We also have a very special guest announcement coming up very soon. Believe us when we say that you won’t want to miss CSTS Austin this year!

From our friends at KNTR:

It is no secret Kids Need to Read has a special place in its heart for geeks! Our foundation sprang from the minds of geeks, including author PJ Haarsma, actor Nathan Fillion, and many Browncoats. We even hold an annual Geek Prom at a comic convention (Phoenix Comicon) to celebrate our inner geekiness. In turn, Geekdom often rallies to support our mission to inspire literacy in disadvantaged children of all ages.

However, this has to be one of the geekiest (AKA awesome) events anyone has ever conducted for KNTR — a 36 hour Tweetathon by Scott West of Hyde & Geek! Scott began sending out tweets every ten minutes on Tuesday, August 3rd and will continue to do so for thirty-six hours through Wednesday, August 4th at 10:00 PM ET. His goal is to raise $4,000 for KNTR and he is doing great so far!

Be sure to follow Scott @hydeandgeek and join the fun! Use #36hrtweetathon to keep up with all of the charitable tweets and place your pledge at Hyde & Geek’s First Giving page. He has been keeping himself going by watching episodes of Firefly. (So very geek!) What other activities might he do to keep himself awake? Just how loopy will he get near the end of his thirty-six hour Tweetathon? Stay tuned to #36hrtweetathon for all of the answers!

She’s at it again at Dragon*Con 2009! Claudia will be knitting during all hoursof the con this year, and pledges can be made either at the Austin Browncoats booth or via the Knit-a-Thon website: www.austinbrowncoats.com/Jaynehats

In addition to pledging at the site, you can keep up to date with Claudia’s progress with daily photos and progress logs. Join us in cheering Claudia on and see just “How many Jayne hats can be knit at Dragon*Con?” All proceeds will benefit KNTR.

Shadi Sadr, an Iranian human rights activist and lawyer, was violently beaten and abducted by plain-clothes officials while on her way to Friday prayers in Tehran on 17 July 2009. Shadi’s friends and family were not informed of any charges against her. Equality Now is delighted to learn that she has been released from prison. We would like to thank all our members for their concerted efforts in contacting the Iranian government for Shadi’s release.

Knitters

Many of you heard about our knit-a-thon at Dragon*Con 2008. Claudia knit 12 hats during the course of booth hours, which is an impressive feat. The hats are so popular that we have pre-orders coming in weekly. We’re looking for individuals that are interested in helping us knit hats for charity. For more information about the charities we support, visit: www.austinbrowncoats.com/charity.php.

We will provide you with a starter kit, that will include the pattern or pattern and yarn (according to if you want to donate your knitting time or your knitting time AND yarn). We will provide receipts to all knitters to document time, as well as monetary donations.

We are in need of knit wool and acrylic hats, but are not in need of crocheted Jayne hats currently. We are working on being able to provide acrylic yarn, but as of right now, we can only provide wool yarn.

Parasols

We are also in need of folks to help paint some of those shiny, rainbow colored parasols as seen carried by our favorite mechanic, Kaylee. We’ll provide the parasols, but as a volunteer, you will need to provide your own paint and, of course, painting skill! We will need some parasols completed in time for Dragon*Con (September 4-7th), so the sooner you can work your artistic magic, the better!

Dragon*Con!!

Speaking of Dragon*Con, Austin Browncoats could use some more enthusiastic volunteers to help run our booth. We have 2 and 4 hour shifts available, and while you can work multiple shifts, we require at least a 30 minute lunch break for all Booth Salesman. You will need to be comfortable handling cash, credit and personal check transactions. We have a standard issue wireless credit card machine.

If you are interested in any of these positions, please write to volunteer@austinbrowncoats.com. As always, you can view all of our volunteer opportunities at our website at www.austinbrowncoats.com/volunteercurrent.php.

We look forward to working with you!

