Date: July 8, 2018


Location: Victory Junction Camp 4500 Adam's Way, Randleman, NC 27317

Description of Event (Please share as much info as you can): Victory Junction Camp enriches the lives of children with chronic medical conditions or serious illnesses by providing life-changing camp experiences that are exciting, fun and empowering; all in a medically-safe environment at no cost to the camper or their family. We would be there to interact with the kids and families during check in (which can sometimes be a lengthy process) at the beginning of the camp week. We will be there to help kick off Shoot For The Stars Week.


Did this event support a charity? If yes, which charity?: No


Carolina Garrison Members in Attendance:
1. Josh Wright TD-69821
2. Jess Wright – ID-20213
3. Kal Edly SL-87951
5. Jeremy Pastros – AR-11251
6. Beth Pastros – CX-13502

*Because of costume malfunctions Jeremy and Beth suited down and left before the group photo was taken.*


(LIST WILL EXPAND AS NEEDED)

Handlers:
1.
2.

Crossover Attendees from the Rebel Legion / R2 Builders Club / Mando Mercs:(delete this section if not applicable)
1. Luis Diaz Rebel Pilot
2. Emily Haas Jyn Erso
3. Mary Kate Roberts Mando Mercs
4. Jim Roberts Mando Mercs
5.
6.
(LIST WILL EXPAND AS NEEDED)

Event photos will be posted to the Garrison Facebook page:

On June 25th 2017 members of the 501st Legion’s Carolina Garrison and the Rebel Legion’s Blue Ridge Base helped kick off Super Hero Week at Victory Junction Camp The was the 5th year (after a 2 year hiatus) that the Carolina Garrison and Blue Ridge Base have helped welcome the kids to camp.

Here is a little information about Victory Junction from their website. Victory Junction is a medically safe, yet exhilarating camp that challenges children who have a serious medical condition to try things they never imagined possible. As they conquer activities like zip lining and archery or experience bowling, fishing or swimming, children build confidence that will shape how they view the rest of their lives.

Members of the Carolina Garrison and Blue Ridge Base spent a few hours interacting, playing board games and taking photos with the kids and their families arriving at camp.

I want to give a big thank you to everyone that attended this year. This year we had the most troopers ever attend this event with a total of 8! We even had a long distance brother visiting that helped out as a handler. Thank you to Luis Canto (CB-20275) from the Portuguese Outpost for your help and good conversation. And thank you to everyone for making this a great troop!

Troopers that attended are below. Keep scrolling for photos.

Luis Diaz: Rebel Pilot (DZ-6570/Blue Ridge Base) *Event Organizer*
Alex Wilson: TIE Pilot (TI-3346)
Andrew Greeson: Stormtrooper (TK-4670)
Pam Greeson: Jedi (ID-9546/Blue Ridge Base)
Carolyn Milkuski: Jawa (Blue Ridge Base)
Brad Milkuski: Tusken Raider (Blue Ridge Base)
Tyler Foster: Jawa (DZ-71597)
Emily Vardell: Rey (Blue Ridge Base)
Brenda Linares: Handler
Luis Canto: Handler (CB-20275 visiting from Portuguese Outpost)
Jada Diaz: Handler

Hey Troopers! Sorry it took so long to get this mission report done but with Star Wars Celebration and then trying to recover from Star Wars Celebration I'm just now getting to it.

Anyway, it's springtime and that means it's time for our first visit to Hemby Children's Hospital for the year. We had a good number of troopers come out for this visit and in the 8 years we have been doing these visits we had two firsts! This visit was the first time we had a Jawa and the first time we had Chewbacca visit the kids! And the kids went nuts for them!

Everyone had a great time visiting with the kids, taking pictures and passing out activity books and trading cards. We even had some respiratory nurses check out Darth Vader and the prognosis wasn't good, they wanted to have him admitted.

I want to thank all the troopers who helped to make this visit a success. I know the kids, parents and hospital staff all enjoyed it. The troopers who attended were...

Luis Diaz (DZ-6570 Rebel Pilot)
Jeremy Pastros (SL-11251 Darth Vader)
Beth Pastros (TX-13502 Shadow Trooper)
Paul Clatfelter (TK-3781 Stormtrooper)
Tyler Foster (DZ-71597 Jawa)
Chad Varn (Obi-Wan Kenobi)
Ryan Ricks (Chewbacca)
Jada Diaz (Handler)

And here are some photos from the visit...





