STARFLEET History (SFI) - Recently Updated Pages

A. Bradbury Administration

captshiloh — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:51:34 CST

The roots of STARFLEET can be traced back to the desire of one John Bradbury of Lufkin, TX to join a Star Trek fan club. Bradbury had contacted the Star Trek Welcommittee and found out that there were no fan clubs near him. So he and ten friends decided to start their own, and on October 5, 1974, Commander John Bradbury and Lieutenant Commander Jay Wallace launched the USS Enterprise in Lufkin, TX.

Like many current STARFLEET chapters, the crew of the Enterprise held parties and fundraisers and as word spread, the club grew. In less than five months they went from 11 members to 51, mostly in Lufkin, TX and surrounding communities. They published a simple newsletter every quarter called the Log of the USS Enterprise to keep members informed of Star Trek news, new members, and club events and status.

Crewmembers held a variety of positions aboard "ship" and new positions were created as needed and desired. Issue #3 of the Log of the USS Enterprise was published on April 4th, 1975. It noted that missing a meeting without a "good excuse" was grounds for disciplinary action and Commander Bradbury implored people to attend meetings, especially the May ones. Though Log #3 makes no mention of this, it is now obvious that Commander Bradbury was preparing to take the USS Enterprise "national" and he wanted folks there to witness the birth.

The club we now know as STARFLEET was born on May 6, 1975. Commander John Bradbury stepped down as Commanding Officer of the USS Enterprise and was named the new Chief of Staff of Starfleet Command with the rank of Commodore. Lieutenant Commander Jay Wallace moved up from the Executive Officer’s position to take command of the Enterprise and was promoted to Captain.

On May 6, 1975, STARFLEET was officially proclaimed by Captain Bradbury. On May 23, 1975, the first issue of the organization's newsletter (then called STARFLEET Communications) announced that "The USS Enterprise has been reorganized, effective Stardate 2538.0. (5/6/75) It will henceforth be known as STARFLEET, due to directives determined during reorganization." 1

Commodore Bradbury also announced that members of the Enterprise would hold the rank of Lieutenant or above if an Officer, and Ensign if just a crewman. Crewman could choose their own position, while Officers would be assigned theirs. Essentially, Officers were the first Department Heads and were expected to attend meetings and be hard workers.

For those members of the Enterprise who were out-of-town (and therefore ineligible to be Officers), Commodore Bradbury announced that they could form their own club provided they recruited a total of ten members for that club. The clubs would be defined along Texas county boundaries (our first "Regions") and the list of approved chapter names came from Franz Joseph’s Star Fleet Technical Manual.

An annual membership in the new STARFLEET was $3.00, which was $1.00 more than it had been to be a member of the Enterprise. You received six issues of Starfleet Communications (up from what would have been four with the Enterprise), a rank and position, and a membership packet. Essentially, what you still get today. When formed, STARFLEET had thirty-three members, nineteen of whom were officers, twelve crewmen, and two out-of-town members (who were now know as Starfleet Representatives).

It seems that the newsletter has been the bane of Starfleet since Day One. When Issue 2 of Starfleet Communications was published two months later, Commodore Bradbury noted that the newsletter had to be downsized due to excessive printing costs. STARFLEET also started their first serious recruiting drive, sending a "census" form to all of the fan clubs listed in the Star Trek Welcommittee. Starfleet Academy was defined in the fall of 1975, with people paying $3 to receive a series of course lectures in the mail. After studying the lecture at their leisure, they return it to the Academy and member was sent a test (no "open book" tests here!) to take along with the next lecture. Once a member completed a test, they received a commission (if a STARFLEET member as, unlike today, membership in STARFLEET was not required to attend the Academy) and a certificate of completion.

The Enterprise/STARFLEET celebrated their first anniversary on October 5, 1975. Issue #4 of Starfleet Communications welcomed two new chapters to STARFLEET; the USS Constitution under the command of Captain Judy Spencer, in Coppell, TX and the USS Constellation, base in Memphis, TN, under the command of Captain Mike Pettijohn. They would soon be joined by the USS Intrepid in West Palm Beach, FL and the USS Lexington in Malakoff, TX. With five chapters, Starfleet Command was renamed Starfleet Central and regions started to define states as well as counties. With the rise in chapters and members, so did correspondence to HQ and Starbases were created in areas with thirty or more members to help receive and answer these letters. By mid-1976, Starbases started to reflect their current duties – acting as the central administrative unit of a Region. Starbase One, under the command of Commodore Mark Bilbo, was formed to administer the central United States and Canada. Starbase Two administered the Western United States and Starbase 13 administered the Eastern United States.

STARFLEET that celebrated their second anniversary in 1976 was different from the one that celebrated it’s first. Admiral Bradbury noted that there were four hundred and two members across thirty-two states and provinces. These members comprised thirteen starships, including the USS Eagle (Logo right), which remains the longest-serving commissioned chapter in STARFLEET.

Responding to the excess of senior officers in the Fleet, Admiral Bradbury announced new rules for promotions, shifting from the former time-in-grade based promotion system to one based on merit. He also capped ranks for various units, including Lieutenant Commanders for planets (what shakedown ships are today) and Commander for starships (other than the CO). An official Department Head organizational chart was also published for chapters to follow.

Issue #10 of Starfleet Communications heralded both a change to a larger, more newszine format and a reduction in the publishing schedule from six issues to four per annum. With the Heavy Cruisers listed in the Technical Manual rapidly being taken by new chapters, a new listing of available names was posted. Also, "planets" were replaced with "outposts" to define proto-chapters (we now know them as "shuttles").

B. Longshaw Administration

captshiloh — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:48:48 CST

In the fall of 1977, Admiral Bradbury retired from active duty to enter college and was replaced by Admiral Adeline Longshaw. One of Admiral Bradbury’s last acts was to expand Starfleet Command through the creation of ten new staff positions, including Chief of Communications, Chief of Operations, Chief of Fleet Recruiting, and Chief of Personnel. It fell to Admiral Longshaw to help fill these positions when she took over from Admiral Bradbury. She also added some new positions, including Chief of Logistics.

Since it’s founding in 1975, the vast majority of STARFLEET’s members were under the age of 18. In an attempt to help these younger members get up to speed, the USS Columbia was created as the official Academy Training ship and all members under fourteen were assigned to it as Academy cadets. Once they showed they knew the ropes, they received their commission and joined the chapter of their choice. Membership dues also rose to $4 for new members, with renewals remaining $3.00.

As the concept of Regional Coordinators had yet to be formed, all chapter COs sent their reports to the Command Assistance Committee (CAC). The CAC also served a place for COs to get information and report problems. Commodore Brandt Heatherington replaced Admiral T’Ling (Donna Sutton) and Captain Pam Rhine as the head of CAC in December of 1978.

Membership continued to grow, with four hundred thirty-one members and eighteen starships by the end of 1978, including four Outposts that became full chapters: the USS Saratoga in Washington State (formerly Outpost Bethulia III), the USS Lexington (Outpost Lanceator) in Virginia, the USS Farragut (Outpost Dervish) in North Dakota, and the USS Monitor (Outpost Ophiucus) in Pennsylvania.

Starfleet Communications moved to a legal-sized format (since more information could be included at a lower cost) and continued to have dozens of articles on Star Trek (including information on Star Trek: The Motion Picture) and started to include graphics for the first time.