Today marks the Second Anniversary of our Incorporation as a Non-Profit Corporation in the State of Texas. On July 17th, 2007, we started down the path to try to save the world, one shindig at a time.  I’m not sure any of us knew where we were headed, but I am certain that all of us Austin Browncoats are excited to see our progress over these last two years!
In 2008, one of our goals was to grow our name and reputation, by attending more fan driven events. In 2009, we’ve extended that goal to include growing our name and reputation by increasing our product line, as well as expanding our available products to include similar genre properties.  We’ve seen a lot of success by including Dr. Horrible, Stargate, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and BSG merchandise on our “shelves”.  The best part – we’re catching the attention of Dr. Horrible, Stargate, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and BSG fans who might not already be fans of Firefly/Serenity, or at least familiar with all the available products!

2009 has been a busy year for us so far!  On January 3rd, we launched Whedon Wares, www.whedonwares.com, a one-stop shop for all kinds of Whedon-based goodies, including some Austin Browncoats exclusive items, such as Steve Anderson’s Can’t Stop The Serenity Art Print.  January also introduced us (in person) to a lifelong friendship with our now Webmaster, Kazia.  She volunteered for Dallas Comic Con, her first event Austin Browncoat event, and we’ve been inseparable ever since.    And who can forget Iron Browncoat – Match 4 (Bacon) in which our contestants had to make a dessert, with bacon as the primary ingredient.  We had a guest judge drive in all the way from Dallas to help crown Jenn the victor!  Her sugar glazed bacon was the perfect combination of sweet and savory.

February was just as busy and eventful as January!  We attended a new anime convention, Ikkicon, and met a number of new friends, including Kathy, an amazing knitter.  We also went to see Fanboys, a movie written by Ernie Cline, our Geekstravaganza 2007 Talent Contest Winner!  Geeks have to stand together!  On February 13th, 4.7 million viewers turned on their televisions to watch the Dollhouse premiere, a show created, written, directed and produced by Joss Whedon.  On Valentine’s Day, we got together for our annual Love Bites Sing-Along – nothing says lovin’ like 80′s power ballads!  On the 15th, we tried another BBQ joint in Lockhart, Texas called Chisholm Trail.  We were pleasantly surprised by its tasty food and comfortable atmosphere.  That Saturday, we gathered at Applebee’s on N IH 35 and ate pancakes for charity!  The event was a huge success, helping us collect over 100 children’s books, as well as $500 for charity.

March saw the introduction of a new event, Browncoats Dining Out.  It seems that almost all the Browncoats we meet are foodies just like us!  So, why not try a new (or new to us) restaurant once a month and continue to grow our palettes in preparation for Iron Browncoat?  The first restaurant on the list was Titaya’s Thai Cuisine, which did not disappoint.  March was an important month for us, because this marked our first full year of attending conventions all over the country!  We had the pleasure to attending our favorite Dallas convention for the second year in a row, All-Con.  It’s was a roaring success and we’re so very grateful for all the continued support the All-Con staff offers us.  Another new event that was introduced in March? Bloody Good – Blood Donation!  We teamed up with the MEETin Austin group and, all together, brought 11 people into the Blood and Tissue Center to donate blood.  We’ll continue to do this every two months and look forward to seeing new people add to our growing list of donors!

April started with a lovely dinner at a new Ethiopian restaurant, Karibu Ethiopian Restaurant and Bar.  The food was delicious and the prices were reasonable.  Then, on April 4th and 5th, the Austin Browncoats took Scarborough Faire by storm!  We dressed as belly dancers and barbarians and ate enough great food to feed the entire House of Bourbon!  On the 8th, we were blessed with a visitor from across the pond, Wendy from the podcast Sending a Wave – an Austin Browncoat favorite!  She held a round table discussion about all kinds of fun topics, which can be found here: http://sendingawave.wordpress.com/.  That Friday, we got together to celebrate another passion of ours, baseball!  We watched the Round Rock Express at the Dell Diamond, and enjoyed some after-game fireworks, too!  Then, the Austin Browncoats traveled to Florida to attend FX International, where we met lots of new friends, got to hang out with old friends, and talked to our favorite mechanic, Jewel, and our favorite Companion, Morena.  They were lovely, as ever, and donated and signed a number of items for our charity.  We got to show Jewel her finished Kaylee beanie, a Ma Cobb Creation, as well, in which she exclaimed, “Can I keep this!”  On the 20th, we had a Browncoats at Disney World adventure, meeting up to take Disney Studios by storm!

