The Shooting Star Chapter 195 met prior to the talk to have lunch with the speaker at Charlie Brown’s, 522 Southern Blvd., Chatham Township, NJ. The business portion of the meeting consisted of the following:

1. Electing officers for the roster year starting October 1, 2014. The results are:
President: William Fosina
Vice President: Cole Klietsch
Secretary: Toby Terranova
Treasurer: Howard Leach

2. We agreed to pay the registration cost for four students to register for the High School CyberPatriot Open Division Team ($395 each) and for four middle school Open Div Team registrations(195 each).

3. We will also have a half page ad ($350) in the NJ Aviation Hall of Fame Induction dinner program.

The recipients of the above certificates will receive their actual awards at the next Chapter 195 meeting on September 26, 2015.

The Shooting Star Chapter contributed $1,000.00 to our Wounded Airmen who participated in the Army Wounded Warrior Trials at West Point. The Warrior Games, a unique partnership between the Department of Defense (DoD) and the U.S. Olympic Committee Paralympic Military Program, is a sports competition for wounded, ill and injured service members and Veterans representing all branches of the military. After overcoming significant physical and behavioral injuries, these men and women demonstrate the resilience of today’s force and the importance of adaptive reconditioning in recovery and transition. More than 100 Army, Marine Corps and Air Force athletes competed in archery, cycling, shooting, sitting volleyball, swimming, track and field and wheelchair basketball tournaments during the Tournament. Hosted by the U.S. Army Warrior Transition Command (WTC), the trials determine which Army athletes will compete at the 2014 Warrior Games this fall in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Not only did we contribute money but our Chapter was the only Chapter to have members attend and support our AIRMEN. The event was attended by the Shooting Star President, Bill Fosina and one of our newest members, Cole Kleitsch. According to Bill, “Cole was like a Tornado. He was everywhere and did everything from provide transportation to motivational support. Even participated in a game of wheel chair basketball and had the callus to prove it.”

Many of the AIRMEN Wounded Warriors are enlisted and medically retired from the AF. Many have lost limbs and are in wheel chairs. Their disability checks do not go far to support a family never mind covering the costs of participating in the games. President Bill Fosina commented, “I could write a book on how wonderful these men and women are and I plan to write an article for Wingman Magazine.”

This month’s meeting honors the Chapter 195 Teachers of the Year (TOY). The purpose of the Chapter Teacher of the Year program is to recognize classroom teachers at the chapter level for their accomplishments and achievements in exciting K-12 students about Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM), and preparing them to use and contribute to tomorrow’s technologies. Chapters may select one TOY from any grade level or may select two TOYs: one from grades K-8 and one from grades 9-12 for submission to HQ AFA to receive award components each year with the year running from May 1st through April 30th.

The original founder of the DC-3/Dakota Historical Society, Henry is a member of the Aviation Hall of Fame (New Jersey), Women in Aviation International, AOPA, and EAA. He is currently the News Editor East for Airport Journals and is a regular monthly contributor to the paper. In 1996, he launched the Women in Aviation Resource Center. In 2010 Henry was awarded the New Jersey Aviation Hall of Fame Distinguished Service Award. He is the author of over 900 magazine and newspaper articles appearing in national magazines. He has been a commentator on the History Channel, and has published 37 books. While only 17 miles apart, and beginning in about the same time frame the two airports evolved into two different and distinct entities. One struggled for decades to remain viable, the other thrived, almost from the beginning. Henry M. Holden is an aviation historian and author. In 1994, Mr. Holden was cited in the United States Congressional Record for his work in recording the history of American women in aviation, and was the recipient of the Author’s Award from the New Jersey Institute of Technology for his book Her Mentor Was An Albatross – The Autobiography of Pioneer Pilot Harriet Quimby.

The Randolph High School Air Force Association CyberPatriot VI Open Division first team was recently recognized for their first place finish within New Jersey. Above, the CyberPatriot-VI 2013-14 First Place certificate was presented by William Fosina, President, Chapter 195, to Debbie Iosso, Principal, with Howard Leach, NJ AFA President and Coach Sally Snelson on left, and Assistant Coach Roslyn Franklin and STEM Supervisor Michael Casicone on right. The first place team members are shown in the back except for Patrick May who was not available for the photo.

Pictured: Front Row L to R: Howard Leach, Andrew Putlock, Sally Snelson, Debbie Iosso, William Fosina, Roslyn Franklin
Back Row L to R:, Issac Loo, Ethan Sterk, Daniel Rios, Steven Cheng, Kevin Butryn, Brian McDevitt, Patrick Gannon, Michael Cascione.

The Randolph High School Air Force Association CyberPatriot VI Open Division Blue team was recently recognized for their second place finish within New Jersey. Above, the CyberPatriot-VI 2013-14 Second Place certificate was presented by William Fosina, President, Chapter 195, to Debbie Iosso, Principal, with Howard Leach, NJ AFA President and Coach Sally Snelson on left, and Assistant Coach Roslyn Franklin and STEM Supervisor Michael Casicone on right. The Second Place team members are shown left to right except for Kevin Leary who was not available for the photo.

Pictured: Front Row L to R: Samuel Wasserman, Sally Snelson, Debbie Iosso, William Fosina, Kyna Horten, Roslyn Franklin
Back Row L to R: Howard Leach, Joel Kurian, Christopher Maxwell, Jamie Flynn, Joe Michail, Michael Cascione

The exploration of Mars has been underway for almost 50 years and a wealth of knowledge has been obtained from the Red Planet. Photographs and sampling of its atmosphere and surface have focused on questions that have been asked for years: Did life ever exist on Mars? Does some form of life exist there today? Answers to both questions are both elusive and tantalizing. In the last 15 years, four rovers have been sent to Mars, each building on the previous experiences of the probes that went before them. In the most recent mission, the Curiosity rover has been on the surface since August, and has already made important discoveries. We will talk about Curiosity’s two year mission and the incredible technologies used to deliver the spacecraft to the surface. A review of the experiments and their results will be discussed as well as future plans and goals. Finally, we will discuss upcoming missions, including the recently announced rover scheduled for launch in 2020.