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Thank you!

It was a pleasure to serve as your VCS these past two years.  In that time, I feel that we accomplished quite a bit, though we couldn't do everything we wanted to do.  We had some major issues arise along the way, as it goes within an organization such as ours.  However, I'm proud of how my team handled those issues.

 With only a few short days left to my term, I wanted to take a moment to say thank you to the many members within my office who've stepped up to bring about the successes in the last 23 months since I was confirmed as Vice-Commander, STARFLEET.

 ·         Melissa Comeau, Director of STARFLEET Human Resources: Melissa was appointed by Dan Toole when he was VCS, but the idea of creating a new department to ensure that we communicate and encourage members to step up to critical roles within our organization has been such a huge success for STARFLEET.  Her hard work and diligence in pursuing applications and getting them in the hands of the right people has delivered on promises made when Dan stepped up to become CS; that we would continue to lead with openness and transparency with respect to the membership.  Posting jobs and encouraging applications, staying on top of interview schedules, communicating with all involved… it's been a big help to demonstrating the large pool of talent we have in our organization. Without her involvement and bringing her own considerable talent to STARFLEET, we would not have had the right people in the right positions.  So up top and foremost, I'm incredibly thankful and appreciative to her for not just calling for this role but stepping up and performing beyond expectations.

·         Rey Cordero, Frank Gonzalez, Nathanial Lively and the staff of the STARFLEET Member Services Helpdesk: I'd worked with Rey and Frank in the past, in all honesty. I'm also an alumnus of the Helpdesk; having worked as a simple analyst in 2013 before taking over the Helpdesk entirely in 2014 in conjunction with working as Vice-Chief of STARFLEET Communications.  Rey Cordero was on the Helpdesk back then as well, and eventually rose to succeed me when I assumed my duties as Chief and could no longer devote the kind of time the Helpdesk requires.  I returned to run the Helpdesk from 2016 to 2018 under Theresa Bristow and then Dan Toole.  I say this with a full appreciation for the kind of work that the Helpdesk does daily. Nate Lively took over for me as Admin when I was appointed VCS, he worked very hard to staff/train the helpdesk, did the reporting, listened to feedback and executed changes for the better. When he had to step down due to his academic and medical obligations, Rey Cordero and Frank Gonzalez immediately stepped up.  The Helpdesk is one of the unsung heroes of our organization because the role isn't about achievement insomuch as it is about maintaining good relationships with the members and performing a role that is part support, part customer service, part ombudsperson, and part ambassador.  Helpdesk roles are incredibly demanding; rivalling that of an actual 9-to-5 job at times. The turnover rate on the Helpdesk in the past has been at a breakneck pace because often times volunteers are wholly unprepared for the level of abuse and vitriol when the everyday things break down and members become angry and care not for whom they spit on while opening tickets.  It's a mental stress unlike any other volunteer position I've ever worked, and I applaud those who step up to take those responsibilities on.

·         Wallace Cady, Kelli Caplette, and Linda Kloempken, STARFLEET Member Services/Recognition: Linda Kloempken had been Director of Recognition since I first became a member of STARFLEET in 2008, and in that time I've spent getting to know her and her husband David as friends, we worked really well together when I became VCS. However, my first year as VCS was her last year as Director, and within that time, I learned a lot of about how Recognition functioned from her patient explanations.  Based on her hard work and understanding those efforts, when it came time to bring on Wallace and Kelli, the ease of transition was directly related to Linda's legacy for which I'm always going to be grateful.  By the time we finished transitioning to our new hires, Recognition had fallen behind to a point where the Admiralty Board was asking for daily updates.  Wallace took the reins, hired Kelli very quickly after being selected as Director of Member Services and rather than hiring a new Director for Recognition, he understood Kelli's talents and brought her in as a Deputy Director and assigned her to tackle Recognition.  Kelli did not hesitate and approached her new duties with gusto and aplomb.  Between the two, they worked closely with all of the Region Coordinators on award and promotions, used the helpdesk to stay in constant communications with each nominator and approver, used eminent patience with the Executive Committee during voting and Q&A on each nominee, and delivered the results we were looking for.  I'm extremely proud of the work they've done.