1979 was when STARFLEET really began to grow up as a fan club. A formal Organizational Chart was put into place reflecting actual military structure to allow the club to function more efficiently. Vice Admiral Heatherington has replaced Admiral Sutton as Chief of Personnel and published a list of important announcements concerning this new structure in Issue 13 of Starfleet Communications. Commodore John Wetsch expanded Starfleet Academy with new courses, which was continued under new Commandant Rear Admiral David C. Wilton. And Chief of Communications Vice Admiral Mike Lyons continued to enhance SFC.

At the high point of the Longshaw Administration, STARFLEET could boast 16 active starships and 35 planetary outposts (predecessor to the current Shakedown Operations Program), and a total number of 700 members by October of 1979.

The History of STARFLEET

captshiloh — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 07:50:07 CST

The History of

STARFLEET: The International Star Trek Fan Association, Inc.

The Original Website was the

2001 STARFLEET Information Site of the Year

Graphic Award courtesy of Rear Admiral Mike Wilkerson

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE
DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF THE FLEET HISTORIAN

To access a certain part of the History, please click on the appropriate Navigation Button to the left.

HOW CAN YOU HELP?

Yes - you can help, especially if you are a member of STARFLEET. Although the History of STARFLEET is an ongoing project we need help in expanding and correcting the current narrative as well as adding to the present history, which has yet to be written.

In the future it is the hope of the primary editor of this website that regional and chapter histories can be added! This is a major one part of the History Project that only YOU CAN DO!

1. Introduction

captshiloh — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 18:02:35 CST

Welcome to the Official STARFLEET History which gives to most comprehensive history of the fan association we know legally as STARFLEET: The International Star Trek Fan Association, Inc.

This website is an the official supplement of the Office of the Historian, STARFLEET and will present some of the information gleaned from the Brief History, which was available HERE and was published in Issue 100 of the STARFLEET Communique. This website also takes advantage of a PDF version written by Admiral Chris Wallace due to his efforts to get the history in a hard copy PDF edition of that History. I am very proud of our efforts in the Office of the Fleet Historian and thank my co-collaborators, Admiral Chris Wallace and General Scott Akers, formerly Director of the Office of the STARFLEET Historian, for their great encouragements and assistance in those efforts.

This edition of the on-line version is considered official and is endorsed by the current Office of the STARFLEET Historian, General Wade Hoover. Director. A majority of this edition is based upon the materials found on a disc marked as 'Self-contained Official SFI History 3.3', circa 2001, which was approved by the then STARFLEET Historian's Office. Other editions were produce (3.4, 3.4...) and will be used to update this material.

In 2002 I left the Historian's office because of personal issues needing to be attended by myself.At the beginning of 2007 the newly appointed Director asked me personally to join his staff in my former position, which I gladly accepted. I have always kept an full version of the site and this is what you see. However if any new information comes to the attention of the Office of the Fleet Historian, we will certainly verify and add it as warranted.

The Chapters on the John Bradbury-Michael Smith Administrations are complete as Version 3.3. It is my hope to complete the 1st Rickard and additional information as well as new sub-chapters will be incorporated. I will also be adding chapters on the Malotte, Livingston, the 2nd Rickard Administration and the current Lizard Administration at a later time. I also hope to add a section on the real life history of our affiliate organization, the STARFLEET Marine Corps, through the Office of the SFMC Historian, a position I currently fill.

Sit back and relax and learn more about the fan association called STARFLEET.

I am Honored to Serve

Vice Admiral Jeffery Higdon
Deputy Director, Office of the STARFLEET Historian
SFMC Historian

January 11, 2009

1. Captain Michael D. Smith, 12th Commander

captshiloh — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 15:03:23 CDT

Captain Michael D. Smith
January 3, 1997-December 31, 2000

Photo courtesy STARFLEET Archives

L. Mike Smith Administration

LGNHoover — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 11:16:02 CDT

The greatest challenge to STARFLEET was not the creation of any other organization but from within from their own leader. Daniel McGinnis had resigned as Commander, STARFLEET, leaving the organization in debt and wondering if it would be able to survive. However there were enough of a strong membership left who had faith in the system in place and in the leaders that were left behind to continue. The results of this would mark a new day for STARFLEET.

Attempts to hold the elections of for Commander, STARFLEET, were well underway, despite Captain McGinnis' disinterest and obstruction. Three candidates appeared, Captain John Maestu (husband of former Vice Commander, STARFLEET, Admiral Deborah Nelson-Maestu), Admiral Schaff and Fleet Captain Michael D. Smith. The voting was delayed because of Captain McGinnis' lack of cooperation before his resignation came into effect. Nevertheless due to efforts of the Chief of Communication, Rear Admiral Doug Glenn, the election was held and on January 3, 1996, Admiral Glenn announced that Michael D. Smith was elected the 10th Commander, STARFLEET.

The first step of the new Michael D. Smith Administration was to reverse the demotion of Captain Bill Herrmann and restore prior his rank of Fleet Captain as well as rescinding the order for being relieved of his command. Then Fleet Admiral Smith issued a statement of apology to Admirals Alan Ravitch and Janis Moore, symbolically rescinding the removal order, noting he could not restore them to their position, he could restore some dignity to them. This was not a pardon but a wiping clean of what was seen as un-just action by a corrupt leader.

Fleet Admiral Smith also declared that all forms of communications, in particular, electronic or e-mail communications could and would be considered an official way to communicate with STARFLEET, even though the old way, postal mail, was still acceptable. The McGinnis Administration declared electronic forms of communications, especially e-mail, unofficial and thus not to be used during his term of office.

The need for real reform was seen as necessary, so Fleet Admiral Smith appointed a new committee to fashion a new Constitution for STARFLEET. The committee actively sought out the help and advice of all STARFLEET members, keeping the membership updated periodically. Thus the REFORM of STARFLEET became a hallmark of the Fleet Admiral Michael D. Smith Administration.

This document would make the Commander, STARFLEET, more accountable to the membership, take the Executive Committee out of the Admiralty Board, as well as guaranteeing Chapter autonomy and Member's rights. The new Constitution was complete and voted on at the end of 1998. It was ratified by a wide margin and put in effect in January of 1999.

When the Smith Administration took office, they found hundreds of memberships from the McGinnis Administration that had never been processed, as well as hundreds more flowing in as people who had waited now filed their renewals. It would take almost six months for the Computer Operations staff to catch up with this backlog. But the money that was generated was crucial to keeping STARFLEET operations running during the first few months of 1997. A fiscal accounting showed STARFLEET some $5,000 in the red. In addition, an internal report from Vice Commander Chuck Freas showed that STARFLEET owed the IRS more than $6,000 in penalties and interest on the failure to file the Form 990s, $1000 in telephone bills by Admiral Nelson-Maestu, and $7,000 in unpaid printing bills for the STARFLEET Communiqué.

A novel way was done to not only raise much need capital. An Internet auction, organized and lead by the Region 3 Command Staff, injected hundreds of needed dollars which went to help pay this rather large debt. Later these monies were used to infuse the Scholarship funds.

