''Heritage''/''Khai Tam'' parties are the stuff of legends.

===Growing Pains===
In March of 1992 the ship held its first election for Commanding Officer
(CO) and Executive Officer (XO). Until that time, the ship had been led by
its founding force, Sherry Stewart. With the creation of the ship's early
[[Bylaws]], however, it became mandatory that the CO and XO be elected each
year. This first election turned into a black time in the history of the
''Khai Tam'' as the membership was split almost evenly on the two
campaigning teams.

On the one side were Sherry Stewart (CO) and Matt Henry (XO), the incumbent
command team. In fact, they were the only command team that the ship had
ever known and they represented stability and maintenance of the status quo.

On the other side were [[Jon Reddick]] (CO) and [[Ro Reddick|Laurie
Copetti]] (XO), a young untested command team, whose only credentials were
their records of active membership in the shuttle thus far -- Copetti was
serving as the Department Chief for Sci/Med, and Reddick the assistant Chief
of Security.

The Reddick/Copetti platform was best represented in their slogan, "A ship
in its harbor is safe, but that's not what ships are for." (Incidentally, a
variation on that slogan is now the Khai Tam's official motto.) Jon and
Laurie imagined much more for the ship than simply a fun fan club. They
envisioned a force in the community that could perhaps, in some small way,
help bring about the world that Roddenberry had envisioned.

Each crew member of the Heritage felt very strongly about the team he or she
supported, and as the date for the election drew near, tension was at an
all-time high. There were many impromptu "debates" among members supporting
opposite platforms, and they seldom ended happily. But when the dust
settled and the votes were counted, the Reddick team won by a narrow margin
-- 12 to 9.

===Dawning of A New Era===
Even after the majority had spoken, Stewart was reluctant to give up the
helm. Dragging the results through miles of unnecessary Starfleet red tape,
it was not until four months later, on July 12, 1992 that a change of
command finally took place.

Aware that the election results and finally the command change itself had
taken their emotional toll on Stewart, many of Reddick and Copetti's first
actions were clearly intended to try to heal those bruises, and bring both
Stewart and her disheartened suporters back into the fold. Unfortunately,
sometimes such intentions simply don't work. Although Commander Sherry
Stewart accepted the ship's commissioning on April 4, 1992 (at which time
our name changed officially from ''Heritage'' to ''Khai Tam''), it was not
long before she would leave the ship.

When Stewart left the ''Khai Tam'', several other members (likely Stewart's
supporters in the election) also dropped out of active duty. Though this
slashed the ship's existing membership to nearly half, it would turn out to
be the fresh start that the Reddick/Copetti command team needed to set the
ship on its new course.

The Reddick command team would prove to be so successfull that they would be
elected unopposed for five consecutive years, being replaced only when they
voluntarily stepped down out of exhaustion. They would retake the helm
after a year of rest and continue for six more years unopposed. Truly, the
creation of an Era.

===Enter the Brave Heart===
When a shuttle is commissioned as a ship, its members must choose a ship
class. For example, Kirk's ''Enterprise'' was a Consitution-class ship and
Picard's a Galaxy-class, but the ''Khai Tam'' didn't want to go with either
of those...or any other established ships in the '''Star Trek''' universe.
This was partly becuase the club already had made it a policy to be
difficult, but mostly because of their Klingon heritage (no pun intended).

[[Image:Ktplaque.jpg|right|thumb|200px|USS Khai Tam commissioning plaque]]
On the ''Khai Tam'', as on many STARFLEET ships, members adopt personas that
fit their personalities. During the early years of Shuttle ''Heritage'',
many crew members, nearly half in fact, had adopted a Klingon persona.
There was much debate over whether they shouldn't just choose a Klingon
class of ship.

During this point in time, '''Star Trek: The Next Generation''' was in its
first run and the Klingons and Federation were at peace. The members
reasoned that if they were no longer at war, then there would certainly be a
sharing of technology between the two sides. What was finally agreed upon
was that they would design their ''own'' class of ship which would share
Klingon and Federation technologies. It was decided that these ships would
be of the Qapla'-class (Qapla' meaning success in Klingon), and that their
own vessel would change it's name to ''Khai Tam''. The name ''Khai Tam''
(pronounced kie-tom), suggested by founding Shuttle Heritage member, Lucy
Nguyen, is Vietnamese for "brave heart." The fact that it sounds vaguely
Klingon in origin was merely a happy coincidence.

===The Qapla' Project===
The very first concept drawing of the Qapla'-class ''Khai Tam'' was made
circa 1991 by Jon Reddick during a Shuttle Heritage meeting. From the first,
the vessel already showed the basic Federation saucer/Klingon propulsion
design that stayed with the ship through all its incarnations right up to
the finished project.

The concept was so outlandish that STARFLEET's Department of Technical
Services (DTS), which must approve a chapter's choice of class, at first
denied the club's request to be a Qapla'-class vessel. It wasn't until a
more fleshed-out set of specifications were submitted that they finally
approved the design, but then only as an "Experimental Class" which could
not be adopted by any other chapter.

And that's where the Qapla' class stayed for over a year: begrudgingly
approved by Starfleet, but restricted for any other chapter to choose --
destined to be the first, and last, of her line. That is, until the Fall of
1993.

The second-class status which the ''Qapla' '' held with Starfleet had been
gnawing at the ''Khai Tam'' Engineering department's pride for over a year,
and they were determined to rectify the situation. DTS had claimed that the
design was "not plausible" and "would never fly" -- and they knew that the
only way to convince them otherwise was to fully document the "Treknology"
behind the design. And that's what they set out to do.

Chief Engineer [[Colin Toenjes]] eventually recruited the help of member [[Kevin McNulty]] in writing and illustrating this documentation. The end result was the '''[[USS Khai Tam (fictitious vessel)#Technical Manual|USS Khai Tam Technical Orientation Manual]]''' eventually published by Intergalactic Trading Company in Orlando, FL. Faced with a perfect-bound, 92-page, commercially successful book, STARFLEET DTS relented, and the Qapla'-class was approved for general use in the organization in 1994. Since then, several chapters have claimed this design as their own.

===A Brief Change of Scenery===
After commanding the ''Khai Tam'' for nearly five consecutive years, the Reddick command team was feeling the weight of command, and the pressure from everyday life. Specifically, Jon had the opportunity for a promotion at his job that would require him to work weekday evenings. They opted in 1995 to step down as CO and XO to allow a new team to infuse the organization with fresh ideas. In 1996 [[Laurie Long]] and [[Kevin McNulty]] took the reigns as CO and XO respectively. The Long command team revisted many aspects of the club from its motto (which the members voted to keep) to its forms and administrative practices.

The year of their command was marked with many changes, yet at its core the ship remained a labor of love for all. The new command team was as relieved as anyone, though, to turn command back over to a rested and rejuvinated Reddick team in 1997. The Reddicks would go on to guide the club for seven more years unopposed, finally turning command over to [[Richard Graham]] in 2005.

==Recruiting==
[[Image:Khai tam 1995.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Khai Tam crew at a 1995 Trek-O-Rama]]
[[Image:Hooter trek tickets.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Ticket stubs from both Hooter Trek and Hooter Trek II]]
As with any volunteer organization, recruiting has always been a major concern of the ''Khai Tam'' and many traditional and a few experimental methods have been used throughout its history:
* '''Parade Floats'''
:In November of 1991, the Shuttle ''Heritage'' 'built a float for FSU's Homecoming Parade. Then the ''Khai Tam'' took the idea over the top with a lighted design for Tallahassee's evening holiday parade in December of 1995.

* '''Movie Premieres'''
:The club has been quite a presence at every new Trek movie that has come out since the inception of the ''Khai Tam''. This is especially effective because we're always in uniform. It is made even more effective by the presence of our Captain in full Klingon makeup.
* '''Hallmark Christmas Ornament Premieres'''
:Nothing attracts attention and helps to sell ornaments like a bunch of Klingons with alien food and drinks inside a mall.

* '''Conventions'''
:The few Trek-O-Rama conventions held in Tallahassee were a great recruiting boon. The ''Khai Tam'' has also provided a presence at several cons throughout Florida.

* '''Hooter Trek'''
:Of course, one of the most enjoyable recruiting ventures for members was Hooter Trek. The manager that ran the local Hooter's restaurant was a Trek fan and a couple of times he gave the entire porch over to a mini convention. People would sit around and eat and drink and be merry while watching Trek videos. And, of course, if they heard something about the Khai Tam in the process, well...

==The "John and Mary" Ship==
During the clubs heyday, there was no lack of duplicate names, or at least duplicate-sounding names. The most commonly occurring names in the member ship were John and Mary. It became apparent that this could cause a lot of confusion during meetings and in conversations. To resolve this, it became habit to give a nickname to each subsequent similar name after the first occurrence. Only the first member of that name could be called by their name.

The first "John" was Jon Reddick, and only he could be called Jon. The next "John" needed a nickname, and so the second one was dubbed "[[OJ]]" or "Other John." Then came "AJ" (Another John), "[[Clint]]" (a John who wore a Western hat like Clint Eastwood), "[[Opper-J]]" (John Opper), etc., until "[[Eight of Eight]]" (Jon Williams) who was the eighth "John" to join the club, and whose persona was a [http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Borg Borg].

The first Mary was Mary Kleinfeldt. Although by rights she could be called Mary, she did, however, earn the nickname of "[[Radar]]" by always seeming to know that the Command Team needed before they asked for it. Subsequent Marys became known as "[OM]]" (Other Mary), and "[[SAM]]" (Still Another Mary).

''Read about more ''Khai Tam'' nicknames [[:Category:Khai_Tam_Nicknames|here]].''

==Community Service==
One of the things that the Reddick team made their priority after their election was community service - a torch that has been carried by every subsequent command team. Over the years the club has taken part in several community service or community-related activities:

* '''St. Marks Trail'''
:One of the oldest ongoing activities has been the cleanup of the first three miles of a local nature trail.

* '''TMH Children's Ward'''
:Visiting the pediatric ward of a local hospital in full uniform and taking comic books and such to the kids on the ward. Members would sit and entertain the kids for a while so that Mom and/or Dad could go get a soda or whatever.

* '''Starfleet's Stampede'''
:For many years the club was award-winningly active in STARFLEET's annual charity fund raiser.

* '''Collecting Coupons'''
:For a time these collected coupons were provided to residents at the local battered women's shelter. Later they were sent overseas to the military in conjunction with the Fleet project.

* '''Volunteering'''
:''Khai Tam-ers'' helped build a few houses for the local Habitat for Humanity and they helped the local children's science center open their doors.
:Khai Tam members also volunteered at a small, budding science museum, once housed in Tallahassee Mall, and continued to volunteer once it got its permanent home as the Mary Brogan Museum of Arts and Science (MOAS). Uniformed members assisted staff with shows in their inflatable planetarium, as well as other duties.

* '''Cub Scouts'''
:Club members put on a program for a local cub scout group to emphasize tolerance of people of all races (and species).

* '''Schools'''
:The club was a returning favorite in a local middle school's "Around the World (and Beyond)" fair.

* '''Ronald McDonald House '''

* '''Toys for Tots'''

* '''Christmas Connection Adopt-a-Family'''

:One of the ship members, [[Colin Toenjes]], once raffled off the right to cut his long ponytailed hair to support the Khai Tam's Adopt-a-Family fundraising efforts.

* '''MDA Telethon'''

==Awards==
The Khai Tam is proud of itself and proud of its members. Over the years
they've garnered many awards such as:
* Chapter Web Site of the Year
* Marine Strike Group of the Year
* Florida State Parks' Award of Appreciation
* Region 2 Chapter of the Year
* Best Chapter Newsletter

==The Blue Blazers==
A subset of the STARFLEET association is a group known as the Starfleet
Marine Corps. These fans base their personas and role playing on the
mythical ground element of Star Trek's Starfleet. Each ship may have its
own Strike Group, and the ''Khai Tam'' is proud to embark the 78th Marine
Strike Group known as ''The Blue Blazers''. Early in the days of the SFMC,
the 78th established the standards by which the rest of the region's marines
measured themselves. In the late 1990s, marines from the ''Khai Tam'' and
her sister ship ''[[Relentless]]'' dominated the international staff of the
SFMC.

==Parties==
[[Image:Chair pontification.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Captain Reddick from atop his chair]]In September of 1991 the Reddick command staff started the tradition of having a season premiere party. Later on in the life of the club this became [[KhaiCon]] - a miniature convention complete with games and episode viewings and panels and a lot of fun to be had by all. While the club's parties were legendary, none compare to the KhaiCons held in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Whether it was one member having to pull another's head out of the water because they'd just gotten whacked by a canoe or whether it was the Captain pontificating from atop a chair after he'd had a bit too much Romulan Ale, the parties are always a great deal of fun.

For many years each of the club's six departments held responsibility for a party every other month. And they put together some great ones:

* The pool party at Captain Reddick's place where members filled an empty garbage can full of water and tried to drench him with it. Of course, they weren't thinking clearly about the fact that he could move so much faster without carrying that water.

* The ''[[Pon Farr Orgy]]''. There's something almost mystical about staying up late into the night around a big bonfire (built in someone's backyard no less) and talking Trek and drinking late into the night. Especially when you almost broke your foot earlier that day in a testosterone-driven dive for a volleyball.

* The beach party where one of the members dove into water that was much too shallow and another one got sun poisoning but refused to let us take him to the hospital.

* Numerous campouts involving river tubing, and one involving a late night "alien landing."

* The June 1992 ''[[Rites of Ascension]]'' for Captain Reddick. While members didn't have actual Klingon painsticks, they ''did'' have big wooden fraternity-type paddles.

* The Halloween ''[[Mirror Universe Party]]'' where members came dressed as their opposite personality...or ''gender''. There are just some people who shouldn't be seen in drag.

* Numerous Christmas Formals that saw the members turn out in their finest to share the holiday spirit.

* The Blue Blazer's own M*A*S*H-Themed dinner party complete with chow hall and camoflage netting.

==The Current State of the Khai Tam==
[[Image:Khai tam 2002.jpg|thumb|left|150px|KhaiCon XI, 2002]][[Image:Drydock2001.jpg|right|thumb|150px|Drydock Resolution, Spring 2001]]As the popularity of Star Trek has ebbed and flowed, so has the memebrship of the ''Khai Tam''. As the movies wound down, and the ratings for '''Voyager''' and '''Enterprise''' waned, so too did the membership of the club. Adding to the effect was the inevitable exodus of student members who graduated and moved away. Several key members also moved away, taking their energy and enthusiasm with them. Inevitably, even the Reddicks moved on, leaving behind a dynasty of Trek fandom.

The ''Khai Tam'' is a living thing, and all living things follow a life cycle. The club was born, grew rapidly in its youth, enjoyed an exuberant adolesence, and eventually settled down into a calmer, and hopefully long-lived, adulthood.

These days, the ''Khai Tam'' is still staffed by a small group of loyal members who carry on many of the traditions of the club. The current commander [[Richard Graham]] has admirably carried the torch of superior leadership for which the club is known. Though its ranks have thinned, the spirit of the ''Khai Tam'' lives on in its members of today and yesterday.

==Alumni==
Through the years, nearly 200 members have come and gone through the ''Khai Tam'''s airlock. To the best of our knowledge they are listed below. Updates are always welcome.

{{Khai Tam Alumni}}

==Related Links==
*[[USS Khai Tam (fictitious vessel)]]
*[http://www.reddimension.com/khaitam USS Khai Tam Website] (appears outdated)
*[[:Category:Khai_Tam_Nicknames|Khai Tam Nicknames]]
*[[:Category: Khai Tam Trivia|Khai Tam Trivia]]
*[[USS Khai Tam (fictitious vessel)#Technical Manual|USS Khai Tam Technical Orientation Manual]]

Sally

2011-08-02T13:12:37Z

Adjel:

[[Image:Sally.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Sally]][[Image:Sally_brand_new.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Sally at 6 weeks]]
[[Image:Sally_puppy.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Sally at 12 weeks]]
'''Sally''' was a was a family pet adopted by the Reddicks in 2004 while living in [[Lucky Debonair Trail|Tallahassee, FL]].

==Life==
When [[Dana Reddick|Dana]] was five years old, her parents took her to a haunted trail for Halloween, because she liked them. However, she became so frightened at this particular one that she began having trouble sleeping at night, waking with night terrors and sleepwalking. After a couple of months of this, her parents [[Ro Reddick|Ro]] & [[Jon Reddick|Jon]] thought that if she had a dog that could jump on her bed and sleep with her, it would help allay some of her fears.

Dana thought it was a good idea, so the family went for a visit to the Tallahassee animal shelter to see about adopting. A Springer Spaniel had a litter of puppies just weeks old, and Dana was let into the pen with them to select one. There were about 8 beautiful, fluffy butterscotch-colored puppies, all jumping & yipping for her attention, playfully chewing on her shoes and climbing up her legs, but she instead waded through their excitement to a tiny, shivering lump of fur curled up in a stainless steel feeding bowl. This puppy looked nothing like the others, with black and tan mangy fur, a white stripe down her nose, and a hairless tail.

She picked up this tiny, sickly puppy and cradled it in her arms, and looked to her parents indicating this was the one she wanted. We glanced at the animal shelter vet who shook her head and whispered that this one probably wasn't going to live. It was the runt -- underweight, and full of worms, with no hair on its tail, looking as sickly and frail as can be. Jon & Ro tried to encourage Dana to reconsider and look at the other puppies that really wanted to go home with her. But she wouldn't be convinced. Instead she held the tiny dog tighter and said, "But this one ''needs'' me."

Having committed to adopt the puppy if and when it could be nursed to health, the animal shelter fostered the puppy out to one of its helpers, where she began a two-week course of shots, medicine, vitamins, several wormings, and manual feedings. Miraculously, the small pup came around to at least an acceptable level of health to be adopted, and the Reddicks took her home.

Dana named her Sally, after the patchwork character from Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas animated film.

Within the first week at the Reddick home, Sally gained 5 pounds, and grew quickly thereafter. She was smart and playful, and it was hard to believe this was the same puppy from the shelter. However, it wasn't long before there were some noticeable problems. The vet noted that Sally's skull was not forming correctly -- that as she grew, it wasn't fusing in the right places. This eventually became a ridge on her head. Also, she was noted to run with a "bunny hop" -- the classic indicator of hip dysplasia, common in larger dogs. None of this seemed to deter Sally from being happy, but it did keep her from being able to jump, so she was never able to get onto Dana's bed on her own. She also was never able to sit up, as most dogs do, without falling over. However, she learned many other tricks very easily -- some within 5 minutes.

Sally's tricks included:
* Sneezing on cue
* Shaking hands/giving high 5
* Waving
* Growling on cue
* Rolling over (until her arthritis made it to difficult)
* Doing a figure 8 through the legs
* Lie down and crawl
* Barking on cue

Barking was not something Sally did much. She was a very quiet dog, so teaching her to bark on cue was difficult. In fact, it was the last trick she learned only several months before her death.

==Fond Memories==
* The Reddicks thought Sally was part Basenji, because they had had her more than three months before they ever heard her bark.
* Because Sally was not a barker, she had to figure a way to let her owners know she needed to go out. She developed the technique of standing up and shaking her head to make her dog tags jingle on her collar as her signal she needed to go out.
* After a lifetime of chasing squirrels and birds, Sally, much to her own surprise, actually caught a baby bird just a couple of weeks before her death. The bird lost a few feathers, but was otherwise okay. Sally was then jokingly dubbed "The Bird Killer."
* Because her owner Ro Reddick worked from home on the computer, the morning ritual was to feed Sally and then say "It's time to go to work, Sally." With that, Sally would lumber down the hallway to the computer room where she "worked" at sleeping all day, and guarding the door in hopes of keeping the cat out of the room. (It didn't work.)
* Sally loved squeeky toys, and knew the difference between her horse, monkey and squirrel toys. The Reddicks tried to convince Sally that the cat was a squeeky toy, however she was smart enough to know the difference.

==Death==
Some time on the evening of July 30, 2011, Sally laid down with her nose between her paws, and passed away.

She was buried in the evening of July 31, 2001 in the back yard of the Reddicks' home on [[Everholly Lane]] in Jacksonville, FL.

[[Category:Family Pets]]

Sally

2011-07-31T23:05:10Z

Adjel: /* Life */

[[Image:Sally.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Sally]][[Image:Sally_brand_new.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Sally at 6 weeks]]
[[Image:Sally_puppy.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Sally at 12 weeks]]
'''Sally''' was a was a family pet adopted by the Reddicks in 2004 while living in [[Lucky Debonair Trail|Tallahassee, FL]].

==Life==
When [[Dana Reddick|Dana]] was five years old, her parents took her to a haunted trail for Halloween, because she liked them. However, she became so frightened at this particular one that she began having trouble sleeping at night, waking with night terrors and sleepwalking. After a couple of months of this, her parents [[Ro Reddick|Ro]] & [[Jon Reddick|Jon]] thought that if she had a dog that could jump on her bed and sleep with her, it would help allay some of her fears. Dana thought it was a good idea, so the family went for a visit to the Tallahassee animal shelter to see about adopting.
A Springer Spaniel had a litter of puppies just weeks old, and Dana was let into the pen with them to select one. There were about 8 beautiful, fluffy butterscotch-colored puppies, all jumping & yipping for her attention, playfully chewing on her shoes and climbing up her legs, but she instead waded through their excitement to a tiny, shivering lump of fur curled up in a stainless steel feeding bowl. This puppy looked nothing like the others, with black and tan mangy fur, a white stripe down her nose, and a hairless tail.

She picked up this tiny, sickly puppy and cradled it in her arms, and looked to her parents indicating this was the one she wanted. We glanced at the animal shelter vet who shook her head and whispered that this one probably wasn't going to live. It was the runt -- underweight, and full of worms, with no hair on its tail, looking as sickly and frail as can be. Jon & Ro tried to encourage Dana to reconsider and look at the other puppies that really wanted to go home with her. But she wouldn't be convinced. Instead she held the tiny dog tighter and said, "But this one ''needs'' me."

Having committed to adopt the puppy if and when it could be nursed to health, the animal shelter fostered the puppy out to one of its helpers, where she began a two-week course of shots, medicine, vitamins, several wormings, and manual feedings. Miraculously, the small pup came around to at least and acceptable level of health to be adopted, and the Reddicks took her home.

Dana named her Sally, after the patchwork character from Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas animated film.

Within the first week at the Reddick home, Sally gained 5 pounds, and grew quickly thereafter. She was smart and playful, and it was hard to believe this was the same puppy from the shelter. However, it wasn't long before there were some noticeable problems. The vet noted that Sally's skull was not forming correctly -- that as she grew, it wasn't fusing in the right places. This eventually became a ridge on her head. Also, she was noted to run with a "bunny hop" -- the classic indicator of hip dysplasia, common in larger dogs. None of this seemed to deter Sally from being happy, but it did keep her from being able to jump, so she was never able to get onto Dana's bed on her own. She also was never able to sit up, as most dogs do, without falling over. However, she learned many other tricks very easily -- some within 5 minutes.

Sally's tricks included:
- Sneezing on cue
- Shaking hands/giving high 5
- Waving
- Growling on cue
- Rolling over (until her arthritis made it to difficult)
- Doing a figure 8 through the legs
and finally,
- Barking on cue.

Barking was not something Sally did much. She was a very quiet dog, so teaching her to bark on cue was difficult. In fact, it was the last trick she learned only several months before her death.

==Death==
Some time on the evening of July 30, 2011, Sally laid down with her nose between her paws, and passed away.

She was buried in the evening of July 31, 2001 in the back yard of the Reddicks' home on [[Everholly Lane]] in Jacksonville, FL.

[[Category:Family Pets]]

Olivia Johnson

2011-06-29T18:26:52Z

Adjel:

{{stub}}{{needabio}}
'''Olivia''' became part of the [[REDdimension Wiki Circle]] in 2007 when Jon, Ro & Dana Reddick moved to their rented home on Harpers Ferry Lane in Jacksonville, Florida. She is the same age, grade, and school as Dana Reddick, as well as living only a few houses away, they play together often. Olivia's parents are divorced, but she lives with her father and two older brothers, none of whom apparently spend much time interacting with her. Because her father works a lot, and because her brothers don't drive, Olivia rarely gets out, and as a result, does not get exposed to as much as many children do. Her perceptions and understanding of the world and how things work are a bit...well...off. However, she asserts her lack of knowledge with conviction such that Jon Reddick dubbed her "Oblivia." At this writing, Olivia is 10 years of age.

The following are some of her "gems" or "Oliviasms":

* While having dinner with the Reddicks one night, the discussion turned to movies. Olivia excitedly jumped into the conversation, saying she was about to see a movie. The movie was '''The Ten Commanders'''. She added, "I like movies about Jesus."

* Seeing a newspaper in the Reddick's driveway, she wondered how it got there. Ro informed her that someone had delivered it. Olivia was confused, as she said her father told her there were no newspaper carriers. When questioned as to how, then, she thought the newspaper had been delivered, she replied, "I don't know....'''by airplane'''?

* One school morning waiting at the bus stop with her father, Dana was dressed for school in a costume that was requirement as a visual aid to a book report. Her book report was on Helen Keller, and she had on a Victorian-looking faded pink lacy dress with a pinafore. When Olivia arrived at the bus stop, she asked why Dana was dressed that way. Upon explaining that she as wearing a period costume for her Helen Keller book report, Olivia then informed Dana that her costume wasn't truly period, because '''they didn't have pink back then.'''

* Prior to taking a car full of kids (including Olivia) ice skating, Ro Reddick stopped at the bank ATM to get a wad of cash. While making the transaction, Dana and her other friend Sam were busy talking, but Olivia was shrieking at a fever pitch, "WHAT'S THAT?!? WHAT'S THAT?!? " repeatedly. Ro didn't understand what "that" was, and was only guessing at what Olivia was talking about. When the cash popped out, Olivia nearly had a stroke. "WAS THAT SIXTY DOLLARS??? YOU GOT MONEY FOR FREE?!!?" At 10 years of age, she had, apparently, never seen an ATM before.

* When Dana had hurt her foot and declared that she needed crutches, Olivia corrected her: "It's '''crunches''', Dana."

* While playing outside with Dana at the Reddick house, Olivia came in holding a large yellow flower. "Is this a sickle cell?" she asked Ro. ?” Ro stared at her and blinked a few times, trying to image what she was talking about. Ro proceeded with caution. “A what??” she questioned, hoping she had heard wrong. Oliving explained, “You know, that flower where you get honey out of it.” Aha. Honeysuckle.

* She was quite anxious to show off her '''gluestick''' necklace (glow stick).

* At age 10, had never: seen a mechanical pencil; been to a buffet; heard of or been to a thrift store, such as Goodwill

* In discussing Star Wars, referenced the second time that '''Pon''' Solo was frozen once by '''Java''' the Hutt and again by '''Dark''' Vader.

* What was the name of that city? Oh, '''Fran Sancisco.'''

'''NICKNAMES'''
*"Oblivia," because of her oblivious nature to the world around her.
*"Milhouse," referencing the antimated TV show, "The Simpsons." Milhouse Mussolini Van Houten is character Bart Simpson's best friend, who is described as being "of average intelligence and has poor social skills. He is also very gullible...." Dana Reddick's parents refer to Olivia as "Dana's Milhouse."

[[Category:Biographies|Johnson, Olivia]]

Khittopurr

2011-03-10T14:26:55Z

Adjel: Created page with ''''Khittopurr''' is the name of the Reddick family cat, a (originally) black tabby who, as she grew, began to look more like a calico. She had her front feet declawed after a co…'

'''Khittopurr''' is the name of the Reddick family cat, a (originally) black tabby who, as she grew, began to look more like a calico. She had her front feet declawed after a couple of years, due to scratching up rental property.

==History==
It was the summer of 2000 when the Reddicks decided to get a kitten for their cat-crazy daughter, Dana. They went to the City of Tallahassee animal shelter where Jon eventually picked out a friendly little black tabby. When asked what she wanted to name the kitty, Dana couldn't think of what to name her.

One of Dana's favorite shows at the time was a Nickelodeon Channel showed called "Zooboomafoo," which was about a lemur who lived at a zoo. The lemur, Zooboomafoo, was played in large part by a puppet, and interacted with two human actors, supposedly brothers, who ran a zoo. The show was all about learning about animals. Whenever they featured an animal, Zooboomafoo would name the animal according to coloring, physical feature, or attribute. For example, he named a baby elephant "Toothbrush," because of the stiff,bristly hairs on the elephant.

When Dana didn't know what to name her kitty, Ro asked her, "Well, what would Zooboomafoo name her?" She couldn't think of an answer, so Ro helped her. "Well, what to kitties do?" She immediately pipped up, "Kitties purr!...Kitty purr!" A great new name had been born! Since the Reddicks were very heavily into '''Star Trek''' at that time, and especially all things Klingon, they realized how the name sounded much like a particular Klingon planet mentioned on the show: Khitomer. Hence, the spelling of the kitty's name was modified to accommodate both their daughter's idea and their love of Star Trek to '''Khittopurr'''.

Dana Reddick

2010-09-01T15:49:50Z

Adjel: /* Trivia */

[[Image:Dr2008.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Dana Reddick]]'''Dana Kathryn Reddick''' born January 17, 1998 in [[Tallahassee, Florida]] to [[Jon Reddick|Jon]] and [[Ro Reddick]] as their only child.

{{tocleft}}
==Education==
*[[Kinderschool]], Tallahassee, FL
:2000-2003, Preschool
*DeSoto Trail Elementary, Tallahassee, FL
:2003-2007, First Grade - Third Grade
*Mandarin Elementary School, Jacksonville, FL
:2007-2008, Fourth Grade
*Loretto Elementary School (technology magnet), Jacksonville, FL
:2008-2009, Fifth Grade
*Mandarin Middle School, Jacksonville, FL
:2009-, Sixth Grade

==Trivia==
*Nicknames for Dana have included, "''Pumpkin''", "''Pumpkin Pie''", "''Dane''", "''Dana Bug''," "''D.K.''" and "''Sugar Pop''"
*Her name, Dana Kathryn, comes from her parents' love of science fiction, specifically of character Dana Scully of ''The X-Files'' (1993-2002) and character Captain Kathryn Janeway of ''Star Trek: Voyager'' (1995-2001).
*Is a fan of [[Gorillaz, The|The Gorillaz]]
*Took her first steps at age 6-1/2 months
*Started using a computer before 9 months of age
[[File:Dana san marco statue.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Posing as a statue in the San Marco Theater lobby]]
*Has her own [[Little Dana|personal lullaby]], written in celebration of her birth by her Uncle Robert (Normand), and has been sung for her virtually nightly since her birth
*Started Irish dance in spring 2005
*First got her ears pierced on December 9, 2007 at a Claire's boutique in the Orange Park Mall in Jacksonville, Florida; stopped wearing them in May 2008, as it was "too much trouble" to keep her ears clean, and slightly painful to change earrings (which she couldn't and wouldn't do on her own).
*Wrote the poem, [[Dad]], for her father on the occasion of his fortieth birthday.
*Started playing softball in spring 2009. ([[Crushers]])
*Became a [[geocacher]] in November 2009.
*Did a television voice-over for a commercial for Mike's Limousines in Tallahassee, FL at age {{tellmemore}}
*Took hip-hop lessons from Dance Trance at age 12

==Achievements==
*Invited to join the Tallahassee Irish Step Dancers performance company after only one year of instruction, and performed with the company for a year prior to moving from Tallahassee
*Scored a perfect 6 on the 2008 4th grade FCAT (Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test) Writing+ Prompt (scored 0-6 points), and was one of only two children in her entire school to do so. Students are given 45 minutes to write on an assigned random topic and graded on the overall quality of the response. (This prompt was to "Write a story about what happens when someone plays a game with family or friends.") Only 1% of all 4th grade students statewide scored a 6 on the 2008 writing prompt.

==Awards==
*First place in the DeSoto Trail Elementary School Science Fair, April 2007. She won as a grade representative (3rd grade) and school representative, and went on to have her project displayed at the Tallahassee Science Expo Center. Her project was entitled, "How Does Age Effect Reaction Times."
*Tied for first place in a costume contest at [http://www.assimilationcon.com/ Assimilation Con] in Kissimmee, Florida, on September 29, 2007 dressed as [[Gaz]], a character from "Invader Zim," an animated series formerly on the Nickelodeon channel.
*Won a 1st and two 4th places in her very first Irish dance competition (called a feis) in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida on June 22, 2008. She competed at the beginner level in three dances: reel, jig, and slip jig. She placed 1st in the slip jig out of 5 competitors, and 4th in her other two dances against 7 competitors each.
* April 2009 took 1st place out of a field of 13 in the treble jig, her first time competing in Irish dance hard shoe (sort of like tap)

==Her Irish Dance History==
By age 7, Dana began becoming increasingly interested in participating in some type of club or sport, showing interest in Karate, music, and ballet. One spring Sunday in 2005 while going with her parents to eat at a restaurant near her Tallahassee home on [[Lucky Debonair Trail]], her mother spotted a new dance school a few doors away from the restaurant: Killearn Performing Arts [http://www.killearnpa.com/content.agent?page_name=Home], which specialized in Irish dance. After eating, they went to look in at a class in progress. Dana was intrigued with the dance, and her mother felt like Irish dance might be more interesting for her daughter than ballet, which is very rigid and, at times, boring. Dana began classes shortly after this, but since it was already late spring, she only got about two months of instruction (one class per week) before the school took their summer break.

In the fall of 2005, she began beginning Irish dance softshoe classes. By the end of her first year of class in June 2006, she had advanced so rapidly that she was asked to try out for the children's performance company for the fall. She was the only child with no previous Irish dance experienced asked to tryout, but qualified for the "Kid's Company" with ease. To perform in Kid's Company, she needed to learn Irish hardshoe dancing, and began beginner classes in fall 2006.

In 2007, her family moved from Tallahassee to Jacksonville, and she began a new phase in her dance history: competition. She first started (briefly) with Glas Tara Irish dance school in St. Augustine in July 2007, but by August, it was apparent that her new instructors' aggressive style of teaching did not fit Dana well and, for a time, quit dance completely. Eventually, her mother found the Drake Irish Dance School in Palm Coast, Florida, about an hour from home, where Dana's love for dance was renewed. Within a month, Drake opened a branch in Jacksonville, meeting at an old ballet school, and Dana's competition phase of dance began. Despite having danced for two years in Tallahassee, she had to start over at Drake, as the styles and methods were completely different. However, to date she has placed in all her competitions (about one per month), and seems to be transitioning well into the world of competition.

==Related Links==
*Science Fair at DeSoto Trail{{tellmemore}}

[[Category:Biographies|Reddick, Dana]]

Dana Reddick

2010-09-01T15:47:44Z

Adjel: /* Trivia */

[[Image:Dr2008.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Dana Reddick]]'''Dana Kathryn Reddick''' born January 17, 1998 in [[Tallahassee, Florida]] to [[Jon Reddick|Jon]] and [[Ro Reddick]] as their only child.

{{tocleft}}
==Education==
*[[Kinderschool]], Tallahassee, FL
:2000-2003, Preschool
*DeSoto Trail Elementary, Tallahassee, FL
:2003-2007, First Grade - Third Grade
*Mandarin Elementary School, Jacksonville, FL
:2007-2008, Fourth Grade
*Loretto Elementary School (technology magnet), Jacksonville, FL
:2008-2009, Fifth Grade
*Mandarin Middle School, Jacksonville, FL
:2009-, Sixth Grade

==Trivia==
*Nicknames for Dana have included, "''Pumpkin''", "''Pumpkin Pie''", "''Dane''", "''Dana Bug''," "''D.K.''" and "''Sugar Pop''"
*Her name, Dana Kathryn, comes from her parents' love of science fiction, specifically of character Dana Scully of ''The X-Files'' (1993-2002) and character Captain Kathryn Janeway of ''Star Trek: Voyager'' (1995-2001).
*Is a fan of [[Gorillaz, The|The Gorillaz]]
*Took her first steps at age 6-1/2 months
*Started using a computer before 9 months of age
[[File:Dana san marco statue.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Posing as a statue in the San Marco Theater lobby]]
*Has her own [[Little Dana|personal lullaby]], written in celebration of her birth by her Uncle Robert (Normand), and has been sung for her virtually nightly since her birth
*Started Irish dance in spring 2005
*First got her ears pierced on December 9, 2007 at a Claire's boutique in the Orange Park Mall in Jacksonville, Florida; stopped wearing them in May 2008, as it was "too much trouble" to keep her ears clean, and slightly painful to change earrings (which she couldn't and wouldn't do on her own).
*Wrote the poem, [[Dad]], for her father on the occasion of his fortieth birthday.
*Started playing softball in spring 2009. ([[Crushers]])
*Became a [[geocacher]] in November 2009.
*Did a television voice-over for a commercial for Mike's Limousines in Tallahassee, FL at age {{tellmemore}}

==Achievements==
*Invited to join the Tallahassee Irish Step Dancers performance company after only one year of instruction, and performed with the company for a year prior to moving from Tallahassee
*Scored a perfect 6 on the 2008 4th grade FCAT (Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test) Writing+ Prompt (scored 0-6 points), and was one of only two children in her entire school to do so. Students are given 45 minutes to write on an assigned random topic and graded on the overall quality of the response. (This prompt was to "Write a story about what happens when someone plays a game with family or friends.") Only 1% of all 4th grade students statewide scored a 6 on the 2008 writing prompt.