·         Diane and Bob Bulkeley, STARFLEET Marketing and Branding: I've worked with Diane in the past and she's been a long-time member of STARFLEET out of Region 17 along with her husband, Bob.  Bob is an exception graphic designer in his own right and bringing his talents to the Marketing department was kismet.  Diane immediately set to work on a lot of the branding issues and recommended several changes.  She recruited and hired an actual attorney for us to consult with (see below) in IP matters with regards to heraldry, spearheaded the 45th anniversary project by designing the entire sample set, and worked with several chapters in consulting on logos. Bob was the artist behind the refresh of the STARFLEET logo, the 45th anniversary seal/patch/pin, and several unrealized projects such as the redesign of the EC seals (rejected).  Bob also spent a considerable amount of time working on the new Membership Handbook design to follow IP laws.  Without Diane, Bob, and the marketing team, we would be in very poor shape from a design perspective, so I am so glad they accomplished all they could for us.

·         Melyssa Dennis and Emmett Plant, STARFLEET Engage!: Emmett originated this role for us very early on in my tenure as VCS, and while I understand that he was not a popular pick, he brought his enthusiasm to the role in way I don't think many others could at the point in our term.  Emm's planning and ideas were ultimately utilized, he has always been a force of nature and I wanted to promote that ability for the organization by placing him in a position to execute his ideas and seeing the result and benefit to our members.  I am very thankful that he agreed to take on the role, I'm thankful that he brought a multitude of ideas to kickstart the department, and I'm appreciative of the work he put in to help make STARFLEET better and adaptive.  Melyssa took on that role after Emm departed and carried the torch on behalf of our members by working to reorganize what are now known as the Auxiliaries of STARFLEET (ie: SFMC, MACOs, Sciences, Medical, PETFLEET, etc). Due to the reorganization, we worked with the Admiralty Board to implement a new classification for onboarding future auxiliaries within the Office of the VCS and set limitations on the focus of these groups to learn from mistakes made in the past so as not to burden the future.

·         Matthew Parker, Special Counsel to the Vice-Commander, STARFLEET: When Diane took over Marketing, she brought on Matt Parker as a legal consultant.  Matt is a practicing attorney and has experience in intellectual property law, an issue facing STARFLEET for quite some time.  Matt was originally brought on to help Diane, but as we spoke as a team, I realized that he could fill a larger role within my office. His advice and review of documents led to severe overhaul of several manuals for the Marine Corps and the MACOs. His research helped guide our proposals with respect to Heraldry improvements and assisting those units in adopting MSG and SEU logos that did not infringe on copyright or trademarks. Improvements made within those auxiliaries are still being worked on, but the impetus for those changes came from Matt's analysis and providing research notes.  When we have stronger manuals that comply with the law, those manuals better educate and inform the membership.  I wish to thank Matt for his tireless efforts in this capacity and appreciate the long hours of providing his professional expertise at no cost to the organization.

·         TJ Allen and Scott Sawyer, STARFLEET MACO: When I became VCS, the STARFLEET Special Operations group was one of my main focuses.  TJ and I had a very long conversation on the phone about how to improve and expand the group from its less than 100 members to a broader focus. Out of that conversation, we hatched a plan to market the group to a larger fandom by utilizing the MACO subset of SpecOps and turning the whole group into an easily identifiable and understandable concept.  Since then, the MACOs tripled their members and TJ's team is responsible for executing on that concept.  Scott, as the deputy director, has been instrumental in providing insight and communications to my team, working closely on editing and improving the MACO manuals, as well.

·         Jari James, Les Rickard, and Brian Allen, Commandants of the STARFLEET Marine Corps: When I first met Jari, she was serving as COMFORCECOM under Mike O'Brien and I was working as Chief of Communications.  Part of my role was to gather up all the information for the Attention on Deck portions of the Communique.  She and I had also worked together in another fandom group and I've always respected her as someone who gets the job done.  I was thrilled to have her as my Commandant, because I know I could count on her to do the same in that capacity.  Although she did not serve to the end of my term, I think the world of her and appreciate all the work she did for the Marines under my command. Following on, Les and Brian carried on as her successors more than capably.  I'm very happy that Rey has asked Brian to stay on as DepDant, because in the last few months of the term, Brian has proved his ability time and time again.  I've been very lucky to have a line of Commandants such as them.