May started off quickly, with Scarborough weekend leading right into First Sunday and our next Iron Browncoat Match.  May 3rd was one of the busiest days we’ve had in a long time!  We had about 20 people show up for First Sunday, as well as 4 contestants for Iron Browncoat – Southern.  The Southern Match was our most labor intensive to date.  Contestants had to make an entire Southern meal from drink to dessert.  The day ended in a tie, but really, everyone was a winner!  May saw the release of an incredibly important movie for all geeks alike: Star Trek XI.  Austin Browncoats got together to watch it at the IMAX and were blown away by the scope, magnitude and sheer awesomeness of what J.J. Abrams created.  Our next Browncoats Dining Out event took up to Clay Pit, a popular Indian restaurant in Downtown Austin.  We were underwhelmed by their offerings, so we’re still in search for the best Indian food in town!  May 17th was a special day for all of us!  Geekstravaganza, www.geekstravaganza.com, at Buffalo Billiards was a roaring success!  We had Marian Call regaling us in song, numerous contestants for the Talent Show, Costume Contest, Geek SAT’s and Air Combat, an Austin Browncoat creation.  We made $500 for SafePlace and raised awareness, thanks to our 50 amazingly supporting attendees.  We’re anxious to start planning Geekstravanganza 2010!  May was also a sad month for us Austin Browncoats, because on May 19th we had to say goodbye to our Vice Chair, Ryan.  He joined the Army National Guard and had to ship off to Basic Training and AIT.  He’ll be home in September, though, and we’ll put him back to work!  At the end of May, we gathered all of our Whedon Wares goodies and headed to Dallas to the largest convention in Texas, A-Kon, which is a very popular anime convention.  We were extremely successful at this event and definitely plan on attending for a third year in 2010.

June is always a crazy month for us Browncoats because it means the start of our Can’t Stop The Serenity events!  We started a new event called Browncoats Working Out, in which a Browncoat can post a workout session of any kind and invite folks to attend.  We believe in the healthy mind, healthy body, better living mentality, and we support one another as we try to stay healthier.  If you need a workout buddy, Browncoats Working Out is a great place to find the support you need!  June’s First Sunday was special because we put together a care package for Ryan and celebrated Joss Whedon birthday, albeit a little early.  But really, is it ever too early for cupcakes?  We had another monthly Karaoke get-together at Austin Karaoke and said hello to a new attendee, Dave, who is the man behind San-Japan in San Antonio.  On the 14th, we got together to sing ABBA songs as we watched Mamma Mia!  The 20th was an exciting day for our member Rick of Designs by Talon.  Four Austin Browncoats were in a fashion show wearing Rick’s designs.  Frank, another Austin Browncoat, took numerous fashion photos of the outfits.  June 28th was a magical day.  We hosted three Can’t Stop The Serenity (CSTS) screenings at 12PM, 5PM and 10PM.  This went so smoothly, that the events manager at Alamo said we are welcome back any time because we’re a pleasure to work with.  The servers even told me that Browncoats tip the best out of any other “fan group” they’ve ever dealt with!  After an amazing day of making money for charity, we ended up making $19,500.00 for Equality Now and Kids Need To Read.  We are so impressed with the continued support and generosity of our fellow Browncoats.  It is staggering and awe-inspiring.

