ParaCon Countdown

ParaCon 2008 is coming on August 9&10 and already we’ve been getting great feedback for it. This year we have another wonderful lineup of speakers, including Stacey Jones of the Central NY Ghost Hunters, Thomas Cooney, an author on ghosts and hauntings, Diane Bajorinas, one of SGRA’s resident ghost experts, and UFOlogist Nick Roesler.  And that’s just scratching the surface!

The conference will feature our popular ParaLunch on Saturday, vendors with everything from candles to soaps to novelty items for you to enjoy, the ever-funny Panel Discussion, and a trivia game on Sunday. We are also looking into adding some other great programs.

Stay tuned for complete information, and check our website often for updates.

Thanks For The Support!

Hello Everyone;

I would like to take a moment and thank all of you for your support while I was in the hospital. Your well wishes and kind thoughts were appreciated. With that said, I’m happy to announce that we here at SGRA are getting back to business, and there’s a lot of great events in the future.

As many of you already know, ParaCon 2008 is being planned. We have a wonderful lineup of speakers who will bring information on a wide range of subjects from ghosts to UFOs to exorcisms and more. The dates are already set for August, and it’ll be here before you know it.

Also starting soon will be our investigation classes at our new Office & Research Center located in Bridgeport. Classes will include our Introduction To Ghost Investigating, as well as our Field Investigator Training, and much more. We hope that you can join us for some of them and find out just what it is we do here at the SGRA.

And finally, as soon as we are able we’ll be starting up again at the local PHD Psychic Fairs hosting our information table and giving presentations and lectures at many of the venues. We’re all very excited about this, and are looking forward to the months to come. Stay tuned for more information about these, and other, exciting events.

Thanks very much,

Jon Nowinski, SGRA Director

ParaTalk Goes On Hiatus For Upgrades

Our weekly ParaTalk online chat will go on hiatus in March for some upgrades to the program. One of the features our Web Team is looking into adding is a video feed, which would allow participants to see and hear live web broadcasts from anywhere we happen to be. This would be great for times when we have special guest hosts or topics in the chat, as well as for live broadcasts from places like our Research Center, the ParaCon, or even while we are on the road at the Psychic Fairs. The best part is that there is no special downloads or software required, and participants don’t need to own a web camera to enjoy the broadcasts. Stay tuned for more information on the development and upgrade of our new chat system.

Feburrrrrrary Update

Here we are, nearly the middle of February, so we thought it’d be a good time for a quick update to all of our Members and Supporters.

First off, the big news about our Research Center is that we are on track and all’s coming together nicely. We’re expecting to be open to the public in early April, and are already making some plans for a big Grand Opening Event. Not only that, but we are beginning to put together a great schedule of talks, workshops, and more that will be held there. One thing we are looking forward is being able to expand our topics, now that we have a place of our own to hold discussions. For those interested in the UFO and Government sections of our research, stay tuned because we have some great lectures coming up this Spring. Of course, don’t worry, our Ghost, Cryptozoology, and other sections of work will be presented too!

Yesterday was the first Psychic Fair of February, and it was quite successful. We had the opportunity to spend time talking with many new people, and even took some applications for new members and investigators. We will continue participating in as many of the psychic fairs as possible, although with Jon’s upcoming procedure, he will not be available at many of them. Still, you can always drop by any of the fairs as Robert Stempson (who runs the fairs) and Michele Fitzpatrick (who is an SGRA Staff Member) will be there to answer questions about SGRA and provide information. Whenever possible, our SGRA Information Table will continue to be open at the fairs!

And finally… plans are underway for our 10th Annual Paranormal Conference (ParaCon) this summer!!! The tentative dates are June 8th - 10th, but stay tuned for confirmations of that. This year we’re going to be doing things slightly differently… the Saturday program will feature an entire day of guest speakers covering a wide range of subjects. Sunday’s program will focus on special workshops and classes that will get you even more involved, especially with some hands-on activities. Of course, we will again have our ParaLunch on Saturday, as well as our movie screening Saturday night, which was a popular new feature of last year’s conference. Stay tuned again for continued updates on ParaCon ‘08.

New Staff Training Set For Spring

Around April those who are interested in becoming members of the SGRA Staff will have a chance to get involved. There are many ways you can participate within the organization, from becoming a Research Associate and assisting in our Office & Research Center, to being trained as an Investigator on our Field Team. Although SGRA is a completely volunteer organization, there is some extensive training that people must complete before becoming a certified member of the Staff.

First, everyone interested must attend an “SGRA 101″ presentation which introduces the different divisions and activities of our organization, and also covers our policies, rules, and other important information. If you’re looking for the thrill of running around a spooky cemetery in the middle of the night, or if you’re hoping to emulate what you see on TV, don’t even bother coming because the first point made is that real life investigating is not as seen on TV.

The second part of our training involves attending an Investigation Class. This class will provide you everything you’ll need to know about participating on our Field Team. You’ll receive instruction in our forms and investigation procedure, field equipment, expectations, and other details. During this class you’ll also receive your SGRA Binder, which we’ll show you how to keep, your “Investigator in Training” ID tag, and other materials.