With close to $18,000 in bills to be paid, STARFLEET had to institute drastic cost-cutting measures. The Communiqué went from 11x17" copy-bond paper to a 13x22" edition on newsprint. While much lower in paper-quality, it was vastly cheaper to print, allowing more of each membership fee to go to paying off debts. A full color front/back cover and center spread were also instituted to help make the CQ look better. Also, the Smith Administration formally embraced the Internet and electronic communications, removing the stigma attached to it by their predecessors. STARFLEET registered a domain name, www.sfi.org, and began setting up an Internet presence.

Reported in Communique 83, as well as supported in discussions with those close to Dan McGinnis, STARFLEET had a Certificate of Deposit that wasn't known about. This CD was held by a Missouri Bank, and STARFLEET presented them documentation to gain access to this CD. (ed note: based on my research, I have been unable to determine if this CD was ever turned over to STARFLEET. Research continues)

True fiscal freedom arrived for STARFLEET in 1998 when news came on the IRS front. Admiral Freas, Vice Commander, STARFLEET, as well as being a Tax Lawyer, negotiated with the IRS on behalf of STARFLEET. In the end, the IRS forgave STARFLEET all back taxes and penalties incurred. This included a sizeable refund of all penalties paid to the IRS. This enable STARFLEET to pay all outstanding debts as well as placing the organization back in the BLACK financially.

When Fleet Admiral Smith took office, he also stated that any former members and chapters that wished to rejoin STARFLEET might do so unfettered of possible retribution. In order to facilitate this, a new department was formed within the office of the Chief of Operations. The Existing Fan Club Program was instituted to allow those chapters that had withdrawn from STARFLEET to efficiently rejoin. It also allowed other existing fan clubs that had no attachment to STARFLEET previously to also have an avenue to join STARFLEET without going through the Shuttle Program. The 1st Director of the EFCP was Commander Dennis Rayburn, who had helped in the creation of the UFPI the year before.

Also in an effort to extend relations outside STARFLEET to other STAR TREK Fan organizations, the STARFLEET Diplomatic Corps (or affectionately known as the DiploCorps) was created under the Office of Communications, STARFLEET, with Captain Jeffery Higdon of the USS Shiloh as it's first Director (later serving as it's fourth and final Director). The mission was to foster cooperation and unity between the various association and organizations. The DiploCorps internal structure was greatly expanded by the second Director, Commander Christopher Esquibel. Also opportunities for the DiploCorps staff to expand their 'diplomatic knowledge' through educational opportunities were started by the third Director Captain Kyle J. Wolf.1

The 1997 International Conference was held in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, and the 1998 IC, held in Lubbock, Texas, were a celebration of Trekdom and STARFLEET. The Lubbock IC was capped off with the surprise attendance of Fleet Admiral John Bradbury, the 1st Commander, STARFLEET. STARFLEET had truly come full circle with Bradbury’s presence at IC98.

When it came time for the 1998 election, there were a couple of dozen nominees that had received nominations, but only one person obtained the necessary 5 nominations in order to qualify as a candidate for Commander, STARFLEET - Fleet Admiral Michael D. Smith. The election became a Vote of Confidence on the current administration and the vote validated the reforms that the Smith Administration has made.

STARFLEET celebrated its greatest moment as the 1999 International Conference in Charlotte, North Carolina, was held. STARFLEET celebrated its 25th Anniversary in 1999 and patted itself on the back. The organization had come from almost near collapse to say it was again at the fore front of fan-based Star Trek Fandom. It was, to that point, the most attended International Conference ever. A very special guest attended IC99 in the form of Chase Masterson, who played Leeta, the Dabo Girl and wife of the Ferengi, Rom, on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

The 2000 International Conference was held in Burlington, Vermont during the weekend of July 28-30, with the 2001 International Conference returning to Kansas City, Missouri, and for the only the second time since National/International Conferences have been staged, in the year 2002 IC, will be held in San Jose, California.

The year 2000 (also affectionately known as Y2K) started off with the resignation of the Vice Commander, STARFLEET, Admiral Chuck Freas. Freas cited needing more time with family and ever-growing personal and profession commitments. Fleet Admiral Smith then named Admiral Freas as a Special Advisor to the CS. He then appointed Admiral Gordon Goldberg, who was serving as Chief of Communications to fill the unexpired term of the Vice Commander. Long time assistant Admiral Allyson Dyar took up Goldberg's old spot of Chief of Communications.

When Fleet Admiral Michael D. Smith Stepped down as Commander, Starfleet, at Midnight, December 31, 2000, his successor was handed the reins of a big, better and more stable STARFLEET. Fleet Admiral Smith would be the first to tell anyone that it was a team effort, not only from his own outstanding staff but from each member of the organization. But his leadership through the rough waters caused by his predecessor held together and made STARFLEET stronger.

1. SFMC Historian

captshiloh — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 15:59:09 CDT

STARFLEET Marine Corps Historian

Lieutenant General Jeffery 'Hawk' Higdon, SFMCR

N. Malotte Administration

sberenberg — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 18:35:26 CDT

Due to family and personal obligations, Fleet Admiral Les Rickard announced his intention not to run for a second term. His term, although marked with it’s share of problems, ended as it began, with a satisfaction that the goals of STARFLEET would continue.

On January 1st, 2003, Rickard's successor, SFMC General Michael Malotte took the oath of office, and like Rickard, assumed the position of Commander, STARFLEET, and with it, the rank of Fleet Admiral. The twelfth in the line that started with Fleet Admiral John Bradbury, Malotte took his oath and responsibility very seriously. This was shown by the people whom was chosen to fill the key positions within the fleet heirachy.

Malotte's Executive committee includes some old faces and new bodies, one which made history within the fleet. SFMC Colonel Joost Ueffing of Canning, Nova Scotia, Canada, was named the first International member to serve on the Executive Committee as Chief of Operations. Ueffing, who had served Trek Fandom as the Chair of the International Fandom Council in 1997, helped in the creation of the USS Magellan, the first chapter in the newly re-established Region 14 and served as it's Vice Regional Coordinator until his assention as Chief of Operation. He also served as Commander of FORCECOM on the SFMC General Staff.

Other members of the Malotte Administration included the new Vice Commander, STARFLEET, former Chief of Computer Operations, STARFLEET, Rear Admiral Mark Anbinder; Vice Admiral Greg Trotter, who continued as the Chief of Communications from the Rickard Administration; STARFLEET Historian, General Scott Akers taking the reigns of STARFLEET Academy ; Commodore Jerry Tien becoming the new Chief of Shuttle Operations after serving as the Vice Chief; Commodore Tammy Wilcox as the newly established Chief Financial Officer; and Brigadier Sandy Berenberg moving up from Vice Chief in charge of Membership Processing to Chief of Computer Operations.

In October 2002 the new online database went live. Fleet Captain Berenberg rolled out the database in three phases. The first in October was for senior staff only to test the database and add membership information like academy course completions, ranks, and other data. The second phase gave access to the Chapter CO's and XO's to the online database. The final phase of the roll out took place in early 2003, allowing all members access to the database. The database allowed all members to access their personal information, renew online, sign up new members and see current fleet strength. Chapter CO's could submit MSRs from within the database, and Operations Staff could manually add them for the rest of the chapters. The database was permissions driven so different staff had different tools they could use. Later in 2003, the current CQ was added so that all members could view the new CQ after it was published. The Online Database also allowed for Membership Processing to be performed in multiple locations and thus divide up the work from one person to many. The database was originally located at www.thedaystrominstitute.org and then renamed http://database.sfi.org and is currently at http://db.sfi.org. Dino Gravato was the primary engineer and creator of the database. Later Robin Smith joined the team and eventually took over the database maintenance. In November 2003, Sanford Berenberg stepped down as Chief of Computer Operations due to personal issues.