July’s First Sunday was also a birthday celebration for Ryan, our Vice Chair.  We welcomed to new faces to our gatherings, including a girl we nicknamed “Suspenders” who went to all five CSTS screenings in Austin and San Antonio.  Now that’s dedication!  On the 6th, we went to Gino’s Italian Restaurant for Browncoats Dining Out.  We’re still on the lookout for the best Italian food in Austin, but we’re one step closer.  A few days later, we got together to see Grease on the big screen and ended up performing live action style in front of a full theatre of patrons.  We danced, sang and had a blast!  July 12th was the first ever CSTS event in San Antonio and not only was it successful to the tune of $6000, but it established a new relationship between Austin and San Antonio Browncoats that I hope will continue to flourish throughout the years.  Last night, we got together to celebrate our Second Anniversary by singing into the night at Austin Karaoke.  And, of course, we ended the night by group-singing Bohemian Rhapsody, because no one person should sing that song, other than our dear departed Freddie Mercury.

And now, here we are.  It’s July 17th and we’ve been raising money for charity for 2 years as of today.  What an amazing feeling to know that we’ve already accomplished so much – and this is only the beginning!

We want to personally thank each and everyone of you for supporting us through the years.  We couldn’t do anything without all of the overwhelming volunteer support we’ve had, and we look forward to continue to see new faces at every event.  Speaking of new faces, I’d like to remind all of our new members about our Meet and Greet section.  When you get a chance, introduce yourself so we all get to know one another: http://austinbrowncoats.com/forum/index.php?board=58.0.

We are the luckiest folks in the world because we have the best Browncoats in the ‘verse right here, at our side, working to do what we can to save the world, one shindig at a time.  What more can you ask for?

Thank you for everything you do and keep shiny,

Beth
Austin Browncoats

These star volunteers are nominated by other Austin Browncoats. To nominate star volunteers, visit our volunteer page: www.austinbrowncoats.com/volunteer.php

Third Quarter 2009
Volunteer Spotlight: Outstanding Volunteer
Kazia Hodges

Check out the article here.

First off, Buffalo Billiards – thank you for allowing us to use your venue at such a discounted rate. We are truly inspired by your generosity and cool, laid-back style of running your venue.

Marian Call – you are an Angel on the stage. It must be hard when you’re traveling cross-country and performing almost every night, but you are a true pro at such a young age. And thank you for singing Happy Birthday to our Vice-Chair, Ryan Campbell.

Ryan Campbell, Chairman of the Geekstravaganza Committee – you put this event together on a shoestring budget and kept cool in the process, knowing the next day, you were leaving for Basic Training. We’re so proud of you and everything you accomplished with Geekstravaganza.

To Our Sponsors: Alamo Drafthouse, Funimation, Fan Done, Titan Comics, Dragon’s Lair, Capstone Comics and The Simplifiers – you allowed us to give away the shiniest prizes for all of our events and raffle. You made it possible to give everyone the opportunity to take something shiny home. We are so grateful to have sponsors who are continually willing to go above and beyond for us.

We’d also like to thank all of the supportive press outlets, such as KLBJ, News8Austin, Austin Chronicle, for their continued support. You can’t stop the signal!

A huge round of applause and exclaimed support goes out to our benefactor for Geekstravaganza 2009, SafePlace. Something us Austin Browncoats feel strongly about is our desire to end violence and discrimination worldwide. Now, this is not an overnight job, nor is it a one-man show. This is something that takes a worldwide effort to do. This is something that takes courage and perseverance to continue to fight a fight that has been going on since, well, seemingly the dawn of humanity. When we first discussed SafePlace as a possible benefactor, it took us less than a second to decide that they were the right place. SafePlace isn’t just a shelter, or a quick-fix establishment. They truly believe in education as a huge part of fighting this long, arduous battle against violence and discrimination. They focus on healing and prevention, as well as offering a safe place for victims of sexual and domestic violence to go, to call, to seek legal advice, to seek medical assistance. Truly, the list goes on. They are working to promote social change, so that we can one day live in a world where 3 out of 4 Americans don’t know someone who has been the victim of sexual or domestic abuse. They are working to ensure that one day, we’ll be able to look at sexual and domestic abuse as part of our history – a history that we will never forget, because we must always learn from our mistakes, no matter how egregious. We want to send our thanks and undying gratitude to SafePlace, because we’ve all known someone who has, at one point or another, needed a safe place.