==Awards==
*First place in the DeSoto Trail Elementary School Science Fair, April 2007. She won as a grade representative (3rd grade) and school representative, and went on to have her project displayed at the Tallahassee Science Expo Center. Her project was entitled, "How Does Age Effect Reaction Times."
*Tied for first place in a costume contest at [http://www.assimilationcon.com/ Assimilation Con] in Kissimmee, Florida, on September 29, 2007 dressed as [[Gaz]], a character from "Invader Zim," an animated series formerly on the Nickelodeon channel.
*Won a 1st and two 4th places in her very first Irish dance competition (called a feis) in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida on June 22, 2008. She competed at the beginner level in three dances: reel, jig, and slip jig. She placed 1st in the slip jig out of 5 competitors, and 4th in her other two dances against 7 competitors each.
* April 2009 took 1st place out of a field of 13 in the treble jig, her first time competing in Irish dance hard shoe (sort of like tap)

==Her Irish Dance History==
By age 7, Dana began becoming increasingly interested in participating in some type of club or sport, showing interest in Karate, music, and ballet. One spring Sunday in 2005 while going with her parents to eat at a restaurant near her Tallahassee home on [[Lucky Debonair Trail]], her mother spotted a new dance school a few doors away from the restaurant: Killearn Performing Arts [http://www.killearnpa.com/content.agent?page_name=Home], which specialized in Irish dance. After eating, they went to look in at a class in progress. Dana was intrigued with the dance, and her mother felt like Irish dance might be more interesting for her daughter than ballet, which is very rigid and, at times, boring. Dana began classes shortly after this, but since it was already late spring, she only got about two months of instruction (one class per week) before the school took their summer break.

In the fall of 2005, she began beginning Irish dance softshoe classes. By the end of her first year of class in June 2006, she had advanced so rapidly that she was asked to try out for the children's performance company for the fall. She was the only child with no previous Irish dance experienced asked to tryout, but qualified for the "Kid's Company" with ease. To perform in Kid's Company, she needed to learn Irish hardshoe dancing, and began beginner classes in fall 2006.

In 2007, her family moved from Tallahassee to Jacksonville, and she began a new phase in her dance history: competition. She first started (briefly) with Glas Tara Irish dance school in St. Augustine in July 2007, but by August, it was apparent that her new instructors' aggressive style of teaching did not fit Dana well and, for a time, quit dance completely. Eventually, her mother found the Drake Irish Dance School in Palm Coast, Florida, about an hour from home, where Dana's love for dance was renewed. Within a month, Drake opened a branch in Jacksonville, meeting at an old ballet school, and Dana's competition phase of dance began. Despite having danced for two years in Tallahassee, she had to start over at Drake, as the styles and methods were completely different. However, to date she has placed in all her competitions (about one per month), and seems to be transitioning well into the world of competition.

==Related Links==
*Science Fair at DeSoto Trail{{tellmemore}}

[[Category:Biographies|Reddick, Dana]]

Dana Reddick

2010-09-01T15:46:45Z

Adjel: /* Trivia */

[[Image:Dr2008.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Dana Reddick]]'''Dana Kathryn Reddick''' born January 17, 1998 in [[Tallahassee, Florida]] to [[Jon Reddick|Jon]] and [[Ro Reddick]] as their only child.

{{tocleft}}
==Education==
*[[Kinderschool]], Tallahassee, FL
:2000-2003, Preschool
*DeSoto Trail Elementary, Tallahassee, FL
:2003-2007, First Grade - Third Grade
*Mandarin Elementary School, Jacksonville, FL
:2007-2008, Fourth Grade
*Loretto Elementary School (technology magnet), Jacksonville, FL
:2008-2009, Fifth Grade
*Mandarin Middle School, Jacksonville, FL
:2009-, Sixth Grade

==Trivia==
*Nicknames for Dana have included, "''Pumpkin''", "''Pumpkin Pie''", "''Dane''", "''Dana Bug''," "''D.K.''" and "''Sugar Pop''"
*Her name, Dana Kathryn, comes from her parents' love of science fiction, specifically of character Dana Scully of ''The X-Files'' (1993-2002) and character Captain Kathryn Janeway of ''Star Trek: Voyager'' (1995-2001).
*Is a fan of [[Gorillaz, The|The Gorillaz]]
*Took her first steps at age 6-1/2 months
*Started using a computer before 9 months of age
[[File:Dana san marco statue.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Posing as a statue in the San Marco Theater lobby]]
*Has her own [[Little Dana|personal lullaby]], written in celebration of her birth by her Uncle Robert (Normand), and has been sung for her virtually nightly since her birth
*Started Irish dance in spring 2005
*First got her ears pierced on December 9, 2007 at a Claire's boutique in the Orange Park Mall in Jacksonville, Florida; stopped wearing them in May 2008, as it was "too much trouble" to keep her ears clean, and slightly painful to change earrings (which she couldn't and wouldn't do on her own).
*Wrote the poem, [[Dad]], for her father on the occasion of his fortieth birthday.
*Started playing softball in spring 2009. ([[Crushers]])
*Became a [[geocacher]] in November 2009.
*Did a television voice-over for a commercial for Mike's Limousines in Tallahassee, FL at age

==Achievements==
*Invited to join the Tallahassee Irish Step Dancers performance company after only one year of instruction, and performed with the company for a year prior to moving from Tallahassee
*Scored a perfect 6 on the 2008 4th grade FCAT (Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test) Writing+ Prompt (scored 0-6 points), and was one of only two children in her entire school to do so. Students are given 45 minutes to write on an assigned random topic and graded on the overall quality of the response. (This prompt was to "Write a story about what happens when someone plays a game with family or friends.") Only 1% of all 4th grade students statewide scored a 6 on the 2008 writing prompt.

==Awards==
*First place in the DeSoto Trail Elementary School Science Fair, April 2007. She won as a grade representative (3rd grade) and school representative, and went on to have her project displayed at the Tallahassee Science Expo Center. Her project was entitled, "How Does Age Effect Reaction Times."
*Tied for first place in a costume contest at [http://www.assimilationcon.com/ Assimilation Con] in Kissimmee, Florida, on September 29, 2007 dressed as [[Gaz]], a character from "Invader Zim," an animated series formerly on the Nickelodeon channel.
*Won a 1st and two 4th places in her very first Irish dance competition (called a feis) in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida on June 22, 2008. She competed at the beginner level in three dances: reel, jig, and slip jig. She placed 1st in the slip jig out of 5 competitors, and 4th in her other two dances against 7 competitors each.
* April 2009 took 1st place out of a field of 13 in the treble jig, her first time competing in Irish dance hard shoe (sort of like tap)

==Her Irish Dance History==
By age 7, Dana began becoming increasingly interested in participating in some type of club or sport, showing interest in Karate, music, and ballet. One spring Sunday in 2005 while going with her parents to eat at a restaurant near her Tallahassee home on [[Lucky Debonair Trail]], her mother spotted a new dance school a few doors away from the restaurant: Killearn Performing Arts [http://www.killearnpa.com/content.agent?page_name=Home], which specialized in Irish dance. After eating, they went to look in at a class in progress. Dana was intrigued with the dance, and her mother felt like Irish dance might be more interesting for her daughter than ballet, which is very rigid and, at times, boring. Dana began classes shortly after this, but since it was already late spring, she only got about two months of instruction (one class per week) before the school took their summer break.

In the fall of 2005, she began beginning Irish dance softshoe classes. By the end of her first year of class in June 2006, she had advanced so rapidly that she was asked to try out for the children's performance company for the fall. She was the only child with no previous Irish dance experienced asked to tryout, but qualified for the "Kid's Company" with ease. To perform in Kid's Company, she needed to learn Irish hardshoe dancing, and began beginner classes in fall 2006.

In 2007, her family moved from Tallahassee to Jacksonville, and she began a new phase in her dance history: competition. She first started (briefly) with Glas Tara Irish dance school in St. Augustine in July 2007, but by August, it was apparent that her new instructors' aggressive style of teaching did not fit Dana well and, for a time, quit dance completely. Eventually, her mother found the Drake Irish Dance School in Palm Coast, Florida, about an hour from home, where Dana's love for dance was renewed. Within a month, Drake opened a branch in Jacksonville, meeting at an old ballet school, and Dana's competition phase of dance began. Despite having danced for two years in Tallahassee, she had to start over at Drake, as the styles and methods were completely different. However, to date she has placed in all her competitions (about one per month), and seems to be transitioning well into the world of competition.

==Related Links==
*Science Fair at DeSoto Trail{{tellmemore}}

[[Category:Biographies|Reddick, Dana]]

Geocaching

2010-04-26T17:52:26Z

Adjel:

'''WHAT IS GEOCACHING?'''

As described by Geocaching.com, "Geocaching is a high-tech treasure hunting game played throughout the world by adventure seekers equipped with GPS devices. The basic idea is to locate hidden containers, called geocaches, outdoors and then share your experiences online. Geocaching is enjoyed by people from all age groups, with a strong sense of community and support for the environment." It is high-tech hide-and-seek. Anyone who geocaches can hide a geocache, post it on Geocaching.com, and then it is available to be found. Anyone can seek a geocache. Although some caches would be extremely difficult to find without a hand-held GPS unit, a great many caches, particularly in the city, can be found simply by scrutinizing the Google map on any geocache's page, reading the description and hint, and perusing the logs for any additional information. It takes a keen eye, and puzzle-solving wits sometimes to find the caches, as they aren't always easily found.

'''WHAT DOES A GEOCACHE LOOK LIKE?'''

There is no typical geocache. The only requirement is that every cache have a log so that each finder can put their name and date of the find on it. The size of caches varies, so each cache you hunt for gives you a size range. Hopefully, the cache description will give you a little additional information. A cache can be as small as a "button" magnet, which is about the size of a pencil eraser, or as large as a 5-gallon bucket or larger. The typical sizes are micro, small, regular and large. A micro is something about the size of a 35 mm film canister or smaller. Frequently, it is exactly a 35 mm canister, but usually camouflaged in some way -- painted, camo tape, glued-on leaves, or even inside something else. These rarely contain anything but a piece of paper to sign to show you found it. A size small is about the size of a sandwich container, and may contain small items. A size regular is about the size of a military ammo can (and frequently is one) -- about the size of two cereal boxes put together. A large is about bucket-sized. Any of these containers may be painted, taped, or items glued upon it to camouflage it, or it may be inside something else. Your job is to find it, despite that.

'''HOW DO I LOOK FOR A GEOCACHE?'''

First, you need to sign onto Geocaching.com and set up a free account and user name. You can then click on the menu on the left where it says "hide & seek a cache" and fill in one of the blanks for specific address, city, zip code, or whatever. You can put in your home address and click "go" and it will give you a listing of all the caches beginning with the closest to your home. Near the top of the list, there is a link to search for geocaches using Google maps. If you click on this, it will show you an area map with an icon showing you the location of all the caches around you. You can then zoom in on one you want to look for, click on the satellite view, and get a pretty good idea of where to look. If you click on the icon, you'll get the name of the cache and information on size and difficulty to find it. If you click on the name, it will take you to the cache page where you can read more about it and look at logs that people have posted.

This website, Geocaching.com, is full of all kinds of helpful information to get you started, and to answer questions. The more caches you do, the more you get familiar with particular hiding tricks and where to look for them.

'''WHEN I FIND ONE, THEN WHAT?'''

'''WHAT'S SO GREAT ABOUT IT?'''

Geocaching

2010-04-26T17:38:44Z

Adjel: Created page with ''''WHAT IS GEOCACHING?''' As described by Geocaching.com, "Geocaching is a high-tech treasure hunting game played throughout the world by adventure seekers equipped with GPS dev…'

Ro Reddick

2010-04-14T18:56:46Z

Adjel: /* Trivia */

[[Image:Example.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Ro Reddick]]{{tocleft}}'''Laurie "Ro" Reddick''' (born September 18, 1956) is the youngest of five children born to Sage “Jack" Alphonse Normand and Genevieve “Gene” Adams Normand. Called “the caboose” by her dad, she has three brothers and one sister: David Arthur, Glenn Anthony, Jeanine Anne, and Robert Andrew. She was told her name came from “Annie Laurie,” a traditional Irish song written in the late 1800’s. She was born in Fairhope, Alabama at the (now nonexistent) Jordan Clinic. Her birth was not uneventful, as her mother, who was ill with kidney disease, was told that her baby would probably be stillborn, as they could not hear a heartbeat. Emerging in a flood of black fluid (meconium stained), Laurie surprised the doctors by being alive, but tiny, weighing in at under 5 pounds. (Her mother was a 2-pack-a-day smoker, and at this time the hazards of smoking were not fully known.)
{{cleanbreak}}
==Nickname==
'''Ro''' is Laurie's nickname, and she uses it almost to the exclusion of her birth name. She acquired it before her marriage to [[Jon Reddick]] while they were the Command Team (President/Vice President) of the [[USS Khai Tam]].

===Why Ro?===
[http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Ro_Laren Ro] is a character from "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (1987-1994). Played by Michelle Forbes, she introduced in the fifth season episode "Ensign Ro," but was brought back for several other episodes. The character, Ro Laren (and Ro is actually the family name here) is from a race in of people in the Star Trek Universe known as the Bajorans, a displaced and nomadic people. Laurie felt the characteristics of the character of Ro Laren were similar to hers, and as many people in the Star Trek Fan Association adopted [[personas]], Laurie adopted the Bajoran persona, and the family name of Ro as her own. Club members agreed with the persona and began calling her Ro. The name has stuck ever since, and Laurie prefers it to her (family) given name as it is easier for others to pronounce and remember, since it is short, unusual, and alliterates nicely with Reddick.

==Childhood==
Her entire childhood was spent in the small southern town of Fairhope, Alabama, on the eastern shore of Mobile Bay. Growing up on the water, nearly every day was spent playing on the beach, swimming, fishing or crabbing. Her father, “Jack,” was a musician, and discovered that all five of his children had musical talent. Laurie’s talent was that she had perfect pitch, and a very good ear for picking out songs, such that at around age four, her father would ask her to help him learn songs from the radio for which he had no sheet music. If he played a wrong chord, she could show him what notes needed to be in the chord, even though she didn’t know the names of the notes or chords. She began playing in public with her father at age five when her father’s trio played the opening of the Delchamps shopping center in Fairhope. She played trumpet on the song “Tea for Two,” not having any idea of the relation of the valves to notes, but rather “lipping” the entire song.

The Normand house was always an open house. People were always stopping by unannounced. Gene Normand was a great listener, and kids and adults were always stopping by to talk and pour their hearts out. They knew no strangers.

The Normands were always playing music at their house. Sometimes people would hear music while walking along the beach and would just walk up to their house to listen from the porch.

While growing up, there were always large family gatherings. Nearly all of Laurie's relatives lived in the New Orleans area – then about 5 hours away – and Thanksgiving and/or Christmas always meant a full house or lots of visiting. There was always someone to play with, always someone to stay with. She grew up believing that family and traditions were important.

From the age of six, Laurie began wanting a horse. She got her first horse (a pony named Rex) at age 12 from her sister-in-law's grandfather. With love and patience, she trained him to be a top-notch competitor, and entered horse shows for six years with him. He placed in everything he entered, winning more firsts and seconds than thirds, fourths, and fifths combined. After Rex, she had two more horses: an appaloosa she named J.D.R. Spooks, and a quarter horse/Arabian mix named Romulus (Rom, for short). Although J.D. won a few places, neither of the other two horses were ever as talented a competitor as Rex.

After graduating high school at age 17, she worked a half year before leaving for the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa.

==Education==
She attended Fairhope Elementary, which, when she began, contained all 12 grades. She attended Fairhope Elementary for grades 1-6, but finished grades 7-12 at the new Fairhope High School where she had a singularly unimpressive academic career.

She attended a variety of colleges and universities, putting herself through school, finally receiving her BS degree in English from the University of South Alabama in 1989 with a 3.45 GPA. She went on to attend graduate school at Florida State University, but elected not to finish the degree.

Colleges/Universities attended:
*Faulkner State Jr. College, Bay Minette, AL
*University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL
*Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
*Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN
*University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL
*Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL

==Occupations==
This is a general list of the different types of jobs Ro has had. There is also a [[List of Ro Reddick's Jobs|detailed list]] available.
*Professional musician
*Secretary for various universities and colleges
*Salesperson
*Insurance secretary
*Server/waitress at fast food restaurants, a Chinese restaurant, a steakhouse, and a college dormitory
*Ensign in the U.S. Navy
*Factory Day Worker
*Gymnastics Coach and judge
*Co-director of a gymnastics summer camp
*Music director at a summer camp
*Acrobatics instructor
*ESL instructor in Brazil
*Medical terminology and transcription instructor
*Medical Transcriptionist in 12 specialties

==Residences==
When Laurie was born, she lived at 58 Fels Avenue in Fairhope, Alabama. Her father paid around $8,000 for the house (which her eldest brother inherited and later sold in Nov, 2001, for $150,000). In those days, people left their houses unlocked, and keys in their cars. Since then she has lived several cities:

*Nashville, TN
*Murfreesboro, TN
*Orlando, FL (while in the Navy)
*Mobile, AL
*Tuscaloosa, AL
*Ft. Walton Beach, FL
*Pensacola, FL
*Tallahassee, FL
*Jacksonville, FL

==Marriage/Children==
In late November of 1990, Laurie/Ro met her future husband, Jonathon Reddick, when she attended what was only the second meeting of the [[USS Khai Tam]] (then Shuttle Heritage) on the campus of Florida State University.

The short story:

After a long courtship, they were married in a quiet, legal ceremony in the Leon County Courthouse (Tallahassee) on September 26, 1997, and then had a second ceremony with all friends in attendance on November 1, 1997. They have one child, daughter Dana Kathyrn Reddick, born January 17, 1998.

The long story:

After a courtship lasting approximately three years, Jon and Ro moved in together into an apartment on Hidden Place. Not long afterwards, during a weekend trip to Disneyworld, Ro and Jon were waiting in line for a ride when Ro spotted a man holding a baby in front of them. As if an arrow had been shot through her heart, Ro suddenly felt an overwhelming desire to now, at this point in her life, become a mother. The desire didn't wane over the ensuing weeks and months, and on Christmas day, Jon proposed to Ro, wanting to "do it right." Within two months, before a wedding could even be planned, Ro became pregnant. Jobs and life got in the way, and wedding plans were pushed on the back burner. Finally, in September, Ro began to panic as she began to show, and was afraid they would not get married before their child was born, which was her wish. She suggested they go ahead and marry quickly, to make it official, and plan a later ceremony. They were married at the Leon County Courthouse on September 26th, with no friends in attendance. They made plans to marry, with great ceremony and all their friends in attendance, at an upcoming Star Trek convention put on by Vulkon Enterprises on November 1, 1997. The marriage ceremony was held in the convention hotel ballroom with Ro and Jon in their Star Trek finery (Ro in a Starfleet uniform with Bajoran nose ridges, and Jon in his entire Klingon ceremonial wear), as were all their friends, with Chase Masterson (from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) as Maid-of-Honor, and George Sumpter, from the club's Marine Strike Group, as Best Man. The ceremony was fully Trek, everyone costumed but Chase, with the ceremony first being lead by Adm. Terry Hilliard (the Starfleet International club regional director), and then a Bajoran Kai and Vedek (Bajoran religious leaders) stepping in to perform the Bajoran wedding ritual.

As their September 26th legal wedding date is very close to Ro's birthday, Jon and Ro have opted to celebrate the November 1 ceremony date as their wedding anniversary.

==Achievements==
*Plays five instruments: piano, bass, drums, clarinet, guitar
*Inducted into Sigma Tau Delta, the English Honor Society (1974)

==Awards==
*Won summer highpoint trophy at Jubilee Saddle Club with her pony Rex, 1971
*Placed 1st twice in SCCA (Sports Car Clubs of America) rallies held in Mobile, Alabama in the late 1970's with her 1976 Toyota Corolla 1600
*Won 1st in Class III uneven parallel bars in the Alabama State Gymnastic Championships, 1978, at age 22

==Trivia==
*Is a closet geologist and collects rocks and fossils
*Collects miniature tea sets
*Biggest fears are sharks, alligators, tornadoes, and out-of-control elevators
*Dreams in color, serialized
*Is a descendant of James "Jim" Bowie, the 19th century pioneer for whom the Bowie knife is named.
*Wanted to be a ballerina (1st grade), racehorse jockey (high school), archaeologist (beginning college), geologist/paleontologist (mid college), but settled for medical transcriptionist
*Her family was featured on Paul Harvey's radio show in the 1970's
*Started beginner gymnastics classes at age 20, and went on to coach and judge gymnastics for 15 years
*Judged gymnastics for the Special Olympics in 1981 held in Nashville, TN
*Played music for two presidents (Reagan and G.W. Bush, Sr.), one vice president (Quayle), and 50 governors (U.S. Governors Convention held at the Grand Hotel in Point Clear, Alabama, 1969)
*Had her first (and only) child at age 41
*Speak Brazilian Portuguese
*Discovered [[geocaching]] in November 2009

[[Category:Biographies|Reddick, Ro]]

Ro Reddick

2010-04-14T18:54:01Z

Adjel: /* Achievements */

[[Image:Example.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Ro Reddick]]{{tocleft}}'''Laurie "Ro" Reddick''' (born September 18, 1956) is the youngest of five children born to Sage “Jack" Alphonse Normand and Genevieve “Gene” Adams Normand. Called “the caboose” by her dad, she has three brothers and one sister: David Arthur, Glenn Anthony, Jeanine Anne, and Robert Andrew. She was told her name came from “Annie Laurie,” a traditional Irish song written in the late 1800’s. She was born in Fairhope, Alabama at the (now nonexistent) Jordan Clinic. Her birth was not uneventful, as her mother, who was ill with kidney disease, was told that her baby would probably be stillborn, as they could not hear a heartbeat. Emerging in a flood of black fluid (meconium stained), Laurie surprised the doctors by being alive, but tiny, weighing in at under 5 pounds. (Her mother was a 2-pack-a-day smoker, and at this time the hazards of smoking were not fully known.)
{{cleanbreak}}
==Nickname==
'''Ro''' is Laurie's nickname, and she uses it almost to the exclusion of her birth name. She acquired it before her marriage to [[Jon Reddick]] while they were the Command Team (President/Vice President) of the [[USS Khai Tam]].

===Why Ro?===
[http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Ro_Laren Ro] is a character from "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (1987-1994). Played by Michelle Forbes, she introduced in the fifth season episode "Ensign Ro," but was brought back for several other episodes. The character, Ro Laren (and Ro is actually the family name here) is from a race in of people in the Star Trek Universe known as the Bajorans, a displaced and nomadic people. Laurie felt the characteristics of the character of Ro Laren were similar to hers, and as many people in the Star Trek Fan Association adopted [[personas]], Laurie adopted the Bajoran persona, and the family name of Ro as her own. Club members agreed with the persona and began calling her Ro. The name has stuck ever since, and Laurie prefers it to her (family) given name as it is easier for others to pronounce and remember, since it is short, unusual, and alliterates nicely with Reddick.

==Childhood==
Her entire childhood was spent in the small southern town of Fairhope, Alabama, on the eastern shore of Mobile Bay. Growing up on the water, nearly every day was spent playing on the beach, swimming, fishing or crabbing. Her father, “Jack,” was a musician, and discovered that all five of his children had musical talent. Laurie’s talent was that she had perfect pitch, and a very good ear for picking out songs, such that at around age four, her father would ask her to help him learn songs from the radio for which he had no sheet music. If he played a wrong chord, she could show him what notes needed to be in the chord, even though she didn’t know the names of the notes or chords. She began playing in public with her father at age five when her father’s trio played the opening of the Delchamps shopping center in Fairhope. She played trumpet on the song “Tea for Two,” not having any idea of the relation of the valves to notes, but rather “lipping” the entire song.

The Normand house was always an open house. People were always stopping by unannounced. Gene Normand was a great listener, and kids and adults were always stopping by to talk and pour their hearts out. They knew no strangers.

The Normands were always playing music at their house. Sometimes people would hear music while walking along the beach and would just walk up to their house to listen from the porch.

While growing up, there were always large family gatherings. Nearly all of Laurie's relatives lived in the New Orleans area – then about 5 hours away – and Thanksgiving and/or Christmas always meant a full house or lots of visiting. There was always someone to play with, always someone to stay with. She grew up believing that family and traditions were important.

From the age of six, Laurie began wanting a horse. She got her first horse (a pony named Rex) at age 12 from her sister-in-law's grandfather. With love and patience, she trained him to be a top-notch competitor, and entered horse shows for six years with him. He placed in everything he entered, winning more firsts and seconds than thirds, fourths, and fifths combined. After Rex, she had two more horses: an appaloosa she named J.D.R. Spooks, and a quarter horse/Arabian mix named Romulus (Rom, for short). Although J.D. won a few places, neither of the other two horses were ever as talented a competitor as Rex.

After graduating high school at age 17, she worked a half year before leaving for the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa.

==Education==
She attended Fairhope Elementary, which, when she began, contained all 12 grades. She attended Fairhope Elementary for grades 1-6, but finished grades 7-12 at the new Fairhope High School where she had a singularly unimpressive academic career.

She attended a variety of colleges and universities, putting herself through school, finally receiving her BS degree in English from the University of South Alabama in 1989 with a 3.45 GPA. She went on to attend graduate school at Florida State University, but elected not to finish the degree.

Colleges/Universities attended:
*Faulkner State Jr. College, Bay Minette, AL
*University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL
*Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
*Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN
*University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL
*Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL

==Occupations==
This is a general list of the different types of jobs Ro has had. There is also a [[List of Ro Reddick's Jobs|detailed list]] available.
*Professional musician
*Secretary for various universities and colleges
*Salesperson
*Insurance secretary
*Server/waitress at fast food restaurants, a Chinese restaurant, a steakhouse, and a college dormitory
*Ensign in the U.S. Navy
*Factory Day Worker
*Gymnastics Coach and judge
*Co-director of a gymnastics summer camp
*Music director at a summer camp
*Acrobatics instructor
*ESL instructor in Brazil
*Medical terminology and transcription instructor
*Medical Transcriptionist in 12 specialties

==Residences==
When Laurie was born, she lived at 58 Fels Avenue in Fairhope, Alabama. Her father paid around $8,000 for the house (which her eldest brother inherited and later sold in Nov, 2001, for $150,000). In those days, people left their houses unlocked, and keys in their cars. Since then she has lived several cities:

*Nashville, TN
*Murfreesboro, TN
*Orlando, FL (while in the Navy)
*Mobile, AL
*Tuscaloosa, AL
*Ft. Walton Beach, FL
*Pensacola, FL
*Tallahassee, FL
*Jacksonville, FL

==Marriage/Children==
In late November of 1990, Laurie/Ro met her future husband, Jonathon Reddick, when she attended what was only the second meeting of the [[USS Khai Tam]] (then Shuttle Heritage) on the campus of Florida State University.

The short story:

After a long courtship, they were married in a quiet, legal ceremony in the Leon County Courthouse (Tallahassee) on September 26, 1997, and then had a second ceremony with all friends in attendance on November 1, 1997. They have one child, daughter Dana Kathyrn Reddick, born January 17, 1998.

The long story:

After a courtship lasting approximately three years, Jon and Ro moved in together into an apartment on Hidden Place. Not long afterwards, during a weekend trip to Disneyworld, Ro and Jon were waiting in line for a ride when Ro spotted a man holding a baby in front of them. As if an arrow had been shot through her heart, Ro suddenly felt an overwhelming desire to now, at this point in her life, become a mother. The desire didn't wane over the ensuing weeks and months, and on Christmas day, Jon proposed to Ro, wanting to "do it right." Within two months, before a wedding could even be planned, Ro became pregnant. Jobs and life got in the way, and wedding plans were pushed on the back burner. Finally, in September, Ro began to panic as she began to show, and was afraid they would not get married before their child was born, which was her wish. She suggested they go ahead and marry quickly, to make it official, and plan a later ceremony. They were married at the Leon County Courthouse on September 26th, with no friends in attendance. They made plans to marry, with great ceremony and all their friends in attendance, at an upcoming Star Trek convention put on by Vulkon Enterprises on November 1, 1997. The marriage ceremony was held in the convention hotel ballroom with Ro and Jon in their Star Trek finery (Ro in a Starfleet uniform with Bajoran nose ridges, and Jon in his entire Klingon ceremonial wear), as were all their friends, with Chase Masterson (from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) as Maid-of-Honor, and George Sumpter, from the club's Marine Strike Group, as Best Man. The ceremony was fully Trek, everyone costumed but Chase, with the ceremony first being lead by Adm. Terry Hilliard (the Starfleet International club regional director), and then a Bajoran Kai and Vedek (Bajoran religious leaders) stepping in to perform the Bajoran wedding ritual.

As their September 26th legal wedding date is very close to Ro's birthday, Jon and Ro have opted to celebrate the November 1 ceremony date as their wedding anniversary.

==Achievements==
*Plays five instruments: piano, bass, drums, clarinet, guitar
*Inducted into Sigma Tau Delta, the English Honor Society (1974)

==Awards==
*Won summer highpoint trophy at Jubilee Saddle Club with her pony Rex, 1971
*Placed 1st twice in SCCA (Sports Car Clubs of America) rallies held in Mobile, Alabama in the late 1970's with her 1976 Toyota Corolla 1600
*Won 1st in Class III uneven parallel bars in the Alabama State Gymnastic Championships, 1978, at age 22

==Trivia==
*Is a closet geologist and collects rocks and fossils
*With nearly unerring accuracy, she can remember the directions to, and find, nearly any house she has ever been to, even if only once (and in the case of yard sale homes, can remember exactly what she bought at each house), but can't remember where she put her cell phone five minutes ago. This ability is, unfortunately, slowly fading with age.
*Collects miniature tea sets
*Biggest fears are sharks, alligators, tornadoes, and out-of-control elevators
*Dreams in color, serialized
*Is a descendant of James "Jim" Bowie, the 19th century pioneer for whom the Bowie knife is named.
*Wanted to be a ballerina (1st grade), racehorse jockey (high school), archaeologist (beginning college), geologist/paleontologist (mid college), but settled for medical transcriptionist
*Her family was featured on Paul Harvey's radio show in the 1970's
*Started beginner gymnastics classes at age 20, and went on to coach and judge gymnastics for 15 years
*Judged gymnastics for the Special Olympics in 1981 held in Nashville, TN
*Began [[geocaching]] in November 2009

[[Category:Biographies|Reddick, Ro]]

Ro Reddick

2010-04-14T18:53:18Z

Adjel: /* Education */

[[Image:Example.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Ro Reddick]]{{tocleft}}'''Laurie "Ro" Reddick''' (born September 18, 1956) is the youngest of five children born to Sage “Jack" Alphonse Normand and Genevieve “Gene” Adams Normand. Called “the caboose” by her dad, she has three brothers and one sister: David Arthur, Glenn Anthony, Jeanine Anne, and Robert Andrew. She was told her name came from “Annie Laurie,” a traditional Irish song written in the late 1800’s. She was born in Fairhope, Alabama at the (now nonexistent) Jordan Clinic. Her birth was not uneventful, as her mother, who was ill with kidney disease, was told that her baby would probably be stillborn, as they could not hear a heartbeat. Emerging in a flood of black fluid (meconium stained), Laurie surprised the doctors by being alive, but tiny, weighing in at under 5 pounds. (Her mother was a 2-pack-a-day smoker, and at this time the hazards of smoking were not fully known.)
{{cleanbreak}}
==Nickname==
'''Ro''' is Laurie's nickname, and she uses it almost to the exclusion of her birth name. She acquired it before her marriage to [[Jon Reddick]] while they were the Command Team (President/Vice President) of the [[USS Khai Tam]].

===Why Ro?===
[http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Ro_Laren Ro] is a character from "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (1987-1994). Played by Michelle Forbes, she introduced in the fifth season episode "Ensign Ro," but was brought back for several other episodes. The character, Ro Laren (and Ro is actually the family name here) is from a race in of people in the Star Trek Universe known as the Bajorans, a displaced and nomadic people. Laurie felt the characteristics of the character of Ro Laren were similar to hers, and as many people in the Star Trek Fan Association adopted [[personas]], Laurie adopted the Bajoran persona, and the family name of Ro as her own. Club members agreed with the persona and began calling her Ro. The name has stuck ever since, and Laurie prefers it to her (family) given name as it is easier for others to pronounce and remember, since it is short, unusual, and alliterates nicely with Reddick.

==Childhood==
Her entire childhood was spent in the small southern town of Fairhope, Alabama, on the eastern shore of Mobile Bay. Growing up on the water, nearly every day was spent playing on the beach, swimming, fishing or crabbing. Her father, “Jack,” was a musician, and discovered that all five of his children had musical talent. Laurie’s talent was that she had perfect pitch, and a very good ear for picking out songs, such that at around age four, her father would ask her to help him learn songs from the radio for which he had no sheet music. If he played a wrong chord, she could show him what notes needed to be in the chord, even though she didn’t know the names of the notes or chords. She began playing in public with her father at age five when her father’s trio played the opening of the Delchamps shopping center in Fairhope. She played trumpet on the song “Tea for Two,” not having any idea of the relation of the valves to notes, but rather “lipping” the entire song.

The Normand house was always an open house. People were always stopping by unannounced. Gene Normand was a great listener, and kids and adults were always stopping by to talk and pour their hearts out. They knew no strangers.

The Normands were always playing music at their house. Sometimes people would hear music while walking along the beach and would just walk up to their house to listen from the porch.

While growing up, there were always large family gatherings. Nearly all of Laurie's relatives lived in the New Orleans area – then about 5 hours away – and Thanksgiving and/or Christmas always meant a full house or lots of visiting. There was always someone to play with, always someone to stay with. She grew up believing that family and traditions were important.

From the age of six, Laurie began wanting a horse. She got her first horse (a pony named Rex) at age 12 from her sister-in-law's grandfather. With love and patience, she trained him to be a top-notch competitor, and entered horse shows for six years with him. He placed in everything he entered, winning more firsts and seconds than thirds, fourths, and fifths combined. After Rex, she had two more horses: an appaloosa she named J.D.R. Spooks, and a quarter horse/Arabian mix named Romulus (Rom, for short). Although J.D. won a few places, neither of the other two horses were ever as talented a competitor as Rex.

After graduating high school at age 17, she worked a half year before leaving for the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa.

==Education==
She attended Fairhope Elementary, which, when she began, contained all 12 grades. She attended Fairhope Elementary for grades 1-6, but finished grades 7-12 at the new Fairhope High School where she had a singularly unimpressive academic career.

She attended a variety of colleges and universities, putting herself through school, finally receiving her BS degree in English from the University of South Alabama in 1989 with a 3.45 GPA. She went on to attend graduate school at Florida State University, but elected not to finish the degree.

Colleges/Universities attended:
*Faulkner State Jr. College, Bay Minette, AL
*University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL
*Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
*Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN
*University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL
*Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL

==Occupations==
This is a general list of the different types of jobs Ro has had. There is also a [[List of Ro Reddick's Jobs|detailed list]] available.
*Professional musician
*Secretary for various universities and colleges
*Salesperson
*Insurance secretary
*Server/waitress at fast food restaurants, a Chinese restaurant, a steakhouse, and a college dormitory
*Ensign in the U.S. Navy
*Factory Day Worker
*Gymnastics Coach and judge
*Co-director of a gymnastics summer camp
*Music director at a summer camp
*Acrobatics instructor
*ESL instructor in Brazil
*Medical terminology and transcription instructor
*Medical Transcriptionist in 12 specialties

==Residences==
When Laurie was born, she lived at 58 Fels Avenue in Fairhope, Alabama. Her father paid around $8,000 for the house (which her eldest brother inherited and later sold in Nov, 2001, for $150,000). In those days, people left their houses unlocked, and keys in their cars. Since then she has lived several cities:

*Nashville, TN
*Murfreesboro, TN
*Orlando, FL (while in the Navy)
*Mobile, AL
*Tuscaloosa, AL
*Ft. Walton Beach, FL
*Pensacola, FL
*Tallahassee, FL
*Jacksonville, FL

==Marriage/Children==
In late November of 1990, Laurie/Ro met her future husband, Jonathon Reddick, when she attended what was only the second meeting of the [[USS Khai Tam]] (then Shuttle Heritage) on the campus of Florida State University.

The short story:

After a long courtship, they were married in a quiet, legal ceremony in the Leon County Courthouse (Tallahassee) on September 26, 1997, and then had a second ceremony with all friends in attendance on November 1, 1997. They have one child, daughter Dana Kathyrn Reddick, born January 17, 1998.

The long story:

After a courtship lasting approximately three years, Jon and Ro moved in together into an apartment on Hidden Place. Not long afterwards, during a weekend trip to Disneyworld, Ro and Jon were waiting in line for a ride when Ro spotted a man holding a baby in front of them. As if an arrow had been shot through her heart, Ro suddenly felt an overwhelming desire to now, at this point in her life, become a mother. The desire didn't wane over the ensuing weeks and months, and on Christmas day, Jon proposed to Ro, wanting to "do it right." Within two months, before a wedding could even be planned, Ro became pregnant. Jobs and life got in the way, and wedding plans were pushed on the back burner. Finally, in September, Ro began to panic as she began to show, and was afraid they would not get married before their child was born, which was her wish. She suggested they go ahead and marry quickly, to make it official, and plan a later ceremony. They were married at the Leon County Courthouse on September 26th, with no friends in attendance. They made plans to marry, with great ceremony and all their friends in attendance, at an upcoming Star Trek convention put on by Vulkon Enterprises on November 1, 1997. The marriage ceremony was held in the convention hotel ballroom with Ro and Jon in their Star Trek finery (Ro in a Starfleet uniform with Bajoran nose ridges, and Jon in his entire Klingon ceremonial wear), as were all their friends, with Chase Masterson (from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) as Maid-of-Honor, and George Sumpter, from the club's Marine Strike Group, as Best Man. The ceremony was fully Trek, everyone costumed but Chase, with the ceremony first being lead by Adm. Terry Hilliard (the Starfleet International club regional director), and then a Bajoran Kai and Vedek (Bajoran religious leaders) stepping in to perform the Bajoran wedding ritual.

