Fyffe, AL – September 7, 2007: In the late 1980s and early 1990s, when Fyffe, Alabama was mentioned in the news, it was often in the same sentence with terms such as “UFOs hovering over the city” and “cattle mutilations done with surgical precision, with no traces of blood or human involvement”. Fyffe was a hotbed of activity for quite a while back then…

Well, 15 years have passed, and the only thing hovering over the city of Fyffe today was a group of hot air balloons. On the ground, the 3rd Annual “UFO Days Festival” – a festival celebrating family fun and honoring Fyffe’s place in history – was well into its 2nd day of festivities.

A strike team from the Alabama Garrison was dispatched to the event to ensure that there was an Imperial presence and that things remained nice and orderly. It was our 2nd event in the past week, but it would prove to be well worthwhile…

After a temporary command center was put up, the troops ran foot patrols on the festival grounds. Due to the high heat and humidity, patrols were limited, but effective. We posed for pictures with many loyal citizens of the Empire – including a family that had driven over 100 miles to see us the night before, thinking that we were scheduled to appear on Friday night. They spent the night in Fyffe and were waiting on us when the festival opened on Saturday morning! We were blown away by their dedication.

The event organizers treated us like royalty. It’s impossible to remember how many people commended us for our dedication and service to the community, and thanked us for coming to the event. It was all quite humbling.

Our recruiting efforts may have paid off as well, as 3 Fyffe Police officers – including the Chief of Police – asked us about joining the 501st!

It was an outstanding event and opportunity for the Legion to visit an area of the Garrison where there are currently no 501st members. The citizens of Fyffe are very nice people indeed, and I’m sure the Legion with be making another visit to the UFO Days festival in 2008!

Many thanks go to Charlie Masella (TB-2572) and Mike Ponder, without whom this event would not have been possible. They went above and beyond. Kudos, guys!

Roster:
• Charlie Masella: TB (1st ”official” event as a Legion member!!!)
• Jamey Ethridge: Tusken Raider
• Mike Ponder: handler, photographer, and all-around fit-it guy

originally posted by Fetthunter on Friday, September 07, 2007