Each year at this time, I send out a summary of our successes and failures, strengths and weaknesses to our members, as much in hope of improvement in the New Year as reintegrating the obvious.

To say that 2007 was a momentous year is an understatement. We as a group have made tremendous strides in our goals, for which you can all take a bow.  None of this could have happened with your continued effort.  So, without further fanfare, here is my read on the past year in review.

While I hate to start off with a negative, last January 10^th saw the introduction of “Dave Swampie” Smith as a pending case. The case involved an entire family in Louisiana and two homes that reportedly were haunted, one violently, with possible demonic overtones. We would become involved in this case over the next several months, visiting the house for an overnight vigil, before family members terminated our access before we could finish the case.  Since then we have introduced some new guidelines to see this never happens, but the even left a sour taste in my mouth.

This was also the month when we became involved in another short term investigation that promised at first to be exceptional, but which eventually was cancelled due to a squabble between a local radio station, the Chamber of Commerce and others.  Through no fault of our own, the trip to Skull Mountain and Big Springs Airbase in East Texas was put on hold and to date it is still active, but inaccessible until the parties involved agree to open access.

The first general membership meeting of the New Year was held at the Golden Corral in Richardson and centered on funding and incorporation of ASUP in Texas. The issue of forming the group as a 501(c)(3) was discussed and approved, beginning a long saga in the history of ASUP.

On January 27^th, we made a trip to Mineola for our first double headers, a reported haunting of a home and related Bigfoot sightings on the property of the homeowner. Mineola would become our Bigfoot location of choice throughout the year, with tracks, multiple sightings by credible witnesses and a long history in that area and continued through most of the year, until the host family moved from the property.  This is still an open case, and we have tentative access to state park land, adjacent to the original site for daytime investigations, which are pending again for the Spring, 2008.

On January 30^th, Rick did a radio show on KZII with Arman Williams in Lubbock that centered on the history of the UFO/Paranormal link, and talked about George Kekoris, Jerry Solfvin of Amityville fame, and Duke notables, Blue Harary, Bill Roll, Scott Rogo and his work with Ray Bayless and Ingo Swan.  It was a noteworthy program. We also discussed my first introduction to Psychic George Anderson at WBAB in 1975.

The month of January ended with a meeting with Donna LaCroix on the formation of the WWPRC and sharing information about non-profit status with the IRS.  Rick was invited to the WWPRC advisory board later that week.

On February 2^nd, Rick did a radio show with Cari Stone and CJ Sellers, that got him in a bit of hot water, when he openly talked about his relationship with Ed and Lorraine Warren and his evaluation of self proclaimed “Demonologists” when e challenged listeners to tell him in what dictionary that word is defined. He also restated his position that much of Amityville was created by media hungry “experts” and had nothing to do whatever with the real case.

On February 5^th, the IRS accepted the application of the ASUP for full non-profit status as an educational and research organization, after the State of Texas issued a non-profit corporation certificate to the group. This would be the first step in a long and winding road. On the 13 of February, the groups EIN number was issued by the IRS… we were on the way!

On February 6^th, Rick filed a story on the Old Alton Bridge for Fate magazine, which would finally be published in their December issue. On the 13^th, Donna LaCroix joined the advisory board of the ASUP after announcing she was leaving TAPS.  This would later change, with Donna when TAPS requested she do a new show covering European locations.

Much of February were involved in writing, editing and rewriting the Incorporation papers for ASUP to meet Federal guidelines; Rick removed himself to accomplish this task and Joy Maner took over day to day operations of ASUP in this period.  During this period, then Tech Director, Allen Slaughter created several night vision illumination boxes and we made expenditures for DVD cameras with Allen going the extra yard for a night vision scope, much of which was needed for the Mineola case.

On February 22^nd, we filed our edited incorporation papers with Austin for approval, which was done quickly for state standards.  That paperwork was now ready for IRS submission as part of our tax exempt status request.

On Sunday, February 25^th the group made its first visit to the Garland Unitarian Church, where Rick gave a talk on the ASUP’s goals and methods.  After that meeting we were invited back to deal with what one member called a “persistent” group of ghosts they believed were in residence at their church.