Also the official STARFLEET Website, at http://www.sfi.org, also changed dramatically. SFI Webmaster Commodore Mike Wilkerson, a hold-over from the Rickard Administration, introduced the new STARFLEET Web-presence on January 15th, 2003, which allowed the General Membership to have the ability to 'log-on' to member-only features of the new website. Although some member asked what was this website, it met with the general approval of those members who accessed it for their information on STARFLEET.

Academy Commandant Scott Akers announced that the annual STARFLEET Academy Director of the Year award had been renamed the Marlene Miller Award. This was done to honor the out-going Academy Commandant's 20-plus years of continuous serve to the academy. Akers also announce that she will continue to serve the academy as the Director of the Officer's Command College.

On the morning of February 1st, 2003, tragedy struck the world yet again as the Space Shuttle Columbia returned from it's 16 day mission. High over Texas, Columbia, with it five men, two women crew, a fatal mishap caused it to break up. This hit hard for the American people as it came within a week where NASA observed the anniversary of two other space tragedies - the 36th Anniversary of the Apollo 1 fire, which took the lives of Astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee, and the Challenger Disaster, which happened 17 years prior on January 26, 1986, which took the lives of seven brave souls, including the first 'teacher in space', Christa McAuliffe.

As STARFLEET and it's members supported the space program through various projects and special community projects, the membership felt particular sorrow over the loss of the oldest shuttle of the fleet. Condolences and tributes poured from the various chapters and members on the various listservs. Various displays of sorrow were performed, including placing a black ribbon over the communicator badges as a sign of mourning, as well as the performing an on-line memorial services on the IRC, such as the one conducted jointly by the STARFLEET FPD Chaplain/Counselors and Moral Departments, on February 5, 2003. Web guru Mike Wilkerson made a very large contribution by making available banners and buttons which could be displayed on chapter websites as a sign of support and mourning for the Columbia crew.

On April 20, 2003, the membership received word of the passing of Rear Admiral Alan Ravitch after a long illness the day before. Ravitch, the founding Region 15 Coordinator and longtime supporter of fandom, had been in the fore front in the opposition of former Commander, STARFLEET, Captain Dan McGinnis, and had paid the price by being removed from his position as Region Coordinator. Although his removal was symbolically rescinded later by Fleet Admiral Michael D. Smith, his vigor and resiliency has always been remembered.

A memorial service was held on the STARFLEET Chaplain & Counselor IRC Channel on April 21, led by Chaplain/Counselors FDP Chief Dennis Rayburn and Colonel Adam Bernay. Many members of the association were moved by Admiral Ravitch's death and showed it through posts of remembrance a tribute in honor of the Admiral over the STARFLEET Listserv.

M. Rickard Administration (1)

sberenberg — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 19:01:16 CDT

As with Fleet Admiral Maddox, Fleet Admiral Smith completed his two terms and prepared to step aside. Lieutenant General Les Rickard, Jr., the Chief of Operations, announced his candidacy with a slate that included Mike Smith’s VCS (Gordon Goldberg), Computer Operations Chief (Mark H. Anbinder), and Academy Commandant (Marlene Miller) as well as Region 3 Chief of Staff Mark Vinson to take Operations, Alex Rosenzweig as Shuttle Operations Director, and Mike Mallotte as Chief of Communications. Opposing him was Vice Admiral Robert Westfall, Fleet Admiral Smith’s first Inspector General, Region 3 member Sam Black as VCS, former Lerman Chief of Operations J.D. Knight in the same role, former Lerman VCS Dwain Gleason as the Chief of Communications, R12 member Sandy Berenberg as Computer Operations, Sherry Anne-Newell as Commandant of the Academy, and R7 member Mark Handford as Shuttle Operations Director. Gary Donner, husband of Region One Coordinator Carolyn Donner also received sufficient nominations to run, but withdrew his candidacy.

With the ballots received by November 15th, the results of the election, announced on November 17th by Admiral Dyar, revealed that General Rickard was to become the 11th Commander, STARFLEET, assuming the rank of Fleet Admiral, on January 1st, 2001.

As the Smith Administration had done the past four years, the Rickard Administration started by reforming financial procedures. A special Finance Committee was created consisting of the Executive Committee, STARFLEET Treasurer Fleet Captain Tammy Wilcox, Internal Auditor-designate Commodore Howard Cronson, and Special Advisor to the President Admiral Chris Wallace. This team, after securing the transfer of funds from the Smith Administration, then proceeded to set-up the necessary accounts and a financial review and approval process to ensure that proper reporting procedures were followed and that a two-signature disbursement process were in placed.

As the Smith Administration had done the past four years, the Rickard Administration started by reforming financial procedures. A special Finance Committee was created consisting of the Executive Committee, STARFLEET Treasurer Fleet Captain Tammy Wilcox, Internal Auditor-designate Commodore Howard Cronson, and Special Advisor to the President Admiral Chris Wallace. This team, after securing the transfer of funds from the Smith Administration, then proceeded to set-up the necessary accounts and a financial review and approval process to ensure that proper reporting procedures were followed and that a two-signature disbursement process were in placed.

STARFLEET Membership Processing underwent a major transformation starting under the Directorship of Captain Don Willits and completed by Sanford Berenberg after Don stepped down in September 2001. The STARFLEET Member Database was moved from Access 97 to SQL Server 2000, which allowed better security, scalability, and robustness. The database, which went live in October 2002, was built by Captain Dino Gravato in PHP/MySQL. In addition, the already high-quality membership packets were enhanced with the inclusion of a full-color membership certificate and laminated membership card. Membership processing turnaround times dropped from the average 6-8 weeks to 2-3 weeks under Willits' and Berenberg.

The STARFLEET Communiqué kept most of the people who had made it so good the final year of the Smith Administration, so the excellent quality they had set was maintained.

On January 25, 2001, Fleet Admiral Rickard delivered his "State of the STARFLEET" Address to the membership. In it, he outlined the goals of his Administration for the next two years, as well as a full financial report as of January 2001.

The 2001 STARFLEET International Conference, also known as IC2001, was held July 27th-29th, 2001 at the Kansas City Airport Marriott to a crowd of nearly 500 fleet members. The 2001 SFMC International Muster occurred during IC2001 on the afternoon of July 28th. Several events included the General Session held on Saturday morning which announced that Admiral Alyson Dyar had been awarded the annual lifetime membership for her outstanding participation in STARFLEET and Admiral Peg Pellerin, long-time Director of the Officer Training School, was granted a three year honorary membership for her activities within the fleet. The 2001 Web Awards were highlighted by the announcement that this Website, the Official STARFLEET Website, or actually it's URL (http://www.interplanetary.net/blackhawk/SFIHistory/) under the guise of the STARFLEET Historian Website name (a mistake as the Historian's site and this site are two distinctly different websites1), had been named Information Website of the Year. The USS Stormbringer was named Chapter of the Year and the Fun Website of the Year.