·         Theresa Bristow, Chief of Staff to the VCS: Theresa and I have been friends for many years, when we first met at IC2013.  She was originally my Chief of Staff when I started as VCS, however, Dan and I decided to go without in the beginning in order to better server the membership. Theresa immediately understood, wished me well, and we parted ways.  In the middle of 2019, however, as things were ramping up in terms of the IC2019 debacle and keeping on top of the MHB project along with other collateral duties, Theresa agreed to come back on board to take on Chief of Staff duties as she had before.  She was most helpful during meetings and taking excellent notes, working with the team on reporting information and putting together minutes ahead of approval for me.  Theresa has always been a kindred spirit in terms of how to best serve the memberships, and I thank her for never bringing her ego or pride into the conversation, for always keeping her eyes on the bigger picture and understanding the needs of the organization and presenting them in a helpful concern.  The successes of 2019 are due to her assistance and guidance.

 Were it not for the above named and unnamed members, my office would not have been as successful in execution and maintenance.  Our goal was not only to provide the members with a better experience in STARFLEET, but also to ensure that the next administration would have less problems arising from past policy mistakes in order to focus on the future.

 To my team, a final thank you from a grateful VCS, and I hope you continue to serve STARFLEET in the future.

 To Dan Toole, thank you so much for the opportunity to work with you.  I know that I was reluctant at first, but your leadership and friendship was inspiring.  The pressures that usually come with this role were non-existent because of all the times that you had my and my team's back in moving forward.  If I come away with any regrets, it's that this may mark the last time we get to work together like this, so I'll always recall fondly the last two years.  You've got my number if you need anything!

 To Jim Herring, I want to say only that I wish for nothing except a continuation of success for the Office of the VCS and my very best wishes that you have a calm sea ahead and a powerful wind at your back.

 Thank you all and I hope to see everyone at IC2020!

Mike Garcia

29 December 2019

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IC2019: MACO Awards

On behalf of the Director of the STARFLEET MACOs, Major General TJ Allen, and the Commander, STARFLEET, Fleet Admiral Dan Toole, I am privileged and pleased to present the list of awardees announced during Closing Ceremonies at the STARFLEET International Conference 2019.  They are:

Pike Cross

TJ Allen Kelli Caplette Chris Lovejoy Denise Rush Jonathan Wilson

Congratulations to all for a job well done!

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IC2019: SFMC Awards

On behalf of the Commandant of the STARFLEET Marine Corps, General Les Rickard, and the Commander, STARFLEET, Fleet Admiral Dan Toole, I am privileged and pleased to present the list of awardees announced during the Muster at the STARFLEET International Conference 2019.  They are (in ascending order):

TRACOM Awards

Student of the Year: Mark Adams Team Delta: Mark Adams, Franklin Gonzalez, and Paul Ortiz 2019 TRACOM Commander’s Award: John Radle

SFMC Service Commendation

Steven Bice, Jr Jan Bovier Mike Brown Josephine Fisher Robin Fleming Larry French Michael Garcia James Herring William Hof Brian Landry Bruce O’Brien Barbara Paul John Radle Jill Rayburn Steve Rowley Shane Russell Faith Steinberg Jill Tipton Ed Wandall Kyle Wolf Commandant’s Meritorious Service Award

Brian Allen Tom Guertin Shane Russell

STARFLEET Cross

Brian Allen Mark Anderson Wallace Cady Jeremy Carsten Thomas Clark Rey Cordero Melissa Comeau Tom Guertin Franklin Gonzalez Kelly Hays Sarah Hays Jari James Linda Olson Les Rickard Shane Russell Stephen Sardeson Marie Smith Glenda Stephenson James Trainham Edward Tunis III

2019 Honor Awards

Cadet Star of Honor: Sean Smith Legion of Honor: 376MSG, 11BDE Star of Honor: Stephen Sardeson Shield of Honor: Christopher Higginbotham Sword of Honor: Michael Denman Cross of Honor: Tom Guertin

Congratulations to all of our recipients for a job well done!

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IC2019: Annual Awards

On behalf of the Executive Committee, the following chapters and members were honored with this year’s Annual Awards.