As their September 26th legal wedding date is very close to Ro's birthday, Jon and Ro have opted to celebrate the November 1 ceremony date as their wedding anniversary.

==Achievements==
*Plays five instruments: piano, bass, drums, clarinet, guitar
*Played music for two presidents (Reagan and G.W. Bush, Sr.), one vice president (Quayle), and 50 governors (U.S. Governors Convention held at the Grand Hotel in Point Clear, Alabama, 1969)
*Was the youngest child to be allowed without supervision to go in the deep part of the Grand Hotel swimming pool (age 2-1/2) and dove off the high (spring) diving board (8 feet from water) at age 3
*Had her first (and only) child at age 41
*Learned to speak Brazilian Portuguese nearly fluently mostly on her own, through Brazilian music, television, and comic books
*Inducted into Sigma Tau Delta, the English Honor Society (1974)

==Awards==
*Won summer highpoint trophy at Jubilee Saddle Club with her pony Rex, 1971
*Placed 1st twice in SCCA (Sports Car Clubs of America) rallies held in Mobile, Alabama in the late 1970's with her 1976 Toyota Corolla 1600
*Won 1st in Class III uneven parallel bars in the Alabama State Gymnastic Championships, 1978, at age 22

==Trivia==
*Is a closet geologist and collects rocks and fossils
*With nearly unerring accuracy, she can remember the directions to, and find, nearly any house she has ever been to, even if only once (and in the case of yard sale homes, can remember exactly what she bought at each house), but can't remember where she put her cell phone five minutes ago. This ability is, unfortunately, slowly fading with age.
*Collects miniature tea sets
*Biggest fears are sharks, alligators, tornadoes, and out-of-control elevators
*Dreams in color, serialized
*Is a descendant of James "Jim" Bowie, the 19th century pioneer for whom the Bowie knife is named.
*Wanted to be a ballerina (1st grade), racehorse jockey (high school), archaeologist (beginning college), geologist/paleontologist (mid college), but settled for medical transcriptionist
*Her family was featured on Paul Harvey's radio show in the 1970's
*Started beginner gymnastics classes at age 20, and went on to coach and judge gymnastics for 15 years
*Judged gymnastics for the Special Olympics in 1981 held in Nashville, TN
*Began [[geocaching]] in November 2009

[[Category:Biographies|Reddick, Ro]]

Ro Reddick

2010-04-14T18:51:30Z

Adjel: /* Education */

[[Image:Example.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Ro Reddick]]{{tocleft}}'''Laurie "Ro" Reddick''' (born September 18, 1956) is the youngest of five children born to Sage “Jack" Alphonse Normand and Genevieve “Gene” Adams Normand. Called “the caboose” by her dad, she has three brothers and one sister: David Arthur, Glenn Anthony, Jeanine Anne, and Robert Andrew. She was told her name came from “Annie Laurie,” a traditional Irish song written in the late 1800’s. She was born in Fairhope, Alabama at the (now nonexistent) Jordan Clinic. Her birth was not uneventful, as her mother, who was ill with kidney disease, was told that her baby would probably be stillborn, as they could not hear a heartbeat. Emerging in a flood of black fluid (meconium stained), Laurie surprised the doctors by being alive, but tiny, weighing in at under 5 pounds. (Her mother was a 2-pack-a-day smoker, and at this time the hazards of smoking were not fully known.)
{{cleanbreak}}
==Nickname==
'''Ro''' is Laurie's nickname, and she uses it almost to the exclusion of her birth name. She acquired it before her marriage to [[Jon Reddick]] while they were the Command Team (President/Vice President) of the [[USS Khai Tam]].

===Why Ro?===
[http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Ro_Laren Ro] is a character from "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (1987-1994). Played by Michelle Forbes, she introduced in the fifth season episode "Ensign Ro," but was brought back for several other episodes. The character, Ro Laren (and Ro is actually the family name here) is from a race in of people in the Star Trek Universe known as the Bajorans, a displaced and nomadic people. Laurie felt the characteristics of the character of Ro Laren were similar to hers, and as many people in the Star Trek Fan Association adopted [[personas]], Laurie adopted the Bajoran persona, and the family name of Ro as her own. Club members agreed with the persona and began calling her Ro. The name has stuck ever since, and Laurie prefers it to her (family) given name as it is easier for others to pronounce and remember, since it is short, unusual, and alliterates nicely with Reddick.

==Childhood==
Her entire childhood was spent in the small southern town of Fairhope, Alabama, on the eastern shore of Mobile Bay. Growing up on the water, nearly every day was spent playing on the beach, swimming, fishing or crabbing. Her father, “Jack,” was a musician, and discovered that all five of his children had musical talent. Laurie’s talent was that she had perfect pitch, and a very good ear for picking out songs, such that at around age four, her father would ask her to help him learn songs from the radio for which he had no sheet music. If he played a wrong chord, she could show him what notes needed to be in the chord, even though she didn’t know the names of the notes or chords. She began playing in public with her father at age five when her father’s trio played the opening of the Delchamps shopping center in Fairhope. She played trumpet on the song “Tea for Two,” not having any idea of the relation of the valves to notes, but rather “lipping” the entire song.

The Normand house was always an open house. People were always stopping by unannounced. Gene Normand was a great listener, and kids and adults were always stopping by to talk and pour their hearts out. They knew no strangers.

The Normands were always playing music at their house. Sometimes people would hear music while walking along the beach and would just walk up to their house to listen from the porch.

While growing up, there were always large family gatherings. Nearly all of Laurie's relatives lived in the New Orleans area – then about 5 hours away – and Thanksgiving and/or Christmas always meant a full house or lots of visiting. There was always someone to play with, always someone to stay with. She grew up believing that family and traditions were important.

From the age of six, Laurie began wanting a horse. She got her first horse (a pony named Rex) at age 12 from her sister-in-law's grandfather. With love and patience, she trained him to be a top-notch competitor, and entered horse shows for six years with him. He placed in everything he entered, winning more firsts and seconds than thirds, fourths, and fifths combined. After Rex, she had two more horses: an appaloosa she named J.D.R. Spooks, and a quarter horse/Arabian mix named Romulus (Rom, for short). Although J.D. won a few places, neither of the other two horses were ever as talented a competitor as Rex.

After graduating high school at age 17, she worked a half year before leaving for the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa.

==Education==
She attended Fairhope Elementary, which, when she began, contained all 12 grades. She attended Fairhope Elementary for grades 1-6, but finished grades 7-12 at the new Fairhope High School where she had a singularly unimpressive academic career.

She attended a variety of colleges and universities, putting herself through school, finally receiving her BS degree in English from the University of South Alabama in 1989. She went on to attend graduate school at Florida State University, but elected not to finish the degree.

Colleges/Universities attended:
*Faulkner State Jr. College, Bay Minette, AL
*University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL
*Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
*Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN
*University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL
*Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL

==Occupations==
This is a general list of the different types of jobs Ro has had. There is also a [[List of Ro Reddick's Jobs|detailed list]] available.
*Professional musician
*Secretary for various universities and colleges
*Salesperson
*Insurance secretary
*Server/waitress at fast food restaurants, a Chinese restaurant, a steakhouse, and a college dormitory
*Ensign in the U.S. Navy
*Factory Day Worker
*Gymnastics Coach and judge
*Co-director of a gymnastics summer camp
*Music director at a summer camp
*Acrobatics instructor
*ESL instructor in Brazil
*Medical terminology and transcription instructor
*Medical Transcriptionist in 12 specialties

==Residences==
When Laurie was born, she lived at 58 Fels Avenue in Fairhope, Alabama. Her father paid around $8,000 for the house (which her eldest brother inherited and later sold in Nov, 2001, for $150,000). In those days, people left their houses unlocked, and keys in their cars. Since then she has lived several cities:

*Nashville, TN
*Murfreesboro, TN
*Orlando, FL (while in the Navy)
*Mobile, AL
*Tuscaloosa, AL
*Ft. Walton Beach, FL
*Pensacola, FL
*Tallahassee, FL
*Jacksonville, FL

==Marriage/Children==
In late November of 1990, Laurie/Ro met her future husband, Jonathon Reddick, when she attended what was only the second meeting of the [[USS Khai Tam]] (then Shuttle Heritage) on the campus of Florida State University.

The short story:

After a long courtship, they were married in a quiet, legal ceremony in the Leon County Courthouse (Tallahassee) on September 26, 1997, and then had a second ceremony with all friends in attendance on November 1, 1997. They have one child, daughter Dana Kathyrn Reddick, born January 17, 1998.

The long story:

After a courtship lasting approximately three years, Jon and Ro moved in together into an apartment on Hidden Place. Not long afterwards, during a weekend trip to Disneyworld, Ro and Jon were waiting in line for a ride when Ro spotted a man holding a baby in front of them. As if an arrow had been shot through her heart, Ro suddenly felt an overwhelming desire to now, at this point in her life, become a mother. The desire didn't wane over the ensuing weeks and months, and on Christmas day, Jon proposed to Ro, wanting to "do it right." Within two months, before a wedding could even be planned, Ro became pregnant. Jobs and life got in the way, and wedding plans were pushed on the back burner. Finally, in September, Ro began to panic as she began to show, and was afraid they would not get married before their child was born, which was her wish. She suggested they go ahead and marry quickly, to make it official, and plan a later ceremony. They were married at the Leon County Courthouse on September 26th, with no friends in attendance. They made plans to marry, with great ceremony and all their friends in attendance, at an upcoming Star Trek convention put on by Vulkon Enterprises on November 1, 1997. The marriage ceremony was held in the convention hotel ballroom with Ro and Jon in their Star Trek finery (Ro in a Starfleet uniform with Bajoran nose ridges, and Jon in his entire Klingon ceremonial wear), as were all their friends, with Chase Masterson (from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) as Maid-of-Honor, and George Sumpter, from the club's Marine Strike Group, as Best Man. The ceremony was fully Trek, everyone costumed but Chase, with the ceremony first being lead by Adm. Terry Hilliard (the Starfleet International club regional director), and then a Bajoran Kai and Vedek (Bajoran religious leaders) stepping in to perform the Bajoran wedding ritual.

As their September 26th legal wedding date is very close to Ro's birthday, Jon and Ro have opted to celebrate the November 1 ceremony date as their wedding anniversary.

==Achievements==
*Plays five instruments: piano, bass, drums, clarinet, guitar
*Played music for two presidents (Reagan and G.W. Bush, Sr.), one vice president (Quayle), and 50 governors (U.S. Governors Convention held at the Grand Hotel in Point Clear, Alabama, 1969)
*Was the youngest child to be allowed without supervision to go in the deep part of the Grand Hotel swimming pool (age 2-1/2) and dove off the high (spring) diving board (8 feet from water) at age 3
*Had her first (and only) child at age 41
*Learned to speak Brazilian Portuguese nearly fluently mostly on her own, through Brazilian music, television, and comic books
*Inducted into Sigma Tau Delta, the English Honor Society (1974)

==Awards==
*Won summer highpoint trophy at Jubilee Saddle Club with her pony Rex, 1971
*Placed 1st twice in SCCA (Sports Car Clubs of America) rallies held in Mobile, Alabama in the late 1970's with her 1976 Toyota Corolla 1600
*Won 1st in Class III uneven parallel bars in the Alabama State Gymnastic Championships, 1978, at age 22

==Trivia==
*Is a closet geologist and collects rocks and fossils
*With nearly unerring accuracy, she can remember the directions to, and find, nearly any house she has ever been to, even if only once (and in the case of yard sale homes, can remember exactly what she bought at each house), but can't remember where she put her cell phone five minutes ago. This ability is, unfortunately, slowly fading with age.
*Collects miniature tea sets
*Biggest fears are sharks, alligators, tornadoes, and out-of-control elevators
*Dreams in color, serialized
*Is a descendant of James "Jim" Bowie, the 19th century pioneer for whom the Bowie knife is named.
*Wanted to be a ballerina (1st grade), racehorse jockey (high school), archaeologist (beginning college), geologist/paleontologist (mid college), but settled for medical transcriptionist
*Her family was featured on Paul Harvey's radio show in the 1970's
*Started beginner gymnastics classes at age 20, and went on to coach and judge gymnastics for 15 years
*Judged gymnastics for the Special Olympics in 1981 held in Nashville, TN
*Began [[geocaching]] in November 2009

[[Category:Biographies|Reddick, Ro]]

Ro Reddick

2010-04-14T18:50:50Z

Adjel: /* Education */

[[Image:Example.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Ro Reddick]]{{tocleft}}'''Laurie "Ro" Reddick''' (born September 18, 1956) is the youngest of five children born to Sage “Jack" Alphonse Normand and Genevieve “Gene” Adams Normand. Called “the caboose” by her dad, she has three brothers and one sister: David Arthur, Glenn Anthony, Jeanine Anne, and Robert Andrew. She was told her name came from “Annie Laurie,” a traditional Irish song written in the late 1800’s. She was born in Fairhope, Alabama at the (now nonexistent) Jordan Clinic. Her birth was not uneventful, as her mother, who was ill with kidney disease, was told that her baby would probably be stillborn, as they could not hear a heartbeat. Emerging in a flood of black fluid (meconium stained), Laurie surprised the doctors by being alive, but tiny, weighing in at under 5 pounds. (Her mother was a 2-pack-a-day smoker, and at this time the hazards of smoking were not fully known.)
{{cleanbreak}}
==Nickname==
'''Ro''' is Laurie's nickname, and she uses it almost to the exclusion of her birth name. She acquired it before her marriage to [[Jon Reddick]] while they were the Command Team (President/Vice President) of the [[USS Khai Tam]].

===Why Ro?===
[http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Ro_Laren Ro] is a character from "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (1987-1994). Played by Michelle Forbes, she introduced in the fifth season episode "Ensign Ro," but was brought back for several other episodes. The character, Ro Laren (and Ro is actually the family name here) is from a race in of people in the Star Trek Universe known as the Bajorans, a displaced and nomadic people. Laurie felt the characteristics of the character of Ro Laren were similar to hers, and as many people in the Star Trek Fan Association adopted [[personas]], Laurie adopted the Bajoran persona, and the family name of Ro as her own. Club members agreed with the persona and began calling her Ro. The name has stuck ever since, and Laurie prefers it to her (family) given name as it is easier for others to pronounce and remember, since it is short, unusual, and alliterates nicely with Reddick.

==Childhood==
Her entire childhood was spent in the small southern town of Fairhope, Alabama, on the eastern shore of Mobile Bay. Growing up on the water, nearly every day was spent playing on the beach, swimming, fishing or crabbing. Her father, “Jack,” was a musician, and discovered that all five of his children had musical talent. Laurie’s talent was that she had perfect pitch, and a very good ear for picking out songs, such that at around age four, her father would ask her to help him learn songs from the radio for which he had no sheet music. If he played a wrong chord, she could show him what notes needed to be in the chord, even though she didn’t know the names of the notes or chords. She began playing in public with her father at age five when her father’s trio played the opening of the Delchamps shopping center in Fairhope. She played trumpet on the song “Tea for Two,” not having any idea of the relation of the valves to notes, but rather “lipping” the entire song.

The Normand house was always an open house. People were always stopping by unannounced. Gene Normand was a great listener, and kids and adults were always stopping by to talk and pour their hearts out. They knew no strangers.

The Normands were always playing music at their house. Sometimes people would hear music while walking along the beach and would just walk up to their house to listen from the porch.

While growing up, there were always large family gatherings. Nearly all of Laurie's relatives lived in the New Orleans area – then about 5 hours away – and Thanksgiving and/or Christmas always meant a full house or lots of visiting. There was always someone to play with, always someone to stay with. She grew up believing that family and traditions were important.

From the age of six, Laurie began wanting a horse. She got her first horse (a pony named Rex) at age 12 from her sister-in-law's grandfather. With love and patience, she trained him to be a top-notch competitor, and entered horse shows for six years with him. He placed in everything he entered, winning more firsts and seconds than thirds, fourths, and fifths combined. After Rex, she had two more horses: an appaloosa she named J.D.R. Spooks, and a quarter horse/Arabian mix named Romulus (Rom, for short). Although J.D. won a few places, neither of the other two horses were ever as talented a competitor as Rex.

After graduating high school at age 17, she worked a half year before leaving for the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa.

==Education==
She attended Fairhope Elementary, which, when she began, contained all 12 grades. She attended Fairhope Elementary for grades 1-6, but finished grades 7-12 at the new Fairhope High School where she had a singularly unimpressive academic career.

She attended a variety of colleges and universities, putting herself through school, finally receiving her BS degree in English from the University of South Alabama in 1989. She went on to attend graduate school at Florida State University, but elected not to finish the degree.

Colleges/Universities attended:
*Faulkner State Jr. College, Bay Minette, AL
*University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL
*Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
*Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN
*University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL
*Florida State University

==Occupations==
This is a general list of the different types of jobs Ro has had. There is also a [[List of Ro Reddick's Jobs|detailed list]] available.
*Professional musician
*Secretary for various universities and colleges
*Salesperson
*Insurance secretary
*Server/waitress at fast food restaurants, a Chinese restaurant, a steakhouse, and a college dormitory
*Ensign in the U.S. Navy
*Factory Day Worker
*Gymnastics Coach and judge
*Co-director of a gymnastics summer camp
*Music director at a summer camp
*Acrobatics instructor
*ESL instructor in Brazil
*Medical terminology and transcription instructor
*Medical Transcriptionist in 12 specialties

==Residences==
When Laurie was born, she lived at 58 Fels Avenue in Fairhope, Alabama. Her father paid around $8,000 for the house (which her eldest brother inherited and later sold in Nov, 2001, for $150,000). In those days, people left their houses unlocked, and keys in their cars. Since then she has lived several cities:

*Nashville, TN
*Murfreesboro, TN
*Orlando, FL (while in the Navy)
*Mobile, AL
*Tuscaloosa, AL
*Ft. Walton Beach, FL
*Pensacola, FL
*Tallahassee, FL
*Jacksonville, FL

==Marriage/Children==
In late November of 1990, Laurie/Ro met her future husband, Jonathon Reddick, when she attended what was only the second meeting of the [[USS Khai Tam]] (then Shuttle Heritage) on the campus of Florida State University.

The short story:

After a long courtship, they were married in a quiet, legal ceremony in the Leon County Courthouse (Tallahassee) on September 26, 1997, and then had a second ceremony with all friends in attendance on November 1, 1997. They have one child, daughter Dana Kathyrn Reddick, born January 17, 1998.

The long story:

After a courtship lasting approximately three years, Jon and Ro moved in together into an apartment on Hidden Place. Not long afterwards, during a weekend trip to Disneyworld, Ro and Jon were waiting in line for a ride when Ro spotted a man holding a baby in front of them. As if an arrow had been shot through her heart, Ro suddenly felt an overwhelming desire to now, at this point in her life, become a mother. The desire didn't wane over the ensuing weeks and months, and on Christmas day, Jon proposed to Ro, wanting to "do it right." Within two months, before a wedding could even be planned, Ro became pregnant. Jobs and life got in the way, and wedding plans were pushed on the back burner. Finally, in September, Ro began to panic as she began to show, and was afraid they would not get married before their child was born, which was her wish. She suggested they go ahead and marry quickly, to make it official, and plan a later ceremony. They were married at the Leon County Courthouse on September 26th, with no friends in attendance. They made plans to marry, with great ceremony and all their friends in attendance, at an upcoming Star Trek convention put on by Vulkon Enterprises on November 1, 1997. The marriage ceremony was held in the convention hotel ballroom with Ro and Jon in their Star Trek finery (Ro in a Starfleet uniform with Bajoran nose ridges, and Jon in his entire Klingon ceremonial wear), as were all their friends, with Chase Masterson (from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) as Maid-of-Honor, and George Sumpter, from the club's Marine Strike Group, as Best Man. The ceremony was fully Trek, everyone costumed but Chase, with the ceremony first being lead by Adm. Terry Hilliard (the Starfleet International club regional director), and then a Bajoran Kai and Vedek (Bajoran religious leaders) stepping in to perform the Bajoran wedding ritual.

As their September 26th legal wedding date is very close to Ro's birthday, Jon and Ro have opted to celebrate the November 1 ceremony date as their wedding anniversary.

==Achievements==
*Plays five instruments: piano, bass, drums, clarinet, guitar
*Played music for two presidents (Reagan and G.W. Bush, Sr.), one vice president (Quayle), and 50 governors (U.S. Governors Convention held at the Grand Hotel in Point Clear, Alabama, 1969)
*Was the youngest child to be allowed without supervision to go in the deep part of the Grand Hotel swimming pool (age 2-1/2) and dove off the high (spring) diving board (8 feet from water) at age 3
*Had her first (and only) child at age 41
*Learned to speak Brazilian Portuguese nearly fluently mostly on her own, through Brazilian music, television, and comic books
*Inducted into Sigma Tau Delta, the English Honor Society (1974)

==Awards==
*Won summer highpoint trophy at Jubilee Saddle Club with her pony Rex, 1971
*Placed 1st twice in SCCA (Sports Car Clubs of America) rallies held in Mobile, Alabama in the late 1970's with her 1976 Toyota Corolla 1600
*Won 1st in Class III uneven parallel bars in the Alabama State Gymnastic Championships, 1978, at age 22

==Trivia==
*Is a closet geologist and collects rocks and fossils
*With nearly unerring accuracy, she can remember the directions to, and find, nearly any house she has ever been to, even if only once (and in the case of yard sale homes, can remember exactly what she bought at each house), but can't remember where she put her cell phone five minutes ago. This ability is, unfortunately, slowly fading with age.
*Collects miniature tea sets
*Biggest fears are sharks, alligators, tornadoes, and out-of-control elevators
*Dreams in color, serialized
*Is a descendant of James "Jim" Bowie, the 19th century pioneer for whom the Bowie knife is named.
*Wanted to be a ballerina (1st grade), racehorse jockey (high school), archaeologist (beginning college), geologist/paleontologist (mid college), but settled for medical transcriptionist
*Her family was featured on Paul Harvey's radio show in the 1970's
*Started beginner gymnastics classes at age 20, and went on to coach and judge gymnastics for 15 years
*Judged gymnastics for the Special Olympics in 1981 held in Nashville, TN
*Began [[geocaching]] in November 2009

[[Category:Biographies|Reddick, Ro]]

Ro Reddick

2010-01-19T17:59:51Z

Adjel:

[[Image:Example.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Ro Reddick]]{{tocleft}}'''Laurie "Ro" Reddick''' (born September 18, 1956) is the youngest of five children born to Sage “Jack" Alphonse Normand and Genevieve “Gene” Adams Normand. Called “the caboose” by her dad, she has three brothers and one sister: David Arthur, Glenn Anthony, Jeanine Anne, and Robert Andrew. She was told her name came from “Annie Laurie,” a traditional Irish song written in the late 1800’s. She was born in Fairhope, Alabama at the (now nonexistent) Jordan Clinic. Her birth was not uneventful, as her mother, who was ill with kidney disease, was told that her baby would probably be stillborn, as they could not hear a heartbeat. Emerging in a flood of black fluid (meconium stained), Laurie surprised the doctors by being alive, but tiny, weighing in at under 5 pounds. (Her mother was a 2-pack-a-day smoker, and at this time the hazards of smoking were not fully known.)
{{cleanbreak}}
==Nickname==
'''Ro''' is Laurie's nickname, and she uses it almost to the exclusion of her birth name. She acquired it before her marriage to [[Jon Reddick]] while they were the Command Team (President/Vice President) of the [[USS Khai Tam]].

===Why Ro?===
[http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Ro_Laren Ro] is a character from "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (1987-1994). Played by Michelle Forbes, she introduced in the fifth season episode "Ensign Ro," but was brought back for several other episodes. The character, Ro Laren (and Ro is actually the family name here) is from a race in of people in the Star Trek Universe known as the Bajorans, a displaced and nomadic people. Laurie felt the characteristics of the character of Ro Laren were similar to hers, and as many people in the Star Trek Fan Association adopted [[personas]], Laurie adopted the Bajoran persona, and the family name of Ro as her own. Club members agreed with the persona and began calling her Ro. The name has stuck ever since, and Laurie prefers it to her (family) given name as it is easier for others to pronounce and remember, since it is short, unusual, and alliterates nicely with Reddick.

==Childhood==
Her entire childhood was spent in the small southern town of Fairhope, Alabama, on the eastern shore of Mobile Bay. Growing up on the water, nearly every day was spent playing on the beach, swimming, fishing or crabbing. Her father, “Jack,” was a musician, and discovered that all five of his children had musical talent. Laurie’s talent was that she had perfect pitch, and a very good ear for picking out songs, such that at around age four, her father would ask her to help him learn songs from the radio for which he had no sheet music. If he played a wrong chord, she could show him what notes needed to be in the chord, even though she didn’t know the names of the notes or chords. She began playing in public with her father at age five when her father’s trio played the opening of the Delchamps shopping center in Fairhope. She played trumpet on the song “Tea for Two,” not having any idea of the relation of the valves to notes, but rather “lipping” the entire song.

The Normand house was always an open house. People were always stopping by unannounced. Gene Normand was a great listener, and kids and adults were always stopping by to talk and pour their hearts out. They knew no strangers.

The Normands were always playing music at their house. Sometimes people would hear music while walking along the beach and would just walk up to their house to listen from the porch.

While growing up, there were always large family gatherings. Nearly all of Laurie's relatives lived in the New Orleans area – then about 5 hours away – and Thanksgiving and/or Christmas always meant a full house or lots of visiting. There was always someone to play with, always someone to stay with. She grew up believing that family and traditions were important.

From the age of six, Laurie began wanting a horse. She got her first horse (a pony named Rex) at age 12 from her sister-in-law's grandfather. With love and patience, she trained him to be a top-notch competitor, and entered horse shows for six years with him. He placed in everything he entered, winning more firsts and seconds than thirds, fourths, and fifths combined. After Rex, she had two more horses: an appaloosa she named J.D.R. Spooks, and a quarter horse/Arabian mix named Romulus (Rom, for short). Although J.D. won a few places, neither of the other two horses were ever as talented a competitor as Rex.

After graduating high school at age 17, she worked a half year before leaving for the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa.

==Education==
She attended Fairhope Elementary, which, when she began, contained all 12 grades. She attended Fairhope Elementary for grades 1-6, but finished grades 7-12 at the new Fairhope High School where she had a singularly unimpressive academic career. Suggestion was made by her high school counselor and her family that she not try to attend a university, but rather attend a community college in hopes of passing, while continuing to further her expertise in music with her family band.

Nevertheless, she eventually attended the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, where both her sister and her brother Robert had attended. As expected, she made C’s and D’s. After quitting college for six years, she returned to college once again to eventually get her B.A. in English from the University of South Alabama, making the Dean’s List or President’s List every quarter, and graduating 0.05 points away from cum laude.

Colleges/Universities attended:
*Faulkner State Jr. College, Bay Minette, AL
*University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL
*Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
*Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN
*University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL

==Occupations==
This is a general list of the different types of jobs Ro has had. There is also a [[List of Ro Reddick's Jobs|detailed list]] available.
*Professional musician
*Secretary for various universities and colleges
*Salesperson
*Insurance secretary
*Server/waitress at fast food restaurants, a Chinese restaurant, a steakhouse, and a college dormitory
*Ensign in the U.S. Navy
*Factory Day Worker
*Gymnastics Coach and judge
*Co-director of a gymnastics summer camp
*Music director at a summer camp
*Acrobatics instructor
*ESL instructor in Brazil
*Medical terminology and transcription instructor
*Medical Transcriptionist in 12 specialties

==Residences==
When Laurie was born, she lived at 58 Fels Avenue in Fairhope, Alabama. Her father paid around $8,000 for the house (which her eldest brother inherited and later sold in Nov, 2001, for $150,000). In those days, people left their houses unlocked, and keys in their cars. Since then she has lived several cities:

*Nashville, TN
*Murfreesboro, TN
*Orlando, FL (while in the Navy)
*Mobile, AL
*Tuscaloosa, AL
*Ft. Walton Beach, FL
*Pensacola, FL
*Tallahassee, FL
*Jacksonville, FL

==Marriage/Children==
In late November of 1990, Laurie/Ro met her future husband, Jonathon Reddick, when she attended what was only the second meeting of the [[USS Khai Tam]] (then Shuttle Heritage) on the campus of Florida State University.

The short story:

After a long courtship, they were married in a quiet, legal ceremony in the Leon County Courthouse (Tallahassee) on September 26, 1997, and then had a second ceremony with all friends in attendance on November 1, 1997. They have one child, daughter Dana Kathyrn Reddick, born January 17, 1998.

The long story:

After a courtship lasting approximately three years, Jon and Ro moved in together into an apartment on Hidden Place. Not long afterwards, during a weekend trip to Disneyworld, Ro and Jon were waiting in line for a ride when Ro spotted a man holding a baby in front of them. As if an arrow had been shot through her heart, Ro suddenly felt an overwhelming desire to now, at this point in her life, become a mother. The desire didn't wane over the ensuing weeks and months, and on Christmas day, Jon proposed to Ro, wanting to "do it right." Within two months, before a wedding could even be planned, Ro became pregnant. Jobs and life got in the way, and wedding plans were pushed on the back burner. Finally, in September, Ro began to panic as she began to show, and was afraid they would not get married before their child was born, which was her wish. She suggested they go ahead and marry quickly, to make it official, and plan a later ceremony. They were married at the Leon County Courthouse on September 26th, with no friends in attendance. They made plans to marry, with great ceremony and all their friends in attendance, at an upcoming Star Trek convention put on by Vulkon Enterprises on November 1, 1997. The marriage ceremony was held in the convention hotel ballroom with Ro and Jon in their Star Trek finery (Ro in a Starfleet uniform with Bajoran nose ridges, and Jon in his entire Klingon ceremonial wear), as were all their friends, with Chase Masterson (from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) as Maid-of-Honor, and George Sumpter, from the club's Marine Strike Group, as Best Man. The ceremony was fully Trek, everyone costumed but Chase, with the ceremony first being lead by Adm. Terry Hilliard (the Starfleet International club regional director), and then a Bajoran Kai and Vedek (Bajoran religious leaders) stepping in to perform the Bajoran wedding ritual.

As their September 26th legal wedding date is very close to Ro's birthday, Jon and Ro have opted to celebrate the November 1 ceremony date as their wedding anniversary.

==Achievements==
*Plays five instruments: piano, bass, drums, clarinet, guitar
*Played music for two presidents (Reagan and G.W. Bush, Sr.), one vice president (Quayle), and 50 governors (U.S. Governors Convention held at the Grand Hotel in Point Clear, Alabama, 1969)
*Was the youngest child to be allowed without supervision to go in the deep part of the Grand Hotel swimming pool (age 2-1/2) and dove off the high (spring) diving board (8 feet from water) at age 3
*Had her first (and only) child at age 41
*Learned to speak Brazilian Portuguese nearly fluently mostly on her own, through Brazilian music, television, and comic books
*Inducted into Sigma Tau Delta, the English Honor Society (1974)

==Awards==
*Won summer highpoint trophy at Jubilee Saddle Club with her pony Rex, 1971
*Placed 1st twice in SCCA (Sports Car Clubs of America) rallies held in Mobile, Alabama in the late 1970's with her 1976 Toyota Corolla 1600
*Won 1st in Class III uneven parallel bars in the Alabama State Gymnastic Championships, 1978, at age 22

==Trivia==
*Is a closet geologist and collects rocks and fossils
*With nearly unerring accuracy, she can remember the directions to, and find, nearly any house she has ever been to, even if only once (and in the case of yard sale homes, can remember exactly what she bought at each house), but can't remember where she put her cell phone five minutes ago. This ability is, unfortunately, slowly fading with age.
*Collects miniature tea sets
*Biggest fears are sharks, alligators, tornadoes, and out-of-control elevators
*Dreams in color, serialized
*Is a descendant of James "Jim" Bowie, the 19th century pioneer for whom the Bowie knife is named.
*Wanted to be a ballerina (1st grade), racehorse jockey (high school), archaeologist (beginning college), geologist/paleontologist (mid college), but settled for medical transcriptionist
*Her family was featured on Paul Harvey's radio show in the 1970's
*Started beginner gymnastics classes at age 20, and went on to coach and judge gymnastics for 15 years
*Judged gymnastics for the Special Olympics in 1981 held in Nashville, TN
*Began [[geocaching]] in November 2009

[[Category:Biographies|Reddick, Ro]]

Dana Reddick

2010-01-19T17:54:07Z

Adjel: /* Trivia */

[[Image:Dr2008.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Dana Reddick]]'''Dana Kathryn Reddick''' born January 17, 1998 in [[Tallahassee, Florida]] to [[Jon Reddick|Jon]] and [[Ro Reddick]] as their only child.

{{tocleft}}
==Education==
*[[Kinderschool]], Tallahassee, FL
:2000-2003, Preschool
*DeSoto Trail Elementary, Tallahassee, FL
:2003-2007, First Grade - Third Grade
*Mandarin Elementary School, Jacksonville, FL
:2007-2008, Fourth Grade
*Loretto Elementary School (technology magnet), Jacksonville, FL
:2008-2009, Fifth Grade
*Mandarin Middle School, Jacksonville, FL
:2009-, Sixth Grade

==Trivia==
*Nicknames for Dana have included, "''Pumpkin''", "''Pumpkin Pie''", "''Dane''", "''Dana Bug''," "''D.K.''" and "''Sugar Pop''"
*Her name, Dana Kathryn, comes from her parents' love of science fiction, specifically of character Dana Scully of ''The X-Files'' (1993-2002) and character Captain Kathryn Janeway of ''Star Trek: Voyager'' (1995-2001).
*Is a fan of [[Gorillaz, The|The Gorillaz]]
*Took her first steps at age 6-1/2 months
*Started using a computer before 9 months of age
[[File:Dana san marco statue.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Posing as a statue in the San Marco Theater lobby]]
*Has her own [[Little Dana|personal lullaby]], written in celebration of her birth by her Uncle Robert (Normand), and has been sung for her virtually nightly since her birth
*Started Irish dance in spring 2005
*First got her ears pierced on December 9, 2007 at a Claire's boutique in the Orange Park Mall in Jacksonville, Florida; stopped wearing them in May 2008, as it was "too much trouble" to keep her ears clean, and slightly painful to change earrings (which she couldn't and wouldn't do on her own).
*Wrote the poem, [[Dad]], for her father on the occasion of his fortieth birthday.
*Started playing softball in spring 2009. ([[Crushers]])
*Became a [[geocacher]] in November 2009.

==Achievements==
*Invited to join the Tallahassee Irish Step Dancers performance company after only one year of instruction, and performed with the company for a year prior to moving from Tallahassee
*Scored a perfect 6 on the 2008 4th grade FCAT (Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test) Writing+ Prompt (scored 0-6 points), and was one of only two children in her entire school to do so. Students are given 45 minutes to write on an assigned random topic and graded on the overall quality of the response. (This prompt was to "Write a story about what happens when someone plays a game with family or friends.") Only 1% of all 4th grade students statewide scored a 6 on the 2008 writing prompt.

==Awards==
*First place in the DeSoto Trail Elementary School Science Fair, April 2007. She won as a grade representative (3rd grade) and school representative, and went on to have her project displayed at the Tallahassee Science Expo Center. Her project was entitled, "How Does Age Effect Reaction Times."
*Tied for first place in a costume contest at [http://www.assimilationcon.com/ Assimilation Con] in Kissimmee, Florida, on September 29, 2007 dressed as [[Gaz]], a character from "Invader Zim," an animated series formerly on the Nickelodeon channel.
*Won a 1st and two 4th places in her very first Irish dance competition (called a feis) in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida on June 22, 2008. She competed at the beginner level in three dances: reel, jig, and slip jig. She placed 1st in the slip jig out of 5 competitors, and 4th in her other two dances against 7 competitors each.
* April 2009 took 1st place out of a field of 13 in the treble jig, her first time competing in Irish dance hard shoe (sort of like tap)

==Her Irish Dance History==
By age 7, Dana began becoming increasingly interested in participating in some type of club or sport, showing interest in Karate, music, and ballet. One spring Sunday in 2005 while going with her parents to eat at a restaurant near her Tallahassee home on [[Lucky Debonair Trail]], her mother spotted a new dance school a few doors away from the restaurant: Killearn Performing Arts [http://www.killearnpa.com/content.agent?page_name=Home], which specialized in Irish dance. After eating, they went to look in at a class in progress. Dana was intrigued with the dance, and her mother felt like Irish dance might be more interesting for her daughter than ballet, which is very rigid and, at times, boring. Dana began classes shortly after this, but since it was already late spring, she only got about two months of instruction (one class per week) before the school took their summer break.

In the fall of 2005, she began beginning Irish dance softshoe classes. By the end of her first year of class in June 2006, she had advanced so rapidly that she was asked to try out for the children's performance company for the fall. She was the only child with no previous Irish dance experienced asked to tryout, but qualified for the "Kid's Company" with ease. To perform in Kid's Company, she needed to learn Irish hardshoe dancing, and began beginner classes in fall 2006.

In 2007, her family moved from Tallahassee to Jacksonville, and she began a new phase in her dance history: competition. She first started (briefly) with Glas Tara Irish dance school in St. Augustine in July 2007, but by August, it was apparent that her new instructors' aggressive style of teaching did not fit Dana well and, for a time, quit dance completely. Eventually, her mother found the Drake Irish Dance School in Palm Coast, Florida, about an hour from home, where Dana's love for dance was renewed. Within a month, Drake opened a branch in Jacksonville, meeting at an old ballet school, and Dana's competition phase of dance began. Despite having danced for two years in Tallahassee, she had to start over at Drake, as the styles and methods were completely different. However, to date she has placed in all her competitions (about one per month), and seems to be transitioning well into the world of competition.