In October, Admiral Gordon Goldberg shocked the members of STARFLEET by announcing his resignation from the position of Vice Commander, STARFLEET, citing personal and professional reasons. Universally praised during his tenures as Chief of Communications and Vice Commander, STARFLEET, the later under both Fleet Admirals Michael Smith and Les Rickard, Goldberg had been a fixture in STARFLEET since the days when he established the first true STARFLEET Listserv during the McGinnis Administration.

Immediately Fleet Admiral Rickard named Chief of Communications, Lieutenant General Michael Mallotte as the new Vice Commander, STARFLEET, and named, as Mallotte's successor in Communications, Rear Admiral Greg Trotter, who wore many hats within the Communications Department (both official and unofficial for many years).

Mallotte set to work immediately to fix an underused portion of STARFLEET under the authority of the Vice Commander's office - the Fleet Division Chiefs Department. The FDC was established on the lines of the RDC (Regional Division Chiefs, which not all regions had). Their main mission was to offer information and help in the various divisions (Communications, Sciences, Engineering, etc...). He named SFMC Colonel Matthew Copple as the new Director for the FDC and eliminated several redundant FDCs, including Operations and Shuttle Operations.

Also the STARFLEET Marine Corps were moved from the direct supervision of the Commander, STARFLEET, to the Vice Commander.

STARFLEET members were shocked and saddened by the events of September 11th, 2001. The STARFLEET Communiqué Issue 107 featured stories from several members, including an article by Captain Rahadyan 'Tim' Sastrowardoyo, Region 7 Historian, and Vice Admiral Robert Vosseller, Jr., which included eye-witness reports and on the scene photos of the tragedy. Other articles included a call for support by Operation EAGLE Director Commodore 'Wild' Bill Herrmann, reflection on the impact of the tragedy by Brigadier Dennis Rayburn, Chaplain of the STARFLEET Marine Corps & Fleet Division Chief of the Counselor/Chaplain Corps, and a personal account by Lieutenant, j.g. Geraldine Sylvester on her attempts to contact family, friends and fellow 'fleeters. There we other articles on the tragedy as well as portions of regular features that reflected on that day's events.

As 2002 welcome an advance state of alert for Americans and the world in general, STARFLEET continued as a major force in Star Trek Fandom. At about this time information began to curculate on a proposed amendment to the STARFLEET Constitution that would call for an addition to the Executive Committee, to be called the 'Chief Financial Officer'. This position would be held by the STARFLEET Treasurer, now a part of the Commander, STARFLEET's office, and would coordinate all financial duties within this new department. This proposed amendment will be voted on by the membership during the next election for Commander, STARFLEET.

In her research into the history of the STARFLEET Marine Corps, SFMC Historian Major General Jill Rayburn found that 2002 marks the 20th Anniversary of the creation of the SFMC on board the USS Pontiac.

With the upcoming elections only months away, the first phase of the process got under way on June 1st, 2002 with the nomination phase. Before the process began and citing the decision of the constitutionally designated Election Coordinator, Chief of Communications, Rear Admiral Greg Trotter, joined one of the potential nominee's team and asked to be excused from his constitutional duty as Election Coordinator. Because of this Fleet Admiral Rickard, after consulting the Executive Committee, appointed STARFLEET Inspector General, Major General Robb Jackson, as the Election Coordinator.

From June 1st until July 15th potential nominees could start to campaign for nominations from Chapter (but not Shuttle COs) Commanders and Regional Coordinators. Five nominations from various COs and RCs are need for one to be placed on the ballot.

Earlier in the year, Fleet Admiral Rickard had announced his decision not to run for a second term.

Two 'teams' of nominees revealed themselves on June 1st, 2002. On July 15th, General Jackson announced that both Lieutenant General Michael Malotte and Fleet Captain Martin Lessem had received the required number of nominations to make them candidates for the office of Commander, STARFLEET. However during the 2002 International Conference in San Jose, California, at the meet the CS Candidates forum, Captain Lessem formally withdrew his candidacy. With this, General Michael Malotte will undergo a 'Vote of Confidence', similar to the one that Fleet Admiral Smith underwent during his election for a send term. This will be a first in the annuals of STARFLEET as General Mallotte, who is not the incumbent Commander, STARFLEET, will under go the 'Vote of Confidence'.

A scare happened to the members of STARFLEET when Fleet Admiral Rickard was admitted to a hospital with chest pains. Luckily the health problem was not serious and rest was recommended. However as a precaution, Rickard transferred the responsibilities of his office over to the Vice Commander, STARFLEET, General Malotte, until the start of IC2002 at the end of July in San Jose. Luckily for STARFLEET, Fleet Admiral Rickard appeared at the 2002 International Conference with a robust zest.

Besides the announcement by Captain Lessem of his withdrawal as a candidate for Commander, STARFLEET, it was announced the the 2004 IC was awarded the Birmingham, Alabama. The major award went to the USS Maat as the Ship of the Year, Rear Admiral Wendy Fillmore as Officer of the Year and Colonel John Roberts as Member of the Year. Also it was announced that Admiral Chuck Freas was awarded with the honorary lifetime membership. Commodore Tammy Wilcox has been announce as being granted the three-year honorary membership at the Region 1 conference earlier in the year.

Another first happened during the 2002 IC when the General Session was webcast over the internet. Members not in attendance could watch as the traditional roll call of chapters by each Regional Coordinator took place and those who were there responded. They could also listen to reports by the Executive Committee as well as watch the announcements of awards and promotions granted during the IC.

Besides the election of a new Commander, STARFLEET, there were several scheduled 'Vote of Confidences' of Regional Coordinator, as well as one that was not scheduled. This unscheduled one, in Region Twelve, was note worthy as it was only the second unscheduled Vote of Confidence ever staged by STARFLEET and the first under the 1999 Constitution. And because of confusion the Vote of Confidence was suspended when a member of the region objected to the fact that not all the constitutional articles were not followed (the spirit of the law vs. the letter of the law, according to the STARFLEET IG). Eventually, after a month suspension, it was decided that election was to be continued with the results revealed in late November.

Meanwhile the 'Vote of Confidence' on the newly promoted General Malotte was staged, along with votes on two proposed amendments to the Constitution. The amendments include the creation of a Executive Committee-level office to handle the finances of the fleet. The other concerned the length of the term of office for the Commander, STARFLEET. The length of the term of office, if passed, would change from a two year term to a three year term, allowing that no Commander, STARFLEET, could serve more than five consecutive years or six years non-consecutive years.

On November 15, Lieutenant General Robb Jackson, Inspector General, STARFLEET and the designated Election Coordinator, announced that General Malotte had passed his Vote of Confidence and that each of the proposed amendments had also passed. The vote on General Malotte was 1013 for confidence and 137 against. In anticipation of the successful passing of the second amendment, General Malotte had announced, as part of his slate, that Commodore Tammy Wilcox, the then Treasurer of STARFLEET, had accepted the position of Chief Financial Officer.

3. Brief History of STARFLEET

hqfedlegion — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 20:50:22 CST

A Brief History of

STARFLEET: The International Star Trek Fan Association, Inc.

