Mindscanner #54
FORCE RECON

Small ideas for the Days of Honor season.

Greetings again fellow KAG warriors! Khar'Ton here with a few 'small' recruiting ideas for the holiday season. I've always viewed FORCE RECON as the 'recruiting' and 'member-retaining' Division of KAG. In other words: "How do you keep 'em after they fill out a sheet of paper or the computer App?"

Getting new members...a few ideas.

PINS: Wear them! If you have any extra Klingon-related pins or

paraphernalia then wear them where they can be seen on your jacket or coat...especially the Klingon stuff! If someone in the general public recognizes that it's a Klingon symbol of some kind then you've already got your 'foot-in-the-door'...be friendly and talk about KAG . "TREKKIES/TREKKERS/KLINGONS?": What are You? Several years ago the epetai Kurkura wrote an editorial about not getting 'obsessed' with the word "Trekkie" that the so-called mundanes throw at us when they discover that you are a TREK fan. His answer was just tell them you're a 'star trek' fan. Well, I've tried another answer. I say: "I'm a KLINGON!"...who happens to be a Star Trek Fan.

The key here is don't get bogged down in strange terms related to the group. Explain how much fun it is...work in talk of charity events that your ship or Homeworld local area bunch of Klingons have done. (Of course in at least 4 areas of North America they might ask you a variation of - "Oh, so you work at King's Island?" - (No, WE'VE got more personality than that!)

WALLET PHOTOS: I know its odd to think Klingons carrying

wallets - but we all do every day as part of our 'human' lives. Keeping that in mind, get 2 or 3 good wallet photos made of you and your group to carry around in your wallet or organizer. Some good prospects for KAG membership may see these photos when they meet you, be impressed by the showmanship of your uniforms and make-up jobs, and ask to join up.

SHIP/CHAPTER T-SHIRTS: Some of you have already done this,

others may be new to the idea. Get your local group's logo made into a T-Shirt, and work the KAG symbol onto the shirt somehow. For those times at Conventions or other events when you can't wear a uniform or for health reasons must take a break from the latex & make-up. The KAG warrior wearing the T-Shirt could be a good halfway-point person at events to talk to kids and even adults who are sometimes a little scared by the make-up and outfits.

BREAKING 'PERSONA': Do it more often than you think. One of the best compliments that I got locally was during the Cincinnati stop of the Federation Science exhibit. A visitor told me that I acted better than an amusement parks Klingon. What they meant by that was - There's a way to be 'Klingon' without being overly gruff or rude to people. When someone asks you how you did your make-up....answer them like a human being and tell them. That kind of friendliness and openness makes a good impression with people new to fandom.

THEIR FIRST MEETING: After they have gotten up the nerve and show up at a ship meeting, you can do several things to keep them interested.

Somewhere on the internet last month I saw A Klingon warrior woman describing a "GOOD DAY TO DINE" (GDTD) that took place down in Texas. Seeing that idea being used really raised my Klingon spirit. So, I'm asking ALL of you reading this...in whatever form or media, if you use any of the ideas here or "Good Day To Dine", or do something special for the "DAYS OF HONOR" weekend, please ...if you have the spare time write me 'snail-mail' about it. My 'Snail-Mail' address is:

Edmund W. Charlton
P.O. BOX 53695
CINCINNATI, OH 45253-0695


yIn Qapla' je     Capt. Khar'Ton     Keep Recruitin!!!