Chapter of the Year:  USS DaVinci - Region 2

Shakedown Chapter of the Year: USS Liberty Belle - Region 20

Support Chapter of the Year: USS Merlin - Region 20

Junior Member of the Year: Kendalyn Jarrett, USS Diamondback, Region 3

Enlisted Member of the Year: Marie Smith, ISS Lonewolf, Region 11

Officer of the Year: Franklin Gonzales, USS Roger Williams, Region 15

Flag Officer of the Year: Jessica Single, USS Imperium, Region 6

Commanding Officer of the Year: Lucy Ferron Franck, USS Zavala, Region 3 

I wish to thank all of the nominators, award directors, and region coordinators who submitted the nominations that made it very difficult for us to vote.  We had many worthy nominees.

Congratulations!

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IC2019: Flag Promotions

The following Flag Promotions were announced at IC2019, in descending order of rank, then surname.

- Lucy Franck was promoted to Admiral. - Michael Stein was promoted to Admiral. - Greg Mortensen was promoted to Vice Admiral. - Jari James was promoted to Lieutenant General, SFMC. - Thomas Clark was promoted to Major General, SFMC. - Melissa Comeau was promoted to Rear Admiral. - Caroline Signol was promoted to Rear Admiral. - Jessica Single was promoted to Rear Admiral. - James Eik was promoted to Fleet Captain. - Hartley Grimes was promoted to Fleet Captain. - Glenda Stephenson was promoted to Brigadier, SFMC.

Congratulations to all of our newly promoted flag officers!

If you’d like to nominate an eligible member for promotion to rank flag, please send your nomination form on our website.

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IC2019: The Failed Experiment of IDIC Con.

Before I launch into my tirade, I wanted to put some links together for you all with respect to the Periscope streams that I did for IC2019:

- IC2019 Opening Ceremonies: https://www.pscp.tv/SFIVCS/1djxXplDlMVxZ - IC2019 General Session: https://www.pscp.tv/SFIVCS/1OyKApVvYYNxb - IC2019 Meet the Candidates: https://www.pscp.tv/SFIVCS/1BdxYAygXpyxX - IC2019 Marine Muster: https://www.pscp.tv/SFIVCS/1LyxBAqwdjYJN - IC2019 Academy Panel: https://www.pscp.tv/SFIVCS/1OdKrvzgrVeKX - IC2019 Final Mission: https://www.pscp.tv/SFIVCS/1MnxnvpaOdLxO - IC2019 Closing Ceremonies: https://www.pscp.tv/SFIVCS/1BRJjvZvpggJw

I know it wasn’t as much coverage as IC2018 and for that I apologize.  I, along with Dan & Melissa Toole, Linda & David Kloempken, Lucy Franck, Theresa Bristow, Melissa Comeau, Jessie Single, Connie Franklin, Gru, David Goldsberry, and a few others (apologies to those I missed) were busy trying to ensure that the IC actually happened.  I streamed what I could for the members who couldn’t attend, and I chose the most relevant panels... but I could only be in one place and any given time.

Also, there were those who supported the IC from afar with logistical and technical support: Mary Kane, Tony Knopes, Linda Olson, Greg Mortensen. Btw, my profuse thanks to all those who attended or supported IC this year.  I only wish I had a few more weeks to market and get more people to come out.

Note that this will be the last time that I’ll be streaming IC from Periscope.  This, along with all the other social media accounts for the Office of the VCS will be turned over to either Theresa Bristow or Jim Herring, depending on who wins the election in November.  It is my sincere hope that they will both lean into social media at the same levels that I have.

Let’s dive into IC2019′s post-mortem, after the jump.

Positives out of IC2019 include:

- In times of crisis, STARFLEET really pulls together.  I’ve seen it time and time again in the past, but nothing quite reminds you strongly of the sense of family when the chips are down and you need help.  The most positive aspect of this year’s IC was that we inadvertently formed an all-star team of IC staff. - Within a few short weeks since taking over the event, we managed to sell 25 supporting memberships, 19 weekend memberships, and 6 Saturday memberships.  All told, the new website and registration system took in almost $3k to support IC2019. - The auction further raised another grand toward supporting the IC. - For the first time in IC history, STARFLEET was able to show licensed films with full studio permission (thanks to our friends at The Royal Manticoran Navy).  We showed Trek films, Babylon 5, and Avengers: Endgame! - Our Marketing & Branding Department kicked off the 45th Anniversary branding campaign (more on that in an upcoming post). - As with previous ICs, friends (old and new) discussed Star Trek fandom, plans for the next fiscal year within our organization, and came away filled with purpose.