==Related Links==
*Science Fair at DeSoto Trail{{tellmemore}}

[[Category:Biographies|Reddick, Dana]]

Dana Reddick

2009-07-27T15:03:16Z

Adjel: /* Her Irish Dance History */

[[Image:Dr2008.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Dana Reddick]]'''Dana Kathryn Reddick''' born January 17, 1998 in [[Tallahassee, Florida]] to [[Jon Reddick|Jon]] and [[Ro Reddick]] as their only child.

{{tocleft}}
==Education==
*[[Kinderschool]], Tallahassee, FL
:2000-2003, Preschool
*DeSoto Trail Elementary, Tallahassee, FL
:2003-2007, First Grade - Third Grade
*Mandarin Elementary School, Jacksonville, FL
:2007-2008, Fourth Grade
*Loretto Elementary School (technology magnet), Jacksonville, FL
:2008-2009, Fifth Grade
*Mandarin Middle School, Jacksonville, FL
:2009-, Sixth Grade

==Trivia==
*Nicknames for Dana have included, "''Pumpkin''", "''Pumpkin Pie''", "''Dane''", "''Dana Bug''," "''D.K.''" and "''Sugar Pop''"
*Her name, Dana Kathryn, comes from her parents' love of science fiction, specifically of character Dana Scully of ''The X-Files'' (1993-2002) and character Captain Kathryn Janeway of ''Star Trek: Voyager'' (1995-2001).
*Is a fan of [[Gorillaz, The|The Gorillaz]]
*Took her first steps at age 6-1/2 months
*Started using a computer before 9 months of age
[[File:Dana san marco statue.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Posing as a statue in the San Marco Theater lobby]]
*Has her own [[Little Dana|personal lullaby]], written in celebration of her birth by her Uncle Robert (Normand), and has been sung for her virtually nightly since her birth
*First got her ears pierced on December 9, 2007 at a Claire's boutique in the Orange Park Mall in Jacksonville, Florida; stopped wearing them in May 2008, as it was "too much trouble" to keep her ears clean, and slightly painful to change earrings (which she couldn't and wouldn't do on her own).
*Wrote the poem, [[Dad]], for her father on the occasion of his fortieth birthday.

==Achievements==
*Invited to join the Tallahassee Irish Step Dancers performance company after only one year of instruction, and performed with the company for a year prior to moving from Tallahassee
*Scored a perfect 6 on the 2008 4th grade FCAT (Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test) Writing+ Prompt (scored 0-6 points), and was one of only two children in her entire school to do so. Students are given 45 minutes to write on an assigned random topic and graded on the overall quality of the response. (This prompt was to "Write a story about what happens when someone plays a game with family or friends.") Only 1% of all 4th grade students statewide scored a 6 on the 2008 writing prompt.

==Awards==
*First place in the DeSoto Trail Elementary School Science Fair, April 2007. She won as a grade representative (3rd grade) and school representative, and went on to have her project displayed at the Tallahassee Science Expo Center. Her project was entitled, "How Does Age Effect Reaction Times."
*Tied for first place in a costume contest at [http://www.assimilationcon.com/ Assimilation Con] in Kissimmee, Florida, on September 29, 2007 dressed as [[Gaz]], a character from "Invader Zim," an animated series formerly on the Nickelodeon channel.
*Won a 1st and two 4th places in her very first Irish dance competition (called a feis) in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida on June 22, 2008. She competed at the beginner level in three dances: reel, jig, and slip jig. She placed 1st in the slip jig out of 5 competitors, and 4th in her other two dances against 7 competitors each.
* April 2009 took 1st place out of a field of 13 in the treble jig, her first time competing in Irish dance hard shoe (sort of like tap)

==Her Irish Dance History==
By age 7, Dana began becoming increasingly interested in participating in some type of club or sport, showing interest in Karate, music, and ballet. One spring Sunday in 2005 while going with her parents to eat at a restaurant near her Tallahassee home on [[Lucky Debonair Trail]], her mother spotted a new dance school a few doors away from the restaurant: Killearn Performing Arts [http://www.killearnpa.com/content.agent?page_name=Home], which specialized in Irish dance. After eating, they went to look in at a class in progress. Dana was intrigued with the dance, and her mother felt like Irish dance might be more interesting for her daughter than ballet, which is very rigid and, at times, boring. Dana began classes shortly after this, but since it was already late spring, she only got about two months of instruction (one class per week) before the school took their summer break.

In the fall of 2005, she began beginning Irish dance softshoe classes. By the end of her first year of class in June 2006, she had advanced so rapidly that she was asked to try out for the children's performance company for the fall. She was the only child with no previous Irish dance experienced asked to tryout, but qualified for the "Kid's Company" with ease. To perform in Kid's Company, she needed to learn Irish hardshoe dancing, and began beginner classes in fall 2006.

In 2007, her family moved from Tallahassee to Jacksonville, and she began a new phase in her dance history: competition. She first started (briefly) with Glas Tara Irish dance school in St. Augustine in July 2007, but by August, it was apparent that her new instructors' aggressive style of teaching did not fit Dana well and, for a time, quit dance completely. Eventually, her mother found the Drake Irish Dance School in Palm Coast, Florida, about an hour from home, where Dana's love for dance was renewed. Within a month, Drake opened a branch in Jacksonville, meeting at an old ballet school, and Dana's competition phase of dance began. Despite having danced for two years in Tallahassee, she had to start over at Drake, as the styles and methods were completely different. However, to date she has placed in all her competitions (about one per month), and seems to be transitioning well into the world of competition.

==Related Links==
*Science Fair at DeSoto Trail{{tellmemore}}

[[Category:Biographies|Reddick, Dana]]

Dana Reddick

2009-07-27T14:49:19Z

Adjel: /* Awards */

[[Image:Dr2008.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Dana Reddick]]'''Dana Kathryn Reddick''' born January 17, 1998 in [[Tallahassee, Florida]] to [[Jon Reddick|Jon]] and [[Ro Reddick]] as their only child.

{{tocleft}}
==Education==
*[[Kinderschool]], Tallahassee, FL
:2000-2003, Preschool
*DeSoto Trail Elementary, Tallahassee, FL
:2003-2007, First Grade - Third Grade
*Mandarin Elementary School, Jacksonville, FL
:2007-2008, Fourth Grade
*Loretto Elementary School (technology magnet), Jacksonville, FL
:2008-2009, Fifth Grade
*Mandarin Middle School, Jacksonville, FL
:2009-, Sixth Grade

==Trivia==
*Nicknames for Dana have included, "''Pumpkin''", "''Pumpkin Pie''", "''Dane''", "''Dana Bug''," "''D.K.''" and "''Sugar Pop''"
*Her name, Dana Kathryn, comes from her parents' love of science fiction, specifically of character Dana Scully of ''The X-Files'' (1993-2002) and character Captain Kathryn Janeway of ''Star Trek: Voyager'' (1995-2001).
*Is a fan of [[Gorillaz, The|The Gorillaz]]
*Took her first steps at age 6-1/2 months
*Started using a computer before 9 months of age
[[File:Dana san marco statue.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Posing as a statue in the San Marco Theater lobby]]
*Has her own [[Little Dana|personal lullaby]], written in celebration of her birth by her Uncle Robert (Normand), and has been sung for her virtually nightly since her birth
*First got her ears pierced on December 9, 2007 at a Claire's boutique in the Orange Park Mall in Jacksonville, Florida; stopped wearing them in May 2008, as it was "too much trouble" to keep her ears clean, and slightly painful to change earrings (which she couldn't and wouldn't do on her own).
*Wrote the poem, [[Dad]], for her father on the occasion of his fortieth birthday.

==Achievements==
*Invited to join the Tallahassee Irish Step Dancers performance company after only one year of instruction, and performed with the company for a year prior to moving from Tallahassee
*Scored a perfect 6 on the 2008 4th grade FCAT (Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test) Writing+ Prompt (scored 0-6 points), and was one of only two children in her entire school to do so. Students are given 45 minutes to write on an assigned random topic and graded on the overall quality of the response. (This prompt was to "Write a story about what happens when someone plays a game with family or friends.") Only 1% of all 4th grade students statewide scored a 6 on the 2008 writing prompt.

==Awards==
*First place in the DeSoto Trail Elementary School Science Fair, April 2007. She won as a grade representative (3rd grade) and school representative, and went on to have her project displayed at the Tallahassee Science Expo Center. Her project was entitled, "How Does Age Effect Reaction Times."
*Tied for first place in a costume contest at [http://www.assimilationcon.com/ Assimilation Con] in Kissimmee, Florida, on September 29, 2007 dressed as [[Gaz]], a character from "Invader Zim," an animated series formerly on the Nickelodeon channel.
*Won a 1st and two 4th places in her very first Irish dance competition (called a feis) in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida on June 22, 2008. She competed at the beginner level in three dances: reel, jig, and slip jig. She placed 1st in the slip jig out of 5 competitors, and 4th in her other two dances against 7 competitors each.
* April 2009 took 1st place out of a field of 13 in the treble jig, her first time competing in Irish dance hard shoe (sort of like tap)

==Her Irish Dance History==
By age 7, Dana began becoming increasingly interested in participating in some type of club or sport, showing interest in Karate, music, and ballet. One spring Sunday in 2005 while going with her parents to eat at a restaurant near her Tallahassee home on [[Lucky Debonair Trail]], her mother spotted a new dance school a few doors away from the restaurant: Killearn Performing Arts [http://www.killearnpa.com/content.agent?page_name=Home], which specialized in Irish dance. After eating, they went to look in at a class in progress. Dana was intrigued with the dance, and her mother felt like Irish dance might be more interesting for her daughter than ballet, which is very rigid and, at times, boring. Dana began classes shortly after this, but since it was already late spring, she only got about two months of instruction (one class per week) before the school took their summer break.

In the fall of 2005, she began beginning Irish dance softshoe classes. By the end of her first year of class in June 2006, she had advanced so rapidly that she was asked to try out for the children's performance company for the fall. She was the only child with no previous Irish dance experienced asked to tryout, but qualified for the "Kid's Company" with ease. To perform in Kid's Company, she needed to learn Irish hardshoe dancing, and began beginner classes in fall 2006.

==Related Links==
*Science Fair at DeSoto Trail{{tellmemore}}

[[Category:Biographies|Reddick, Dana]]

Ro Reddick

2009-05-24T14:13:38Z

Adjel: /* Marriage/Children */

[[Image:Example.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Ro Reddick]]{{tocleft}}'''Laurie "Ro" Reddick''' (born September 18, 1956) is the youngest of five children born to Sage “Jack" Alphonse Normand and Genevieve “Gene” Adams Normand. Called “the caboose” by her dad, she has three brothers and one sister: David Arthur, Glenn Anthony, Jeanine Anne, and Robert Andrew. She was told her name came from “Annie Laurie,” a traditional Irish song written in the late 1800’s. She was born in Fairhope, Alabama at the (now nonexistent) Jordan Clinic. Her birth was not uneventful, as her mother, who was ill with kidney disease, was told that her baby would probably be stillborn, as they could not hear a heartbeat. Emerging in a flood of black fluid (meconium stained), Laurie surprised the doctors by being alive, but tiny, weighing in at under 5 pounds. (Her mother was a 2-pack-a-day smoker, and at this time the hazards of smoking were not fully known.)
{{cleanbreak}}
==Nickname==
'''Ro''' is Laurie's nickname, and she uses it almost to the exclusion of her birth name. She acquired it before her marriage to [[Jon Reddick]] while they were the Command Team (President/Vice President) of the [[USS Khai Tam]].

===Why Ro?===
[http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Ro_Laren Ro] is a character from "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (1987-1994). Played by Michelle Forbes, she introduced in the fifth season episode "Ensign Ro," but was brought back for several other episodes. The character, Ro Laren (and Ro is actually the family name here) is from a race in of people in the Star Trek Universe known as the Bajorans, a displaced and nomadic people. Laurie felt the characteristics of the character of Ro Laren were similar to hers, and as many people in the Star Trek Fan Association adopted [[personas]], Laurie adopted the Bajoran persona, and the family name of Ro as her own. Club members agreed with the persona and began calling her Ro. The name has stuck ever since, and Laurie prefers it to her (family) given name as it is easier for others to pronounce and remember, since it is short, unusual, and alliterates nicely with Reddick.

==Childhood==
Her entire childhood was spent in the small southern town of Fairhope, Alabama, on the eastern shore of Mobile Bay. Growing up on the water, nearly every day was spent playing on the beach, swimming, fishing or crabbing. Her father, “Jack,” was a musician, and discovered that all five of his children had musical talent. Laurie’s talent was that she had perfect pitch, and a very good ear for picking out songs, such that at around age four, her father would ask her to help him learn songs from the radio for which he had no sheet music. If he played a wrong chord, she could show him what notes needed to be in the chord, even though she didn’t know the names of the notes or chords. She began playing in public with her father at age five when her father’s trio played the opening of the Delchamps shopping center in Fairhope. She played trumpet on the song “Tea for Two,” not having any idea of the relation of the valves to notes, but rather “lipping” the entire song.

The Normand house was always an open house. People were always stopping by unannounced. Gene Normand was a great listener, and kids and adults were always stopping by to talk and pour their hearts out. They knew no strangers.

The Normands were always playing music at their house. Sometimes people would hear music while walking along the beach and would just walk up to their house to listen from the porch.

While growing up, there were always large family gatherings. Nearly all of Laurie's relatives lived in the New Orleans area – then about 5 hours away – and Thanksgiving and/or Christmas always meant a full house or lots of visiting. There was always someone to play with, always someone to stay with. She grew up believing that family and traditions were important.

From the age of six, Laurie began wanting a horse. She got her first horse (a pony named Rex) at age 12 from her sister-in-law's grandfather. With love and patience, she trained him to be a top-notch competitor, and entered horse shows for six years with him. He placed in everything he entered, winning more firsts and seconds than thirds, fourths, and fifths combined. After Rex, she had two more horses: an appaloosa she named J.D.R. Spooks, and a quarter horse/Arabian mix named Romulus (Rom, for short). Although J.D. won a few places, neither of the other two horses were ever as talented a competitor as Rex.

After graduating high school at age 17, she worked a half year before leaving for the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa.

==Education==
She attended Fairhope Elementary, which, when she began, contained all 12 grades. She attended Fairhope Elementary for grades 1-6, but finished grades 7-12 at the new Fairhope High School where she had a singularly unimpressive academic career. Suggestion was made by her high school counselor and her family that she not try to attend a university, but rather attend a community college in hopes of passing, while continuing to further her expertise in music with her family band.

Nevertheless, she eventually attended the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, where both her sister and her brother Robert had attended. As expected, she made C’s and D’s. After quitting college for six years, she returned to college once again to eventually get her B.A. in English from the University of South Alabama, making the Dean’s List or President’s List every quarter, and graduating 0.05 points away from cum laude.

Colleges/Universities attended:
*Faulkner State Jr. College, Bay Minette, AL
*University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL
*Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
*Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN
*University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL

==Occupations==
This is a general list of the different types of jobs Ro has had. There is also a [[List of Ro Reddick's Jobs|detailed list]] available.
*Professional musician
*Secretary for various universities and colleges
*Salesperson
*Insurance secretary
*Server/waitress at fast food restaurants, a Chinese restaurant, a steakhouse, and a college dormitory
*Ensign in the U.S. Navy
*Factory Day Worker
*Gymnastics Coach and judge
*Co-director of a gymnastics summer camp
*Music director at a summer camp
*Acrobatics instructor
*ESL instructor in Brazil
*Medical terminology and transcription instructor
*Medical Transcriptionist in 12 specialties

==Residences==
When Laurie was born, she lived at 58 Fels Avenue in Fairhope, Alabama. Her father paid around $8,000 for the house (which her eldest brother inherited and later sold in Nov, 2001, for $150,000). In those days, people left their houses unlocked, and keys in their cars. Since then she has lived several cities:

*Nashville, TN
*Murfreesboro, TN
*Orlando, FL (while in the Navy)
*Mobile, AL
*Tuscaloosa, AL
*Ft. Walton Beach, FL
*Pensacola, FL
*Tallahassee, FL
*Jacksonville, FL

==Marriage/Children==
In late November of 1990, Laurie/Ro met her future husband, Jonathon Reddick, when she attended what was only the second meeting of the [[USS Khai Tam]] (then Shuttle Heritage) on the campus of Florida State University.

The short story:

After a long courtship, they were married in a quiet, legal ceremony in the Leon County Courthouse (Tallahassee) on September 26, 1997, and then had a second ceremony with all friends in attendance on November 1, 1997. They have one child, daughter Dana Kathyrn Reddick, born January 17, 1998.

The long story:

After a courtship lasting approximately three years, Jon and Ro moved in together into an apartment on Hidden Place. Not long afterwards, during a weekend trip to Disneyworld, Ro and Jon were waiting in line for a ride when Ro spotted a man holding a baby in front of them. As if an arrow had been shot through her heart, Ro suddenly felt an overwhelming desire to now, at this point in her life, become a mother. The desire didn't wane over the ensuing weeks and months, and on Christmas day, Jon proposed to Ro, wanting to "do it right." Within two months, before a wedding could even be planned, Ro became pregnant. Jobs and life got in the way, and wedding plans were pushed on the back burner. Finally, in September, Ro began to panic as she began to show, and was afraid they would not get married before their child was born, which was her wish. She suggested they go ahead and marry quickly, to make it official, and plan a later ceremony. They were married at the Leon County Courthouse on September 26th, with no friends in attendance. They made plans to marry, with great ceremony and all their friends in attendance, at an upcoming Star Trek convention put on by Vulkon Enterprises on November 1, 1997. The marriage ceremony was held in the convention hotel ballroom with Ro and Jon in their Star Trek finery (Ro in a Starfleet uniform with Bajoran nose ridges, and Jon in his entire Klingon ceremonial wear), as were all their friends, with Chase Masterson (from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) as Maid-of-Honor, and George Sumpter, from the club's Marine Strike Group, as Best Man. The ceremony was fully Trek, everyone costumed but Chase, with the ceremony first being lead by Adm. Terry Hilliard (the Starfleet International club regional director), and then a Bajoran Kai and Vedek (Bajoran religious leaders) stepping in to perform the Bajoran wedding ritual.

As their September 26th legal wedding date is very close to Ro's birthday, Jon and Ro have opted to celebrate the November 1 ceremony date as their wedding anniversary.

==Achievements==
*Plays five instruments: piano, bass, drums, clarinet, guitar
*Played music for two presidents (Reagan and G.W. Bush, Sr.), one vice president (Quayle), and 50 governors (U.S. Governors Convention held at the Grand Hotel in Point Clear, Alabama, 1969)
*Was the youngest child to be allowed without supervision to go in the deep part of the Grand Hotel swimming pool (age 2-1/2) and dove off the high (spring) diving board (8 feet from water) at age 3
*Had her first (and only) child at age 41
*Learned to speak Brazilian Portuguese nearly fluently mostly on her own, through Brazilian music, television, and comic books
*Inducted into Sigma Tau Delta, the English Honor Society (1974)

==Awards==
*Won summer highpoint trophy at Jubilee Saddle Club with her pony Rex, 1971
*Placed 1st twice in SCCA (Sports Car Clubs of America) rallies held in Mobile, Alabama in the late 1970's with her 1976 Toyota Corolla 1600
*Won 1st in Class III uneven parallel bars in the Alabama State Gymnastic Championships, 1978, at age 22

==Trivia==
*Is a closet geologist and collects rocks and fossils
*With nearly unerring accuracy, she can remember the directions to, and find, nearly any house she has ever been to, even if only once (and in the case of yard sale homes, can remember exactly what she bought at each house), but can't remember where she put her cell phone five minutes ago. This ability is, unfortunately, slowly fading with age.
*Collects miniature tea sets
*Biggest fears are sharks, alligators, tornadoes, and out-of-control elevators
*Dreams in color, serialized
*Is a descendant of James "Jim" Bowie, the 19th century pioneer for whom the Bowie knife is named.
*Wanted to be a ballerina (1st grade), racehorse jockey (high school), archaeologist (beginning college), geologist/paleontologist (mid college), but settled for medical transcriptionist
*Her family was featured on Paul Harvey's radio show in the 1970's
*Started beginner gymnastics classes at age 20, and went on to coach and judge gymnastics for 15 years
*Judged gymnastics for the Special Olympics in 1981 held in Nashville, TN

[[Category:Biographies|Reddick, Ro]]

Ro Reddick

2009-05-24T14:02:20Z

Adjel: /* Marriage/Children */

[[Image:Example.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Ro Reddick]]{{tocleft}}'''Laurie "Ro" Reddick''' (born September 18, 1956) is the youngest of five children born to Sage “Jack" Alphonse Normand and Genevieve “Gene” Adams Normand. Called “the caboose” by her dad, she has three brothers and one sister: David Arthur, Glenn Anthony, Jeanine Anne, and Robert Andrew. She was told her name came from “Annie Laurie,” a traditional Irish song written in the late 1800’s. She was born in Fairhope, Alabama at the (now nonexistent) Jordan Clinic. Her birth was not uneventful, as her mother, who was ill with kidney disease, was told that her baby would probably be stillborn, as they could not hear a heartbeat. Emerging in a flood of black fluid (meconium stained), Laurie surprised the doctors by being alive, but tiny, weighing in at under 5 pounds. (Her mother was a 2-pack-a-day smoker, and at this time the hazards of smoking were not fully known.)
{{cleanbreak}}
==Nickname==
'''Ro''' is Laurie's nickname, and she uses it almost to the exclusion of her birth name. She acquired it before her marriage to [[Jon Reddick]] while they were the Command Team (President/Vice President) of the [[USS Khai Tam]].

===Why Ro?===
[http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Ro_Laren Ro] is a character from "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (1987-1994). Played by Michelle Forbes, she introduced in the fifth season episode "Ensign Ro," but was brought back for several other episodes. The character, Ro Laren (and Ro is actually the family name here) is from a race in of people in the Star Trek Universe known as the Bajorans, a displaced and nomadic people. Laurie felt the characteristics of the character of Ro Laren were similar to hers, and as many people in the Star Trek Fan Association adopted [[personas]], Laurie adopted the Bajoran persona, and the family name of Ro as her own. Club members agreed with the persona and began calling her Ro. The name has stuck ever since, and Laurie prefers it to her (family) given name as it is easier for others to pronounce and remember, since it is short, unusual, and alliterates nicely with Reddick.

==Childhood==
Her entire childhood was spent in the small southern town of Fairhope, Alabama, on the eastern shore of Mobile Bay. Growing up on the water, nearly every day was spent playing on the beach, swimming, fishing or crabbing. Her father, “Jack,” was a musician, and discovered that all five of his children had musical talent. Laurie’s talent was that she had perfect pitch, and a very good ear for picking out songs, such that at around age four, her father would ask her to help him learn songs from the radio for which he had no sheet music. If he played a wrong chord, she could show him what notes needed to be in the chord, even though she didn’t know the names of the notes or chords. She began playing in public with her father at age five when her father’s trio played the opening of the Delchamps shopping center in Fairhope. She played trumpet on the song “Tea for Two,” not having any idea of the relation of the valves to notes, but rather “lipping” the entire song.

The Normand house was always an open house. People were always stopping by unannounced. Gene Normand was a great listener, and kids and adults were always stopping by to talk and pour their hearts out. They knew no strangers.

The Normands were always playing music at their house. Sometimes people would hear music while walking along the beach and would just walk up to their house to listen from the porch.

While growing up, there were always large family gatherings. Nearly all of Laurie's relatives lived in the New Orleans area – then about 5 hours away – and Thanksgiving and/or Christmas always meant a full house or lots of visiting. There was always someone to play with, always someone to stay with. She grew up believing that family and traditions were important.

From the age of six, Laurie began wanting a horse. She got her first horse (a pony named Rex) at age 12 from her sister-in-law's grandfather. With love and patience, she trained him to be a top-notch competitor, and entered horse shows for six years with him. He placed in everything he entered, winning more firsts and seconds than thirds, fourths, and fifths combined. After Rex, she had two more horses: an appaloosa she named J.D.R. Spooks, and a quarter horse/Arabian mix named Romulus (Rom, for short). Although J.D. won a few places, neither of the other two horses were ever as talented a competitor as Rex.

After graduating high school at age 17, she worked a half year before leaving for the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa.

==Education==
She attended Fairhope Elementary, which, when she began, contained all 12 grades. She attended Fairhope Elementary for grades 1-6, but finished grades 7-12 at the new Fairhope High School where she had a singularly unimpressive academic career. Suggestion was made by her high school counselor and her family that she not try to attend a university, but rather attend a community college in hopes of passing, while continuing to further her expertise in music with her family band.

Nevertheless, she eventually attended the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, where both her sister and her brother Robert had attended. As expected, she made C’s and D’s. After quitting college for six years, she returned to college once again to eventually get her B.A. in English from the University of South Alabama, making the Dean’s List or President’s List every quarter, and graduating 0.05 points away from cum laude.

Colleges/Universities attended:
*Faulkner State Jr. College, Bay Minette, AL
*University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL
*Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
*Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN
*University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL

==Occupations==
This is a general list of the different types of jobs Ro has had. There is also a [[List of Ro Reddick's Jobs|detailed list]] available.
*Professional musician
*Secretary for various universities and colleges
*Salesperson
*Insurance secretary
*Server/waitress at fast food restaurants, a Chinese restaurant, a steakhouse, and a college dormitory
*Ensign in the U.S. Navy
*Factory Day Worker
*Gymnastics Coach and judge
*Co-director of a gymnastics summer camp
*Music director at a summer camp
*Acrobatics instructor
*ESL instructor in Brazil
*Medical terminology and transcription instructor
*Medical Transcriptionist in 12 specialties

==Residences==
When Laurie was born, she lived at 58 Fels Avenue in Fairhope, Alabama. Her father paid around $8,000 for the house (which her eldest brother inherited and later sold in Nov, 2001, for $150,000). In those days, people left their houses unlocked, and keys in their cars. Since then she has lived several cities:

*Nashville, TN
*Murfreesboro, TN
*Orlando, FL (while in the Navy)
*Mobile, AL
*Tuscaloosa, AL
*Ft. Walton Beach, FL
*Pensacola, FL
*Tallahassee, FL
*Jacksonville, FL

==Marriage/Children==
In late November of 1990, Laurie/Ro met her future husband, Jonathon Reddick, when she attended what was only the second meeting of the [[USS Khai Tam]] (then Shuttle Heritage) on the campus of Florida State University.

The short story:

After a long courtship, they were married in a quiet, legal ceremony in the Leon County Courthouse (Tallahassee) on September 26, 1997, and then had a second ceremony with all friends in attendance on November 1, 1997. They have one child, daughter Dana Kathyrn Reddick, born January 17, 1998.

The long story:

After a courtship lasting approximately three years, Jon and Ro moved in together into an apartment on Hidden Place. Not long afterwards, during a weekend trip to Disneyworld, Ro and Jon were waiting in line for a ride when Ro spotted a man holding a baby in front of them. As if an arrow had been shot through her heart, Ro suddenly felt an overwhelming desire to now, at this point in her life, become a mother. The desire didn't wane over the ensuing weeks and months, and on Christmas day, Jon proposed to Ro, wanting to "do it right." Within two months, before a wedding could even be planned, Ro became pregnant. Jobs and life got in the way, and wedding plans were pushed on the back burner. Finally, in September, Ro began to panic as she began to show, and was afraid they would not get married before their child was born, which was her wish. She suggested they go ahead and marry quickly, to make it official, and plan a later ceremony. They were married at the Leon County Courthouse on September 26th, with no friends in attendance. They made plans to marry, with great ceremony and all their friends in attendance, at an upcoming Star Trek convention put on by Vulkon Enterprises on November 1, 1997. The marriage ceremony was held in the convention hotel ballroom with Ro and Jon in their Star Trek finery (Ro in a Starfleet uniform with Bajoran nose ridges, and Jon in his entire Klingon ceremonial wear), as were all their friends, with Chase Masterson (from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) as Maid-of-Honor. The ceremony was fully Trek, with the ceremony being lead by Terry Hilliard, the Starfleet International club regional director (in uniform), and a kai and vedek ("Bajoran" religious leaders).

As their September 26th legal wedding date is very close to Ro's birthday, Jon and Ro have opted to celebrate the November 1 ceremony date as their wedding anniversary.

==Achievements==
*Plays five instruments: piano, bass, drums, clarinet, guitar
*Played music for two presidents (Reagan and G.W. Bush, Sr.), one vice president (Quayle), and 50 governors (U.S. Governors Convention held at the Grand Hotel in Point Clear, Alabama, 1969)
*Was the youngest child to be allowed without supervision to go in the deep part of the Grand Hotel swimming pool (age 2-1/2) and dove off the high (spring) diving board (8 feet from water) at age 3
*Had her first (and only) child at age 41
*Learned to speak Brazilian Portuguese nearly fluently mostly on her own, through Brazilian music, television, and comic books
*Inducted into Sigma Tau Delta, the English Honor Society (1974)

==Awards==
*Won summer highpoint trophy at Jubilee Saddle Club with her pony Rex, 1971
*Placed 1st twice in SCCA (Sports Car Clubs of America) rallies held in Mobile, Alabama in the late 1970's with her 1976 Toyota Corolla 1600
*Won 1st in Class III uneven parallel bars in the Alabama State Gymnastic Championships, 1978, at age 22

==Trivia==
*Is a closet geologist and collects rocks and fossils
*With nearly unerring accuracy, she can remember the directions to, and find, nearly any house she has ever been to, even if only once (and in the case of yard sale homes, can remember exactly what she bought at each house), but can't remember where she put her cell phone five minutes ago. This ability is, unfortunately, slowly fading with age.
*Collects miniature tea sets
*Biggest fears are sharks, alligators, tornadoes, and out-of-control elevators
*Dreams in color, serialized
*Is a descendant of James "Jim" Bowie, the 19th century pioneer for whom the Bowie knife is named.
*Wanted to be a ballerina (1st grade), racehorse jockey (high school), archaeologist (beginning college), geologist/paleontologist (mid college), but settled for medical transcriptionist
*Her family was featured on Paul Harvey's radio show in the 1970's
*Started beginner gymnastics classes at age 20, and went on to coach and judge gymnastics for 15 years
*Judged gymnastics for the Special Olympics in 1981 held in Nashville, TN

[[Category:Biographies|Reddick, Ro]]

Ro Reddick

2009-05-24T13:55:17Z

Adjel: /* Trivia */

[[Image:Example.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Ro Reddick]]{{tocleft}}'''Laurie "Ro" Reddick''' (born September 18, 1956) is the youngest of five children born to Sage “Jack" Alphonse Normand and Genevieve “Gene” Adams Normand. Called “the caboose” by her dad, she has three brothers and one sister: David Arthur, Glenn Anthony, Jeanine Anne, and Robert Andrew. She was told her name came from “Annie Laurie,” a traditional Irish song written in the late 1800’s. She was born in Fairhope, Alabama at the (now nonexistent) Jordan Clinic. Her birth was not uneventful, as her mother, who was ill with kidney disease, was told that her baby would probably be stillborn, as they could not hear a heartbeat. Emerging in a flood of black fluid (meconium stained), Laurie surprised the doctors by being alive, but tiny, weighing in at under 5 pounds. (Her mother was a 2-pack-a-day smoker, and at this time the hazards of smoking were not fully known.)
{{cleanbreak}}
==Nickname==
'''Ro''' is Laurie's nickname, and she uses it almost to the exclusion of her birth name. She acquired it before her marriage to [[Jon Reddick]] while they were the Command Team (President/Vice President) of the [[USS Khai Tam]].

===Why Ro?===
[http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Ro_Laren Ro] is a character from "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (1987-1994). Played by Michelle Forbes, she introduced in the fifth season episode "Ensign Ro," but was brought back for several other episodes. The character, Ro Laren (and Ro is actually the family name here) is from a race in of people in the Star Trek Universe known as the Bajorans, a displaced and nomadic people. Laurie felt the characteristics of the character of Ro Laren were similar to hers, and as many people in the Star Trek Fan Association adopted [[personas]], Laurie adopted the Bajoran persona, and the family name of Ro as her own. Club members agreed with the persona and began calling her Ro. The name has stuck ever since, and Laurie prefers it to her (family) given name as it is easier for others to pronounce and remember, since it is short, unusual, and alliterates nicely with Reddick.

==Childhood==
Her entire childhood was spent in the small southern town of Fairhope, Alabama, on the eastern shore of Mobile Bay. Growing up on the water, nearly every day was spent playing on the beach, swimming, fishing or crabbing. Her father, “Jack,” was a musician, and discovered that all five of his children had musical talent. Laurie’s talent was that she had perfect pitch, and a very good ear for picking out songs, such that at around age four, her father would ask her to help him learn songs from the radio for which he had no sheet music. If he played a wrong chord, she could show him what notes needed to be in the chord, even though she didn’t know the names of the notes or chords. She began playing in public with her father at age five when her father’s trio played the opening of the Delchamps shopping center in Fairhope. She played trumpet on the song “Tea for Two,” not having any idea of the relation of the valves to notes, but rather “lipping” the entire song.

The Normand house was always an open house. People were always stopping by unannounced. Gene Normand was a great listener, and kids and adults were always stopping by to talk and pour their hearts out. They knew no strangers.

The Normands were always playing music at their house. Sometimes people would hear music while walking along the beach and would just walk up to their house to listen from the porch.

While growing up, there were always large family gatherings. Nearly all of Laurie's relatives lived in the New Orleans area – then about 5 hours away – and Thanksgiving and/or Christmas always meant a full house or lots of visiting. There was always someone to play with, always someone to stay with. She grew up believing that family and traditions were important.

From the age of six, Laurie began wanting a horse. She got her first horse (a pony named Rex) at age 12 from her sister-in-law's grandfather. With love and patience, she trained him to be a top-notch competitor, and entered horse shows for six years with him. He placed in everything he entered, winning more firsts and seconds than thirds, fourths, and fifths combined. After Rex, she had two more horses: an appaloosa she named J.D.R. Spooks, and a quarter horse/Arabian mix named Romulus (Rom, for short). Although J.D. won a few places, neither of the other two horses were ever as talented a competitor as Rex.

After graduating high school at age 17, she worked a half year before leaving for the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa.

==Education==
She attended Fairhope Elementary, which, when she began, contained all 12 grades. She attended Fairhope Elementary for grades 1-6, but finished grades 7-12 at the new Fairhope High School where she had a singularly unimpressive academic career. Suggestion was made by her high school counselor and her family that she not try to attend a university, but rather attend a community college in hopes of passing, while continuing to further her expertise in music with her family band.

Nevertheless, she eventually attended the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, where both her sister and her brother Robert had attended. As expected, she made C’s and D’s. After quitting college for six years, she returned to college once again to eventually get her B.A. in English from the University of South Alabama, making the Dean’s List or President’s List every quarter, and graduating 0.05 points away from cum laude.

Colleges/Universities attended:
*Faulkner State Jr. College, Bay Minette, AL
*University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL
*Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
*Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN
*University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL

==Occupations==
This is a general list of the different types of jobs Ro has had. There is also a [[List of Ro Reddick's Jobs|detailed list]] available.
*Professional musician
*Secretary for various universities and colleges
*Salesperson
*Insurance secretary
*Server/waitress at fast food restaurants, a Chinese restaurant, a steakhouse, and a college dormitory
*Ensign in the U.S. Navy
*Factory Day Worker
*Gymnastics Coach and judge
*Co-director of a gymnastics summer camp
*Music director at a summer camp
*Acrobatics instructor
*ESL instructor in Brazil
*Medical terminology and transcription instructor
*Medical Transcriptionist in 12 specialties

==Residences==
When Laurie was born, she lived at 58 Fels Avenue in Fairhope, Alabama. Her father paid around $8,000 for the house (which her eldest brother inherited and later sold in Nov, 2001, for $150,000). In those days, people left their houses unlocked, and keys in their cars. Since then she has lived several cities:

*Nashville, TN
*Murfreesboro, TN
*Orlando, FL (while in the Navy)
*Mobile, AL
*Tuscaloosa, AL
*Ft. Walton Beach, FL
*Pensacola, FL
*Tallahassee, FL
*Jacksonville, FL

==Marriage/Children==
In late November of 1990, Laurie/Ro met her future husband, Jonathon Reddick, when she attended what was only the second meeting of the [[USS Khai Tam]] (then Shuttle Heritage) on the campus of Florida State University.

The short story:

After a long courtship, they were married in a quiet, legal ceremony in the Leon County Courthouse (Tallahassee) on September 26, 1997, and then had a second ceremony with all friends in attendance on November 1, 1997. They have one child, daughter Dana Kathyrn Reddick, born January 17, 1998.

The long story:

After a courtship lasting approximately three years, Jon and Ro moved in together into an apartment on Hidden Place. Not long afterwards, during a weekend trip to Disneyworld, Ro and Jon were waiting in line for a ride when Ro spotted a man holding a baby in front of them. As if an arrow had been shot through her heart, Ro suddenly felt an overwhelming desire to now, at this point in her life, become a mother. The desire didn't wane over the ensuing weeks and months, and on Christmas day, Jon proposed to Ro, wanting to "do it right." Within two months, before a wedding could even be planned, Ro became pregnant. Jobs and life got in the way, and wedding plans were pushed on the back burner. Finally, in September, Ro suggested they marry quickly. They were married at the Leon County Courthouse, with no friends in attendance. However, they made plans to marry in great ceremony, with all their friends in attendance, at an upcoming Star Trek convention put on by Vulkon Enterprises on November 1. The marriage ceremony was held in the convention hotel ballroom with Ro and Jon in their Star Trek finery (Ro in a Starfleet uniform with Bajoran nose ridges, and Jon in his entire Klingon ceremonial wear), as were all their friends, with Chase Masterson (from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) as Maid-of-Honor. The ceremony was fully Trek, with the ceremony being lead by Terry Hilliard, the Starfleet International club regional director (in uniform), and a kai and vedek ("Bajoran" religious leaders).