By Fleet Captain Jeffery Higdon

SPECIAL NOTE: The Brief History of STARFLEET was originally written as the first step in the association's history. It was then printed as part of the 100th Issue of the STARFLEET Communique. It had been updated at least once before the history was expanded thanks to Admiral Chris Wallace's expansion. This version will not be changed despite other information gleaned. That information will be incorporated into the expanded version of the history.

The roots of STARFLEET begin in 1973 when John Bradbury and a group of Texas Star Trek fans formed the USS Enterprise. A dilemma came when other groups wanted for their own groups based on their chapter. The command staff of the Enterprise subsequently decided that allowing other vessels was the solution to their problem of wide spread expansion of members.

On May 23, 1974, the first issue of the organization's newsletter (then called STARFLEET Communications) announced that "The USS Enterprise has been reorganized, effective Stardate 2538.0. It will henceforth be known as STARFLEET, due to directives determined during reorganization."
The first chapter of STARFLEET was commissioned as the USS Enterprise under the command of Captain Jay Wallace in Lufkin, Texas, which also became the location of STARFLEET Headquarters. Two more chapters were quickly commissioned - the USS Constellation in Memphis, TN, and the USS Constitution in Coppel, TX. By the end of 1975, there were 14 chapters across the country.
In the fall of 1977, Fleet Admiral Bradbury retired from active duty and was replaced by Fleet Admiral Adeline Longshaw. During the Longshaw Administration, STARFLEET's organizational structure began to solidify with a large number of new Fleet Divisions developed.
It was also during this period that both STARFLEET's Command level newsletter (today's Command Status Report) and the STARFLEET Academy were developed. While serving as the Command Assistance Coordinator, Admiral Brandt Heatherington produced a monthly publication for all Command level officers which evolved into the current Fleet Status Report.
Unfortunately Fleet Admiral Longshaw stepped down as the Commanding Admiral of STARFLEET due to serious hospitalizing illnesses in her family. Admiral Heatherington became STARFLEET's first interim Commander, STARFLEET. A few short months, Admiral John Wetsch became the 3rd Commander, STARFLEET.
The Wetsch administration improved further on the organizational structure of STARFLEET. The STARFLEET Officer's Handbook was greatly improved and a previous backlog in distributing membership packets was addressed. Also in August 1981, the IRS granted STARFLEET the official designation as a 'Non Profit Organization'.
It was during this period of time that a failure of communication between staff members, membership and Fleet Admiral Wetsch took place. Correspondences were not being responded to, as well as membership applications and renewals were not being filled. The 'problem' grew worse when the fabled 'Star Trek Welcommittee' blacklisted STARFLEET. The problems came to head as Admiral Heatherington was relieve of his position as Chief of Personnel and replaced with the Vice Chief of Personnel Vice Admiral Eric Stillwell.
Stillwell then began a personal crusade to also further improve STARFLEET under a program called Mandate for Change. Early in his Mandate, Admiral Stillwell praised Fleet Admiral Wetsch for his accomplishments, but it soon became a political power struggle between Admiral Stillwell and his views on what direction the organization should take, and Fleet Admiral Wetsch's vision of STARFLEET.
An important element in this power struggle was the 'STARFLEET Communiqué', which had become the Fleet's quarterly newsletter. In 1981, due to delays in publication of the 'Communiqué', Admiral Stillwell began publication of his own supplemental STARFLEET newsletter, which became the regular STARFLEET magazine. It was long believed that that while Admiral Stillwell was serving as Vice Chief of Personnel, that he was also serving as the Chief of Communications under the pseudonym of 'VADM T. Wxyn'. However documents recently discovered revealed evidence that VADM T. Wxyn was in fact Vice Admiral Anthony Wynn, the Chief of Communications at the time in question. Both men shared the same address at the time.
A blow came to the Wetsch Administration with the resignation of Vice Chief of Staff, Admiral John Lunt. Then the power struggle ended in Admiral Stillwell's favor with the resignation of Fleet Admiral Wetsch in September, 1981. Thus, Eric Stillwell became the 4th Commander, STARFLEET.
Fleet Admiral Stillwell began by restructuring the command staff, beginning by having the name of the President of STARFLEET, up until that time called 'Chief of Staff'', changed to the Commanding Admiral, which was later changed to Commander, STARFLEET. Also the name of the organization, which had varied between Starfleet Command, Starfleet Headquarters, Starfleet Central or just plain Starfleet, was officially made STARFLEET. Also after a few correspondence with the leadership of the Star Trek Welcommittee, Fleet Admiral Stillwell was able to have a 'new' STARFLEET officially recognized and removed from the blacklist.
In the summer of 1982, a major crisis developed. At one time, STARFLEET had its own product distribution office, where several items of Star Trek nature were sold to members to raise sorely needed funds. Paramount Pictures contacted STARFLEET, concerning the possible violation of the copyrights and patents held by Paramount by selling unlicensed items and for using the calligraphic font in the name title of the organization. The situation was finally resolved after the legal department of Paramount discovered that STARFLEET was indeed a fan club and offered no unfair competition to Paramount and/or any of its licensees. Paramount's solution to their legal dilemma of being required by law to defend their copyrights was simply to ignore a group that was giving them hundreds of thousands of dollars of free publicity. They had no need to protect a copyright from a group they pretended did not exist. Since Paramount was then beginning to try to work with Fandom through their official fan club, they instead chose to support and enlist the aid of the many fans in STARFLEET.
Unfortunately, toward the end of the Stillwell Administration, the high cost of producing quality membership packets and an international newsletter, coupled with continual turnover of key fleet personnel, affected HQ efficiency and many members and chapters began leaving STARFLEET. However, most damaging was a new organization, 'Trek International", that was started and run by several members of Fleet Admiral Stillwell's own Executive Committee, which tried to undermine STARFLEET through the recruitment of Fleet's own members and chapters. Thus, Fleet Admiral Stillwell subsequently resigned on January 2, 1984 and went on to become a Production Assistant within the Star Trek Franchise.
Two candidates emerged from the subsequent election process for a new Commander, STARFLEET, Captain Fran Booth was the winner. Captain Booth became the Fleet Admiral and 5th Commander, STARFLEET, on March 27, 1984. She took command of a much-depleted STARFLEET. Over the previous two years, membership had dropped from nearly 4,000 to 1,000 and chapters had decreased from close to 200 to fewer than 30.
The Booth Administration began immediately to rebuild the Fleet, almost from scratch. Inexpensive membership materials were developed. Captain Steven Smith was appointed the new Chief of Communications and quickly brought the Communications Department back on-line. Within a month information to STARFLEET members was back with the production of an informative but inexpensive Communiqué.
Admiral Brian Ackermann reopened STARFLEET Academy, which had been closed under Fleet Admiral Stillwell. Admiral Ackermann is credited with developing STARFLEET Academy into what it is known as today. The STARFLEET Shuttlecraft Program was developed to both recruit new members and chapters and to train their leaders in how to run successful chapters. But the toll of rebuilding the Fleet weighed heavily on Fleet Admiral Booth and at the end of her two-year term she announced her intention not to run for reelection.