On February 26^th, we made first contact with the subject of the Gladewater case, which is still active today.

On Saturday, March 3^rd, we travelled once again to Old Alton Bridge as part of our ongoing investigation there. This was the evening of a full lunar eclipse and we hoped to learn if that occurrence had any effect on what we were finding at the Bridge.  It was later classified as a “Very active night.”

On March 5^th, Rick had a long phone conversation with Tracy DeFeo, wife of Ronnie “Butch” DeFeo, the infamous Amityville murderer. Mrs. DeFeo wanted his help corroborating some of the claims being discussed on the internet and requested Rick to talk to DeFeo’s latest attorney.  IN subsequent conversations, Rick was offered a contract to co-author a book with DeFeo on what really happened in Amityville, but he declined after discussing it with the remaining original ASUP members who were involved in the case.

On March 9^th, we travelled to the first Jefferson Paranormal Conference.  Rick did several radio interviews in preparation for the event and made two presentations to the group. The members stayed at the Jefferson Hotel and toured the area. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves and Jefferson Texas was soon our favorite “haunted” town.  We ended March with another trip to Old Alton Bridge, fulfilling our mandate to visit the location in all sorts of weather and seasons.  As usual, we were not disappointed.

April 2^nd found Rick back on the radio, this time on the East Coast of Florida to discuss the possible connections between hauntings, UFO’s and cryptids. Mothman and Bigfoot were discussed at length and Rick made public his “Unified Theory of Everything,” Especially in light of the Skinwalker Ranch phenomena.

On Saturday, April 7^th, we went back to the Garland investigation with a full team and gained a little more insight into the possible case cause and effect. April 14^th found the executive board cancelling another field trip to Mineola, due to frigid weather and the Board meeting that was supposed to be help outdoors (it was Spring!) at a park in Rockwall with catering from Bootsburgers, was moved indoors to the Watson household.  Go figure Texas weather. The group also sent a birthday wish to April Page on the 17^th and Jesse Blair on the 23^rd.!  On the 18^th we were approached to host a possible outing to the US Lexington. This was later scrapped when the ship raised its initial fees after they had “a better offer!”

On April 24^th I spoke to Jason Hawes of TAPS about WWPRC funding and he invited me as a guest on his new radio program. On the 25^th we spoke to the Munday family in response to their call for assistance in the Stobaugh case in Denton county, on this day we also issued a check to the IRS for registration fees for our non-profit status.

On April 27^th the long awaited Boggy Creek article was published in Fortean Times, chronicling the misadventures of Smokey Crabtree and his tall tales about a four toed Bigfoot in Arkansas.

On the weekend of April 28^th-29^th we took another road trip to Mineola for an overnight in the woods in search of our own Bigfoot. We learned a lot, including how a jack-ass bray can mislead the most studious cryptids hunter… ha ha.  Wild dogs, large feral hogs, et. al. made the field work memorable.

On May 1^st ASUP had a request that was a bit unusual; Rick was asked by CNN if he could review and comment on reports that the spirit of Emmett Till has been reported near his murder site.  After two days, Rick recorded a response, stating that it was possible, but still impossible to confirm unless the ASUP was invited to do an on-location investigation.

On May 4^th, Rick spoke t John Zaffis about his upcoming show with TAPS and on the following day Jason did a live interview with Rick, but Grant was sick, so John stepped in as the co-host. On May 11^th, Rick did the first of many radio shows with Serenity Moore. And on May 16^th Ronald DeFeo’s attorney called to ask once aging is Rick was interested in meeting with DeFeo at Greenhaven Prison to discuss what he called the truth about the case, stating that Ron was now saying that Rick was the only person who got the murder story right!  Rick declined based on the earlier advisory board suggestion.

On May 18^th, we did another radio show “Ghost Census Radio” with Dennis Pearce that got a great response. The topic was personalities in ghost hunting.  The following day the ASUP had its regular meeting, held in Garland, followed by another visit to the Garland Church. This time, we found the source of some of the negative energy… a church member, who came out to draw a circle of security outside the building. Meanwhile, in the church, we were able to get a clear message from two of the “ghosts” who told us, “Mommy & Daddy don’t watch us anymore…” The voice was that of a young boy.