As their September 26th legal wedding date is very close to Ro's birthday, Jon and Ro have opted to celebrate the November 1 ceremony date as their wedding anniversary.

==Achievements==
*Plays five instruments: piano, bass, drums, clarinet, guitar
*Played music for two presidents (Reagan and G.W. Bush, Sr.), one vice president (Quayle), and 50 governors (U.S. Governors Convention held at the Grand Hotel in Point Clear, Alabama, 1969)
*Was the youngest child to be allowed without supervision to go in the deep part of the Grand Hotel swimming pool (age 2-1/2) and dove off the high (spring) diving board (8 feet from water) at age 3
*Had her first (and only) child at age 41
*Learned to speak Brazilian Portuguese nearly fluently mostly on her own, through Brazilian music, television, and comic books
*Inducted into Sigma Tau Delta, the English Honor Society (1974)

==Awards==
*Won summer highpoint trophy at Jubilee Saddle Club with her pony Rex, 1971
*Placed 1st twice in SCCA (Sports Car Clubs of America) rallies held in Mobile, Alabama in the late 1970's with her 1976 Toyota Corolla 1600
*Won 1st in Class III uneven parallel bars in the Alabama State Gymnastic Championships, 1978, at age 22

==Trivia==
*Is a closet geologist and collects rocks and fossils
*With nearly unerring accuracy, she can remember the directions to, and find, nearly any house she has ever been to, even if only once (and in the case of yard sale homes, can remember exactly what she bought at each house), but can't remember where she put her cell phone five minutes ago. This ability is, unfortunately, slowly fading with age.
*Collects miniature tea sets
*Biggest fears are sharks, alligators, tornadoes, and out-of-control elevators
*Dreams in color, serialized
*Is a descendant of James "Jim" Bowie, the 19th century pioneer for whom the Bowie knife is named.
*Wanted to be a ballerina (1st grade), racehorse jockey (high school), archaeologist (beginning college), geologist/paleontologist (mid college), but settled for medical transcriptionist
*Her family was featured on Paul Harvey's radio show in the 1970's
*Started beginner gymnastics classes at age 20, and went on to coach and judge gymnastics for 15 years
*Judged gymnastics for the Special Olympics in 1981 held in Nashville, TN

[[Category:Biographies|Reddick, Ro]]

Ro Reddick

2009-05-24T13:54:27Z

Adjel: /* Achievements */

[[Image:Example.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Ro Reddick]]{{tocleft}}'''Laurie "Ro" Reddick''' (born September 18, 1956) is the youngest of five children born to Sage “Jack" Alphonse Normand and Genevieve “Gene” Adams Normand. Called “the caboose” by her dad, she has three brothers and one sister: David Arthur, Glenn Anthony, Jeanine Anne, and Robert Andrew. She was told her name came from “Annie Laurie,” a traditional Irish song written in the late 1800’s. She was born in Fairhope, Alabama at the (now nonexistent) Jordan Clinic. Her birth was not uneventful, as her mother, who was ill with kidney disease, was told that her baby would probably be stillborn, as they could not hear a heartbeat. Emerging in a flood of black fluid (meconium stained), Laurie surprised the doctors by being alive, but tiny, weighing in at under 5 pounds. (Her mother was a 2-pack-a-day smoker, and at this time the hazards of smoking were not fully known.)
{{cleanbreak}}
==Nickname==
'''Ro''' is Laurie's nickname, and she uses it almost to the exclusion of her birth name. She acquired it before her marriage to [[Jon Reddick]] while they were the Command Team (President/Vice President) of the [[USS Khai Tam]].

===Why Ro?===
[http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Ro_Laren Ro] is a character from "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (1987-1994). Played by Michelle Forbes, she introduced in the fifth season episode "Ensign Ro," but was brought back for several other episodes. The character, Ro Laren (and Ro is actually the family name here) is from a race in of people in the Star Trek Universe known as the Bajorans, a displaced and nomadic people. Laurie felt the characteristics of the character of Ro Laren were similar to hers, and as many people in the Star Trek Fan Association adopted [[personas]], Laurie adopted the Bajoran persona, and the family name of Ro as her own. Club members agreed with the persona and began calling her Ro. The name has stuck ever since, and Laurie prefers it to her (family) given name as it is easier for others to pronounce and remember, since it is short, unusual, and alliterates nicely with Reddick.

==Childhood==
Her entire childhood was spent in the small southern town of Fairhope, Alabama, on the eastern shore of Mobile Bay. Growing up on the water, nearly every day was spent playing on the beach, swimming, fishing or crabbing. Her father, “Jack,” was a musician, and discovered that all five of his children had musical talent. Laurie’s talent was that she had perfect pitch, and a very good ear for picking out songs, such that at around age four, her father would ask her to help him learn songs from the radio for which he had no sheet music. If he played a wrong chord, she could show him what notes needed to be in the chord, even though she didn’t know the names of the notes or chords. She began playing in public with her father at age five when her father’s trio played the opening of the Delchamps shopping center in Fairhope. She played trumpet on the song “Tea for Two,” not having any idea of the relation of the valves to notes, but rather “lipping” the entire song.

The Normand house was always an open house. People were always stopping by unannounced. Gene Normand was a great listener, and kids and adults were always stopping by to talk and pour their hearts out. They knew no strangers.

The Normands were always playing music at their house. Sometimes people would hear music while walking along the beach and would just walk up to their house to listen from the porch.

While growing up, there were always large family gatherings. Nearly all of Laurie's relatives lived in the New Orleans area – then about 5 hours away – and Thanksgiving and/or Christmas always meant a full house or lots of visiting. There was always someone to play with, always someone to stay with. She grew up believing that family and traditions were important.

From the age of six, Laurie began wanting a horse. She got her first horse (a pony named Rex) at age 12 from her sister-in-law's grandfather. With love and patience, she trained him to be a top-notch competitor, and entered horse shows for six years with him. He placed in everything he entered, winning more firsts and seconds than thirds, fourths, and fifths combined. After Rex, she had two more horses: an appaloosa she named J.D.R. Spooks, and a quarter horse/Arabian mix named Romulus (Rom, for short). Although J.D. won a few places, neither of the other two horses were ever as talented a competitor as Rex.

After graduating high school at age 17, she worked a half year before leaving for the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa.

==Education==
She attended Fairhope Elementary, which, when she began, contained all 12 grades. She attended Fairhope Elementary for grades 1-6, but finished grades 7-12 at the new Fairhope High School where she had a singularly unimpressive academic career. Suggestion was made by her high school counselor and her family that she not try to attend a university, but rather attend a community college in hopes of passing, while continuing to further her expertise in music with her family band.

Nevertheless, she eventually attended the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, where both her sister and her brother Robert had attended. As expected, she made C’s and D’s. After quitting college for six years, she returned to college once again to eventually get her B.A. in English from the University of South Alabama, making the Dean’s List or President’s List every quarter, and graduating 0.05 points away from cum laude.

Colleges/Universities attended:
*Faulkner State Jr. College, Bay Minette, AL
*University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL
*Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
*Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN
*University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL

==Occupations==
This is a general list of the different types of jobs Ro has had. There is also a [[List of Ro Reddick's Jobs|detailed list]] available.
*Professional musician
*Secretary for various universities and colleges
*Salesperson
*Insurance secretary
*Server/waitress at fast food restaurants, a Chinese restaurant, a steakhouse, and a college dormitory
*Ensign in the U.S. Navy
*Factory Day Worker
*Gymnastics Coach and judge
*Co-director of a gymnastics summer camp
*Music director at a summer camp
*Acrobatics instructor
*ESL instructor in Brazil
*Medical terminology and transcription instructor
*Medical Transcriptionist in 12 specialties

==Residences==
When Laurie was born, she lived at 58 Fels Avenue in Fairhope, Alabama. Her father paid around $8,000 for the house (which her eldest brother inherited and later sold in Nov, 2001, for $150,000). In those days, people left their houses unlocked, and keys in their cars. Since then she has lived several cities:

*Nashville, TN
*Murfreesboro, TN
*Orlando, FL (while in the Navy)
*Mobile, AL
*Tuscaloosa, AL
*Ft. Walton Beach, FL
*Pensacola, FL
*Tallahassee, FL
*Jacksonville, FL

==Marriage/Children==
In late November of 1990, Laurie/Ro met her future husband, Jonathon Reddick, when she attended what was only the second meeting of the [[USS Khai Tam]] (then Shuttle Heritage) on the campus of Florida State University.

The short story:

After a long courtship, they were married in a quiet, legal ceremony in the Leon County Courthouse (Tallahassee) on September 26, 1997, and then had a second ceremony with all friends in attendance on November 1, 1997. They have one child, daughter Dana Kathyrn Reddick, born January 17, 1998.

The long story:

After a courtship lasting approximately three years, Jon and Ro moved in together into an apartment on Hidden Place. Not long afterwards, during a weekend trip to Disneyworld, Ro and Jon were waiting in line for a ride when Ro spotted a man holding a baby in front of them. As if an arrow had been shot through her heart, Ro suddenly felt an overwhelming desire to now, at this point in her life, become a mother. The desire didn't wane over the ensuing weeks and months, and on Christmas day, Jon proposed to Ro, wanting to "do it right." Within two months, before a wedding could even be planned, Ro became pregnant. Jobs and life got in the way, and wedding plans were pushed on the back burner. Finally, in September, Ro suggested they marry quickly. They were married at the Leon County Courthouse, with no friends in attendance. However, they made plans to marry in great ceremony, with all their friends in attendance, at an upcoming Star Trek convention put on by Vulkon Enterprises on November 1. The marriage ceremony was held in the convention hotel ballroom with Ro and Jon in their Star Trek finery (Ro in a Starfleet uniform with Bajoran nose ridges, and Jon in his entire Klingon ceremonial wear), as were all their friends, with Chase Masterson (from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) as Maid-of-Honor. The ceremony was fully Trek, with the ceremony being lead by Terry Hilliard, the Starfleet International club regional director (in uniform), and a kai and vedek ("Bajoran" religious leaders).

As their September 26th legal wedding date is very close to Ro's birthday, Jon and Ro have opted to celebrate the November 1 ceremony date as their wedding anniversary.

==Achievements==
*Plays five instruments: piano, bass, drums, clarinet, guitar
*Played music for two presidents (Reagan and G.W. Bush, Sr.), one vice president (Quayle), and 50 governors (U.S. Governors Convention held at the Grand Hotel in Point Clear, Alabama, 1969)
*Was the youngest child to be allowed without supervision to go in the deep part of the Grand Hotel swimming pool (age 2-1/2) and dove off the high (spring) diving board (8 feet from water) at age 3
*Had her first (and only) child at age 41
*Learned to speak Brazilian Portuguese nearly fluently mostly on her own, through Brazilian music, television, and comic books
*Inducted into Sigma Tau Delta, the English Honor Society (1974)

==Awards==
*Won summer highpoint trophy at Jubilee Saddle Club with her pony Rex, 1971
*Placed 1st twice in SCCA (Sports Car Clubs of America) rallies held in Mobile, Alabama in the late 1970's with her 1976 Toyota Corolla 1600
*Won 1st in Class III uneven parallel bars in the Alabama State Gymnastic Championships, 1978, at age 22

==Trivia==
*Is a closet geologist and collects rocks and fossils
*With nearly unerring accuracy, she can remember the directions to, and find, nearly any house she has ever been to, even if only once (and in the case of yard sale homes, can remember exactly what she bought at each house), but can't remember where she put her cell phone five minutes ago. This ability is, unfortunately, slowly fading with age.
*Collects miniature tea sets
*Biggest fears are sharks, alligators, tornadoes, and out-of-control elevators
*Dreams in color, serialized
*Is a descendant of James "Jim" Bowie, the 19th century pioneer for whom the Bowie knife is named.
*Wanted to be a ballerina (1st grade), racehorse jockey (high school), archaeologist (beginning college), geologist/paleontologist (mid college), but settled for medical transcriptionist
*Her family was featured on Paul Harvey's radio show in the 1970's
*Judged gymnastics for the Special Olympics in 1981 held in Nashville, TN
*Started beginner gymnastics classes at age 20, and went on to coach and judge gymnastics for 15 years

[[Category:Biographies|Reddick, Ro]]

Ro Reddick

2009-05-24T13:53:46Z

Adjel: /* Trivia */

[[Image:Example.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Ro Reddick]]{{tocleft}}'''Laurie "Ro" Reddick''' (born September 18, 1956) is the youngest of five children born to Sage “Jack" Alphonse Normand and Genevieve “Gene” Adams Normand. Called “the caboose” by her dad, she has three brothers and one sister: David Arthur, Glenn Anthony, Jeanine Anne, and Robert Andrew. She was told her name came from “Annie Laurie,” a traditional Irish song written in the late 1800’s. She was born in Fairhope, Alabama at the (now nonexistent) Jordan Clinic. Her birth was not uneventful, as her mother, who was ill with kidney disease, was told that her baby would probably be stillborn, as they could not hear a heartbeat. Emerging in a flood of black fluid (meconium stained), Laurie surprised the doctors by being alive, but tiny, weighing in at under 5 pounds. (Her mother was a 2-pack-a-day smoker, and at this time the hazards of smoking were not fully known.)
{{cleanbreak}}
==Nickname==
'''Ro''' is Laurie's nickname, and she uses it almost to the exclusion of her birth name. She acquired it before her marriage to [[Jon Reddick]] while they were the Command Team (President/Vice President) of the [[USS Khai Tam]].

===Why Ro?===
[http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Ro_Laren Ro] is a character from "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (1987-1994). Played by Michelle Forbes, she introduced in the fifth season episode "Ensign Ro," but was brought back for several other episodes. The character, Ro Laren (and Ro is actually the family name here) is from a race in of people in the Star Trek Universe known as the Bajorans, a displaced and nomadic people. Laurie felt the characteristics of the character of Ro Laren were similar to hers, and as many people in the Star Trek Fan Association adopted [[personas]], Laurie adopted the Bajoran persona, and the family name of Ro as her own. Club members agreed with the persona and began calling her Ro. The name has stuck ever since, and Laurie prefers it to her (family) given name as it is easier for others to pronounce and remember, since it is short, unusual, and alliterates nicely with Reddick.

==Childhood==
Her entire childhood was spent in the small southern town of Fairhope, Alabama, on the eastern shore of Mobile Bay. Growing up on the water, nearly every day was spent playing on the beach, swimming, fishing or crabbing. Her father, “Jack,” was a musician, and discovered that all five of his children had musical talent. Laurie’s talent was that she had perfect pitch, and a very good ear for picking out songs, such that at around age four, her father would ask her to help him learn songs from the radio for which he had no sheet music. If he played a wrong chord, she could show him what notes needed to be in the chord, even though she didn’t know the names of the notes or chords. She began playing in public with her father at age five when her father’s trio played the opening of the Delchamps shopping center in Fairhope. She played trumpet on the song “Tea for Two,” not having any idea of the relation of the valves to notes, but rather “lipping” the entire song.

The Normand house was always an open house. People were always stopping by unannounced. Gene Normand was a great listener, and kids and adults were always stopping by to talk and pour their hearts out. They knew no strangers.

The Normands were always playing music at their house. Sometimes people would hear music while walking along the beach and would just walk up to their house to listen from the porch.

While growing up, there were always large family gatherings. Nearly all of Laurie's relatives lived in the New Orleans area – then about 5 hours away – and Thanksgiving and/or Christmas always meant a full house or lots of visiting. There was always someone to play with, always someone to stay with. She grew up believing that family and traditions were important.

From the age of six, Laurie began wanting a horse. She got her first horse (a pony named Rex) at age 12 from her sister-in-law's grandfather. With love and patience, she trained him to be a top-notch competitor, and entered horse shows for six years with him. He placed in everything he entered, winning more firsts and seconds than thirds, fourths, and fifths combined. After Rex, she had two more horses: an appaloosa she named J.D.R. Spooks, and a quarter horse/Arabian mix named Romulus (Rom, for short). Although J.D. won a few places, neither of the other two horses were ever as talented a competitor as Rex.

After graduating high school at age 17, she worked a half year before leaving for the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa.

==Education==
She attended Fairhope Elementary, which, when she began, contained all 12 grades. She attended Fairhope Elementary for grades 1-6, but finished grades 7-12 at the new Fairhope High School where she had a singularly unimpressive academic career. Suggestion was made by her high school counselor and her family that she not try to attend a university, but rather attend a community college in hopes of passing, while continuing to further her expertise in music with her family band.

Nevertheless, she eventually attended the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, where both her sister and her brother Robert had attended. As expected, she made C’s and D’s. After quitting college for six years, she returned to college once again to eventually get her B.A. in English from the University of South Alabama, making the Dean’s List or President’s List every quarter, and graduating 0.05 points away from cum laude.

Colleges/Universities attended:
*Faulkner State Jr. College, Bay Minette, AL
*University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL
*Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
*Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN
*University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL

==Occupations==
This is a general list of the different types of jobs Ro has had. There is also a [[List of Ro Reddick's Jobs|detailed list]] available.
*Professional musician
*Secretary for various universities and colleges
*Salesperson
*Insurance secretary
*Server/waitress at fast food restaurants, a Chinese restaurant, a steakhouse, and a college dormitory
*Ensign in the U.S. Navy
*Factory Day Worker
*Gymnastics Coach and judge
*Co-director of a gymnastics summer camp
*Music director at a summer camp
*Acrobatics instructor
*ESL instructor in Brazil
*Medical terminology and transcription instructor
*Medical Transcriptionist in 12 specialties

==Residences==
When Laurie was born, she lived at 58 Fels Avenue in Fairhope, Alabama. Her father paid around $8,000 for the house (which her eldest brother inherited and later sold in Nov, 2001, for $150,000). In those days, people left their houses unlocked, and keys in their cars. Since then she has lived several cities:

*Nashville, TN
*Murfreesboro, TN
*Orlando, FL (while in the Navy)
*Mobile, AL
*Tuscaloosa, AL
*Ft. Walton Beach, FL
*Pensacola, FL
*Tallahassee, FL
*Jacksonville, FL

==Marriage/Children==
In late November of 1990, Laurie/Ro met her future husband, Jonathon Reddick, when she attended what was only the second meeting of the [[USS Khai Tam]] (then Shuttle Heritage) on the campus of Florida State University.

The short story:

After a long courtship, they were married in a quiet, legal ceremony in the Leon County Courthouse (Tallahassee) on September 26, 1997, and then had a second ceremony with all friends in attendance on November 1, 1997. They have one child, daughter Dana Kathyrn Reddick, born January 17, 1998.

The long story:

After a courtship lasting approximately three years, Jon and Ro moved in together into an apartment on Hidden Place. Not long afterwards, during a weekend trip to Disneyworld, Ro and Jon were waiting in line for a ride when Ro spotted a man holding a baby in front of them. As if an arrow had been shot through her heart, Ro suddenly felt an overwhelming desire to now, at this point in her life, become a mother. The desire didn't wane over the ensuing weeks and months, and on Christmas day, Jon proposed to Ro, wanting to "do it right." Within two months, before a wedding could even be planned, Ro became pregnant. Jobs and life got in the way, and wedding plans were pushed on the back burner. Finally, in September, Ro suggested they marry quickly. They were married at the Leon County Courthouse, with no friends in attendance. However, they made plans to marry in great ceremony, with all their friends in attendance, at an upcoming Star Trek convention put on by Vulkon Enterprises on November 1. The marriage ceremony was held in the convention hotel ballroom with Ro and Jon in their Star Trek finery (Ro in a Starfleet uniform with Bajoran nose ridges, and Jon in his entire Klingon ceremonial wear), as were all their friends, with Chase Masterson (from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) as Maid-of-Honor. The ceremony was fully Trek, with the ceremony being lead by Terry Hilliard, the Starfleet International club regional director (in uniform), and a kai and vedek ("Bajoran" religious leaders).

As their September 26th legal wedding date is very close to Ro's birthday, Jon and Ro have opted to celebrate the November 1 ceremony date as their wedding anniversary.

==Achievements==
*Plays five instruments: piano, bass, drums, clarinet, guitar
*Played music for two presidents (Reagan and G.W. Bush, Sr.), one vice president (Quayle), and 50 governors (U.S. Governors Convention held at the Grand Hotel in Point Clear, Alabama, 1969)
*Was the youngest child to be allowed without supervision to go in the deep part of the Grand Hotel swimming pool (age 2-1/2) and dove off the high (spring) diving board (8 feet from water) at age 3
*Had her first (and only) child at age 41
*Placed 1st in State on uneven parallel bars at age 22
*Learned to speak Brazilian Portuguese nearly fluently mostly on her own, through Brazilian music, television, and comic books
*Inducted into Sigma Tau Delta, the English Honor Society (1974)

==Awards==
*Won summer highpoint trophy at Jubilee Saddle Club with her pony Rex, 1971
*Placed 1st twice in SCCA (Sports Car Clubs of America) rallies held in Mobile, Alabama in the late 1970's with her 1976 Toyota Corolla 1600
*Won 1st in Class III uneven parallel bars in the Alabama State Gymnastic Championships, 1978, at age 22

==Trivia==
*Is a closet geologist and collects rocks and fossils
*With nearly unerring accuracy, she can remember the directions to, and find, nearly any house she has ever been to, even if only once (and in the case of yard sale homes, can remember exactly what she bought at each house), but can't remember where she put her cell phone five minutes ago. This ability is, unfortunately, slowly fading with age.
*Collects miniature tea sets
*Biggest fears are sharks, alligators, tornadoes, and out-of-control elevators
*Dreams in color, serialized
*Is a descendant of James "Jim" Bowie, the 19th century pioneer for whom the Bowie knife is named.
*Wanted to be a ballerina (1st grade), racehorse jockey (high school), archaeologist (beginning college), geologist/paleontologist (mid college), but settled for medical transcriptionist
*Her family was featured on Paul Harvey's radio show in the 1970's
*Judged gymnastics for the Special Olympics in 1981 held in Nashville, TN
*Started beginner gymnastics classes at age 20, and went on to coach and judge gymnastics for 15 years

[[Category:Biographies|Reddick, Ro]]

Ro Reddick

2009-05-24T13:52:46Z

Adjel: /* Achievements */

[[Image:Example.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Ro Reddick]]{{tocleft}}'''Laurie "Ro" Reddick''' (born September 18, 1956) is the youngest of five children born to Sage “Jack" Alphonse Normand and Genevieve “Gene” Adams Normand. Called “the caboose” by her dad, she has three brothers and one sister: David Arthur, Glenn Anthony, Jeanine Anne, and Robert Andrew. She was told her name came from “Annie Laurie,” a traditional Irish song written in the late 1800’s. She was born in Fairhope, Alabama at the (now nonexistent) Jordan Clinic. Her birth was not uneventful, as her mother, who was ill with kidney disease, was told that her baby would probably be stillborn, as they could not hear a heartbeat. Emerging in a flood of black fluid (meconium stained), Laurie surprised the doctors by being alive, but tiny, weighing in at under 5 pounds. (Her mother was a 2-pack-a-day smoker, and at this time the hazards of smoking were not fully known.)
{{cleanbreak}}
==Nickname==
'''Ro''' is Laurie's nickname, and she uses it almost to the exclusion of her birth name. She acquired it before her marriage to [[Jon Reddick]] while they were the Command Team (President/Vice President) of the [[USS Khai Tam]].

===Why Ro?===
[http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Ro_Laren Ro] is a character from "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (1987-1994). Played by Michelle Forbes, she introduced in the fifth season episode "Ensign Ro," but was brought back for several other episodes. The character, Ro Laren (and Ro is actually the family name here) is from a race in of people in the Star Trek Universe known as the Bajorans, a displaced and nomadic people. Laurie felt the characteristics of the character of Ro Laren were similar to hers, and as many people in the Star Trek Fan Association adopted [[personas]], Laurie adopted the Bajoran persona, and the family name of Ro as her own. Club members agreed with the persona and began calling her Ro. The name has stuck ever since, and Laurie prefers it to her (family) given name as it is easier for others to pronounce and remember, since it is short, unusual, and alliterates nicely with Reddick.

==Childhood==
Her entire childhood was spent in the small southern town of Fairhope, Alabama, on the eastern shore of Mobile Bay. Growing up on the water, nearly every day was spent playing on the beach, swimming, fishing or crabbing. Her father, “Jack,” was a musician, and discovered that all five of his children had musical talent. Laurie’s talent was that she had perfect pitch, and a very good ear for picking out songs, such that at around age four, her father would ask her to help him learn songs from the radio for which he had no sheet music. If he played a wrong chord, she could show him what notes needed to be in the chord, even though she didn’t know the names of the notes or chords. She began playing in public with her father at age five when her father’s trio played the opening of the Delchamps shopping center in Fairhope. She played trumpet on the song “Tea for Two,” not having any idea of the relation of the valves to notes, but rather “lipping” the entire song.

The Normand house was always an open house. People were always stopping by unannounced. Gene Normand was a great listener, and kids and adults were always stopping by to talk and pour their hearts out. They knew no strangers.

The Normands were always playing music at their house. Sometimes people would hear music while walking along the beach and would just walk up to their house to listen from the porch.

While growing up, there were always large family gatherings. Nearly all of Laurie's relatives lived in the New Orleans area – then about 5 hours away – and Thanksgiving and/or Christmas always meant a full house or lots of visiting. There was always someone to play with, always someone to stay with. She grew up believing that family and traditions were important.

From the age of six, Laurie began wanting a horse. She got her first horse (a pony named Rex) at age 12 from her sister-in-law's grandfather. With love and patience, she trained him to be a top-notch competitor, and entered horse shows for six years with him. He placed in everything he entered, winning more firsts and seconds than thirds, fourths, and fifths combined. After Rex, she had two more horses: an appaloosa she named J.D.R. Spooks, and a quarter horse/Arabian mix named Romulus (Rom, for short). Although J.D. won a few places, neither of the other two horses were ever as talented a competitor as Rex.

After graduating high school at age 17, she worked a half year before leaving for the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa.

==Education==
She attended Fairhope Elementary, which, when she began, contained all 12 grades. She attended Fairhope Elementary for grades 1-6, but finished grades 7-12 at the new Fairhope High School where she had a singularly unimpressive academic career. Suggestion was made by her high school counselor and her family that she not try to attend a university, but rather attend a community college in hopes of passing, while continuing to further her expertise in music with her family band.

Nevertheless, she eventually attended the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, where both her sister and her brother Robert had attended. As expected, she made C’s and D’s. After quitting college for six years, she returned to college once again to eventually get her B.A. in English from the University of South Alabama, making the Dean’s List or President’s List every quarter, and graduating 0.05 points away from cum laude.

Colleges/Universities attended:
*Faulkner State Jr. College, Bay Minette, AL
*University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL
*Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
*Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN
*University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL

==Occupations==
This is a general list of the different types of jobs Ro has had. There is also a [[List of Ro Reddick's Jobs|detailed list]] available.
*Professional musician
*Secretary for various universities and colleges
*Salesperson
*Insurance secretary
*Server/waitress at fast food restaurants, a Chinese restaurant, a steakhouse, and a college dormitory
*Ensign in the U.S. Navy
*Factory Day Worker
*Gymnastics Coach and judge
*Co-director of a gymnastics summer camp
*Music director at a summer camp
*Acrobatics instructor
*ESL instructor in Brazil
*Medical terminology and transcription instructor
*Medical Transcriptionist in 12 specialties

==Residences==
When Laurie was born, she lived at 58 Fels Avenue in Fairhope, Alabama. Her father paid around $8,000 for the house (which her eldest brother inherited and later sold in Nov, 2001, for $150,000). In those days, people left their houses unlocked, and keys in their cars. Since then she has lived several cities:

*Nashville, TN
*Murfreesboro, TN
*Orlando, FL (while in the Navy)
*Mobile, AL
*Tuscaloosa, AL
*Ft. Walton Beach, FL
*Pensacola, FL
*Tallahassee, FL
*Jacksonville, FL

==Marriage/Children==
In late November of 1990, Laurie/Ro met her future husband, Jonathon Reddick, when she attended what was only the second meeting of the [[USS Khai Tam]] (then Shuttle Heritage) on the campus of Florida State University.

The short story:

After a long courtship, they were married in a quiet, legal ceremony in the Leon County Courthouse (Tallahassee) on September 26, 1997, and then had a second ceremony with all friends in attendance on November 1, 1997. They have one child, daughter Dana Kathyrn Reddick, born January 17, 1998.

The long story:

After a courtship lasting approximately three years, Jon and Ro moved in together into an apartment on Hidden Place. Not long afterwards, during a weekend trip to Disneyworld, Ro and Jon were waiting in line for a ride when Ro spotted a man holding a baby in front of them. As if an arrow had been shot through her heart, Ro suddenly felt an overwhelming desire to now, at this point in her life, become a mother. The desire didn't wane over the ensuing weeks and months, and on Christmas day, Jon proposed to Ro, wanting to "do it right." Within two months, before a wedding could even be planned, Ro became pregnant. Jobs and life got in the way, and wedding plans were pushed on the back burner. Finally, in September, Ro suggested they marry quickly. They were married at the Leon County Courthouse, with no friends in attendance. However, they made plans to marry in great ceremony, with all their friends in attendance, at an upcoming Star Trek convention put on by Vulkon Enterprises on November 1. The marriage ceremony was held in the convention hotel ballroom with Ro and Jon in their Star Trek finery (Ro in a Starfleet uniform with Bajoran nose ridges, and Jon in his entire Klingon ceremonial wear), as were all their friends, with Chase Masterson (from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) as Maid-of-Honor. The ceremony was fully Trek, with the ceremony being lead by Terry Hilliard, the Starfleet International club regional director (in uniform), and a kai and vedek ("Bajoran" religious leaders).

As their September 26th legal wedding date is very close to Ro's birthday, Jon and Ro have opted to celebrate the November 1 ceremony date as their wedding anniversary.

==Achievements==
*Plays five instruments: piano, bass, drums, clarinet, guitar
*Played music for two presidents (Reagan and G.W. Bush, Sr.), one vice president (Quayle), and 50 governors (U.S. Governors Convention held at the Grand Hotel in Point Clear, Alabama, 1969)
*Was the youngest child to be allowed without supervision to go in the deep part of the Grand Hotel swimming pool (age 2-1/2) and dove off the high (spring) diving board (8 feet from water) at age 3
*Had her first (and only) child at age 41
*Placed 1st in State on uneven parallel bars at age 22
*Learned to speak Brazilian Portuguese nearly fluently mostly on her own, through Brazilian music, television, and comic books
*Inducted into Sigma Tau Delta, the English Honor Society (1974)

==Awards==
*Won summer highpoint trophy at Jubilee Saddle Club with her pony Rex, 1971
*Placed 1st twice in SCCA (Sports Car Clubs of America) rallies held in Mobile, Alabama in the late 1970's with her 1976 Toyota Corolla 1600
*Won 1st in Class III uneven parallel bars in the Alabama State Gymnastic Championships, 1978, at age 22

==Trivia==
*Is a closet geologist and collects rocks and fossils
*With nearly unerring accuracy, she can remember the directions to, and find, nearly any house she has ever been to, even if only once (and in the case of yard sale homes, can remember exactly what she bought at each house), but can't remember where she put her cell phone five minutes ago. This ability is, unfortunately, slowly fading with age.
*Collects miniature tea sets
*Biggest fears are sharks, alligators, tornadoes, and out-of-control elevators
*Dreams in color, serialized
*Is a descendant of James "Jim" Bowie, the 19th century pioneer for whom the Bowie knife is named.
*Wanted to be a ballerina (1st grade), racehorse jockey (high school), archaeologist (beginning college), geologist/paleontologist (mid college), but settled for medical transcriptionist
*Her family was featured on Paul Harvey's radio show in the 1970's
*Judged gymnastics for the Special Olympics in 1981 held in Nashville, TN

[[Category:Biographies|Reddick, Ro]]

Ro Reddick

2009-05-24T13:51:33Z

Adjel: /* Awards */

[[Image:Example.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Ro Reddick]]{{tocleft}}'''Laurie "Ro" Reddick''' (born September 18, 1956) is the youngest of five children born to Sage “Jack" Alphonse Normand and Genevieve “Gene” Adams Normand. Called “the caboose” by her dad, she has three brothers and one sister: David Arthur, Glenn Anthony, Jeanine Anne, and Robert Andrew. She was told her name came from “Annie Laurie,” a traditional Irish song written in the late 1800’s. She was born in Fairhope, Alabama at the (now nonexistent) Jordan Clinic. Her birth was not uneventful, as her mother, who was ill with kidney disease, was told that her baby would probably be stillborn, as they could not hear a heartbeat. Emerging in a flood of black fluid (meconium stained), Laurie surprised the doctors by being alive, but tiny, weighing in at under 5 pounds. (Her mother was a 2-pack-a-day smoker, and at this time the hazards of smoking were not fully known.)
{{cleanbreak}}
==Nickname==
'''Ro''' is Laurie's nickname, and she uses it almost to the exclusion of her birth name. She acquired it before her marriage to [[Jon Reddick]] while they were the Command Team (President/Vice President) of the [[USS Khai Tam]].

===Why Ro?===
[http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Ro_Laren Ro] is a character from "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (1987-1994). Played by Michelle Forbes, she introduced in the fifth season episode "Ensign Ro," but was brought back for several other episodes. The character, Ro Laren (and Ro is actually the family name here) is from a race in of people in the Star Trek Universe known as the Bajorans, a displaced and nomadic people. Laurie felt the characteristics of the character of Ro Laren were similar to hers, and as many people in the Star Trek Fan Association adopted [[personas]], Laurie adopted the Bajoran persona, and the family name of Ro as her own. Club members agreed with the persona and began calling her Ro. The name has stuck ever since, and Laurie prefers it to her (family) given name as it is easier for others to pronounce and remember, since it is short, unusual, and alliterates nicely with Reddick.

==Childhood==
Her entire childhood was spent in the small southern town of Fairhope, Alabama, on the eastern shore of Mobile Bay. Growing up on the water, nearly every day was spent playing on the beach, swimming, fishing or crabbing. Her father, “Jack,” was a musician, and discovered that all five of his children had musical talent. Laurie’s talent was that she had perfect pitch, and a very good ear for picking out songs, such that at around age four, her father would ask her to help him learn songs from the radio for which he had no sheet music. If he played a wrong chord, she could show him what notes needed to be in the chord, even though she didn’t know the names of the notes or chords. She began playing in public with her father at age five when her father’s trio played the opening of the Delchamps shopping center in Fairhope. She played trumpet on the song “Tea for Two,” not having any idea of the relation of the valves to notes, but rather “lipping” the entire song.

The Normand house was always an open house. People were always stopping by unannounced. Gene Normand was a great listener, and kids and adults were always stopping by to talk and pour their hearts out. They knew no strangers.

The Normands were always playing music at their house. Sometimes people would hear music while walking along the beach and would just walk up to their house to listen from the porch.

While growing up, there were always large family gatherings. Nearly all of Laurie's relatives lived in the New Orleans area – then about 5 hours away – and Thanksgiving and/or Christmas always meant a full house or lots of visiting. There was always someone to play with, always someone to stay with. She grew up believing that family and traditions were important.

From the age of six, Laurie began wanting a horse. She got her first horse (a pony named Rex) at age 12 from her sister-in-law's grandfather. With love and patience, she trained him to be a top-notch competitor, and entered horse shows for six years with him. He placed in everything he entered, winning more firsts and seconds than thirds, fourths, and fifths combined. After Rex, she had two more horses: an appaloosa she named J.D.R. Spooks, and a quarter horse/Arabian mix named Romulus (Rom, for short). Although J.D. won a few places, neither of the other two horses were ever as talented a competitor as Rex.

After graduating high school at age 17, she worked a half year before leaving for the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa.

==Education==
She attended Fairhope Elementary, which, when she began, contained all 12 grades. She attended Fairhope Elementary for grades 1-6, but finished grades 7-12 at the new Fairhope High School where she had a singularly unimpressive academic career. Suggestion was made by her high school counselor and her family that she not try to attend a university, but rather attend a community college in hopes of passing, while continuing to further her expertise in music with her family band.

Nevertheless, she eventually attended the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, where both her sister and her brother Robert had attended. As expected, she made C’s and D’s. After quitting college for six years, she returned to college once again to eventually get her B.A. in English from the University of South Alabama, making the Dean’s List or President’s List every quarter, and graduating 0.05 points away from cum laude.

Colleges/Universities attended:
*Faulkner State Jr. College, Bay Minette, AL
*University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL
*Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
*Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN
*University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL

==Occupations==
This is a general list of the different types of jobs Ro has had. There is also a [[List of Ro Reddick's Jobs|detailed list]] available.
*Professional musician
*Secretary for various universities and colleges
*Salesperson
*Insurance secretary
*Server/waitress at fast food restaurants, a Chinese restaurant, a steakhouse, and a college dormitory
*Ensign in the U.S. Navy
*Factory Day Worker
*Gymnastics Coach and judge
*Co-director of a gymnastics summer camp
*Music director at a summer camp
*Acrobatics instructor
*ESL instructor in Brazil
*Medical terminology and transcription instructor
*Medical Transcriptionist in 12 specialties

==Residences==
When Laurie was born, she lived at 58 Fels Avenue in Fairhope, Alabama. Her father paid around $8,000 for the house (which her eldest brother inherited and later sold in Nov, 2001, for $150,000). In those days, people left their houses unlocked, and keys in their cars. Since then she has lived several cities:

*Nashville, TN
*Murfreesboro, TN
*Orlando, FL (while in the Navy)
*Mobile, AL
*Tuscaloosa, AL
*Ft. Walton Beach, FL
*Pensacola, FL
*Tallahassee, FL
*Jacksonville, FL

==Marriage/Children==
In late November of 1990, Laurie/Ro met her future husband, Jonathon Reddick, when she attended what was only the second meeting of the [[USS Khai Tam]] (then Shuttle Heritage) on the campus of Florida State University.