And last, but certainly not least, our volunteers – being an Austin Browncoat is one of the best experiences of my life. Part of that is because of how amazing our volunteer force has been throughout the years. Perhaps I’m getting overly sentimental, especially since our 2 year anniversary of Incorporation is upon us, but truly it’s because we are blessed with the most talented, hard-working and inspirational volunteers in the ‘Verse. Nothing we do would be possible without our volunteers, including our Board Members, Claudia Drinovsky and Jennifer Henderson, and our webmaster, Kazia Hodges. She is the mastermind behind our new design for www.geekstravaganza.com.

Geekstravaganza opened it’s doors at 5PM and saw 50 amazing attendees walk-in smiling, because how often do you get to have a geeky, fun time while supporting charity? Not often enough! We started off the event with an amazing talent contest, in which we had a talented singer/songwriter/guitar player grace our stage, a Dancing Queen, a guy who swears that He’s Super! Thanks for Asking!, as well as a Bad Ass Poet! Everyone left a winner, but our Poet walked off with the big prize! We let folks know all about Austin Browncoats and what we do and then started our Costume Contest. We had an amazing turnout, primarily because we love to see folks try to convince us they’re in a costume. We had a ninja, Link, a Red Stripe guy, a crazy chef, an old Independent law woman trying to arrest us all and more! In the end, Link won first prize, the chef won second place and our ninja, who was also our Poet from the talent show, won third place.

After the Costume Contest, the ethereal Marian Call regaled us in song and entertained us all the way into Cry Havoc’s demonstration of their awe-inspiring combat techniques. They also did a brief demonstration of the rules for Air Combat. Now, if you weren’t at Geekstravaganza, you might be asking yourself: Self, what’s Air Combat? It’s something us Austin Browncoats made up! Everyone loves Air Guitar, but we thought that creating a non-violence Combat Tournament would fit in more with our goal to end violence and discrimination worldwide. During Air Combat, you’re not allowed to have any physical contact with your opponent. You can use any style of martial arts, but all contact must be made with the air/invisible appendages and/or weapons. Our own Secretary, Claudia Drinovsky won Air Combat, with Ryan Campbell, our Vice-Chair, coming in third place! Jesse Crouch, a new Austin Browncoat, won second place.

Michael from SafePlace came to Geekstravaganza to let us know where our donated money would go and how they would benefit from our assistance. He told us many stories, letting us know that any and all help is needed and greatly appreciated. When Michael left the stage, there were many additional resolute faces; attendees who weren’t familiar with SafePlace or the severity of the sexual and domestic violence issue we’re facing today were introduced to why we all worked so hard to make Geekstravaganza a reality.

Then, we had out Sci-Fi SAT, which is the geekiest of all geek tests. The Sci-Fi SAT is not for the faint of heart. You need to study all geek media in order to beat the Sci-Fit SAT champ – me! We didn’t have a winner this year, but it looks like we’re going to have a lot of geeks sign up next year in order to prove their geekdom!

After a small break, we gave out raffle prizes and then were entranced by the lovely Marian Call for the rest of the evening, including singing happy birthday to Ryan. After Marian’s final set, we let folks know that they didn’t have to go home, but they couldn’t stay at Buffalo Billiards.

All in all, the event was a success! We had side games for folks to play, including Guess The Shatner?, Pin the Pom-Pom on the Jayne Hat and How Many Red Blood Cell are in the test tube? We also had pool tables and a full booth of Geeky Merchandise, which can all be found at www.whedonwares.com.

We made $500 for SafePlace and educated a few people about the necessity of an organization such as SafePlace, which is priceless.

Again, thanks to everyone who helped make Geekstravaganza 2009 a reality. We’ll see you next year!

Elizabeth Nelson
Chairman
Austin Browncoats

Though we are still working on the final figures, it is looking like our total raised will be over $19,000. You heard us… $19,000! We are extremely excited about this outcome and will have the final totals very soon. Thank you to everyone who helped make this year’s Austin CSTS so amazing!