The respiratory nurses say the prognosis isn't good. He may have to be admitted.



Hello nurse!

Date: October 23, 2016


Location: Hemby Children's Hospital


Description of Event (Please share as much info as you can): Well, another October has snuck up on us and that means another visit to the kids at Hemby Children’s Hospital in Charlotte, NC. Despite the short notice of the visit we still had a good turnout with 7 troopers and 2 handlers attending. We got to visit with a lot of kids and gave out almost all of coloring, activity and comic books that we had. It’s fun when we get to see kids that are excited to see us (one kid’s birthday was a couple of days before, on the day he was admitted into the hospital and once he saw us all he could keep saying was, this is SOOO COOOL!) but it’s great when the parents are as excited as the kids are. Thanks to all the troopers that attended and helped to bring a smile to the kids and the parents during an undoubtedly difficult time.


Did this event support a charity? If yes, which charity?: No.


Event Length (Hours): Approximately 2 hours.

Carolina Garrison Members in Attendance:
1. Jerry Sienkiewicz (SL-21972 Kylo Ren)
2. Ken Jordan (TB-1345 Biker Scout)
3. Charles Moss (TR-2442 Royal Guard)
4. Andrew Rochelle (TK-50166 TR-8R)

Handlers:
1. Genna Bain (DS-13317)
2. Stacey McGuinness

Crossover Attendees from the Rebel Legion / R2 Builders Club / Mando Mercs:(delete this section if not applicable)
1. Luis Diaz (Rebel Pilot)
2. Cheralyn Lambeth (Princess Leia)

Check out some of the event photos below: (please post pictures rather than picture links)

Date: August 5, 2016


Location: Kannapolis, NC

Description of Event (Please share as much info as you can): Once a month the town of Kannapolis has Movies In The Park and this month they had a screening of The Force Awakens. All day there were threats of rain but the weather held out and we had a nice sized crowd with lots of kids of all ages. There was even a couple of kids that purchased cookies from the concession stand for each of us. And we had a new member, Andrew Siemers, participate in his first troop.

Did this event support a charity? If yes, which charity?: No

Event Length (Hours): 2

Carolina Garrison Members in Attendance:
1. Cher Lambeth (TK)
2. Andrew Siemers (Shadow Guard)

Handlers:
1. Jada Diaz

Crossover Attendees from the Rebel Legion / R2 Builders Club / Mando Mercs:(delete this section if not applicable)
1. Luis Diaz (Blue Ridge Base: X-Wing Pilot)
2. Jen DeVoll (Blue Ridge Base: Rey)
3. Genesis (Blue Ridge Base: Jedi)

Check out some of the event photos below: (please post pictures rather than picture links)






Well, the photographer did say to get up against the wall...

If it’s October then it must be time for the Carolina Garrison and Blue Ridge Base’s bi-annual visit to Hemby Children’s Hospital. We had a great turnout of characters from a galaxy far, far away as well as a couple of characters from the Disney universe and, since it was Halloween, a Ghostbuster, just to keep those pesky ghosts away. After trying to find the light switch in our changing area and accidentally pulling a Code Blue (oops!), we got suited up and visdited with about a dozen kids as well as some nurses and a doctor. We had some great gift bags to give out to the kids that included LEGO Star Wars activity books, crayons, trading cards, temporary tattoos among other things. Captain Jack even passed out Coca-Cola’s that said ‘Share A Coke With A Captain’. A big thank you to everyone who donated items for the kids, it is very much appreciated. This marks the 8th year the Carolina Garrison and Freedom Base/Blue Ridge Base has participated in this event and it continues to be one of the most popular events for the Carolinas. I would like to thank everyone who has ever participated in these visits, without you guys this event would not happen. Here is a list of everyone who participated in this visit along with some photos…

Marcus Walker: TI-30715
Jason Cain: TK-7404 as Jack Sparrow
Jennifer DeVoll: Blue Ridge Base as Anna from Frozen
Jerry Sienkiewicz: SL-21972
David Jordan: TB-6559 as Ghostbuster
Pam Greeson ID-9546/Blue Ridge Base-Jedi
Andrew Rochelle: TK-50166

Luis Diaz: DZ-6570 Organizer/Photographer
Amy Reid: Handler

On Sunday, June 29th 2014, members of the 501st Legion’s Carolina Garrison and the Rebel Legion’s Blue Ridge Base arrived at Victory Junction Camp in Randleman, NC to help them kick off Stars and Stripes week.