The short story:

After a long courtship, they were married in a quiet, legal ceremony in the Leon County Courthouse (Tallahassee) on September 26, 1997, and then had a second ceremony with all friends in attendance on November 1, 1997. They have one child, daughter Dana Kathyrn Reddick, born January 17, 1998.

The long story:

After a courtship lasting approximately three years, Jon and Ro moved in together into an apartment on Hidden Place. Not long afterwards, during a weekend trip to Disneyworld, Ro and Jon were waiting in line for a ride when Ro spotted a man holding a baby in front of them. As if an arrow had been shot through her heart, Ro suddenly felt an overwhelming desire to now, at this point in her life, become a mother. The desire didn't wane over the ensuing weeks and months, and on Christmas day, Jon proposed to Ro, wanting to "do it right." Within two months, before a wedding could even be planned, Ro became pregnant. Jobs and life got in the way, and wedding plans were pushed on the back burner. Finally, in September, Ro suggested they marry quickly. They were married at the Leon County Courthouse, with no friends in attendance. However, they made plans to marry in great ceremony, with all their friends in attendance, at an upcoming Star Trek convention put on by Vulkon Enterprises on November 1. The marriage ceremony was held in the convention hotel ballroom with Ro and Jon in their Star Trek finery (Ro in a Starfleet uniform with Bajoran nose ridges, and Jon in his entire Klingon ceremonial wear), as were all their friends, with Chase Masterson (from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) as Maid-of-Honor. The ceremony was fully Trek, with the ceremony being lead by Terry Hilliard, the Starfleet International club regional director (in uniform), and a kai and vedek ("Bajoran" religious leaders).

As their September 26th legal wedding date is very close to Ro's birthday, Jon and Ro have opted to celebrate the November 1 ceremony date as their wedding anniversary.

==Achievements==
*Plays five instruments: piano, bass, drums, clarinet, guitar
*Played music for two presidents (Reagan and G.W. Bush, Sr.), one vice president (Quayle), and 50 governors (U.S. Governors Convention held at the Grand Hotel in Point Clear, Alabama, 1969)
*Was the youngest child to be allowed without supervision to go in the deep part of the Grand Hotel swimming pool (age 2-1/2) and dove off the high (spring) diving board (8 feet from water) at age 3
*Had her first (and only) child at age 41
*Started gymnastics classes at age 20, competition at age 21, and placed 1st in State on uneven parallel bars at age 22
*Learned to speak Brazilian Portuguese nearly fluently mostly on her own, through Brazilian music, television, and comic books
*Inducted into Sigma Tau Delta, the English Honor Society (1974)

==Awards==
*Won summer highpoint trophy at Jubilee Saddle Club with her pony Rex, 1971
*Placed 1st twice in SCCA (Sports Car Clubs of America) rallies held in Mobile, Alabama in the late 1970's with her 1976 Toyota Corolla 1600
*Won 1st in Class III uneven parallel bars in the Alabama State Gymnastic Championships, 1978, at age 22

==Trivia==
*Is a closet geologist and collects rocks and fossils
*With nearly unerring accuracy, she can remember the directions to, and find, nearly any house she has ever been to, even if only once (and in the case of yard sale homes, can remember exactly what she bought at each house), but can't remember where she put her cell phone five minutes ago. This ability is, unfortunately, slowly fading with age.
*Collects miniature tea sets
*Biggest fears are sharks, alligators, tornadoes, and out-of-control elevators
*Dreams in color, serialized
*Is a descendant of James "Jim" Bowie, the 19th century pioneer for whom the Bowie knife is named.
*Wanted to be a ballerina (1st grade), racehorse jockey (high school), archaeologist (beginning college), geologist/paleontologist (mid college), but settled for medical transcriptionist
*Her family was featured on Paul Harvey's radio show in the 1970's
*Judged gymnastics for the Special Olympics in 1981 held in Nashville, TN

[[Category:Biographies|Reddick, Ro]]

Ro Reddick

2009-05-24T13:49:45Z

Adjel: /* Trivia */

[[Image:Example.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Ro Reddick]]{{tocleft}}'''Laurie "Ro" Reddick''' (born September 18, 1956) is the youngest of five children born to Sage “Jack" Alphonse Normand and Genevieve “Gene” Adams Normand. Called “the caboose” by her dad, she has three brothers and one sister: David Arthur, Glenn Anthony, Jeanine Anne, and Robert Andrew. She was told her name came from “Annie Laurie,” a traditional Irish song written in the late 1800’s. She was born in Fairhope, Alabama at the (now nonexistent) Jordan Clinic. Her birth was not uneventful, as her mother, who was ill with kidney disease, was told that her baby would probably be stillborn, as they could not hear a heartbeat. Emerging in a flood of black fluid (meconium stained), Laurie surprised the doctors by being alive, but tiny, weighing in at under 5 pounds. (Her mother was a 2-pack-a-day smoker, and at this time the hazards of smoking were not fully known.)
{{cleanbreak}}
==Nickname==
'''Ro''' is Laurie's nickname, and she uses it almost to the exclusion of her birth name. She acquired it before her marriage to [[Jon Reddick]] while they were the Command Team (President/Vice President) of the [[USS Khai Tam]].

===Why Ro?===
[http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Ro_Laren Ro] is a character from "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (1987-1994). Played by Michelle Forbes, she introduced in the fifth season episode "Ensign Ro," but was brought back for several other episodes. The character, Ro Laren (and Ro is actually the family name here) is from a race in of people in the Star Trek Universe known as the Bajorans, a displaced and nomadic people. Laurie felt the characteristics of the character of Ro Laren were similar to hers, and as many people in the Star Trek Fan Association adopted [[personas]], Laurie adopted the Bajoran persona, and the family name of Ro as her own. Club members agreed with the persona and began calling her Ro. The name has stuck ever since, and Laurie prefers it to her (family) given name as it is easier for others to pronounce and remember, since it is short, unusual, and alliterates nicely with Reddick.

==Childhood==
Her entire childhood was spent in the small southern town of Fairhope, Alabama, on the eastern shore of Mobile Bay. Growing up on the water, nearly every day was spent playing on the beach, swimming, fishing or crabbing. Her father, “Jack,” was a musician, and discovered that all five of his children had musical talent. Laurie’s talent was that she had perfect pitch, and a very good ear for picking out songs, such that at around age four, her father would ask her to help him learn songs from the radio for which he had no sheet music. If he played a wrong chord, she could show him what notes needed to be in the chord, even though she didn’t know the names of the notes or chords. She began playing in public with her father at age five when her father’s trio played the opening of the Delchamps shopping center in Fairhope. She played trumpet on the song “Tea for Two,” not having any idea of the relation of the valves to notes, but rather “lipping” the entire song.

The Normand house was always an open house. People were always stopping by unannounced. Gene Normand was a great listener, and kids and adults were always stopping by to talk and pour their hearts out. They knew no strangers.

The Normands were always playing music at their house. Sometimes people would hear music while walking along the beach and would just walk up to their house to listen from the porch.

While growing up, there were always large family gatherings. Nearly all of Laurie's relatives lived in the New Orleans area – then about 5 hours away – and Thanksgiving and/or Christmas always meant a full house or lots of visiting. There was always someone to play with, always someone to stay with. She grew up believing that family and traditions were important.

From the age of six, Laurie began wanting a horse. She got her first horse (a pony named Rex) at age 12 from her sister-in-law's grandfather. With love and patience, she trained him to be a top-notch competitor, and entered horse shows for six years with him. He placed in everything he entered, winning more firsts and seconds than thirds, fourths, and fifths combined. After Rex, she had two more horses: an appaloosa she named J.D.R. Spooks, and a quarter horse/Arabian mix named Romulus (Rom, for short). Although J.D. won a few places, neither of the other two horses were ever as talented a competitor as Rex.

After graduating high school at age 17, she worked a half year before leaving for the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa.

==Education==
She attended Fairhope Elementary, which, when she began, contained all 12 grades. She attended Fairhope Elementary for grades 1-6, but finished grades 7-12 at the new Fairhope High School where she had a singularly unimpressive academic career. Suggestion was made by her high school counselor and her family that she not try to attend a university, but rather attend a community college in hopes of passing, while continuing to further her expertise in music with her family band.

Nevertheless, she eventually attended the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, where both her sister and her brother Robert had attended. As expected, she made C’s and D’s. After quitting college for six years, she returned to college once again to eventually get her B.A. in English from the University of South Alabama, making the Dean’s List or President’s List every quarter, and graduating 0.05 points away from cum laude.

Colleges/Universities attended:
*Faulkner State Jr. College, Bay Minette, AL
*University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL
*Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
*Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN
*University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL

==Occupations==
This is a general list of the different types of jobs Ro has had. There is also a [[List of Ro Reddick's Jobs|detailed list]] available.
*Professional musician
*Secretary for various universities and colleges
*Salesperson
*Insurance secretary
*Server/waitress at fast food restaurants, a Chinese restaurant, a steakhouse, and a college dormitory
*Ensign in the U.S. Navy
*Factory Day Worker
*Gymnastics Coach and judge
*Co-director of a gymnastics summer camp
*Music director at a summer camp
*Acrobatics instructor
*ESL instructor in Brazil
*Medical terminology and transcription instructor
*Medical Transcriptionist in 12 specialties

==Residences==
When Laurie was born, she lived at 58 Fels Avenue in Fairhope, Alabama. Her father paid around $8,000 for the house (which her eldest brother inherited and later sold in Nov, 2001, for $150,000). In those days, people left their houses unlocked, and keys in their cars. Since then she has lived several cities:

*Nashville, TN
*Murfreesboro, TN
*Orlando, FL (while in the Navy)
*Mobile, AL
*Tuscaloosa, AL
*Ft. Walton Beach, FL
*Pensacola, FL
*Tallahassee, FL
*Jacksonville, FL

==Marriage/Children==
In late November of 1990, Laurie/Ro met her future husband, Jonathon Reddick, when she attended what was only the second meeting of the [[USS Khai Tam]] (then Shuttle Heritage) on the campus of Florida State University.

The short story:

After a long courtship, they were married in a quiet, legal ceremony in the Leon County Courthouse (Tallahassee) on September 26, 1997, and then had a second ceremony with all friends in attendance on November 1, 1997. They have one child, daughter Dana Kathyrn Reddick, born January 17, 1998.

The long story:

After a courtship lasting approximately three years, Jon and Ro moved in together into an apartment on Hidden Place. Not long afterwards, during a weekend trip to Disneyworld, Ro and Jon were waiting in line for a ride when Ro spotted a man holding a baby in front of them. As if an arrow had been shot through her heart, Ro suddenly felt an overwhelming desire to now, at this point in her life, become a mother. The desire didn't wane over the ensuing weeks and months, and on Christmas day, Jon proposed to Ro, wanting to "do it right." Within two months, before a wedding could even be planned, Ro became pregnant. Jobs and life got in the way, and wedding plans were pushed on the back burner. Finally, in September, Ro suggested they marry quickly. They were married at the Leon County Courthouse, with no friends in attendance. However, they made plans to marry in great ceremony, with all their friends in attendance, at an upcoming Star Trek convention put on by Vulkon Enterprises on November 1. The marriage ceremony was held in the convention hotel ballroom with Ro and Jon in their Star Trek finery (Ro in a Starfleet uniform with Bajoran nose ridges, and Jon in his entire Klingon ceremonial wear), as were all their friends, with Chase Masterson (from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) as Maid-of-Honor. The ceremony was fully Trek, with the ceremony being lead by Terry Hilliard, the Starfleet International club regional director (in uniform), and a kai and vedek ("Bajoran" religious leaders).

As their September 26th legal wedding date is very close to Ro's birthday, Jon and Ro have opted to celebrate the November 1 ceremony date as their wedding anniversary.

==Achievements==
*Plays five instruments: piano, bass, drums, clarinet, guitar
*Played music for two presidents (Reagan and G.W. Bush, Sr.), one vice president (Quayle), and 50 governors (U.S. Governors Convention held at the Grand Hotel in Point Clear, Alabama, 1969)
*Was the youngest child to be allowed without supervision to go in the deep part of the Grand Hotel swimming pool (age 2-1/2) and dove off the high (spring) diving board (8 feet from water) at age 3
*Had her first (and only) child at age 41
*Started gymnastics classes at age 20, competition at age 21, and placed 1st in State on uneven parallel bars at age 22
*Learned to speak Brazilian Portuguese nearly fluently mostly on her own, through Brazilian music, television, and comic books
*Inducted into Sigma Tau Delta, the English Honor Society (1974)

==Awards==
*Won summer highpoint trophy at Jubilee Saddle Club with her pony Rex, 1971
*Placed 1st twice in SCCA (Sports Car Clubs of America) rallies held in Mobile, Alabama in the late 1970's with her 1976 Toyota Corolla 1600
*Won 1st in Class III uneven parallel bars in the Alabama State Gymnastic Championships, 1978

==Trivia==
*Is a closet geologist and collects rocks and fossils
*With nearly unerring accuracy, she can remember the directions to, and find, nearly any house she has ever been to, even if only once (and in the case of yard sale homes, can remember exactly what she bought at each house), but can't remember where she put her cell phone five minutes ago. This ability is, unfortunately, slowly fading with age.
*Collects miniature tea sets
*Biggest fears are sharks, alligators, tornadoes, and out-of-control elevators
*Dreams in color, serialized
*Is a descendant of James "Jim" Bowie, the 19th century pioneer for whom the Bowie knife is named.
*Wanted to be a ballerina (1st grade), racehorse jockey (high school), archaeologist (beginning college), geologist/paleontologist (mid college), but settled for medical transcriptionist
*Her family was featured on Paul Harvey's radio show in the 1970's
*Judged gymnastics for the Special Olympics in 1981 held in Nashville, TN

[[Category:Biographies|Reddick, Ro]]

Olivia Johnson

2009-03-09T10:53:27Z

Adjel:

{{stub}}{{needabio}}
'''Olivia Johnson''' became part of the [[REDdimension Wiki Circle]] in 2007 when Jon, Ro & Dana Reddick moved to their rented home on Harpers Ferry Lane in Jacksonville, Florida. She is the same age, grade, and school as Dana Reddick, as well as living only a few houses away, they play together often. Olivia's parents are divorced, but she lives with her father and two older brothers, none of whom apparently spend much time interacting with her. Because her father works a lot, and because her brothers don't drive, Olivia rarely gets out, and as a result, does not get exposed to as much as many children do. Her perceptions and understanding of the world and how things work are a bit...well...off. However, she asserts her lack of knowledge with conviction such that Jon Reddick dubbed her "Oblivia." At this writing, Olivia is 10 years of age.

The following are some of her "gems" or "Oliviasms":

* While having dinner with the Reddicks one night, the discussion turned to movies. Olivia excitedly jumped into the conversation, saying she was about to see a movie. The movie was '''The Ten Commanders'''. She added, "I like movies about Jesus."

* Seeing a newspaper in the Reddick's driveway, she wondered how it got there. Ro informed her that someone had delivered it. Olivia was confused, as she said her father told her there were no newspaper carriers. When questioned as to how, then, she thought the newspaper had been delivered, she replied, "I don't know....'''by airplane'''?

* One school morning waiting at the bus stop with her father, Dana was dressed for school in a costume that was requirement as a visual aid to a book report. Her book report was on Helen Keller, and she had on a Victorian-looking faded pink lacy dress with a pinafore. When Olivia arrived at the bus stop, she asked why Dana was dressed that way. Upon explaining that she as wearing a period costume for her Helen Keller book report, Olivia then informed Dana that her costume wasn't truly period, because '''they didn't have pink back then.'''

* Prior to taking a car full of kids (including Olivia) ice skating, Ro Reddick stopped at the bank ATM to get a wad of cash. While making the transaction, Dana and her other friend Sam were busy talking, but Olivia was shrieking at a fever pitch, "WHAT'S THAT?!? WHAT'S THAT?!? " repeatedly. Ro didn't understand what "that" was, and was only guessing at what Olivia was talking about. When the cash popped out, Olivia nearly had a stroke. "WAS THAT SIXTY DOLLARS??? YOU GOT MONEY FOR FREE?!!?" At 10 years of age, she had, apparently, never seen an ATM before.

* When Dana had hurt her foot and declared that she needed crutches, Olivia corrected her: "It's '''crunches''', Dana."

* While playing outside with Dana at the Reddick house, Olivia came in holding a large yellow flower. "Is this a sickle cell?" she asked Ro. ?” Ro stared at her and blinked a few times, trying to image what she was talking about. Ro proceeded with caution. “A what??” she questioned, hoping she had heard wrong. Oliving explained, “You know, that flower where you get honey out of it.” Aha. Honeysuckle.

* She was quite anxious to show off her '''gluestick''' necklace (glow stick).

* At age 10, had never: seen a mechanical pencil; been to a buffet; heard of or been to a thrift store, such as Goodwill

* In discussing Star Wars, referenced the second time that '''Pon''' Solo was frozen once by '''Java''' the Hutt and again by '''Dark''' Vader.

* What was the name of that city? Oh, '''Fran Sancisco.'''

'''NICKNAMES'''
*"Oblivia," because of her oblivious nature to the world around her.
*"Milhouse," referencing the antimated TV show, "The Simpsons." Milhouse Mussolini Van Houten is character Bart Simpson's best friend, who is described as being "of average intelligence and has poor social skills. He is also very gullible...." Dana Reddick's parents refer to Olivia as "Dana's Milhouse."

[[Category:Biographies|Johnson, Olivia]]

Olivia Johnson

2009-03-09T10:51:49Z

Adjel:

{{stub}}{{needabio}}
'''Olivia Johnson''' became part of the [[REDdimension Wiki Circle]] in 2007 when Jon, Ro & Dana Reddick moved to their rented home on Harpers Ferry Lane in Jacksonville, Florida. She is the same age, grade, and school as Dana Reddick, as well as living only a few houses away, they play together often. Olivia's parents are divorced, but she lives with her father and two older brothers, none of whom apparently spend much time interacting with her. Because her father works a lot, and because her brothers don't drive, Olivia rarely gets out, and as a result, does not get exposed to as much as many children do. Her perceptions and understanding of the world and how things work are a bit...well...off. However, she asserts her lack of knowledge with conviction such that Jon Reddick dubbed her "Oblivia." At this writing, Olivia is 10 years of age.

The following are some of her "gems" or "Oliviasms":

* While having dinner with the Reddicks one night, the discussion turned to movies. Olivia excitedly jumped into the conversation, saying she was about to see a movie. The movie was '''The Ten Commanders'''. She added, "I like movies about Jesus."

* Seeing a newspaper in the Reddick's driveway, she wondered how it got there. Ro informed her that someone had delivered it. Olivia was confused, as she said her father told her there were no newspaper carriers. When questioned as to how, then, she thought the newspaper had been delivered, she replied, "I don't know....'''by airplane'''?

* One school morning waiting at the bus stop with her father, Dana was dressed for school in a costume that was requirement as a visual aid to a book report. Her book report was on Helen Keller, and she had on a Victorian-looking faded pink lacy dress with a pinafore. When Olivia arrived at the bus stop, she asked why Dana was dressed that way. Upon explaining that she as wearing a period costume for her Helen Keller book report, Olivia then informed Dana that her costume wasn't truly period, because '''they didn't have pink back then.'''

* Prior to taking a car full of kids (including Olivia) ice skating, Ro Reddick stopped at the bank ATM to get a wad of cash. While making the transaction, Dana and her other friend Sam were busy talking, but Olivia was shrieking at a fever pitch, "WHAT'S THAT?!? WHAT'S THAT?!? " repeatedly. Ro didn't understand what "that" was, and was only guessing at what Olivia was talking about. When the cash popped out, Olivia nearly had a stroke. "WAS THAT SIXTY DOLLARS??? YOU GOT MONEY FOR FREE?!!?" At 10 years of age, she had, apparently, never seen an ATM before.

* When Dana had hurt her foot and declared that she needed crutches, Olivia corrected her: "It's '''crunches''', Dana."

* While playing outside with Dana at the Reddick house, Olivia came in holding a large yellow flower. "Is this a sickle cell?" she asked Ro. ?” Ro stared at her and blinked a few times, trying to image what she was talking about. Ro proceeded with caution. “A what??” she questioned, hoping she had heard wrong. Oliving explained, “You know, that flower where you get honey out of it.” Aha. Honeysuckle.

* She was quite anxious to show off her '''gluestick''' necklace (glow stick).

* At age 10, had never: seen a mechanical pencil; been to a buffet; heard of or been to a thrift store, such as Goodwill

* In discussing Star Wars, referenced the second time that '''Pon''' Solo was frozen once by '''Java''' the Hutt and again by '''Dark''' Vader.

* What was the name of that city? Oh, "Fran Sancisco."

'''NICKNAMES'''
*"Oblivia," because of her oblivious nature to the world around her.
*"Milhouse," referencing the antimated TV show, "The Simpsons." Milhouse Mussolini Van Houten is character Bart Simpson's best friend, who is described as being "of average intelligence and has poor social skills. He is also very gullible...." Dana Reddick's parents refer to Olivia as "Dana's Milhouse."

[[Category:Biographies|Johnson, Olivia]]

Olivia Johnson

2009-03-09T10:50:40Z

Adjel:

{{stub}}{{needabio}}
'''Olivia Johnson''' became part of the [[REDdimension Wiki Circle]] in 2007 when Jon, Ro & Dana Reddick moved to their rented home on Harpers Ferry Lane in Jacksonville, Florida. She is the same age, grade, and school as Dana Reddick, as well as living only a few houses away, they play together often. Olivia's parents are divorced, but she lives with her father and two older brothers, none of whom apparently spend much time interacting with her. Because her father works a lot, and because her brothers don't drive, Olivia rarely gets out, and as a result, does not get exposed to as much as many children do. Her perceptions and understanding of the world and how things work are a bit...well...off. However, she asserts her lack of knowledge with conviction such that Jon Reddick dubbed her "Oblivia." At this writing, Olivia is 10 years of age.

The following are some of her "gems" or "Oliviasms":

* While having dinner with the Reddicks one night, the discussion turned to movies. Olivia excitedly jumped into the conversation, saying she was about to see a movie. The movie was '''The Ten Commanders'''. She added, "I like movies about Jesus."

* Seeing a newspaper in the Reddick's driveway, she wondered how it got there. Ro informed her that someone had delivered it. Olivia was confused, as she said her father told her there were no newspaper carriers. When questioned as to how, then, she thought the newspaper had been delivered, she replied, "I don't know....'''by airplane'''?

* One school morning waiting at the bus stop with her father, Dana was dressed for school in a costume that was requirement as a visual aid to a book report. Her book report was on Helen Keller, and she had on a Victorian-looking faded pink lacy dress with a pinafore. When Olivia arrived at the bus stop, she asked why Dana was dressed that way. Upon explaining that she as wearing a period costume for her Helen Keller book report, Olivia then informed Dana that her costume wasn't truly period, because '''they didn't have pink back then.'''

* Prior to taking a car full of kids (including Olivia) ice skating, Ro Reddick stopped at the bank ATM to get a wad of cash. While making the transaction, Dana and her other friend Sam were busy talking, but Olivia was shrieking at a fever pitch, "WHAT'S THAT?!? WHAT'S THAT?!? " repeatedly. Ro didn't understand what "that" was, and was only guessing at what Olivia was talking about. When the cash popped out, Olivia nearly had a stroke. "WAS THAT SIXTY DOLLARS??? YOU GOT MONEY FOR FREE?!!?" At 10 years of age, she had never seen an ATM before.

* When Dana had hurt her foot and declared that she needed crutches, Olivia corrected her: "It's '''crunches''', Dana."

* While playing outside with Dana at the Reddick house, Olivia came in holding a large yellow flower. "Is this a sickle cell?" she asked Ro. ?” Ro stared at her and blinked a few times, trying to image what she was talking about. Ro proceeded with caution. “A what??” she questioned, hoping she had heard wrong. Oliving explained, “You know, that flower where you get honey out of it.” Aha. Honeysuckle.

* She was quite anxious to show off her '''gluestick''' necklace (glow stick).

* At age 10, had never: seen a mechanical pencil; been to a buffet; heard of or been to a thrift store, such as Goodwill

* In discussing Star Wars, referenced the second time that '''Pon''' Solo was frozen once by '''Java''' the Hutt and again by '''Dark''' Vader.

* What was the name of that city? Oh, "Fran Sancisco."

'''NICKNAMES'''
*"Oblivia," because of her oblivious nature to the world around her.
*"Milhouse," referencing the antimated TV show, "The Simpsons." Milhouse Mussolini Van Houten is character Bart Simpson's best friend, who is described as being "of average intelligence and has poor social skills. He is also very gullible...." Dana Reddick's parents refer to Olivia as "Dana's Milhouse."

[[Category:Biographies|Johnson, Olivia]]

USS Khai Tam

2009-01-18T15:56:11Z

Adjel: /* Related Links */

{| align="right"
| __TOC__
|}
[[Image:Kt logo.jpg|left|thumb|300px|USS Khai Tam Logo]]
'''USS Khai Tam''' is the the Tallahassee, Florida chapter of Starfleet: The International Star Trek Fan Association.

One of the most successful chapters in Starfleet's history, the ''Khai Tam'' boasted over 140 members during its heyday, making it one of the largest chapters in the world during that time.

The members of the Khai Tam also created and published '''[[USS Khai Tam (fictitious vessel)#Technical Manual|USS Khai Tam Technical Orientation Manual]]''', a book which attained international acclaim among Starfleet members, and is still available as of 2007 at conventions and on the internet.

==History==
The ''Khai Tam'' has a long and storied past about which books could literally be written. However, the necessarily brief synopsis below reveals much of the club's flavor, traditions and achievements.

===Birth of a Heritage===
In the Fall of 1990, Sharon Stewart, a student at [http://www.fsu.edu Florida State University] in Tallahassee, FL, was inspired by her love of '''[http://www.startrek.com Star Trek]'''. She wanted to form a fan club where she and others who shared a passion for [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene_Roddenberry Gene Roddenberry]'s creation
could unite. But rather than form an isolated club, Stewart chose to start a chapter of [http://www.sfi.org Starfleet], an organized alliance of Trek fan organizations from all over the world.

Every new chapter in Starfleet must start out as a "shuttlecraft" under the nine month tutelage of an established club. Sponsored by the USS ''Guardian'' in Cocoa, FL, Stewart's Shuttle ''Heritage'', NCC 26244/1, was officially launched on June 27, 1991. The club's name was taken from the spine of a book in Stewart's bookcase which she happened to glance while completing the Starfleet paperwork to start the chapter.

Seeing the benefits it would bring a new and struggling club, Stewart also established the ''Heritage'' as a student organization of FSU. This provided the club with regular on-campus meeting space, free advertising on campus media and a token budget. But being a student organization also added additional obstacles.

FSU understandably required all its student organizations to maintain at least 51% student membership. This was sustainable given the opportunity to recruit on campus, but it also created financial challenges for the group given the number of students, whose lack of cash is legendary. This often left ''Heritage's'' ledgers in the red. Another challenge with a student membership was that it was inevitable that many would head home for the
summer, leaving the club with a skeleton crew for nearly four months out of every year.

The ''Heritage'' was up to the task, though, and not only maintained its member/student ratio, but also managed to meet STARFLEET's requirements for membership. They were well on their way to becoming a full-fledged ship. ''Heritage'' developed what would become a legendary ability to overcome financial, personal and political obstacles in order to excel as a cohesive group. The group also developed a compelling instinct to party, and even now, ''Heritage''/''Khai Tam'' parties are the stuff of legends.

===Growing Pains===
In March of 1992 the ship held its first election for Commanding Officer
(CO) and Executive Officer (XO). Until that time, the ship had been led by
its founding force, Sherry Stewart. With the creation of the ship's early
[[Bylaws]], however, it became mandatory that the CO and XO be elected each
year. This first election turned into a black time in the history of the
''Khai Tam'' as the membership was split almost evenly on the two
campaigning teams.

On the one side were Sherry Stewart (CO) and Matt Henry (XO), the incumbent
command team. In fact, they were the only command team that the ship had
ever known and they represented stability and maintenance of the status quo.

On the other side were [[Jon Reddick]] (CO) and [[Ro Reddick|Laurie
Copetti]] (XO), a young untested command team, whose only credentials were
their records of active membership in the shuttle thus far -- Copetti was
serving as the Department Chief for Sci/Med, and Reddick the assistant Chief
of Security.

The Reddick/Copetti platform was best represented in their slogan, "A ship
in its harbor is safe, but that's not what ships are for." (Incidentally, a
variation on that slogan is now the Khai Tam's official motto.) Jon and
Laurie imagined much more for the ship than simply a fun fan club. They
envisioned a force in the community that could perhaps, in some small way,
help bring about the world that Roddenberry had envisioned.

Each crew member of the Heritage felt very strongly about the team he or she
supported, and as the date for the election drew near, tension was at an
all-time high. There were many impromptu "debates" among members supporting
opposite platforms, and they seldom ended happily. But when the dust
settled and the votes were counted, the Reddick team won by a narrow margin
-- 12 to 9.

===Dawning of A New Era===
Even after the majority had spoken, Stewart was reluctant to give up the
helm. Dragging the results through miles of unnecessary Starfleet red tape,
it was not until four months later, on July 12, 1992 that a change of
command finally took place.

Aware that the election results and finally the command change itself had
taken their emotional toll on Stewart, many of Reddick and Copetti's first
actions were clearly intended to try to heal those bruises, and bring both
Stewart and her disheartened suporters back into the fold. Unfortunately,
sometimes such intentions simply don't work. Although Commander Sherry
Stewart accepted the ship's commissioning on April 4, 1992 (at which time
our name changed officially from ''Heritage'' to ''Khai Tam''), it was not
long before she would leave the ship.

When Stewart left the ''Khai Tam'', several other members (likely Stewart's
supporters in the election) also dropped out of active duty. Though this
slashed the ship's existing membership to nearly half, it would turn out to
be the fresh start that the Reddick/Copetti command team needed to set the
ship on its new course.

The Reddick command team would prove to be so successfull that they would be
elected unopposed for five consecutive years, being replaced only when they
voluntarily stepped down out of exhaustion. They would retake the helm
after a year of rest and continue for six more years unopposed. Truly, the
creation of an Era.

===Enter the Brave Heart===
When a shuttle is commissioned as a ship, its members must choose a ship
class. For example, Kirk's ''Enterprise'' was a Consitution-class ship and
Picard's a Galaxy-class, but the ''Khai Tam'' didn't want to go with either
of those...or any other established ships in the '''Star Trek''' universe.
This was partly becuase the club already had made it a policy to be
difficult, but mostly because of their Klingon heritage (no pun intended).

[[Image:Ktplaque.jpg|right|thumb|200px|USS Khai Tam commissioning plaque]]
On the ''Khai Tam'', as on many STARFLEET ships, members adopt personas that
fit their personalities. During the early years of Shuttle ''Heritage'',
many crew members, nearly half in fact, had adopted a Klingon persona.
There was much debate over whether they shouldn't just choose a Klingon
class of ship.

During this point in time, '''Star Trek: The Next Generation''' was in its
first run and the Klingons and Federation were at peace. The members
reasoned that if they were no longer at war, then there would certainly be a
sharing of technology between the two sides. What was finally agreed upon
was that they would design their ''own'' class of ship which would share
Klingon and Federation technologies. It was decided that these ships would
be of the Qapla'-class (Qapla' meaning success in Klingon), and that their
own vessel would change it's name to ''Khai Tam''. The name ''Khai Tam''
(pronounced kie-tom), suggested by founding Shuttle Heritage member, Lucy
Nguyen, is Vietnamese for "brave heart." The fact that it sounds vaguely
Klingon in origin was merely a happy coincidence.

===The Qapla' Project===
The very first concept drawing of the Qapla'-class ''Khai Tam'' was made
circa 1991 by Jon Reddick during a Shuttle Heritage meeting. From the first,
the vessel already showed the basic Federation saucer/Klingon propulsion
design that stayed with the ship through all its incarnations right up to
the finished project.

The concept was so outlandish that STARFLEET's Department of Technical
Services (DTS), which must approve a chapter's choice of class, at first
denied the club's request to be a Qapla'-class vessel. It wasn't until a
more fleshed-out set of specifications were submitted that they finally
approved the design, but then only as an "Experimental Class" which could
not be adopted by any other chapter.

And that's where the Qapla' class stayed for over a year: begrudgingly
approved by Starfleet, but restricted for any other chapter to choose --
destined to be the first, and last, of her line. That is, until the Fall of
1993.

The second-class status which the ''Qapla' '' held with Starfleet had been
gnawing at the ''Khai Tam'' Engineering department's pride for over a year,
and they were determined to rectify the situation. DTS had claimed that the
design was "not plausible" and "would never fly" -- and they knew that the
only way to convince them otherwise was to fully document the "Treknology"
behind the design. And that's what they set out to do.

Chief Engineer [[Colin Toenjes]] eventually recruited the help of member [[Kevin McNulty]] in writing and illustrating this documentation. The end result was the '''[[USS Khai Tam (fictitious vessel)#Technical Manual|USS Khai Tam Technical Orientation Manual]]''' eventually published by Intergalactic Trading Company in Orlando, FL. Faced with a perfect-bound, 92-page, commercially successful book, STARFLEET DTS relented, and the Qapla'-class was approved for general use in the organization in 1994. Since then, several chapters have claimed this design as their own.

===A Brief Change of Scenery===
After commanding the ''Khai Tam'' for nearly five consecutive years, the Reddick command team was feeling the weight of command, and the pressure from everyday life. Specifically, Jon had the opportunity for a promotion at his job that would require him to work weekday evenings. They opted in 1995 to step down as CO and XO to allow a new team to infuse the organization with fresh ideas. In 1996 [[Laurie Long]] and [[Kevin McNulty]] took the reigns as CO and XO respectively. The Long command team revisted many aspects of the club from its motto (which the members voted to keep) to its forms and administrative practices.

The year of their command was marked with many changes, yet at its core the ship remained a labor of love for all. The new command team was as relieved as anyone, though, to turn command back over to a rested and rejuvinated Reddick team in 1997. The Reddicks would go on to guide the club for seven more years unopposed, finally turning command over to [[Richard Graham]] in 2005.

==Recruiting==
As with any volunteer organization, recruiting has always been a major concern of the ''Khai Tam'' and many traditional and a few experimental methods have been used throughout its history:

* '''Parade Floats'''
:In November of 1991, the Shuttle ''Heritage'' 'built a float for FSU's Homecoming Parade. Then the ''Khai Tam'' took the idea over the top with a lighted design for Tallahassee's evening holiday parade in December of 1995.

* '''Movie Premieres'''
:The club has been quite a presence at every new Trek movie that has come out since the inception of the ''Khai Tam''. This is especially effective because we're always in uniform. It is made even more effective by the presence of our Captain in full Klingon makeup.
[[Image:Khai tam 1995.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Khai Tam crew at a 1995 Trek-O-Rama]]
* '''Hallmark Christmas Ornament Premieres'''
:Nothing attracts attention and helps to sell ornaments like a bunch of Klingons with alien food and drinks inside a mall.

* '''Conventions'''
:The few Trek-O-Rama conventions held in Tallahassee were a great recruiting boon. The ''Khai Tam'' has also provided a presence at several cons throughout Florida.

* '''Hooter Trek'''
:Of course, one of the most enjoyable recruiting ventures for members was Hooter Trek. The manager that ran the local Hooter's restaurant was a Trek fan and a couple of times he gave the entire porch over to a mini convention. People would sit around and eat and drink and be merry while watching Trek videos. And, of course, if they heard something about the Khai Tam in the process, well...

==The "John and Mary" Ship==
During the clubs heyday, there was no lack of duplicate names, or at least duplicate-sounding names. The most commonly occurring names in the member ship were John and Mary. It became apparent that this could cause a lot of confusion during meetings and in conversations. To resolve this, it became habit to give a nickname to each subsequent similar name after the first occurrence. Only the first member of that name could be called by their name.

The first "John" was Jon Reddick, and only he could be called Jon. The next "John" needed a nickname, and so the second one was dubbed "[[OJ]]" or "Other John." Then came "AJ" (Another John), "[[Clint]]" (a John who wore a Western hat like Clint Eastwood), "[[Opper-J]]" (John Opper), etc., until "[[Eight of Eight]]" (Jon Williams) who was the eighth "John" to join the club, and whose persona was a [http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Borg Borg].

The first Mary was Mary Kleinfeldt. Although by rights she could be called Mary, she did, however, earn the nickname of "[[Radar]]" by always seeming to know that the Command Team needed before they asked for it. Subsequent Marys became known as "[OM]]" (Other Mary), and "[[SAM]]" (Still Another Mary).

''Read about more ''Khai Tam'' nicknames [[:Category:Khai_Tam_Nicknames|here]].''

==Community Service==
One of the things that the Reddick team made their priority after their election was community service - a torch that has been carried by every subsequent command team. Over the years the club has taken part in several community service or community-related activities:

* '''St. Marks Trail'''
:One of the oldest ongoing activities has been the cleanup of the first three miles of a local nature trail.

* '''TMH Children's Ward'''
:Visiting the pediatric ward of a local hospital in full uniform and taking comic books and such to the kids on the ward. Members would sit and entertain the kids for a while so that Mom and/or Dad could go get a soda or whatever.

* '''Starfleet's Stampede'''
:For many years the club was award-winningly active in STARFLEET's annual charity fund raiser.

