Sac, CA Wondercon 2004 Thanks

(Sorry this took so long to get out, I've been trying to catch up here at
work)

I want to thank everyone who showed at Wondercon, The Golden Gate
Garrison, the Central California Garrison, The San Francisco Fan force,
The South Bay Fan Club, The East Bay Fan Club, The Sacramento Fan Force,
The Stargate SG-1Fan Club, Steve Sansweet, Mary Franklin, and Mike & Jerri
Quinn. I want to especially thanks our organizers, Mark Chu-Lin, Brian
Shaubmeyer & Bret Lonsway from the CCG, Ed Karl, Tami Ashford & Karen
Katich from the GGG, Ming Pan, Matt Tolosa, Dale Tolosa from the SFFF, to
everyone who helped me while in costume to keep me from running into
things, to Jesse DeGraff for the videotape footage, to the Wondercon staff
for hosting us, and to our tireless photographer, Karen Louie for all the
wonderful pictures. (I hope I didn't forget anyone !) This years Wondercon
was definitely bigger than last years, and next year is going to be huge!
Our presence there definitely makes an impact; the con wouldn't be the
same without us! There were some rough spots during the weekend, and
through the next year we will review and correct these when planning
Wondercon 2005. I especially enjoyed how everyone stayed in character & I
was honored to be marching along side the very characters I so admired
when I was a kid. By putting on these costumes we have assumed a sort of
responsibility to portray the characters as they were intended, for some
of these people, especially the very young ones, we ARE those characters
come to life, the more we preserve the illusion the more enjoyable the
atmosphere. This very concept is what made Disneyland the success that it
is. The Star Wars culture is one of the most amazing phenomena's of the
20th century, and I am proud to be a part of it.

Ian Hiebert
Commanding Officer
Golden Gate Garrison
501st Legion
TK-1559