Victory Junction is a camp for kids with chronic medical conditions and serious illnesses that was started by the Petty Family (of NASCAR fame) in memory and honor of their son Adam Petty. 2014 was the 5th year that the Carolina Garrison and Blue Ridge Base have helped the camp kick off one of its themed weeks.

A lot of fun was had by troopers, camp staff and families alike as we saw a steady stream of campers and their families arriving to get checked in. A big thank you to the following troopers for helping to make this event a success.

Jerry Sienkiewicz (SL-21972)
Matt Mascorro (TD-32702)
Brian Dudas (TB-26257)
Sandie MacLachlan (Blue Ridge Base)
Shane Titchenal (Blue Ridge Base)
Austin Tyner (TK-21212)

And thanks as well to Shane’s wife for helping to wrangle.

Here are a few photos from the event…

On Saturday, May 17th, members of the 501st Legion’s Carolina Garrison and the Rebel Legion’s Freedom Base paid a visit to the kids at Hemby Children’s Hospital in Charlotte, NC. This is the start of the sixth year that the Carolina Garrison has been doing these visits.

We had a good turn out of troopers, visiting about 20 kids with everyone having a great time and, as you can see by the photos, even the nurses, staff and even one of the doctors getting in on the fun.

Thanks to the following troopers for making this event, as always, a big success.

Ken Jordan (TB-1345/Carolina Garrison)
Jerry Sienkiewicz (SL-21972/Carolina Garrison)
Cami (TwilekJedi/Freedom Base)

Brian (Wrangler/Freedom Base)
Luis Diaz (Organizer-Photographer/DZ-6570/Carolina Garrison)

Enjoy the photos!






This nurse LOVES Star Wars and was psyched to see us!


Our hospital contact, Evi, who help’s me to get these events organized.


This right here, this is why we do this…

On Sunday, July 7th 2013, members of the 501st Legion’s Carolina Garrison and the Rebel Legion’s Blue Ridge Base spent a beautiful but hot July afternoon brightening the day of some deserving children at the Victory Junction Camp in Randleman, NC. Built in honor of NASCAR driver Adam Petty, Victory Junction is a camp that provides life-changing experiences for kids with chronic medical conditions or serious illnesses.

The Carolina Garrison and Blue Ridge Base first started visiting Victory Junction in 2010 and the staff was so impressed they asked us to come back again every year. 2013 was our 4th year doing this visit. Kids arrive at the camp on a Sunday and they stay until Thursday. For many of them it’s the first time they have been away from home and their parents. Lord Vader and his faithful troopers, along with some Jedi (just to make sure things didn’t get out of hand) were in the cafeteria, which also serves as the check in area for kids arriving at camp. Kids and parents alike were excited to see the Dark Lord, his troopers and Jedi waiting for them when they arrived.

The staff greatly appreciated the Carolina Garrison and Blue Ridge Base coming out for the kids and they are already looking forward to us coming back next year.

Here are the members that participated in this great event.

Chad Pulliam (Blue Ridge Base)
Jane Willer (Blue Ridge Base)
Shane Titchenal (Blue Ridge Base)
Fernando da Rosa SL-263
Alex Wilson TI-3346
Andrew Greeson TK-4670


Wranglers

1. Luis Diaz DZ-6570
2. Crystal Titchenal
3. Pam Greeson ID-9546

Here are the photos from the event…




This young lady is Megan. She has visited with us 3 out of the 4 years we have been doing this event. She is a HUGE fan of Vader and gave him a hug along with each trooper and Jedi.





This young man is blind. Alex (TI-3346) took him to each character letting him touch and feel different parts of the costumes. He got very excited touching Vader’s face and said it was cool.



Now this young lady is a Star Wars fan! As soon as she walked in the door and saw us her face lit up and she started pointing. When the kids first come in their parent needs to sign them in. While her mom was trying to do that her daughter kept pulling on her try to get her to go.