So, in spite of it all... the fleet came together once more.

That’s great... but, what the hell happened?

Often times you’ll get a group of people together to try something new with the IC formula.  I think this comes from a sense of ego/pride; that they can try to do better than the previous... which isn’t a bad thing.  We should always look to improve on our concepts and adapt to the times.  STARFLEET is notoriously poor at embracing the new and recognizing obsolescence.

However, events like the International Conference are successful because attendees have a certain set of expectations.  We have core components of an IC that are now looked for every year:

- Workshops and Panels on topics of interest to members. - Meal-based events like the Marine Mess and the Admiralty Banquet - The Annual General Session, where we acknowledge our growth and listen to reports from the Executive Committee. - The meeting of the Admiralty Board and Executive Committee, to set the agenda for the coming year. - Opening & Closing Ceremonies.

In 2019, the formula seemed to be wrapping in the concept of a full-blown convention setting called IDIC Con.

Obviously, upon my early arrival, I set upon trying to find out what happened.  I spoke directly with members, hotel staff, and vendors.  The overall picture seems to be that the previous CS was sold on the idea of kick-starting a brand new “mini comic-con” on our dime.  Unfortunately, circumstances led to that being an outright failure and those involved stepped down, one by one, until the burden was too much for those remaining and the whole thing collapsed.

Roughly five weeks out from IC, Dan and I had no choice but to step up and take control of the rudderless ship and try to salvage what we could.  I personally feel that without Dan’s personal leadership, we would be in far worse shape than we were.  I can safely say that both of us lost a lot of sleep on this, in between working our full-time jobs and working phones and social media to turn things around.

In the course of setting this up, however, they booked nearly the entire ground floor of the hotel. Roughly 30k square feet of space was set aside for this event; far more space than was necessary.  At the actual IC, we did our best to utilize the space, but we gave up about 40% of the rooms.  And yes, that was money wasted as a result.

The measure of our success lays with those who attended.  So far, the positive feedback outweighed the negative.

Lessons Learned

And let’s be clear that what I’m about to say is common sense.  Hindsight being what it is, I’m sure that the adjustments we need to make are going to seem obvious.

- Improve Communication: IC teams/committees need to not be so passive with information.  IC2018 was a great example of a team that kept up their regular reports, gave us a sense of confidence that the event was progressing and coming together nicely.  I never once had a doubt about Minneapolis.  On the opposite end, the EC should be reaching out more often for information. - Update Bid Guidelines: We need to do a comprehensive review of the current bid guide.  This is already in progress, in discussion with some of the past successful IC chairs providing input on improvements. - Protect STARFLEET Financially: We’re looking into some legal and financial shields for STARFLEET, if this should ever happen again in spite of changes made.  Right now, some of those ideas are in the earliest stages of formation, so I’ll refrain from commenting too much.  But that leads me into the next point: - Improve Oversight: Many members came up to me and asked me about this, because it seems like this is a no-brainer.  We should use the above to refine and improve our oversight of the IC.  I feel that in updating the Bid Guidelines, we should cover this point as well.

Keep it Simple: Future administrations should be wary of any plans involving a brand new convention to be started alongside any IC.  As I said above, ICs have a particular core value to the membership in terms of it being an annual party to celebrate our organization and highlight all the positives STARFLEET has achieved in the previous twelve (or so) months.  Adding the stress of starting a new event on top of IC requires a lot more manpower than most IC committees have access to.  Thusly, you get encumbered by the demands of ambition and the result is something along the lines of the failed IDIC Con.  But, that failure is at the expense of the members’ dues.  In my opinion, that was an unacceptable risk.  The members are now paying for the pride and ego of IDIC Con’s concomm... and they all bailed out of the event with mere weeks to go before the first member touched down in St. Louis.

The final lesson is that we should also provide contingencies in case we have a full burnout of the IC team as we did this year.  Some kind of response team that has been keeping tabs and stands ready to step in and take over with little to no notice.  This response team should shadow their counterparts closely each step of the way, and perhaps also act as an alternate if/when it’s necessary to take on those duties when RL shifts attention away.

After having said all of the above, this begs an obvious question (that’s been asked already several times):

IC2020: But this is another convention, isn’t it?