* '''Collecting Coupons'''
:For a time these collected coupons were provided to residents at the local battered women's shelter. Later they were sent overseas to the military in conjunction with the Fleet project.

* '''Volunteering'''
:''Khai Tam-ers'' helped build a few houses for the local Habitat for Humanity and they helped the local children's science center open their doors.

* '''Cub Scouts'''
:Club members put on a program for a local cub scout group to emphasize tolerance of people of all races (and species).

* '''Schools'''
:The club was a returning favorite in a local middle school's "Around the World (and Beyond)" fair.

* '''Ronald McDonald House '''

* '''Toys for Tots'''

* '''Christmas Connection Adopt-a-Family'''

:One of the ship members, [[Colin Toenjes]], once raffled off the right to cut his long ponytailed hair to support the Khai Tam's Adopt-a-Family fundraising efforts.

* '''MDA Telethon'''

==Awards==
The Khai Tam is proud of itself and proud of its members. Over the years
they've garnered many awards such as:
* Chapter Web Site of the Year
* Marine Strike Group of the Year
* Florida State Parks' Award of Appreciation
* Region 2 Chapter of the Year
* Best Chapter Newsletter

==The Blue Blazers==
A subset of the STARFLEET association is a group known as the Starfleet
Marine Corps. These fans base their personas and role playing on the
mythical ground element of Star Trek's Starfleet. Each ship may have its
own Strike Group, and the ''Khai Tam'' is proud to embark the 78th Marine
Strike Group known as ''The Blue Blazers''. Early in the days of the SFMC,
the 78th established the standards by which the rest of the region's marines
measured themselves. In the late 1990s, marines from the ''Khai Tam'' and
her sister ship ''[[Relentless]]'' dominated the international staff of the
SFMC.

==Parties==
[[Image:Chair pontification.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Captain Reddick from atop his chair]]In September of 1991 the Reddick command staff started the tradition of having a season premiere party. Later on in the life of the club this became [[KhaiCon]] - a miniature convention complete with games and episode viewings and panels and a lot of fun to be had by all. While the club's parties were legendary, none compare to the KhaiCons held in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Whether it was one member having to pull another's head out of the water because they'd just gotten whacked by a canoe or whether it was the Captain pontificating from atop a chair after he'd had a bit too much Romulan Ale, the parties are always a great deal of fun.

For many years each of the club's six departments held responsibility for a party every other month. And they put together some great ones:

* The pool party at Captain Reddick's place where members filled an empty garbage can full of water and tried to drench him with it. Of course, they weren't thinking clearly about the fact that he could move so much faster without carrying that water.

* The ''[[Pon Farr Orgy]]''. There's something almost mystical about staying up late into the night around a big bonfire (built in someone's backyard no less) and talking Trek and drinking late into the night. Especially when you almost broke your foot earlier that day in a testosterone-driven dive for a volleyball.

* The beach party where one of the members dove into water that was much too shallow and another one got sun poisoning but refused to let us take him to the hospital.

* Numerous campouts involving river tubing, and one involving a late night "alien landing."

* The June 1992 ''[[Rites of Ascension]]'' for Captain Reddick. While members didn't have actual Klingon painsticks, they ''did'' have big wooden fraternity-type paddles.

* The Halloween ''[[Mirror Universe Party]]'' where members came dressed as their opposite personality...or ''gender''. There are just some people who shouldn't be seen in drag.

* Numerous Christmas Formals that saw the members turn out in their finest to share the holiday spirit.

* The Blue Blazer's own M*A*S*H-Themed dinner party complete with chow hall and camoflage netting.

==The Current State of the Khai Tam==
[[Image:Khai tam 2002.jpg|thumb|left|150px|KhaiCon XI, 2002]][[Image:Drydock2001.jpg|right|thumb|150px|Drydock Resolution, Spring 2001]]As the popularity of Star Trek has ebbed and flowed, so has the memebrship of the ''Khai Tam''. As the movies wound down, and the ratings for '''Voyager''' and '''Enterprise''' waned, so too did the membership of the club. Adding to the effect was the inevitable exodus of student members who graduated and moved away. Several key members also moved away, taking their energy and enthusiasm with them. Inevitably, even the Reddicks moved on, leaving behind a dynasty of Trek fandom.

The ''Khai Tam'' is a living thing, and all living things follow a life cycle. The club was born, grew rapidly in its youth, enjoyed an exuberant adolesence, and eventually settled down into a calmer, and hopefully long-lived, adulthood.

These days, the ''Khai Tam'' is still staffed by a small group of loyal members who carry on many of the traditions of the club. The current commander [[Richard Graham]] has admirably carried the torch of superior leadership for which the club is known. Though its ranks have thinned, the spirit of the ''Khai Tam'' lives on in its members of today and yesterday.

==Alumni==
Through the years, nearly 200 members have come and gone through the ''Khai Tam'''s airlock. To the best of our knowledge they are listed below. Updates are always welcome.

{{Khai Tam Alumni}}

==Related Links==
*[[USS Khai Tam (fictitious vessel)]]
*[http://www.reddimension.com/khaitam USS Khai Tam Website] (appears outdated)
*[[:Category:Khai_Tam_Nicknames|Khai Tam Nicknames]]
*[[:Category: Khai Tam Trivia|Khai Tam Trivia]]
*[[USS Khai Tam (fictitious vessel)#Technical Manual|USS Khai Tam Technical Orientation Manual]]

USS Khai Tam

2009-01-18T15:54:09Z

Adjel: /* Related Links */

{| align="right"
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|}
[[Image:Kt logo.jpg|left|thumb|300px|USS Khai Tam Logo]]
'''USS Khai Tam''' is the the Tallahassee, Florida chapter of Starfleet: The International Star Trek Fan Association.

One of the most successful chapters in Starfleet's history, the ''Khai Tam'' boasted over 140 members during its heyday, making it one of the largest chapters in the world during that time.

The members of the Khai Tam also created and published '''[[USS Khai Tam (fictitious vessel)#Technical Manual|USS Khai Tam Technical Orientation Manual]]''', a book which attained international acclaim among Starfleet members, and is still available as of 2007 at conventions and on the internet.

==History==
The ''Khai Tam'' has a long and storied past about which books could literally be written. However, the necessarily brief synopsis below reveals much of the club's flavor, traditions and achievements.

===Birth of a Heritage===
In the Fall of 1990, Sharon Stewart, a student at [http://www.fsu.edu Florida State University] in Tallahassee, FL, was inspired by her love of '''[http://www.startrek.com Star Trek]'''. She wanted to form a fan club where she and others who shared a passion for [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene_Roddenberry Gene Roddenberry]'s creation
could unite. But rather than form an isolated club, Stewart chose to start a chapter of [http://www.sfi.org Starfleet], an organized alliance of Trek fan organizations from all over the world.

Every new chapter in Starfleet must start out as a "shuttlecraft" under the nine month tutelage of an established club. Sponsored by the USS ''Guardian'' in Cocoa, FL, Stewart's Shuttle ''Heritage'', NCC 26244/1, was officially launched on June 27, 1991. The club's name was taken from the spine of a book in Stewart's bookcase which she happened to glance while completing the Starfleet paperwork to start the chapter.

Seeing the benefits it would bring a new and struggling club, Stewart also established the ''Heritage'' as a student organization of FSU. This provided the club with regular on-campus meeting space, free advertising on campus media and a token budget. But being a student organization also added additional obstacles.

FSU understandably required all its student organizations to maintain at least 51% student membership. This was sustainable given the opportunity to recruit on campus, but it also created financial challenges for the group given the number of students, whose lack of cash is legendary. This often left ''Heritage's'' ledgers in the red. Another challenge with a student membership was that it was inevitable that many would head home for the
summer, leaving the club with a skeleton crew for nearly four months out of every year.

The ''Heritage'' was up to the task, though, and not only maintained its member/student ratio, but also managed to meet STARFLEET's requirements for membership. They were well on their way to becoming a full-fledged ship. ''Heritage'' developed what would become a legendary ability to overcome financial, personal and political obstacles in order to excel as a cohesive group. The group also developed a compelling instinct to party, and even now, ''Heritage''/''Khai Tam'' parties are the stuff of legends.

===Growing Pains===
In March of 1992 the ship held its first election for Commanding Officer
(CO) and Executive Officer (XO). Until that time, the ship had been led by
its founding force, Sherry Stewart. With the creation of the ship's early
[[Bylaws]], however, it became mandatory that the CO and XO be elected each
year. This first election turned into a black time in the history of the
''Khai Tam'' as the membership was split almost evenly on the two
campaigning teams.

On the one side were Sherry Stewart (CO) and Matt Henry (XO), the incumbent
command team. In fact, they were the only command team that the ship had
ever known and they represented stability and maintenance of the status quo.

On the other side were [[Jon Reddick]] (CO) and [[Ro Reddick|Laurie
Copetti]] (XO), a young untested command team, whose only credentials were
their records of active membership in the shuttle thus far -- Copetti was
serving as the Department Chief for Sci/Med, and Reddick the assistant Chief
of Security.

The Reddick/Copetti platform was best represented in their slogan, "A ship
in its harbor is safe, but that's not what ships are for." (Incidentally, a
variation on that slogan is now the Khai Tam's official motto.) Jon and
Laurie imagined much more for the ship than simply a fun fan club. They
envisioned a force in the community that could perhaps, in some small way,
help bring about the world that Roddenberry had envisioned.

Each crew member of the Heritage felt very strongly about the team he or she
supported, and as the date for the election drew near, tension was at an
all-time high. There were many impromptu "debates" among members supporting
opposite platforms, and they seldom ended happily. But when the dust
settled and the votes were counted, the Reddick team won by a narrow margin
-- 12 to 9.

===Dawning of A New Era===
Even after the majority had spoken, Stewart was reluctant to give up the
helm. Dragging the results through miles of unnecessary Starfleet red tape,
it was not until four months later, on July 12, 1992 that a change of
command finally took place.

Aware that the election results and finally the command change itself had
taken their emotional toll on Stewart, many of Reddick and Copetti's first
actions were clearly intended to try to heal those bruises, and bring both
Stewart and her disheartened suporters back into the fold. Unfortunately,
sometimes such intentions simply don't work. Although Commander Sherry
Stewart accepted the ship's commissioning on April 4, 1992 (at which time
our name changed officially from ''Heritage'' to ''Khai Tam''), it was not
long before she would leave the ship.

When Stewart left the ''Khai Tam'', several other members (likely Stewart's
supporters in the election) also dropped out of active duty. Though this
slashed the ship's existing membership to nearly half, it would turn out to
be the fresh start that the Reddick/Copetti command team needed to set the
ship on its new course.

The Reddick command team would prove to be so successfull that they would be
elected unopposed for five consecutive years, being replaced only when they
voluntarily stepped down out of exhaustion. They would retake the helm
after a year of rest and continue for six more years unopposed. Truly, the
creation of an Era.

===Enter the Brave Heart===
When a shuttle is commissioned as a ship, its members must choose a ship
class. For example, Kirk's ''Enterprise'' was a Consitution-class ship and
Picard's a Galaxy-class, but the ''Khai Tam'' didn't want to go with either
of those...or any other established ships in the '''Star Trek''' universe.
This was partly becuase the club already had made it a policy to be
difficult, but mostly because of their Klingon heritage (no pun intended).

[[Image:Ktplaque.jpg|right|thumb|200px|USS Khai Tam commissioning plaque]]
On the ''Khai Tam'', as on many STARFLEET ships, members adopt personas that
fit their personalities. During the early years of Shuttle ''Heritage'',
many crew members, nearly half in fact, had adopted a Klingon persona.
There was much debate over whether they shouldn't just choose a Klingon
class of ship.

During this point in time, '''Star Trek: The Next Generation''' was in its
first run and the Klingons and Federation were at peace. The members
reasoned that if they were no longer at war, then there would certainly be a
sharing of technology between the two sides. What was finally agreed upon
was that they would design their ''own'' class of ship which would share
Klingon and Federation technologies. It was decided that these ships would
be of the Qapla'-class (Qapla' meaning success in Klingon), and that their
own vessel would change it's name to ''Khai Tam''. The name ''Khai Tam''
(pronounced kie-tom), suggested by founding Shuttle Heritage member, Lucy
Nguyen, is Vietnamese for "brave heart." The fact that it sounds vaguely
Klingon in origin was merely a happy coincidence.

===The Qapla' Project===
The very first concept drawing of the Qapla'-class ''Khai Tam'' was made
circa 1991 by Jon Reddick during a Shuttle Heritage meeting. From the first,
the vessel already showed the basic Federation saucer/Klingon propulsion
design that stayed with the ship through all its incarnations right up to
the finished project.

The concept was so outlandish that STARFLEET's Department of Technical
Services (DTS), which must approve a chapter's choice of class, at first
denied the club's request to be a Qapla'-class vessel. It wasn't until a
more fleshed-out set of specifications were submitted that they finally
approved the design, but then only as an "Experimental Class" which could
not be adopted by any other chapter.

And that's where the Qapla' class stayed for over a year: begrudgingly
approved by Starfleet, but restricted for any other chapter to choose --
destined to be the first, and last, of her line. That is, until the Fall of
1993.

The second-class status which the ''Qapla' '' held with Starfleet had been
gnawing at the ''Khai Tam'' Engineering department's pride for over a year,
and they were determined to rectify the situation. DTS had claimed that the
design was "not plausible" and "would never fly" -- and they knew that the
only way to convince them otherwise was to fully document the "Treknology"
behind the design. And that's what they set out to do.

Chief Engineer [[Colin Toenjes]] eventually recruited the help of member [[Kevin McNulty]] in writing and illustrating this documentation. The end result was the '''[[USS Khai Tam (fictitious vessel)#Technical Manual|USS Khai Tam Technical Orientation Manual]]''' eventually published by Intergalactic Trading Company in Orlando, FL. Faced with a perfect-bound, 92-page, commercially successful book, STARFLEET DTS relented, and the Qapla'-class was approved for general use in the organization in 1994. Since then, several chapters have claimed this design as their own.

===A Brief Change of Scenery===
After commanding the ''Khai Tam'' for nearly five consecutive years, the Reddick command team was feeling the weight of command, and the pressure from everyday life. Specifically, Jon had the opportunity for a promotion at his job that would require him to work weekday evenings. They opted in 1995 to step down as CO and XO to allow a new team to infuse the organization with fresh ideas. In 1996 [[Laurie Long]] and [[Kevin McNulty]] took the reigns as CO and XO respectively. The Long command team revisted many aspects of the club from its motto (which the members voted to keep) to its forms and administrative practices.

The year of their command was marked with many changes, yet at its core the ship remained a labor of love for all. The new command team was as relieved as anyone, though, to turn command back over to a rested and rejuvinated Reddick team in 1997. The Reddicks would go on to guide the club for seven more years unopposed, finally turning command over to [[Richard Graham]] in 2005.

==Recruiting==
As with any volunteer organization, recruiting has always been a major concern of the ''Khai Tam'' and many traditional and a few experimental methods have been used throughout its history:

* '''Parade Floats'''
:In November of 1991, the Shuttle ''Heritage'' 'built a float for FSU's Homecoming Parade. Then the ''Khai Tam'' took the idea over the top with a lighted design for Tallahassee's evening holiday parade in December of 1995.

* '''Movie Premieres'''
:The club has been quite a presence at every new Trek movie that has come out since the inception of the ''Khai Tam''. This is especially effective because we're always in uniform. It is made even more effective by the presence of our Captain in full Klingon makeup.
[[Image:Khai tam 1995.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Khai Tam crew at a 1995 Trek-O-Rama]]
* '''Hallmark Christmas Ornament Premieres'''
:Nothing attracts attention and helps to sell ornaments like a bunch of Klingons with alien food and drinks inside a mall.

* '''Conventions'''
:The few Trek-O-Rama conventions held in Tallahassee were a great recruiting boon. The ''Khai Tam'' has also provided a presence at several cons throughout Florida.

* '''Hooter Trek'''
:Of course, one of the most enjoyable recruiting ventures for members was Hooter Trek. The manager that ran the local Hooter's restaurant was a Trek fan and a couple of times he gave the entire porch over to a mini convention. People would sit around and eat and drink and be merry while watching Trek videos. And, of course, if they heard something about the Khai Tam in the process, well...

==The "John and Mary" Ship==
During the clubs heyday, there was no lack of duplicate names, or at least duplicate-sounding names. The most commonly occurring names in the member ship were John and Mary. It became apparent that this could cause a lot of confusion during meetings and in conversations. To resolve this, it became habit to give a nickname to each subsequent similar name after the first occurrence. Only the first member of that name could be called by their name.

The first "John" was Jon Reddick, and only he could be called Jon. The next "John" needed a nickname, and so the second one was dubbed "[[OJ]]" or "Other John." Then came "AJ" (Another John), "[[Clint]]" (a John who wore a Western hat like Clint Eastwood), "[[Opper-J]]" (John Opper), etc., until "[[Eight of Eight]]" (Jon Williams) who was the eighth "John" to join the club, and whose persona was a [http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Borg Borg].

The first Mary was Mary Kleinfeldt. Although by rights she could be called Mary, she did, however, earn the nickname of "[[Radar]]" by always seeming to know that the Command Team needed before they asked for it. Subsequent Marys became known as "[OM]]" (Other Mary), and "[[SAM]]" (Still Another Mary).

''Read about more ''Khai Tam'' nicknames [[:Category:Khai_Tam_Nicknames|here]].''

==Community Service==
One of the things that the Reddick team made their priority after their election was community service - a torch that has been carried by every subsequent command team. Over the years the club has taken part in several community service or community-related activities:

* '''St. Marks Trail'''
:One of the oldest ongoing activities has been the cleanup of the first three miles of a local nature trail.

* '''TMH Children's Ward'''
:Visiting the pediatric ward of a local hospital in full uniform and taking comic books and such to the kids on the ward. Members would sit and entertain the kids for a while so that Mom and/or Dad could go get a soda or whatever.

* '''Starfleet's Stampede'''
:For many years the club was award-winningly active in STARFLEET's annual charity fund raiser.

* '''Collecting Coupons'''
:For a time these collected coupons were provided to residents at the local battered women's shelter. Later they were sent overseas to the military in conjunction with the Fleet project.

* '''Volunteering'''
:''Khai Tam-ers'' helped build a few houses for the local Habitat for Humanity and they helped the local children's science center open their doors.

* '''Cub Scouts'''
:Club members put on a program for a local cub scout group to emphasize tolerance of people of all races (and species).

* '''Schools'''
:The club was a returning favorite in a local middle school's "Around the World (and Beyond)" fair.

* '''Ronald McDonald House '''

* '''Toys for Tots'''

* '''Christmas Connection Adopt-a-Family'''

:One of the ship members, [[Colin Toenjes]], once raffled off the right to cut his long ponytailed hair to support the Khai Tam's Adopt-a-Family fundraising efforts.

* '''MDA Telethon'''

==Awards==
The Khai Tam is proud of itself and proud of its members. Over the years
they've garnered many awards such as:
* Chapter Web Site of the Year
* Marine Strike Group of the Year
* Florida State Parks' Award of Appreciation
* Region 2 Chapter of the Year
* Best Chapter Newsletter

==The Blue Blazers==
A subset of the STARFLEET association is a group known as the Starfleet
Marine Corps. These fans base their personas and role playing on the
mythical ground element of Star Trek's Starfleet. Each ship may have its
own Strike Group, and the ''Khai Tam'' is proud to embark the 78th Marine
Strike Group known as ''The Blue Blazers''. Early in the days of the SFMC,
the 78th established the standards by which the rest of the region's marines
measured themselves. In the late 1990s, marines from the ''Khai Tam'' and
her sister ship ''[[Relentless]]'' dominated the international staff of the
SFMC.

==Parties==
[[Image:Chair pontification.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Captain Reddick from atop his chair]]In September of 1991 the Reddick command staff started the tradition of having a season premiere party. Later on in the life of the club this became [[KhaiCon]] - a miniature convention complete with games and episode viewings and panels and a lot of fun to be had by all. While the club's parties were legendary, none compare to the KhaiCons held in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Whether it was one member having to pull another's head out of the water because they'd just gotten whacked by a canoe or whether it was the Captain pontificating from atop a chair after he'd had a bit too much Romulan Ale, the parties are always a great deal of fun.

For many years each of the club's six departments held responsibility for a party every other month. And they put together some great ones:

* The pool party at Captain Reddick's place where members filled an empty garbage can full of water and tried to drench him with it. Of course, they weren't thinking clearly about the fact that he could move so much faster without carrying that water.

* The ''[[Pon Farr Orgy]]''. There's something almost mystical about staying up late into the night around a big bonfire (built in someone's backyard no less) and talking Trek and drinking late into the night. Especially when you almost broke your foot earlier that day in a testosterone-driven dive for a volleyball.

* The beach party where one of the members dove into water that was much too shallow and another one got sun poisoning but refused to let us take him to the hospital.

* Numerous campouts involving river tubing, and one involving a late night "alien landing."

* The June 1992 ''[[Rites of Ascension]]'' for Captain Reddick. While members didn't have actual Klingon painsticks, they ''did'' have big wooden fraternity-type paddles.

* The Halloween ''[[Mirror Universe Party]]'' where members came dressed as their opposite personality...or ''gender''. There are just some people who shouldn't be seen in drag.

* Numerous Christmas Formals that saw the members turn out in their finest to share the holiday spirit.

* The Blue Blazer's own M*A*S*H-Themed dinner party complete with chow hall and camoflage netting.

==The Current State of the Khai Tam==
[[Image:Khai tam 2002.jpg|thumb|left|150px|KhaiCon XI, 2002]][[Image:Drydock2001.jpg|right|thumb|150px|Drydock Resolution, Spring 2001]]As the popularity of Star Trek has ebbed and flowed, so has the memebrship of the ''Khai Tam''. As the movies wound down, and the ratings for '''Voyager''' and '''Enterprise''' waned, so too did the membership of the club. Adding to the effect was the inevitable exodus of student members who graduated and moved away. Several key members also moved away, taking their energy and enthusiasm with them. Inevitably, even the Reddicks moved on, leaving behind a dynasty of Trek fandom.

The ''Khai Tam'' is a living thing, and all living things follow a life cycle. The club was born, grew rapidly in its youth, enjoyed an exuberant adolesence, and eventually settled down into a calmer, and hopefully long-lived, adulthood.

These days, the ''Khai Tam'' is still staffed by a small group of loyal members who carry on many of the traditions of the club. The current commander [[Richard Graham]] has admirably carried the torch of superior leadership for which the club is known. Though its ranks have thinned, the spirit of the ''Khai Tam'' lives on in its members of today and yesterday.

==Alumni==
Through the years, nearly 200 members have come and gone through the ''Khai Tam'''s airlock. To the best of our knowledge they are listed below. Updates are always welcome.

{{Khai Tam Alumni}}

==Related Links==
*[[USS Khai Tam (fictitious vessel)]]
*[http://www.reddimension.com/khaitam USS Khai Tam Website] (appears outdated)
*[[:Category:Khai_Tam_Nicknames|Khai Tam Nicknames]]
*[[:Category: Khai Tam Trivia|Khai Tam Trivia]]

USS Khai Tam

2009-01-18T15:52:12Z

Adjel: /* Related Links */

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[[Image:Kt logo.jpg|left|thumb|300px|USS Khai Tam Logo]]
'''USS Khai Tam''' is the the Tallahassee, Florida chapter of Starfleet: The International Star Trek Fan Association.

One of the most successful chapters in Starfleet's history, the ''Khai Tam'' boasted over 140 members during its heyday, making it one of the largest chapters in the world during that time.

The members of the Khai Tam also created and published '''[[USS Khai Tam (fictitious vessel)#Technical Manual|USS Khai Tam Technical Orientation Manual]]''', a book which attained international acclaim among Starfleet members, and is still available as of 2007 at conventions and on the internet.

==History==
The ''Khai Tam'' has a long and storied past about which books could literally be written. However, the necessarily brief synopsis below reveals much of the club's flavor, traditions and achievements.

===Birth of a Heritage===
In the Fall of 1990, Sharon Stewart, a student at [http://www.fsu.edu Florida State University] in Tallahassee, FL, was inspired by her love of '''[http://www.startrek.com Star Trek]'''. She wanted to form a fan club where she and others who shared a passion for [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene_Roddenberry Gene Roddenberry]'s creation
could unite. But rather than form an isolated club, Stewart chose to start a chapter of [http://www.sfi.org Starfleet], an organized alliance of Trek fan organizations from all over the world.

Every new chapter in Starfleet must start out as a "shuttlecraft" under the nine month tutelage of an established club. Sponsored by the USS ''Guardian'' in Cocoa, FL, Stewart's Shuttle ''Heritage'', NCC 26244/1, was officially launched on June 27, 1991. The club's name was taken from the spine of a book in Stewart's bookcase which she happened to glance while completing the Starfleet paperwork to start the chapter.

Seeing the benefits it would bring a new and struggling club, Stewart also established the ''Heritage'' as a student organization of FSU. This provided the club with regular on-campus meeting space, free advertising on campus media and a token budget. But being a student organization also added additional obstacles.

FSU understandably required all its student organizations to maintain at least 51% student membership. This was sustainable given the opportunity to recruit on campus, but it also created financial challenges for the group given the number of students, whose lack of cash is legendary. This often left ''Heritage's'' ledgers in the red. Another challenge with a student membership was that it was inevitable that many would head home for the
summer, leaving the club with a skeleton crew for nearly four months out of every year.

The ''Heritage'' was up to the task, though, and not only maintained its member/student ratio, but also managed to meet STARFLEET's requirements for membership. They were well on their way to becoming a full-fledged ship. ''Heritage'' developed what would become a legendary ability to overcome financial, personal and political obstacles in order to excel as a cohesive group. The group also developed a compelling instinct to party, and even now, ''Heritage''/''Khai Tam'' parties are the stuff of legends.

===Growing Pains===
In March of 1992 the ship held its first election for Commanding Officer
(CO) and Executive Officer (XO). Until that time, the ship had been led by
its founding force, Sherry Stewart. With the creation of the ship's early
[[Bylaws]], however, it became mandatory that the CO and XO be elected each
year. This first election turned into a black time in the history of the
''Khai Tam'' as the membership was split almost evenly on the two
campaigning teams.

On the one side were Sherry Stewart (CO) and Matt Henry (XO), the incumbent
command team. In fact, they were the only command team that the ship had
ever known and they represented stability and maintenance of the status quo.

On the other side were [[Jon Reddick]] (CO) and [[Ro Reddick|Laurie
Copetti]] (XO), a young untested command team, whose only credentials were
their records of active membership in the shuttle thus far -- Copetti was
serving as the Department Chief for Sci/Med, and Reddick the assistant Chief
of Security.

The Reddick/Copetti platform was best represented in their slogan, "A ship
in its harbor is safe, but that's not what ships are for." (Incidentally, a
variation on that slogan is now the Khai Tam's official motto.) Jon and
Laurie imagined much more for the ship than simply a fun fan club. They
envisioned a force in the community that could perhaps, in some small way,
help bring about the world that Roddenberry had envisioned.

Each crew member of the Heritage felt very strongly about the team he or she
supported, and as the date for the election drew near, tension was at an
all-time high. There were many impromptu "debates" among members supporting
opposite platforms, and they seldom ended happily. But when the dust
settled and the votes were counted, the Reddick team won by a narrow margin
-- 12 to 9.

===Dawning of A New Era===
Even after the majority had spoken, Stewart was reluctant to give up the
helm. Dragging the results through miles of unnecessary Starfleet red tape,
it was not until four months later, on July 12, 1992 that a change of
command finally took place.

Aware that the election results and finally the command change itself had
taken their emotional toll on Stewart, many of Reddick and Copetti's first
actions were clearly intended to try to heal those bruises, and bring both
Stewart and her disheartened suporters back into the fold. Unfortunately,
sometimes such intentions simply don't work. Although Commander Sherry
Stewart accepted the ship's commissioning on April 4, 1992 (at which time
our name changed officially from ''Heritage'' to ''Khai Tam''), it was not
long before she would leave the ship.

When Stewart left the ''Khai Tam'', several other members (likely Stewart's
supporters in the election) also dropped out of active duty. Though this
slashed the ship's existing membership to nearly half, it would turn out to
be the fresh start that the Reddick/Copetti command team needed to set the
ship on its new course.

The Reddick command team would prove to be so successfull that they would be
elected unopposed for five consecutive years, being replaced only when they
voluntarily stepped down out of exhaustion. They would retake the helm
after a year of rest and continue for six more years unopposed. Truly, the
creation of an Era.

===Enter the Brave Heart===
When a shuttle is commissioned as a ship, its members must choose a ship
class. For example, Kirk's ''Enterprise'' was a Consitution-class ship and
Picard's a Galaxy-class, but the ''Khai Tam'' didn't want to go with either
of those...or any other established ships in the '''Star Trek''' universe.
This was partly becuase the club already had made it a policy to be
difficult, but mostly because of their Klingon heritage (no pun intended).

[[Image:Ktplaque.jpg|right|thumb|200px|USS Khai Tam commissioning plaque]]
On the ''Khai Tam'', as on many STARFLEET ships, members adopt personas that
fit their personalities. During the early years of Shuttle ''Heritage'',
many crew members, nearly half in fact, had adopted a Klingon persona.
There was much debate over whether they shouldn't just choose a Klingon
class of ship.

During this point in time, '''Star Trek: The Next Generation''' was in its
first run and the Klingons and Federation were at peace. The members
reasoned that if they were no longer at war, then there would certainly be a
sharing of technology between the two sides. What was finally agreed upon
was that they would design their ''own'' class of ship which would share
Klingon and Federation technologies. It was decided that these ships would
be of the Qapla'-class (Qapla' meaning success in Klingon), and that their
own vessel would change it's name to ''Khai Tam''. The name ''Khai Tam''
(pronounced kie-tom), suggested by founding Shuttle Heritage member, Lucy
Nguyen, is Vietnamese for "brave heart." The fact that it sounds vaguely
Klingon in origin was merely a happy coincidence.

===The Qapla' Project===
The very first concept drawing of the Qapla'-class ''Khai Tam'' was made
circa 1991 by Jon Reddick during a Shuttle Heritage meeting. From the first,
the vessel already showed the basic Federation saucer/Klingon propulsion
design that stayed with the ship through all its incarnations right up to
the finished project.

The concept was so outlandish that STARFLEET's Department of Technical
Services (DTS), which must approve a chapter's choice of class, at first
denied the club's request to be a Qapla'-class vessel. It wasn't until a
more fleshed-out set of specifications were submitted that they finally
approved the design, but then only as an "Experimental Class" which could
not be adopted by any other chapter.

And that's where the Qapla' class stayed for over a year: begrudgingly
approved by Starfleet, but restricted for any other chapter to choose --
destined to be the first, and last, of her line. That is, until the Fall of
1993.

The second-class status which the ''Qapla' '' held with Starfleet had been
gnawing at the ''Khai Tam'' Engineering department's pride for over a year,
and they were determined to rectify the situation. DTS had claimed that the
design was "not plausible" and "would never fly" -- and they knew that the
only way to convince them otherwise was to fully document the "Treknology"
behind the design. And that's what they set out to do.

Chief Engineer [[Colin Toenjes]] eventually recruited the help of member [[Kevin McNulty]] in writing and illustrating this documentation. The end result was the '''[[USS Khai Tam (fictitious vessel)#Technical Manual|USS Khai Tam Technical Orientation Manual]]''' eventually published by Intergalactic Trading Company in Orlando, FL. Faced with a perfect-bound, 92-page, commercially successful book, STARFLEET DTS relented, and the Qapla'-class was approved for general use in the organization in 1994. Since then, several chapters have claimed this design as their own.

===A Brief Change of Scenery===
After commanding the ''Khai Tam'' for nearly five consecutive years, the Reddick command team was feeling the weight of command, and the pressure from everyday life. Specifically, Jon had the opportunity for a promotion at his job that would require him to work weekday evenings. They opted in 1995 to step down as CO and XO to allow a new team to infuse the organization with fresh ideas. In 1996 [[Laurie Long]] and [[Kevin McNulty]] took the reigns as CO and XO respectively. The Long command team revisted many aspects of the club from its motto (which the members voted to keep) to its forms and administrative practices.

The year of their command was marked with many changes, yet at its core the ship remained a labor of love for all. The new command team was as relieved as anyone, though, to turn command back over to a rested and rejuvinated Reddick team in 1997. The Reddicks would go on to guide the club for seven more years unopposed, finally turning command over to [[Richard Graham]] in 2005.

==Recruiting==
As with any volunteer organization, recruiting has always been a major concern of the ''Khai Tam'' and many traditional and a few experimental methods have been used throughout its history:

* '''Parade Floats'''
:In November of 1991, the Shuttle ''Heritage'' 'built a float for FSU's Homecoming Parade. Then the ''Khai Tam'' took the idea over the top with a lighted design for Tallahassee's evening holiday parade in December of 1995.

* '''Movie Premieres'''
:The club has been quite a presence at every new Trek movie that has come out since the inception of the ''Khai Tam''. This is especially effective because we're always in uniform. It is made even more effective by the presence of our Captain in full Klingon makeup.
[[Image:Khai tam 1995.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Khai Tam crew at a 1995 Trek-O-Rama]]
* '''Hallmark Christmas Ornament Premieres'''
:Nothing attracts attention and helps to sell ornaments like a bunch of Klingons with alien food and drinks inside a mall.

* '''Conventions'''
:The few Trek-O-Rama conventions held in Tallahassee were a great recruiting boon. The ''Khai Tam'' has also provided a presence at several cons throughout Florida.

* '''Hooter Trek'''
:Of course, one of the most enjoyable recruiting ventures for members was Hooter Trek. The manager that ran the local Hooter's restaurant was a Trek fan and a couple of times he gave the entire porch over to a mini convention. People would sit around and eat and drink and be merry while watching Trek videos. And, of course, if they heard something about the Khai Tam in the process, well...

==The "John and Mary" Ship==
During the clubs heyday, there was no lack of duplicate names, or at least duplicate-sounding names. The most commonly occurring names in the member ship were John and Mary. It became apparent that this could cause a lot of confusion during meetings and in conversations. To resolve this, it became habit to give a nickname to each subsequent similar name after the first occurrence. Only the first member of that name could be called by their name.

The first "John" was Jon Reddick, and only he could be called Jon. The next "John" needed a nickname, and so the second one was dubbed "[[OJ]]" or "Other John." Then came "AJ" (Another John), "[[Clint]]" (a John who wore a Western hat like Clint Eastwood), "[[Opper-J]]" (John Opper), etc., until "[[Eight of Eight]]" (Jon Williams) who was the eighth "John" to join the club, and whose persona was a [http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Borg Borg].

The first Mary was Mary Kleinfeldt. Although by rights she could be called Mary, she did, however, earn the nickname of "[[Radar]]" by always seeming to know that the Command Team needed before they asked for it. Subsequent Marys became known as "[OM]]" (Other Mary), and "[[SAM]]" (Still Another Mary).

''Read about more ''Khai Tam'' nicknames [[:Category:Khai_Tam_Nicknames|here]].''

==Community Service==
One of the things that the Reddick team made their priority after their election was community service - a torch that has been carried by every subsequent command team. Over the years the club has taken part in several community service or community-related activities:

* '''St. Marks Trail'''
:One of the oldest ongoing activities has been the cleanup of the first three miles of a local nature trail.

* '''TMH Children's Ward'''
:Visiting the pediatric ward of a local hospital in full uniform and taking comic books and such to the kids on the ward. Members would sit and entertain the kids for a while so that Mom and/or Dad could go get a soda or whatever.

* '''Starfleet's Stampede'''
:For many years the club was award-winningly active in STARFLEET's annual charity fund raiser.

* '''Collecting Coupons'''
:For a time these collected coupons were provided to residents at the local battered women's shelter. Later they were sent overseas to the military in conjunction with the Fleet project.

* '''Volunteering'''
:''Khai Tam-ers'' helped build a few houses for the local Habitat for Humanity and they helped the local children's science center open their doors.

* '''Cub Scouts'''
:Club members put on a program for a local cub scout group to emphasize tolerance of people of all races (and species).

* '''Schools'''
:The club was a returning favorite in a local middle school's "Around the World (and Beyond)" fair.

* '''Ronald McDonald House '''

* '''Toys for Tots'''

* '''Christmas Connection Adopt-a-Family'''

:One of the ship members, [[Colin Toenjes]], once raffled off the right to cut his long ponytailed hair to support the Khai Tam's Adopt-a-Family fundraising efforts.

* '''MDA Telethon'''

==Awards==
The Khai Tam is proud of itself and proud of its members. Over the years
they've garnered many awards such as:
* Chapter Web Site of the Year
* Marine Strike Group of the Year
* Florida State Parks' Award of Appreciation
* Region 2 Chapter of the Year
* Best Chapter Newsletter

==The Blue Blazers==
A subset of the STARFLEET association is a group known as the Starfleet
Marine Corps. These fans base their personas and role playing on the
mythical ground element of Star Trek's Starfleet. Each ship may have its
own Strike Group, and the ''Khai Tam'' is proud to embark the 78th Marine
Strike Group known as ''The Blue Blazers''. Early in the days of the SFMC,
the 78th established the standards by which the rest of the region's marines
measured themselves. In the late 1990s, marines from the ''Khai Tam'' and
her sister ship ''[[Relentless]]'' dominated the international staff of the
SFMC.

==Parties==
[[Image:Chair pontification.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Captain Reddick from atop his chair]]In September of 1991 the Reddick command staff started the tradition of having a season premiere party. Later on in the life of the club this became [[KhaiCon]] - a miniature convention complete with games and episode viewings and panels and a lot of fun to be had by all. While the club's parties were legendary, none compare to the KhaiCons held in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Whether it was one member having to pull another's head out of the water because they'd just gotten whacked by a canoe or whether it was the Captain pontificating from atop a chair after he'd had a bit too much Romulan Ale, the parties are always a great deal of fun.