On May 21^st, I updated Loren Coleman on our Bigfoot findings and learned a little more about local Bigfoot groups from his perspective, He was very interested in Rick’s latest efforts to write a piece on the history of psi research before 1900.  On May 26^th, the team went to Gladewater for their first investigation. This case is still open.  On May 31^st Angie from SWAT did an interview for her new web page and audio files, which went very well. Also on the 31^st Attorney Al Goldstein, representing Ron DeFeo calls again about a book deal. Mrs. DeFeo later calls to say she understands our decision.

On June 1^st, Emma McNeil, one of our ASUP members in London, called to do an interview about Amityville for a magazine over there that just was launched.  The following day we were off on our epic journey to Louisiana.  The following Monday, June 4^th, got a call from Mary Lowry asking if everything was alright with me. Was she referring to Louisiana?  There was more to deal with as the Louisiana tapes were being studied… a possible murder of a next door neighbor named Gloria or Grace shows up on one audio piece. Also during this week we spoke to Shelly Kaehr, Ph.D. of Out of This World Books about ASUP and Haunted Times offered Rick a permanent spot as a contributor to that magazine.  On the weekend of June 8^th the first of the ASUP members, Larry and Deb Cline attended Ham Comm in Plano and got their Amateur Radio licenses…the first of many as ASUP entered a new era in communications.

Also that weekend the board decided to add a consent form to be filed by any prospective cases in the future to counteract the “Louisiana” effect. Rick also wrote a white paper on “Blood Ordeal” at the request of Fortean Times. And collaborated with two researchers at the Essex Institute in Salem MA on probable causes of the witch hysteria; Rick’s article was weighted heavily on the “The Devil’s Amongst Us” a contemporary account of that period.

On June 18^th, members were invited to the Plano Amateur Radio Club meeting and the same day, the IRS interim report on ASUP non-profit status is issued, tentatively approving permanent status.

On July 2^nd, Rick did a radio show again in Florida for two hours, this one on classic hauntings.  July 3^rd found Rick preparing a white paper for a Federal agency on the Versache Murder Case, with an interesting twist; because of his access to files, he learned of a satanic connection to that case. On July 6^th the Alexandria case was officially put on Hold, which Mineola TCJC and ElPaso cases were considered closed.  Reports will be posted on the web. Also on the 6^th, Rich did ParaHub Radio, the topic was Mothman and other cryptids that foretell disasters and time storms.

One July 7^th, we travelled to Waxahachie for a haunting investigation and on July 9^th ASUP inaugurated www.asup-inc.org and R&D Director Ron Ricketts set up the new e-mail system. On July 14^th we traveled back to Garland, with the use of the K-2s on top of our list.  On July 16^th, members attended a meeting of DAPS in Denton and Rick talked about ASUP, then and now. On July 28^th we had an informal lunch meeting of the members at Giovani’s. During July, while things were relatively slow, the ASUP Lexicon was formulated.

During this period the ASUP quartermasters was officially formed to give members and other a chance to find what they need for investigations at the best possible price.  Quartermasters is run by Deb and Larry Cline and is an independent business, just as the manufacture of the Mini-Box is separate from ASUP, which is a totally non-profit entity.

August 4^th found more members in ham radio class, while Rick put the finishing touches on Interim Orders and changes in the By-laws to meet IRS specifications, but then we were informed that the IRS had lost our payment check.  On August 11^th, the ASUP’s first formal training session was held at Richardson Regional Medical Center with 20 members signed in. Certificates were issued to those who completed this program. Meanwhile by August 15^th, we agreed to make a second payment to the IRS of $450.  These funds were put up by Joy Maner until the original check was either returned or cancelled.

August 18^th was the first Arlington investigation and August 22^nd the IRS notified us that they had cleared our second check and that the final approval of our 501(c)(3) status had become permanent. On August 23^rd we filed a request with Viewsonic for a projector for our Power Point presentations., which they new acknowledged!  On August 28^th ASUP began a second phase look at Skinwalker Ranch, which April has personal knowledge of and the actual coordinates were released to members. Finally on August 31^st Rick met with two members of congress to discuss the woeful lack of funding available for Federal research in our field.