Yes, it is.  But, I feel that BayCon has a longevity that IDIC Con never had.  Also, there’s a clear division of labor next year.  BayCon’s staff will be tending to the convention side, while the STARFLEET team shall be tending to the IC side of the programming and event schedule.  You won’t have to have the same group of people trying to manage an IC while at the same time trying to run a public convention.

Lastly, our buy-in will provide a salve to the hit being taken on by the General Fund this year.  We’re being provided facilities and programming at next-to-no cost to the organization.

Pick up your memberships now!  The $55 membership is only available until the end of August 2019: http://ic.sfi.org/2020reg

See you in San Francisco!

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We Are Our Own Worst Enemy

To begin, I wanted to talk about some of the frequent questions I get in conversations with members, and this one’s been a long-standing question.

“How do we grow STARFLEET?  Why is it that we can never seem to get new people involved in the organization?”

It’s a question that comes with a tough answer, and now that the Candidates for election have been named, I can finally speak publicly about matters without being accused of “campaigning” for the presidency.

Simply put, our biggest problem lies with us.  The culture we perpetuate and that we all contribute to.  We are our own worst enemy when it comes to growth and retaining that growth.

I’m a relatively new(ish) member of STARFLEET; I joined in 2008.  Eleven years might not seem like “new” but when compared to some of the older members with twenty or thirty years of membership, I’m a youngin’.

When I first joined, I stayed silent for a year in order to familiarize myself with the group.  I paid attention to mails, I listened to other members, I got involved with the Academy and took exams.  The next year, I was asked to be a chapter XO, and my interest in leadership roles grew from there.  As I gained more experience, I would start to submit ideas to evolve current systems.

My ideas were accepted as conversation-starters very warmly by the leadership.  The group conducted a positive discussion on how to implement those ideas and outlined a more practical execution within the current structure.  We had weeks of fruitful collaborations that resulted in a improved and scalable structure, and the organization benefited from the changes.

Oh, wait... no.  Absolutely none of the above paragraph actually happened.

In reality, I was unilaterally dismissed by the powers that be.  I was told that none of my ideas were good or that those ideas had been brought up before, tried, and ultimately failed.  And when I asked for more information on said failures (in order to learn from them), I was told that the discussion was closed.  In one instance, I was actually dropped from a group that shall remain nameless for trying to learn more about a particular problem that plagued the entire organization.

Time and time again, I see newer members trying to participate.  And by the way, I’m guilty of reacting similarly because it’s so easy to fall onto the path of least resistance.  I’m not immune to it, and when I recognize it, I try my best to combat it as best I can.

When I was sat as VCS by the Admiralty Board last year, I was in a position to implement changes that the organization required.  Some of those changes were in accordance with the law, some were to ensure we could sustain better growth annually.  I used my office to start conversations with the various leadership groups.  I began from a position of reason and logic that would have made a Vulcan proud... but in the end, I was literally told by people, “We don’t do it [that way] because we’ve always done it this way.”

Appeal to tradition arguments will always fail with me.  What was amazing about some of those discussions were the appeals to tradition seemed to place STARFLEET above the law.  In some of those discussions, the impetus was that we were violating copyright and trademark, and the push back was that we were too LAZY to bothered to make changes to our procedures.

I am not kidding.

After I recovered from my stupefaction, I decided that because reason and logic were being ignored, that I had to use my office’s responsibility to ensure change.

But even then, it was still an uphill battle.

Even today, right now, I get snarky comments, snide remarks, and sometimes outright insults for trying to bring STARFLEET kicking and screaming into the 21st century.  I get ridiculed for wanting to grow one of the departments in my office into a canonical team that has broad appeal all because of a vocal minority that wishes to remain stuck in the past.  I’m called a narcissist and a tyrant for putting an end to another department’s rampant violation of real-life military traditions for the sake of their own pleasure, even in the fact of said military’s lawyers keeping a close eye on us (and yes, it’s been confirmed twice by separate members that we’re on a watchlist).

As I’ve been entrusted with the long-term health of the organization, the words people use to describe me doesn’t matter to me at all.  I’ve been hired to do the job and I intend to see it through to the end.  I intend to hand off a better organization to the next admin so that they don’t have to worry about those problems in the future.

