Rockhampton Home Show/Caravan and Camping Expo

[JOker]

Date: 24th August 2013

Venue: Rockhampton Showgrounds

Trooper Attendance:

RBG: Muppet, Joker, Angelman

RL: Keld

Support Crew / Guest Trooper Attendance:
Stormybrite, Lady Tarkin, Picasso, Voiletta. With extra asistance from Jordan and Charlotte (Lady Tarkin's younglings) complete with high vis vests

Charity Funds Raised: $604.05 for the Cancer Council raised through donations, and the sale of Daffodils and teddy bears, Stormybrite sold over $150 through her workplace the day before, and we raised just shy of $450 on the day.

Mission: To assist the Cancer Council in their Daffodil Day promotions, as well as have fun with the stallholders.

Details:

Today was a special day, as we trooped in the honour of a friend who recently lost her battle with Cancer. We started the day with a special pre-troop photo…



We quickly got down to work, wading through the crowds to sell our daffodils…



Our mascot “super ted” spent the day checking out the exhibits, he really liked this speedway car




We left Cody in charge of super ted until this near miss in the trash compactor



After such a close call, Ted needed to relax, so Muppet took him to a massage parlour



Then tested out a new ride for his Biker scout



They refused Imperial credits as payment, Muppet was not happy.



It was very warm, Rex took advantage of the portable fans to cool down



Will it float on the Dune Sea?



Cody lamented his lack of sitting ability….



Our friends with the “trooper” series of vans were back, and were kind enough to give us cold water and a cool spot to take a rest. Getting the Scout and the Tusken back to work though, proved to be a bit of a mission for our clones…



These tuskens are dirty, we tried to bath him, but he wouldn’t go in, he did manage to hunt a few ducks though.... (no ducks, rubber or actual were harmed in the making of this photo)




So we resorted to other methods to clean him up…



And finally, it was time for one last shot, and to head home….



This was a really great troop, our contact at the show turned out to be a big fan (and possible future Redback) and that set the tone for the day, lots of smiles and many photos. People were really happy to help out buying flowers, and the little teddy bears were a huge hit, we sold out totally in the “farmer bear” style.

There were a couple of great moments, but the one that I think was truly special to all of us, was a little bloke with Down’s Syndrome that we met. He absolutely melted my heart when he walked over, looked up and said “Rex”, it was just amazing.

Logistically, this is our second year at the home show, and the feedback is good for us to do a third, we get a great reception, and I think the stall holders took almost as many photos as the patrons. We had a huge dressing area this year as well, which made things a lot easier than our car park change last time, the only downside is the set of narrow stairs to get there, but we all negotiated them without incident.

A huge thanks has to go to our support crew, they did a top job, not only keeping us well hydrated and making sure we had rests in the shade.

No reported malfunctions or notable public incidents

Mission success

[Angelman]

Well done troopers and an extra big thanks to our wranglers (and Super Ted).
Happy to do this troop again next year, hopefully under better circumstances.

[Sushi-Sacha]

Awesome job guys. Those Charity donations will surely help out a lot!

[muppet]

Thanks for letting me troop with you CQ peeps. Had had a great day.

On a side note, the contact Joker mentioned lives in Toowomba and is working on a ROTS Vader.

[BIDS]

Nice work troopers.

[Rayvn]

Love it! Great report and fantastic money raised!

[Rebelrach]

Looked like a lot of fun! You guys rock, congrats on all the $$$$ raised.

And I vote Little Ted for super cadet!!!