Again, two candidates emerged: Admiral Steven Smith and Vice Commander, STARFLEET, Admiral Mary Helm. Apparently, Admiral Helm chose mainly to run so those STARFLEET members would a choice in who to vote for. Even before the ballots were distributed, it became clear from the nominations received from the Admiralty Board and Starship Commanders who STARFLEET favored for nearly 100% nominated Admiral Smith. Shortly thereafter, Admiral Helm threw her support behind Admiral Smith and, by concession, Steven Smith became the 6th Commander, STARFLEET, on December 28, 1986.
The Steve Smith Administration saw another explosion in the size and scope of STARFLEET. The Academy continued to grow and the pocket-sized Communiqué went COLOR. However this led to many problems according to the reports of the time. The costs of publishing the Communiqué became outrageously expensive and other aspects of Fleet-based services began to slow down.
Because of this and other problems facing the organization, Region 1 Vice Regional Coordinator, Commodore Jeannette Maddox decided to run for Commander, STARFLEET. After a relatively mild campaign, Commodore Maddox succeeded and became the 7th Commander, STARFLEET, in January 1989.
Another point to the 1988 election is that Maddox was elected unopposed. Fleet Admiral Steve Smith, who was a candidate, withdrew from the election citing the promise of a new job. However the job fell through and Smith tried get back into the race. It was decided that once a candidate withdraws from the race for Commander, STARFLEET, he or she cannot enter the race again. This item was later incorporated in to the STARFLEET Constitution.
The Maddox Administration can be credited for bringing STARFLEET out of our parents' basements and into mainstream of respectability. To stabilize the finances, STARFLEET went back to black and white Communiqués. Once STARFLEET could afford it, the organization went to a larger, colored, magazine format to bring more information to the membership. The Scholarship program got off the ground, and almost every other month it seems another scholarship was added. During Fleet Admiral Maddox's first term as Commander, STARFLEET was once again was in the black, membership was growing, and the Shuttle Program started under Fleet Admiral Steve Smith was fine-tuned as a useful tool to expand the organization.
Another highlight was the authorization of the Starfleet Marine Corps as a recognized appending body of STARFLEET. In addition both Shuttle Operations Command, and Computer Operations became Executive Committee level positions. All in all Fleet Admiral Maddox went into the election for her second term riding high and STARFLEET was right there with her.
Fleet Admiral Maddox second term was just as successful as the first. She was able to convince fleet to raise the dues from 10 to 15 dollars a year. And she also was able to begin the process to incorporate STARFLEET as a Not For Profit organization (this was different from the IRS designation in 1981). However this in itself led to some controversy: the incorporation. This was done secretly and without membership input or consent.
STARFLEET Academy continued to provide new courses, more and more chapters came on line, and the Communiqué came out on a regular and timely manner every other month. The biggest accomplishment Fleet Admiral Maddox achieved though was continuity. Though Executive Committee members would come and go, the Maddox Administration endured. For four FULL years Fleet Admiral Maddox served the fleet and was able to hand over the reigns of a sound STARFLEET.
The next election thought was less than amiable. An assortment of controversy occurred when the nominee hand-chosen by Fleet Admiral Maddox, Vice Admiral Daniel McGinnis, the Region 12 Coordinator, began to receive some bad publicity about alleged mishandling of regional finances. While the charges were discounted, Admiral McGinnis lost the election. However the election returns were immediately challenged on the grounds the Election Coordinator, Fleet Admiral Maddox, may have been biased as she was on one of the opposing teams. However since she was on one of the losing teams, this appeal was disallowed and Admiral Rob Lerman became the 8th Fleet Admiral and Commander, STARFLEET, in January 1993.
At this point the secret incorporation of STARFLEET was revealed and also the fact that while the Maddox Administration had danced through the government hoops to achieve Incorporation as a Not-For-Profit organization, she neglected to file the necessary tax returns. This opened up STARFLEET to massive tax penalties; penalties that Fleet Admiral Lerman and his legal advisor, Captain Gary Decker, spent the next two years battling; in order to keep STARFLEET from being pulled under by its very own attempt to reach out and help people. These tax penalties, along with others caused by the McGinnis Administration, were only worked out with the IRS near the end of 1998.
The Lerman Administration , according to some members of STARFLEET, was not particularly imposing years for STARFLEET. Political infighting between the regions was The Communiqué once again began to fall behind schedule, while most of headquarters attention was on resolving the IRS issues dealing with the incorporation. STARFLEET Academy continued to grow, and Regional Summits became popular, allowing STARFLEET members even more reasons to get together and socialize.
The next election was to be even more contentious then the last. Admiral McGinnis was again running for the position of Commander, STARFLEET. With a new slate of backers, Fleet Admiral Lerman ran for reelection, and Rear Admiral Janis Moore entered the fray. This time Admiral McGinnis would win the plurality of votes, thus being elected the 9th Commander, STARFLEET. However the outgoing Executive Committee refused to seat him due to the continuing financial scandal, taking the unprecedented step of revoking his membership. The Executive Committee did however swear in the Vice Commander-Elect, STARFLEET - Admiral Deborah Nelson.
Nelson's first act as interim Commander, STARFLEET, was to restore Admiral McGinnis to STARFLEET. Then Nelson named him her Vice Commander, then resigned as Commander, STARFLEET. Consequently in the end and in less then a day after his dismissal from STARFLEET, Dan McGinnis became Fleet Admiral and the Commander, STARFLEET. Fleet Admiral McGinnis then appointed Admiral Nelson Vice Commander, STARFLEET.
Strife and disagreement hallmarks the Administration of Fleet Admiral Dan McGinnis. The 'Questar Debacle', which actually broke a few months into his administration, haunted Fleet Admiral McGinnis throughout his tenure. This arose from Admiral McGinnis' alleged failure to pay Star Trek: The Next Generation Star Wil 'Wesley Crusher' Wheaton for appearing at conventions hosted by Questar, a company owned by Fleet Admiral McGinnis. Although some STARFLEET members tried to work with the new administration while others were less cooperative and more vocal.
There were several members who throughout the first few months of 1995 called for Fleet Admiral McGinnis to resign. The most vocal of these members were former McGinnis Vice Chief of Staff, Fleet Captain 'Ranger' Michael D. Smith, Region 15 Coordinator Rear Admiral Alan Ravitch and former candidate for the CS position, Rear Admiral Janis Moore, who at the time was serving as Region 4 Coordinator. The most vocal and scathing of these voices belonged to Fleet Captain 'Wild Bill' Herrmann, CO of the USS Rutledge.
These attacks on Fleet Admiral McGinnis came to a head during the 1995 International Conference in Atlanta when charges of 'Conduct Unbecoming an Officer' and 'Violation of the Officer Code of Conduct' were brought against Ravitch and Moore. Admiral Moore was accused of releasing materials (given to her by what appeared to be the Wheaton people) that Fleet Admiral McGinnis felt was of personal problem best handle privately by the courts. Admiral Ravitch was very vocal over the unofficial STARFLEET Listserver. The consequences of these actions would lead to their dismissal as Regional Coordinators.
A year later, during IC96 in Oklahoma City Captain Herrmann was brought up on the same charges, for his outspokenness over the STARFLEET Listserver, which lead to his being reduced in rank to Captain, and dismissed as CO of the Rutledge. The Officers and Crew of the Rutledge refused to recognize the dismissal, standing by Captain Herrmann as their CO.
During this time of conflict within STARFLEET many Regions and Chapters chose to concentrate on their local and regional functions. But some chapters and members decide to withdraw from STARFLEET, some who would form another Star Trek Fan Organization.