My question to you is this: If the Vice President of STARFLEET struggles against the unending tide and vitriolic reaction of certain members, what the hell chance does a brand new member have?  Is this the kind of organization that you would market to those mildly interested?

If we truly lament our growth problems, then we have to first take a hard look at what we’re doing as an organization.

As a region.

As a chapter.

In the course of this election, I feel everyone’s focused their attention in the wrong place.  It’s not the Fleet that is the most important part of this organization.  It’s the chapters.  People overall do not join STARFLEET to join the international group... they join STARFLEET because a chapter has members and activities that are appealing to them.  If your chapter is wonderful, then a new member’s going to say, “I really enjoy this group, and I want to see what I can do to make their membership a little better.”

Sometimes, that’s taking on a chapter leadership role.  Sometimes, that’s taking on a regional role.  And sometimes, that’s taking on fleet-level roles, too.  But, before someone feels empowered to do that, it’s incumbent upon all of us to understand that we should foster those new voices as much as possible... and not turn them away from the group by crapping on them when they have ideas.

If you want to grow, you need to first till the soil and supply that growth with the basic nutrients for success.  Tilling the soil means we need to seriously disturb the topsoil and shake it up violently.  It’s the most important part of planting new seeds, and that means we have to fundamentally change how we do business.  How we ensure a better culture of acceptance and listening over shouting down others.

Let’s talk about how we change, make that part of the election conversation.  It’s got to be one of the most important campaign topics to cover.

tl;dr: Either we change our culture or we run the risk of going extinct as an organization.

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The Next Commandant of the SFMC...

It is my privilege and honor as Vice-Commander to appoint the next Commandant of the SFMC.

Congratulations to General Les Rickard.

My thanks and appreciation to all applicants for the position. You made it an incredibly difficult decision to make, and I sincerely hope those candidates unsuccessful in this vacancy will continue to apply for roles of higher responsibility within the Corps.

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The Election Cycle Has Begun

Every three years within our organization, the membership gets together to cast their vote for the next two members who’ve tossed their hats into the ring to be the next President and Vice-President of STARFLEET (aka the CS/VCS).

This year, the election communications and campaigning are being handled by the election mailing list and the Facebook group.  If you haven’t joined either, yet, I encourage you to do so.  Any other methods of communicating are unofficial (such as Twitter, Tumblr, or Discord).

The first phase of the election is the nominations phase, where members wanting to make it to the general election ask for no less than five (5) nominations from Region Coordinators or Chapter Commanding Officers.  If you’re neither of these roles, you need to sit down with your Chapter CO and make sure your voice it heard. 

So far we have three members willing to step up.  The nomination phase closes on July 15th, so I’m curious to see if we’ll have any others announce their intention to run.

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Long Time No Update

Sorry for the lack of update, but things have been pretty busy around here!  I’ll be discussing a number of those topics on in the Business Only Facebook Group, so if you’re already a member, then just sign in and ask away!

Otherwise, you can use the AMA link here on Tumblr to ask me any questions you wish and I’ll answer them on the live feed!  The fun begins at 2pm PST / 5pm EST / 10pm GMT / 8am AEST

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Just spent some time getting to know some of the new Helpdesk CSRs!  If you’re not using the STARFLEET Helpdesk, you should be!  http://helpdesk.sfi.org

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If you are a member of the STARFLEET Members Only Facebook Group, please use this link to listen to the recording of my Ask Me Anything from earlier this evening!  We cover a lot of topics, but mostly discussing the issues facing some of the groups within my office.  I invite all members to listen, please!

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I just picked this up, and you should, too! 9 Kindle books for 9 bucks, all Star Trek TOS-era stories!

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This was an interesting read, although I thought that the turning point for DS9 really happened with the three-parter that led off the second season (”The Homecoming”, “The Circle”, and “The Siege”).  But that’s just this VCS’ opinion...

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Looking forward to seeing Karl Urban back as McCoy.  He had a few words about the upcoming film, and it looks like the Tarantino connection is still pretty strong for the next Trek film.

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io9 sums up why DS9 was my favorite of all the Treks.  Yes, even including Discovery, which I’ve been raving about.

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My friends over at Cryptic are continuing their series playing Modphius’ Star Trek Adventures aboard the USS Pathfinder!  Tune in tonight!