For many years each of the club's six departments held responsibility for a party every other month. And they put together some great ones:

* The pool party at Captain Reddick's place where members filled an empty garbage can full of water and tried to drench him with it. Of course, they weren't thinking clearly about the fact that he could move so much faster without carrying that water.

* The ''[[Pon Farr Orgy]]''. There's something almost mystical about staying up late into the night around a big bonfire (built in someone's backyard no less) and talking Trek and drinking late into the night. Especially when you almost broke your foot earlier that day in a testosterone-driven dive for a volleyball.

* The beach party where one of the members dove into water that was much too shallow and another one got sun poisoning but refused to let us take him to the hospital.

* Numerous campouts involving river tubing, and one involving a late night "alien landing."

* The June 1992 ''[[Rites of Ascension]]'' for Captain Reddick. While members didn't have actual Klingon painsticks, they ''did'' have big wooden fraternity-type paddles.

* The Halloween ''[[Mirror Universe Party]]'' where members came dressed as their opposite personality...or ''gender''. There are just some people who shouldn't be seen in drag.

* Numerous Christmas Formals that saw the members turn out in their finest to share the holiday spirit.

* The Blue Blazer's own M*A*S*H-Themed dinner party complete with chow hall and camoflage netting.

==The Current State of the Khai Tam==
[[Image:Khai tam 2002.jpg|thumb|left|150px|KhaiCon XI, 2002]][[Image:Drydock2001.jpg|right|thumb|150px|Drydock Resolution, Spring 2001]]As the popularity of Star Trek has ebbed and flowed, so has the memebrship of the ''Khai Tam''. As the movies wound down, and the ratings for '''Voyager''' and '''Enterprise''' waned, so too did the membership of the club. Adding to the effect was the inevitable exodus of student members who graduated and moved away. Several key members also moved away, taking their energy and enthusiasm with them. Inevitably, even the Reddicks moved on, leaving behind a dynasty of Trek fandom.

The ''Khai Tam'' is a living thing, and all living things follow a life cycle. The club was born, grew rapidly in its youth, enjoyed an exuberant adolesence, and eventually settled down into a calmer, and hopefully long-lived, adulthood.

These days, the ''Khai Tam'' is still staffed by a small group of loyal members who carry on many of the traditions of the club. The current commander [[Richard Graham]] has admirably carried the torch of superior leadership for which the club is known. Though its ranks have thinned, the spirit of the ''Khai Tam'' lives on in its members of today and yesterday.

==Alumni==
Through the years, nearly 200 members have come and gone through the ''Khai Tam'''s airlock. To the best of our knowledge they are listed below. Updates are always welcome.

{{Khai Tam Alumni}}

==Related Links==
*[[USS Khai Tam (fictitious vessel)]]
*[http://www.reddimension.com/khaitam USS Khai Tam Website] (appears outdated)
*[[:Category:Khai_Tam_Nicknames|Khai Tam Nicknames]]

Colin Toenjes

2009-01-15T15:48:34Z

Adjel: /* Trivia */

[[Image:Colin_toenjes.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Colin Toenjes]]

'''Colin Toenjes''' was born July 15th, 1974 to Patricia and Jerome Toenjes in Chicago, Illinois.

==Childhood==
Born in Chicago, Illinois, Colin lived in a number of locations in the city and its suburbs before his family moved to a small farm halfway between Columbia, Illinois and Waterloo, Illinois in 1979. He attended school in Waterloo all the way through high school, graduating Waterloo High School (at age 16). He attended college at Florida State University, graduating in April 1996 with a Bachelor's Degree in Meteorology, with minors in Mathematics, Physics, and Communications.

==Family==
Colin's mother, Patricia Toenjes, passed away on November 23rd, 2007 after a brief battle with cancer. His father still lives on the family farm near Waterloo, Illinois.

Both of Colin's grandfathers passed away well before he was born. His maternal grandmother died in 1986 from cancer, and his paternal grandmother passed away February 8, 2008 due to complications from a stroke.

He has an older half-brother named Joseph, who lives in Kirkwood, Missouri along with his wife, Anissa. Joseph is very active in local politics.

==Occupations==
*Morning and Noon On-air Meteorologist, KGWN-TV, Cheyenne, Wyoming. September 1996 - August 1999
*Acquisitions Specialist, University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming. August 1999 - April 2000
*Meterologist, American Airlines, Fort Worth, Texas. April 2000 - September 2001
*Photographs Specialist, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, Texas. October 2001 - July 2003
*Colin has been employed by Weathernews Americas in Norman, Oklahoma since July 2003 as an Aviation Meteorologist.

==Marriage/Children==
[[Image:Ctandwife.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Colin and Crystal in 2005]]

Colin married Crystal A. Maxwell on September 22, 2001, in Estes Park, Colorado. Their son, Maxwell Jerome Toenjes, was born April 22, 2007.

They reside in Norman, Oklahoma with their three Second Chance Animal Shelter-rescued cats: Tesla, Marlowe and Zeebee.

==Achievements==
*Chief Engineer of the [[USS Khai Tam]], 1993-1996
*Editor and co-author of the '''[[USS Khai Tam (fictitious vessel)#Technical Manual|Technical Manual]]''' along with [[Kevin McNulty]] in 1994
*Honor guard and member of the [[78th Marine Strike Group]]

==Awards==

==Hobbies==

Colin is a extensive player of the miniature/board game Classic Battletech and is very active in the [http://forums.classicbattletech.com/index.php Classic Battletech online community]. He is also on the Management Team for [http://www.anothergaragecon.com/ Another Garage Con], a Battletech mini-convention in central Oklahoma.

He and Crystal are active members of the [http://www.coxok.com/ccgsok/ Cleveland County Genealogical Society].

He is also an avid fantasy-sports player.

==Trivia==
*Colin once sported long hair pulled into a ponytail. As he neared graduation at [http://www.fsu.edu Florida State] in 1994, he decided to cut it short for his impending job search. The "cutting of the ponytail" was first auctioned off, and then a ceremony performed in front of his shipmates, not without a tear or two shed. The winner was Ed Lamb. The hair was to be donated to [http://www.locksoflove.org/ Locks of Love], but purportedly it wasn't long enough. As of January 2009, he claims to still have it in a box.
<gallery>
Image:Colin ponytail 1.jpg|Ed Lamb displays the ceremonial scissors
Image:Colin ponytail 2.jpg|Ed makes the cut while Captain Reddick looks on
Image:Colin ponytail 3.jpg|Colin holding aloft his newly severed donation
Image:Colin ponytail 4.jpg|Ponytail in the shipping box, and Colin be consoled by friends
</gallery>

*Colin was also the unwitting source of another Khai Tam meme. While helping with a civic event, he and the other attending members were enjoying pizza for lunch during a break. Not seeing anything to drink in evidence, Colin inquired if anyone had seen a soda machine. It was pointed out to him that he happened to be leaning against one. This quickly spread throughout the crew, and evolved rapidly into "''[[Has anyone seen Colin?|Has anyone seen Colin?]]''" "''Has anyone seen Engineering?''" and a multiplicity of similar-themed references riffing off of his inability to locate the soda machine.

*Owns photographic prints of the debris recovered from the supposed UFO crash in Roswell, NM, made from the original negatives.

*He and his wife's collection of paperback books, mostly science fiction and fantasy novels, now exceeds 3,000 titles.

*Was laid off from his job at American Airlines three days after his wedding due to cutbacks in the wake of the Sept. 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks.


[[Category:Biographies|Toenjes, Colin]]

Olivia Johnson

2008-11-14T17:45:09Z

Adjel:

{{stub}}{{needabio}}
'''Olivia Johnson''' became part of the [[REDdimension Wiki Circle]] in 2007 when Jon, Ro & Dana Reddick moved to their rented home on Harpers Ferry Lane in Jacksonville, Florida. She is the same age, grade, and school as Dana Reddick, as well as living only a few houses away, they play together often. Olivia's parents are divorced, but she lives with her father and two older brothers, none of whom apparently spend much time interacting with her. Because her father works a lot, and because her brothers don't drive, Olivia rarely gets out, and as a result, does not get exposed to as much as many children do. Her perceptions and understanding of the world and how things work are a bit...well...off. However, she asserts her lack of knowledge with conviction such that Jon Reddick dubbed her "Oblivia." At this writing, Olivia is 10 years of age.

The following are some of her "gems" or "Oliviasms":

* While having dinner with the Reddicks one night, the discussion turned to movies. Olivia excitedly jumped into the conversation, saying she was about to see a movie. The movie was '''The Ten Commanders'''. She added, "I like movies about Jesus."

* Seeing a newspaper in the Reddick's driveway, she wondered how it got there. Ro informed her that someone had delivered it. Olivia was confused, as she said her father told her there were no newspaper carriers. When questioned as to how, then, she thought the newspaper had been delivered, she replied, "I don't know....'''by airplane'''?

* One school morning waiting at the bus stop with her father, Dana was dressed for school in a costume that was requirement as a visual aid to a book report. Her book report was on Helen Keller, and she had on a Victorian-looking faded pink lacy dress with a pinafore. When Olivia arrived at the bus stop, she asked why Dana was dressed that way. Upon explaining that she as wearing a period costume for her Helen Keller book report, Olivia then informed Dana that her costume wasn't truly period, because '''they didn't have pink back then.'''

* Prior to taking a car full of kids (including Olivia) ice skating, Ro Reddick stopped at the bank ATM to get a wad of cash. While making the transaction, Dana and her other friend Sam were busy talking, but Olivia was shrieking at a fever pitch, "WHAT'S THAT?!? WHAT'S THAT?!? " repeatedly. Ro didn't understand what "that" was, and was only guessing at what Olivia was talking about. When the cash popped out, Olivia nearly had a stroke. "WAS THAT SIXTY DOLLARS??? YOU GOT MONEY FOR FREE?!!?" At 10 years of age, she had never seen an ATM before.

* When Dana had hurt her foot and declared that she needed crutches, Olivia corrected her: "It's '''crunches''', Dana."

* While playing outside with Dana at the Reddick house, Olivia came in holding a large yellow flower. "Is this a sickle cell?" she asked Ro. ?” Ro stared at her and blinked a few times, trying to image what she was talking about. Ro proceeded with caution. “A what??” she questioned, hoping she had heard wrong. Oliving explained, “You know, that flower where you get honey out of it.” Aha. Honeysuckle.

* She was quite anxious to show off her '''gluestick''' necklace (glow stick).

* At age 10, had never: seen a mechanical pencil; been to a buffet; heard of or been to a thrift store, such as Goodwill

* In discussing Star Wars, referenced the second time that '''Pon''' Solo was frozen once by '''Java''' the Hutt and again by '''Dark''' Vader.

'''NICKNAMES'''
*"Oblivia," because of her oblivious nature to the world around her.
*"Milhouse," referencing the antimated TV show, "The Simpsons." Milhouse Mussolini Van Houten is character Bart Simpson's best friend, who is described as being "of average intelligence and has poor social skills. He is also very gullible...." Dana Reddick's parents refer to Olivia as "Dana's Milhouse."

[[Category:Biographies|Johnson, Olivia]]

Ro Reddick

2008-10-22T14:04:24Z

Adjel: /* Residences */

[[Image:Example.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Ro Reddick]]{{tocleft}}'''Laurie "Ro" Reddick''' (born September 18, 1956) is the youngest of five children born to Sage “Jack" Alphonse Normand and Genevieve “Gene” Adams Normand. Called “the caboose” by her dad, she has three brothers and one sister: David Arthur, Glenn Anthony, Jeanine Anne, and Robert Andrew. She was told her name came from “Annie Laurie,” a traditional Irish song written in the late 1800’s. She was born in Fairhope, Alabama at the (now nonexistent) Jordan Clinic. Her birth was not uneventful, as her mother, who was ill with kidney disease, was told that her baby would probably be stillborn, as they could not hear a heartbeat. Emerging in a flood of black fluid (meconium stained), Laurie surprised the doctors by being alive, but tiny, weighing in at under 5 pounds. (Her mother was a 2-pack-a-day smoker, and at this time the hazards of smoking were not fully known.)
{{cleanbreak}}
==Nickname==
'''Ro''' is Laurie's nickname, and she uses it almost to the exclusion of her birth name. She acquired it before her marriage to [[Jon Reddick]] while they were the Command Team (President/Vice President) of the [[USS Khai Tam]].

===Why Ro?===
[http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Ro_Laren Ro] is a character from "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (1987-1994). Played by Michelle Forbes, she introduced in the fifth season episode "Ensign Ro," but was brought back for several other episodes. The character, Ro Laren (and Ro is actually the family name here) is from a race in of people in the Star Trek Universe known as the Bajorans, a displaced and nomadic people. Laurie felt the characteristics of the character of Ro Laren were similar to hers, and as many people in the Star Trek Fan Association adopted [[personas]], Laurie adopted the Bajoran persona, and the family name of Ro as her own. Club members agreed with the persona and began calling her Ro. The name has stuck ever since, and Laurie prefers it to her (family) given name as it is easier for others to pronounce and remember, since it is short, unusual, and alliterates nicely with Reddick.

==Childhood==
Her entire childhood was spent in the small southern town of Fairhope, Alabama, on the eastern shore of Mobile Bay. Growing up on the water, nearly every day was spent playing on the beach, swimming, fishing or crabbing. Her father, “Jack,” was a musician, and discovered that all five of his children had musical talent. Laurie’s talent was that she had perfect pitch, and a very good ear for picking out songs, such that at around age four, her father would ask her to help him learn songs from the radio for which he had no sheet music. If he played a wrong chord, she could show him what notes needed to be in the chord, even though she didn’t know the names of the notes or chords. She began playing in public with her father at age five when her father’s trio played the opening of the Delchamps shopping center in Fairhope. She played trumpet on the song “Tea for Two,” not having any idea of the relation of the valves to notes, but rather “lipping” the entire song.

The Normand house was always an open house. People were always stopping by unannounced. Gene Normand was a great listener, and kids and adults were always stopping by to talk and pour their hearts out. They knew no strangers.

The Normands were always playing music at their house. Sometimes people would hear music while walking along the beach and would just walk up to their house to listen from the porch.

While growing up, there were always large family gatherings. Nearly all of Laurie's relatives lived in the New Orleans area – then about 5 hours away – and Thanksgiving and/or Christmas always meant a full house or lots of visiting. There was always someone to play with, always someone to stay with. She grew up believing that family and traditions were important.

From the age of six, Laurie began wanting a horse. She got her first horse (a pony named Rex) at age 12 from her sister-in-law's grandfather. With love and patience, she trained him to be a top-notch competitor, and entered horse shows for six years with him. He placed in everything he entered, winning more firsts and seconds than thirds, fourths, and fifths combined. After Rex, she had two more horses: an appaloosa she named J.D.R. Spooks, and a quarter horse/Arabian mix named Romulus (Rom, for short). Although J.D. won a few places, neither of the other two horses were ever as talented a competitor as Rex.

After graduating high school at age 17, she worked a half year before leaving for the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa.

==Education==
She attended Fairhope Elementary, which, when she began, contained all 12 grades. She attended Fairhope Elementary for grades 1-6, but finished grades 7-12 at the new Fairhope High School where she had a singularly unimpressive academic career. Suggestion was made by her high school counselor and her family that she not try to attend a university, but rather attend a community college in hopes of passing, while continuing to further her expertise in music with her family band.

Nevertheless, she eventually attended the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, where both her sister and her brother Robert had attended. As expected, she made C’s and D’s. After quitting college for six years, she returned to college once again to eventually get her B.A. in English from the University of South Alabama, making the Dean’s List or President’s List every quarter, and graduating 0.05 points away from cum laude.

Colleges/Universities attended:
*Faulkner State Jr. College, Bay Minette, AL
*University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL
*Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
*Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN
*University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL

==Occupations==
This is a general list of the different types of jobs Ro has had. There is also a [[List of Ro Reddick's Jobs|detailed list]] available.
*Professional musician
*Secretary for various universities and colleges
*Salesperson
*Insurance secretary
*Server/waitress at fast food restaurants, a Chinese restaurant, a steakhouse, and a college dormitory
*Ensign in the U.S. Navy
*Factory Day Worker
*Gymnastics Coach and judge
*Co-director of a gymnastics summer camp
*Music director at a summer camp
*Acrobatics instructor
*ESL instructor in Brazil
*Medical terminology and transcription instructor
*Medical Transcriptionist in 12 specialties

==Residences==
When Laurie was born, she lived at 58 Fels Avenue in Fairhope, Alabama. Her father paid around $8,000 for the house (which her eldest brother inherited and later sold in Nov, 2001, for $150,000). In those days, people left their houses unlocked, and keys in their cars. Since then she has lived several cities:

*Nashville, TN
*Murfreesboro, TN
*Orlando, FL (while in the Navy)
*Mobile, AL
*Tuscaloosa, AL
*Ft. Walton Beach, FL
*Pensacola, FL
*Tallahassee, FL
*Jacksonville, FL

==Marriage/Children==
In late November of 1990, Laurie/Ro met her future husband, Jonathon Reddick, when she attended what was only the second meeting of the [[USS Khai Tam]] (then Shuttle Heritage) on the campus of Florida State University.

The short story:

After a long courtship, they were married in a quiet, legal ceremony in the Leon County Courthouse (Tallahassee) on September 26, 1997, and then had a second ceremony with all friends in attendance on November 1, 1997. They have one child, daughter Dana Kathyrn Reddick, born January 17, 1998.

The long story:

After a courtship lasting approximately three years, Jon and Ro moved in together into an apartment on Hidden Place. Not long afterwards, during a weekend trip to Disneyworld, Ro and Jon were waiting in line for a ride when Ro spotted a man holding a baby in front of them. As if an arrow had been shot through her heart, Ro suddenly felt an overwhelming desire to now, at this point in her life, become a mother. The desire didn't wane over the ensuing weeks and months, and on Christmas day, Jon proposed to Ro, wanting to "do it right." Within two months, before a wedding could even be planned, Ro became pregnant. Jobs and life got in the way, and wedding plans were pushed on the back burner. Finally, in September, Ro suggested they marry quickly. They were married at the Leon County Courthouse, with no friends in attendance. However, they made plans to marry in great ceremony, with all their friends in attendance, at an upcoming Star Trek convention put on by Vulkon Enterprises on November 1. The marriage ceremony was held in the convention hotel ballroom with Ro and Jon in their Star Trek finery (Ro in a Starfleet uniform with Bajoran nose ridges, and Jon in his entire Klingon ceremonial wear), as were all their friends, with Chase Masterson (from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) as Maid-of-Honor. The ceremony was fully Trek, with the ceremony being lead by Terry Hilliard, the Starfleet International club regional director (in uniform), and a kai and vedek ("Bajoran" religious leaders).

As their September 26th legal wedding date is very close to Ro's birthday, Jon and Ro have opted to celebrate the November 1 ceremony date as their wedding anniversary.

==Achievements==
*Plays five instruments: piano, bass, drums, clarinet, guitar
*Played music for two presidents (Reagan and G.W. Bush, Sr.), one vice president (Quayle), and 50 governors (U.S. Governors Convention held at the Grand Hotel in Point Clear, Alabama, 1969)
*Was the youngest child to be allowed without supervision to go in the deep part of the Grand Hotel swimming pool (age 2-1/2) and dove off the high (spring) diving board (8 feet from water) at age 3
*Had her first (and only) child at age 41
*Started gymnastics classes at age 20, competition at age 21, and placed 1st in State on uneven parallel bars at age 22
*Learned to speak Brazilian Portuguese nearly fluently mostly on her own, through Brazilian music, television, and comic books
*Inducted into Sigma Tau Delta, the English Honor Society (1974)

==Awards==
*Won summer highpoint trophy at Jubilee Saddle Club with her pony Rex, 1971
*Placed 1st twice in SCCA (Sports Car Clubs of America) rallies held in Mobile, Alabama in the late 1970's with her 1976 Toyota Corolla 1600
*Won 1st in Class III uneven parallel bars in the Alabama State Gymnastic Championships, 1978

==Trivia==
*Is a closet geologist and collects rocks and fossils
*With nearly unerring accuracy, she can remember the directions to, and find, nearly any house she has ever been to, even if only once (and in the case of yard sale homes, can remember exactly what she bought at each house), but can't remember where she put her cell phone five minutes ago
*Collects miniature tea sets
*Biggest fears are sharks, alligators, tornadoes, and out-of-control elevators
*Dreams in color, serialized
*Is a descendant of James "Jim" Bowie, the 19th century pioneer for whom the Bowie knife is named.
*Wanted to be a ballerina (1st grade), racehorse jockey (high school), archaeologist (beginning college), geologist/paleontologist (mid college), but settled for medical transcriptionist
*Her family was featured on Paul Harvey's radio show in the 1970's
*Judged gymnastics for the Special Olympics in 1981 held in Nashville, TN

[[Category:Biographies|Reddick, Ro]]

Dana Reddick

2008-08-11T15:19:37Z

Adjel:

{{stub}}
[[Image:Dana_reddick.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Dana Reddick]]'''Dana Kathryn Reddick''' born January 17, 1998 in [[Tallahassee, Florida]] to [[Jon Reddick|Jon]] and [[Ro Reddick]] as their only child.

{{tocleft}}
==Education==
*[[Kinderschool]], Tallahassee, FL
:2000-2003, Preschool
*DeSoto Trail Elementary, Tallahassee, FL
:2003-2007, First Grade - Third Grade
*Mandarin Elementary School, Jacksonville, FL
:2007-2008, Fourth Grade
*Loretto Elementary School (technology magnet), Jacksonville, FL
:2008-2009, Fifth Grade

==Trivia==
*Nicknames for Dana have included, "''Pumpkin''", "''Pumpkin Pie''", "''Dane''", "''Dana Bug''," "''D.K.''" and "''Sugar Pop''"
*Her name, Dana Kathryn, comes from her parents' love of science fiction, specifically of character Dana Scully of ''The X-Files'' (1993-2002) and character Captain Kathryn Janeway of ''Star Trek: Voyager'' (1995-2001).
*Is a fan of [[Gorillaz, The|The Gorillaz]]
*Took her first steps at age 6-1/2 months
*Started using a computer before 9 months of age
*Has her own [[Little Dana|personal lullaby]], written in celebration of her birth by her Uncle Robert (Normand), and has been sung for her virtually nightly since her birth
*First got her ears pierced on December 9, 2007 at a Claire's boutique in the Orange Park Mall in Jacksonville, Florida; stopped wearing them in May 2008, as it was "too much trouble" to keep her ears clean, and slightly painful to change earrings (which she couldn't and wouldn't do on her own).

==Achievements==
*Invited to join the Tallahassee Irish Step Dancers performance company after only one year of instruction, and performed with the company for a year prior to moving from Tallahassee
*Scored a perfect 6 on the 2008 4th grade FCAT (Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test) Writing+ Prompt (scored 0-6 points), and was one of only two children in her entire school to do so. Students are given 45 minutes to write on an assigned random topic and graded on the overall quality of the response. (This prompt was to "Write a story about what happens when someone plays a game with family or friends.") Only 1% of all 4th grade students statewide scored a 6 on the 2008 writing prompt.

==Awards==
*First place in the DeSoto Trail Elementary School Science Fair, April 2007. She won as a grade representative (3rd grade) and school representative, and went on to have her project displayed at the Tallahassee Science Expo Center. Her project was entitled, "How Does Age Effect Reaction Times."
*Tied for first place in a costume contest at [http://www.assimilationcon.com/ Assimilation Con] in Kissimmee, Florida, on September 29, 2007 dressed as [[Gaz]], a character from "Invader Zim," an animated series formerly on the Nickelodeon channel.
*Won a 1st and two 4th places in her very first Irish dance competition (called a feis) in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida on June 22, 2008. She competed at the beginner level in three dances: reel, jig, and slip jig. She placed 1st in the slip jig out of 5 competitors, and 4th in her other two dances against 7 competitors each.

==Her Irish Dance History==
By age 6, Dana began becoming increasingly interested in participating in some type of club or sport, showing interest in Karate, music, and ballet. One spring Sunday while going with her parents to eat at a restaurant near her Tallahassee home on [[Lucky Debonair Trail]], her mother spotted a new dance school a few doors away from the restaurant: Killearn Performing Arts [http://www.killearnpa.com/content.agent?page_name=Home], which specialized in Irish dance. After eating, they went to look in at a class in progress. Dana was intrigued with the dance, and her mother felt like Irish dance might be more interesting for her daughter than ballet, which is very rigid and, at times, boring. Dana began classes shortly after this, but since it was already late spring, she only got about two months of instruction (one class per week) before the school took their summer break.

==Related Links==
*Science Fair at DeSoto Trail{{tellmemore}}

[[Category:Biographies|Reddick, Dana]]

Dana Reddick

2008-08-11T14:25:03Z

Adjel: /* Education */

{{stub}}
[[Image:Dana_reddick.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Dana Reddick]]'''Dana Kathryn Reddick''' born January 17, 1998 in [[Tallahassee, Florida]] to [[Jon Reddick|Jon]] and [[Ro Reddick]] as their only child.

{{tocleft}}
==Education==
*[[Kinderschool]], Tallahassee, FL
:2000-2003, Preschool
*DeSoto Trail Elementary, Tallahassee, FL
:2003-2007, First Grade - Third Grade
*Mandarin Elementary School, Jacksonville, FL
:2007-2008, Fourth Grade
*Loretto Elementary School (technology magnet), Jacksonville, FL
:2008-2009, Fifth Grade

==Trivia==
*Nicknames for Dana have included, "''Pumpkin''", "''Pumpkin Pie''", "''Dane''", "''Dana Bug''," "''D.K.''" and "''Sugar Pop''"
*Her name, Dana Kathryn, comes from her parents' love of science fiction, specifically of character Dana Scully of ''The X-Files'' (1993-2002) and character Captain Kathryn Janeway of ''Star Trek: Voyager'' (1995-2001).
*Is a fan of [[Gorillaz, The|The Gorillaz]]
*Took her first steps at age 6-1/2 months
*Started using a computer before 9 months of age
*Has her own [[Little Dana|personal lullaby]], written in celebration of her birth by her Uncle Robert (Normand), and has been sung for her virtually nightly since her birth
*First got her ears pierced on December 9, 2007 at a Claire's boutique in the Orange Park Mall in Jacksonville, Florida; stopped wearing them in May 2008, as it was "too much trouble" to keep her ears clean, and slightly painful to change earrings (which she couldn't and wouldn't do on her own).

==Achievements==
*Invited to join the Tallahassee Irish Step Dancers performance company after only one year of instruction, and performed with the company for a year prior to moving from Tallahassee
*Scored a perfect 6 on the 2008 4th grade FCAT (Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test) Writing+ Prompt (scored 0-6 points), and was one of only two children in her entire school to do so. Students are given 45 minutes to write on an assigned random topic and graded on the overall quality of the response. (This prompt was to "Write a story about what happens when someone plays a game with family or friends.") Only 1% of all 4th grade students statewide scored a 6 on the 2008 writing prompt.

==Awards==
*First place in the DeSoto Trail Elementary School Science Fair, April 2007. She won as a grade representative (3rd grade) and school representative, and went on to have her project displayed at the Tallahassee Science Expo Center. Her project was entitled, "How Does Age Effect Reaction Times."
*Tied for first place in a costume contest at [http://www.assimilationcon.com/ Assimilation Con] in Kissimmee, Florida, on September 29, 2007 dressed as [[Gaz]], a character from "Invader Zim," an animated series formerly on the Nickelodeon channel.
*Won a 1st and two 4th places in her very first Irish dance competition (called a feis) in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida on June 22, 2008. She competed at the beginner level in three dances: reel, jig, and slip jig. She placed 1st in the slip jig out of 5 competitors, and 4th in her other two dances against 7 competitors each.

==Related Links==
*Science Fair at DeSoto Trail{{tellmemore}}

[[Category:Biographies|Reddick, Dana]]

Ro Reddick

2008-07-16T19:27:03Z

Adjel: /* Achievements */

[[Image:Example.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Ro Reddick]]{{tocleft}}'''Laurie "Ro" Reddick''' (born September 18, 1956) is the youngest of five children born to Sage “Jack" Alphonse Normand and Genevieve “Gene” Adams Normand. Called “the caboose” by her dad, she has three brothers and one sister: David Arthur, Glenn Anthony, Jeanine Ann, and Robert Andrew. She was told her name came from “Annie Laurie,” a traditional Irish song written in the late 1800’s. She was born in Fairhope, Alabama at the (now nonexistent) Jordan Clinic. Her birth was not uneventful, as her mother, who was ill with kidney disease, was told that her baby would probably be stillborn, as they could not hear a heartbeat. Emerging in a flood of black fluid (meconium stained), Laurie surprised the doctors by being alive, but tiny, weighing in at under 5 pounds. (Her mother was a 2-pack-a-day smoker, and at this time the hazards of smoking were not fully known.)
{{cleanbreak}}
==Nickname==
'''Ro''' is Laurie's nickname, and she uses it almost to the exclusion of her birth name. She acquired it before her marriage to [[Jon Reddick]] while they were the Command Team (President/Vice President) of the [[USS Khai Tam]].

===Why Ro?===
[http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Ro_Laren Ro] is a character from "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (1987-1994). Played by Michelle Forbes, she introduced in the fifth season episode "Ensign Ro," but was brought back for several other episodes. The character, Ro Laren (and Ro is actually the family name here) is from a race in of people in the Star Trek Universe known as the Bajorans, a displaced and nomadic people. Laurie felt the characteristics of the character of Ro Laren were similar to hers, and as many people in the Star Trek Fan Association adopted [[personas]], Laurie adopted the Bajoran persona, and the family name of Ro as her own. Club members agreed with the persona and began calling her Ro. The name has stuck ever since, and Laurie prefers it to her (family) given name as it is easier for others to pronounce and remember, since it is short, unusual, and alliterates nicely with Reddick.

==Childhood==
Her entire childhood was spent in the small southern town of Fairhope, Alabama, on the eastern shore of Mobile Bay. Growing up on the water, nearly every day was spent playing on the beach, swimming, fishing or crabbing. Her father, “Jack,” was a musician, and discovered that all five of his children had musical talent. Laurie’s talent was that she had perfect pitch, and a very good ear for picking out songs, such that at around age four, her father would ask her to help him learn songs from the radio for which he had no sheet music. If he played a wrong chord, she could show him what notes needed to be in the chord, even though she didn’t know the names of the notes or chords. She began playing in public with her father at age five when her father’s trio played the opening of the Delchamps shopping center in Fairhope. She played trumpet on the song “Tea for Two,” not having any idea of the relation of the valves to notes, but rather “lipping” the entire song.

The Normand house was always an open house. People were always stopping by unannounced. Gene Normand was a great listener, and kids and adults were always stopping by to talk and pour their hearts out. They knew no strangers.

The Normands were always playing music at their house. Sometimes people would hear music while walking along the beach and would just walk up to their house to listen from the porch.

While growing up, there were always large family gatherings. Nearly all of Laurie's relatives lived in the New Orleans area – then about 5 hours away – and Thanksgiving and/or Christmas always meant a full house or lots of visiting. There was always someone to play with, always someone to stay with. She grew up believing that family and traditions were important.

From the age of six, Laurie began wanting a horse. She got her first horse (a pony named Rex) at age 12 from her sister-in-law's grandfather. With love and patience, she trained him to be a top-notch competitor, and entered horse shows for six years with him. He placed in everything he entered, winning more firsts and seconds than thirds, fourths, and fifths combined. After Rex, she had two more horses: an appaloosa she named J.D.R. Spooks, and a quarter horse/Arabian mix named Romulus (Rom, for short). Although J.D. won a few places, neither of the other two horses were never as talented a competitor as Rex.

After graduating high school at age 17, she worked a half year before leaving for the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa.

==Education==
She attended Fairhope Elementary, which, when she began, contained all 12 grades. She attended Fairhope Elementary for grades 1-6, but finished grades 7-12 at the new Fairhope High School where she had a singularly unimpressive academic career. Suggestion was made by her high school counselor and her family that she not try to attend a university, but rather attend a community college in hopes of passing, while continuing to further her expertise in music with her family band.

Nevertheless, she eventually attended the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, where both her sister and her brother Robert had attended. As expected, she made C’s and D’s. After quitting college for six years, she returned to college once again to eventually get her B.A. in English from the University of South Alabama, making the Dean’s List or President’s List every quarter, and graduating 0.05 points away from cum laude.

Colleges/Universities attended:
*Faulkner State Jr. College, Bay Minette, AL
*University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL
*Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
*Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN
*University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL

==Occupations==
This is a general list of the different types of jobs Ro has had. There is also a [[List of Ro Reddick's Jobs|detailed list]] available.
*Professional musician
*Secretary for various universities and colleges
*Salesperson
*Insurance secretary
*Server/waitress at fast food restaurants, a Chinese restaurant, a steakhouse, and a college dormitory
*Ensign in the U.S. Navy
*Factory Day Worker
*Gymnastics Coach and judge
*Co-director of a gymnastics summer camp
*Music director at a summer camp
*Acrobatics instructor
*ESL instructor in Brazil
*Medical terminology and transcription instructor
*Medical Transcriptionist in 12 specialties

==Residences==
When Laurie was born, she lived at 58 Fels Avenue in Fairhope, Alabama. Her father paid around $8,000 for the house (which her eldest brother inherited and later sold in 199? for over $150,000). In those days, people left their houses unlocked, and keys in their cars. Since then she has lived several cities:

*Nashville, TN
*Murfreesboro, TN
*Orlando, FL (while in the Navy)
*Mobile, AL
*Tuscaloosa, AL
*Ft. Walton Beach, FL
*Pensacola, FL
*Tallahassee, FL
*Jacksonville, FL

==Marriage/Children==
In late November of 1990, Laurie/Ro met her future husband, Jonathon Reddick, when she attended what was only the second meeting of the [[USS Khai Tam]] (then Shuttle Heritage) on the campus of Florida State University.

The short story:

After a long courtship, they were married in a quiet, legal ceremony in the Leon County Courthouse (Tallahassee) on September 26, 1997, and then had a second ceremony with all friends in attendance on November 1, 1997. They have one child, daughter Dana Kathyrn Reddick, born January 17, 1998.

The long story:

After a courtship lasting approximately three years, Jon and Ro moved in together into an apartment on Hidden Place. Not long afterwards, during a weekend trip to Disneyworld, Ro and Jon were waiting in line for a ride when Ro spotted a man holding a baby in front of them. As if an arrow had been shot through her heart, Ro suddenly felt an overwhelming desire to now, at this point in her life, become a mother. The desire didn't wane over the ensuing weeks and months, and on Christmas day, Jon proposed to Ro, wanting to "do it right." Within two months, before a wedding could even be planned, Ro became pregnant. Jobs and life got in the way, and wedding plans were pushed on the back burner. Finally, in September, Ro suggested they marry quickly. They were married at the Leon County Courthouse, with no friends in attendance. However, they made plans to marry in great ceremony, with all their friends in attendance, at an upcoming Star Trek convention put on by Vulkon Enterprises on November 1. The marriage ceremony was held in the convention hotel ballroom with Ro and Jon in their Star Trek finery (Ro in a Starfleet uniform with Bajoran nose ridges, and Jon in his entire Klingon ceremonial wear), as were all their friends, with Chase Masterson (from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) as Maid-of-Honor. The ceremony was fully Trek, with the ceremony being lead by Terry Hilliard, the Starfleet International club regional director (in uniform), and a kai and vedek ("Bajoran" religious leaders).

As their September 26th legal wedding date is very close to Ro's birthday, Jon and Ro have opted to celebrate the November 1 ceremony date as their wedding anniversary.

==Achievements==
*Plays five instruments: piano, bass, drums, clarinet, guitar
*Played music for two presidents (Reagan and G.W. Bush, Sr.), one vice president (Quayle), and 50 governors (U.S. Governors Convention held at the Grand Hotel in Point Clear, Alabama, 1969)
*Was the youngest child to be allowed without supervision to go in the deep part of the Grand Hotel swimming pool (age 2-1/2) and dove off the high (spring) diving board (8 feet from water) at age 3
*Had her first (and only) child at age 41
*Started gymnastics classes at age 20, competition at age 21, and placed 1st in State on uneven parallel bars at age 22
*Learned to speak Brazilian Portuguese nearly fluently mostly on her own, through Brazilian music, television, and comic books
*Inducted into Sigma Tau Delta, the English Honor Society (1974)

==Awards==
*Won summer highpoint trophy at Jubilee Saddle Club with her pony Rex, 1971
*Placed 1st twice in SCCA (Sports Car Clubs of America) rallies held in Mobile, Alabama in the late 1970's with her 1976 Toyota Corolla 1600
*Won 1st in Class III uneven parallel bars in the Alabama State Gymnastic Championships, 1978

==Trivia==
*Is a closet geologist and collects rocks and fossils
*With nearly unerring accuracy, she can remember the directions to, and find, nearly any house she has ever been to, even if only once (and in the case of yard sale homes, can remember exactly what she bought at each house), but can't remember where she put her cell phone five minutes ago
*Collects miniature tea sets
*Biggest fears are sharks, alligators, tornadoes, and out-of-control elevators
*Dreams in color, serialized
*Is a descendant of James "Jim" Bowie, the 19th century pioneer for whom the Bowie knife is named.
*Wanted to be a ballerina (1st grade), racehorse jockey (high school), archaeologist (beginning college), geologist/paleontologist (mid college), but settled for medical transcriptionist
*Her family was featured on Paul Harvey's radio show in the 1970's
*Judged gymnastics for the Special Olympics in 1981 held in Nashville, TN

[[Category:Biographies|Reddick, Ro]]