September 3^rd saw an article by Rick in Haunted Times on the K-2 and ASUP’s use of the devices. The following day, Rick had a long conversation with the producers of Ghost Whisperer, about some ASUP cases that came to the attention of Jennifer Love Hewitt, who is a native Texan. On September 8^th, Rick requested that Research Director Joy Maner prepare an updated report of the Aurora (TX) phenomenon and that Public Relations officer Deb Cline begin plans or the Halloween season.

The highpoint of the month was on September 15^th, with a field trip back to Jefferson, TX and K-2 investigations of several haunted rooms at the Jefferson Hotel, a request for an investigation on the Jefferson Railroad by its owner, the Café, Old dump site and cemetery to visit with Diamond Bessie..  It was the first ever multiple investigation of more than two sites in one trip.  This led to a major story in Haunted Times about the most haunted city in Texas, as well as several other sidebar stories.

On September 20^th our final paperwork from the IRS arrived, making the ASUP the only incorporated Non-Profit group in Texas expressly founded for the purpose of paranormal investigations.

This month we also made an expressed effort in fundraising from Grant Foundations, including the Templeton Foundation, the largest single funder in the world. On the 23^rd we had another meeting of the general membership at RRMC and the distribution of the Fall edition of the ASUP newsletter that highlighted the technical accomplishments of the organization. We also received a grant approval to purchase both Adobe and Microsoft products for the cost of handling, which was a boon to many.

On October 3^rd, Rick finished an article on Spirit-Comm and the “Ghost Box” and the official determination that ASUP would produce its own version of Frank’s Box was agree to, with Rick and Ron Ricketts working on that project together. The theoretical work had already begun some time before this date.  On October 6^th, we did a follow-up visit to Arlington, this time armed with Luminol. And on October 13^th we revisited the Old Alton Bridge in preparation for the pre-Halloween annual “What Real Ghost Hunters DO!” public demonstrations. The ASUP also agreed to present a Power Point with DAPS at the Denton Library, prior to Halloween, to be presented by Ron Ricketts.

At about this time, Rick was again in negotiations and discussion with Baylor University and it was agreed that we would be doing another presentation there in 2008. The end of October was highlighted with the annual OAB demonstrations, which in total drew more than 30 people.

On October 31^st , Rick did another show with Serenity Moore about ASUP, as well as one for Team Wheezy, Brian H.’s (TAPS) latest offering. Otherwise the high point of Halloween was walking around Rowlett Trick or Treating with my grandkids, as well as April’s twins! On Saturday, November 10^th we saw two more ASUP members go through the ham radio process, Joy and Jerry, both of whom joined in later festivities to celebrate Allen Slaughters birthday bash at Luigi’s in Royce City.

On November 17^th we unveiled the Mini-Box for members to see at the regular meeting at Richardson Regional MC with some great results. The Box was also taken to the Stanley Hotel by April and Allen and later to the Queen Mary meet-up of TAPS in San Diego, again with great results. These initial showings were followed by a long list of radio shows where Rick discussed the Box over the next two weeks.  On November 26^th, Rick got a call from his long grade-school friend, Peter Mohen, who is now with CNN’s Larry King show and Rick gave background information on TAPS and other TV programs for King.

On December 4^th we wished a happy 30^th birthday to Joy Maner!  Later in the month, we celebrated our annual Christmas Party on December 15^th for some great German Food and a good round of sometimes funny Christmas presents. (Why April, a start Medium needs both a Ouija Board and a Mini-Box is still a question for the books, however.)  The year ended with a bang, when Joi and Rick Moran moved from The Colony to Wills Point, with the help of a dozen ASUP volunteers to make the move and Joy Maner and her husband Joe, coordinating the entire thing, making it almost painless.  Who knew Jesse was that strong?

This is, more or less the short list of things accomplished in 2007.  For 2008 we have split our field program in two, one that will continue field investigations as before and a second that will be dedicated to the field testing of the Mini-Box to University standards.  To that end, a training session was held on  January 20^th to offer both the basic training course for ASUP (in the morning) and an afternoon session that was dedicated to the Mini-Box study. 

Here’s hoping that 2008 will be even more fruitful than 2007.

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