Finally, the last part of our training process is participation in two actual Field Investigations. You’ll accompany our Staff to a site that we have investigated in the past. While on scene, it will be up to you to conduct the investigation. You’ll be able to use the equipment, the skills you’ve learned, and the knowledge of our investigators. Then, it will be up to you to present your findings to our Staff and tell us what you experienced.

Once you have completed our training, you are then a certified member of our Field Team. You will then be assigned to Case Files and continue your study with our organization. Stay tuned for more information about this training coming soon…

Research Center Opening On Schedule

We’re happy to announce that our new Research Center is on schedule for our official opening in April! Thanks to the hard work of the Staff, as well as donations from our Members and Supporters, the place is quickly getting up and running. Already our conference room and class room are nearly completed, and the next step is our reading room - which will eventually be a place for the public to come and check out books, video, magazines, and other media having to do with the subjects we research. It’s all very exciting for us, and we are looking forward to the time when the office can be opened to everyone. Stay tuned for more updates about the Research Center, including a look at the events and activities we are already planning on holding there!

Jon Talks Future For SGRA

During Sunday’s celebration of the opening of the new SGRA Office & Research Center, Director Jon Nowinski sat down to talk about the future of the SGRA.

“This is a dream come true for me,” says Jon. “Ever since starting the SGRA back in 1997 I had the vision of one day finding a space that could become the hub for the organization.” Thanks to the generous donation of space, along with the hard work and dedication of the SGRA Staff, the new Office & Research Center has become a reality.

The space is actually in a former home, and Jon says that he and the rest of the SGRA team are going to hold on to that homely atmosphere. Although it will be a place where lots of serious work will get done, the Research Center will also be a place where meetings, workshops, classes, and other activities will be held on a regular basis. It will also contain a reading room that will be available to anyone who is interested in doing some paranormal research, checking up on the latest strange news, or simply relaxing and talking with the SGRA Staff.

“We want to do this right,” says Jon, “so we’ve decided to not rush into things. Instead, we’re going to take a few weeks to simply get the new place up and running. We want to make it have a good feeling from the moment you enter, and be both a spot for learning and work, as well as for fun.” Jon estimates that it will take the team about two months to really get everything moved in and operating the way they’d like, so you can look forward to a grand opening around the first of April.

Guest Hosts Coming To ParaTalk

Throughout February and March we’ll have some special guest hosts during our Monday evening ParaTalk Online Chats. Among those scheduled will be Mandy Oram, an expert in Occult and Wicca and Nick Roesler, SGRA’s resident UFO expert. We are currently working out the schedule for these guest hosts and special topics, so be sure to tune in to our website soon to find out complete details. You can also check out the January issue of our newsletter when it comes out early next week.

In addition to these guests joining us for our ParaTalk chats, we will also be scheduling some great events at our new offices in Bridgeport. You can look forward to the return of our popular movie and TV show screenings, aptly titled “Screen or Scream.” And we are also introducing a new book club that will start soon. Be sure to keep an eye out… you won’t want to miss these events!

Packed Weekend of Events

This weekend is our busiest of the month, but gives you many chances to join us for some great events. Yesterday we were at the Psychic Fair in North Haven, which was a great afternoon, and we were happy to be on hand to answer all of your paranormal questions. Our presentation on Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP), led by SGRA Director Jon Nowinski, was well attended and there were some great questions from the audience.

Today, you can come join us down in Greenwich at the Hyatt Regency on Rt. 1. We’ll be there from 11am - 6pm, again to answer all of your paranormal questions, or simply lend an ear for you to share your experiences with. We have lots of literature about our organization, our research, and other aspects of our work that you can check out. You can even get one of our brand-new magnets or 2008 pocket calendars! And, of course, while you’re there you can check out the vendors at the fairs or get a reading with one of the PHD’s trusted psychic readers.

And be sure to join us tomorrow evening starting at 10pm here on our website as we discuss Prophecies in our weekly ParaTalk Online Chat. You can join from anywhere you are, just visit our homepage tomorrow and click on the “Enter The Chatroom” button. Visit our Events Calendar for complete updates on upcoming events and activities from SGRA!

A Place To Call Our Own…

    It has been a dream of mine to open a real place for SGRA ever since establishing the group back in 1997. I knew it was going to take a lot of hard work, more people than just me, and a bit of time. Here we are, just over a decade later, and that dream is finally becoming a reality.

Thanks to a tremendous offer, we have been given space that will become a library, classroom and meeting space, and office space for our organization!  This will catapult the SGRA into 2008, and beyond, and will present us with many more opportunities than we could imagine. Our team is going to be spending the next few weeks of January getting settled in and putting everything together for the space. Then, in February, we will begin announcing events that will take place there.

The space is located in Bridgeport, which is a great central location for most of our Staff and our Members. We are going to start by having the location open for specific events only, but come early Spring we hope to announce regular operating hours during which anyone will be welcome to drop by and see what we’re up to. Also in the Spring we will be launching many other types of events there, including classes, study groups, book groups, and much more.

This is all very exciting, and we invite you to become a part of all the fun. Be sure to stay tuned to the website, our Newslink Emails, and our newsletter for complete details as everything unfolds.

Thanks for your support,

Jon Nowinski, Director