In the summer of 1996, the United Federation of Planets Internationale (UFPI), was established. Many saw this organization as an alternative to STARFLEET, others saw it as trying to split, break up or even destroy STARFLEET. The number of chapters withdrawing to the UFPI hit Region 4 especially hard.
The IRS issue was still on the burner. Fleet Admiral McGinnis revealed that STARFLEET still owed back taxes, but that he was filing the appropriate forms to make sure that STARFLEET would owe no more. However no evidence has been found to substantiate that Fleet Admiral McGinnis had done this.
But problems with the McGinnis Administration started to come to climax shortly before the 1996 International Conference in Oklahoma City when the Vice Commander, STARFLEET, Admiral Deborah Nelson-Maestu, resigned. Rear Admiral Paula 'Coyote' Schaff was appointed Vice Commander, STARFLEET, while still retaining her position as Region 12 Coordinator. But within a month, Admiral Schaff resigned abruptly, citing the lack of communications and cooperation with Fleet Admiral McGinnis and STARFLEET HQ.
At that moment Fleet Admiral McGinnis announced before the beginning of November 1996 that he would resign the position of Commander, STARFLEET, as well as his own STARFLEET membership, effective on Nov. 14. As McGinnis had yet to appoint a new Vice Commander, STARFLEET, Commodore James Herring, Chief of Operations, STARFLEET, and next in the line of succession, became the 3rd Interim Commander, STARFLEET. Commodore Herring refused to take a promotion to the rank of Fleet Admiral, citing the length of time he would be in office, but was promoted to the rank of Rear Admiral.
It was only after Admiral Herring had to personally 'retrieve' records, files and other materials from Fleet Admiral McGinnis that the truth came out. STARFLEET was in serious trouble both financially and physically. The only trace of funds belonging to STARFLEET found were those belonging to the Scholarship funds. Traces of funds belonging to STARFLEET and other charitable programs administered by STARFLEET were not found at that time.
In response to this unprecedented appearance of duplicity and circumvention by the former Commander, STARFLEET, Admiral Herring, acting with the powers of the Fleet Admiral's office and with the approval of the STARFLEET Executive Committee, stripped Fleet Admiral McGinnis of his lifetime membership, which is granted to any former Commander, STARFLEET, as well as taking the unparalleled step of demoting Fleet Admiral McGinnis to the rank of Captain. This was a superfluous action toward McGinnis
It was during this time the word was sent out to those who had membership renewals due before the end the year to delay their renewals until the next administration assumed power. It was also found that hundreds of membership forms had not been processed. This took until mid-1997 before all these membership forms, as well as the membership forms for those who waited until 1997 to send them in, to be full processed.
Meanwhile, attempts to hold the elections of for Commander, STARFLEET, were well underway, despite Captain McGinnis' disinterest and obstruction. Three candidates appeared, Captain John Maestu, Admiral Schaff and Fleet Captain Michael D. Smith. The voting was delayed because of Captain McGinnis' lack of cooperation before his resignation came into effect. Nevertheless due to efforts of the Chief of Communication, Rear Admiral Doug Glenn, the election was held On January 3, 1998, Admiral Glenn announced that Michael D. Smith was elected the 10th Commander, STARFLEET.
The first step of the new Michael D. Smith Administration was to reverse the demotion of Captain Bill Herrmann and restore his rank of Fleet Captain. Then Smith issued a statement of apology to Admirals Alan Ravitch and Janis Moore, symbolically rescinding the removal order, noting he could not restore them to their position, he could restore some dignity to them.
Fleet Admiral Smith also declared that all forms of communications, in particular, electronic or e-mail communications could and would be considered an official way to communicate with STARFLEET, even though the old way, postal mail, was still acceptable. The McGinnis Administration declared electronic forms of communications, especially e-mail, unofficial and thus not to be used during his term of office.
The need for real reform was seen as necessary, so Fleet Admiral Smith appointed a new committee to fashion a new Constitution for STARFLEET. The committee actively sought out the help and advice of all STARFLEET members, keeping the membership updated periodically. Thus the REFORM of STARFLEET became a hallmark of the Fleet Admiral Michael D. Smith Administration.
This document would make the Commander, STARFLEET, more accountable to the membership, take the Executive Committee out of the Admiralty Board, as well as guaranteeing Chapter autonomy and Member's rights. The new Constitution was complete and voted on at the end of 1998. It was ratified by a wide margin and put in effect in January of 1999.
However it was reported at the time the lack of funds inherited from the McGinnis Administration put STARFLEET in the red by more than $5,000. However, a recent report from Admiral Freas reported that $18,000 inherited from the McGinnis Administration (There was rumors that said that the totals came closer to $50,000, but this was unsubstantiated).
A novel way was done to not only raise much need capital. An Internet auction, organized and led by the Region 3 Command Staff, injected hundreds of needed dollars which went to help pay this rather large debt. Later these monies were used to infuse the Scholarship funds. Also the Communiqué was converted from a magazine format into a small newspaper in order to save money in printing.
Then the biggest news of the Smith Administration came on the front on the IRS almost a year later. Admiral Freas, Vice Commander, STARFLEET, as well as being a Tax Lawyer, negotiated with the IRS on behalf of STARFLEET. In the end, the IRS forgave STARFLEET all back taxes and penalties incurred. This included a sizeable refund of all penalties paid to the IRS. This enable STARFLEET to pay all outstanding debts as well as placing the organization back in the BLACK financially.
When Fleet Admiral Smith took office, he also stated that any former members and chapters that wished to rejoin STARFLEET might do so unfettered of possible retribution. In order to facilitate this, a new department the Existing Fan Club Program, was instituted to allow those chapters that had withdrawn from STARFLEET to efficiently rejoin. It also allowed other existing fan clubs that had no attachment to STARFLEET previously to also join STARFLEET without going through the Shuttle Program. The 1st Director of the EFCP was Commander Dennis Rayburn, who had helped in the creation of the UFPI the year before.
The 1997 International Conference was held in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, and the 1998 IC, held in Lubbock, Texas, were a celebration of Trekdom and STARFLEET. The Lubbock IC was capped off with the surprise attendance of Fleet Admiral John Bradbury, the 1st Commander, STARFLEET. STARFLEET had truly come full circle with Bradbury's presence at IC98.
When it came time for the 1998 election, there were a couple of dozen nominees that had received nominations, but only one person obtained the necessary 5 nominations in order to qualify as a candidate for Commander, STARFLEET - Fleet Admiral Michael D. Smith. Thus the 1998 election became a Vote of Confidence the Smith Administration.
STARFLEET celebrated its greatest moment as the 1999 International Conference in Charlotte, North Carolina, was held. STARFLEET celebrated its 25th Anniversary in 1999 and patted itself on the back. The organization had come from almost near collapse to say it was again at the forefront of fan-based Star Trek Fandom. It was, to that point, the most attended International Conference ever.
The 2000 International Conference was held in Burlington, Vermont during the weekend of July 28-30, with the 2001 International Conference returning to Kansas City, Missouri, and for the only the second time since National/International Conferences have been staged, in the year 2002 IC, will be held in San Jose, California.
The year 2000 (also affectionately known as Y2K) started off with the resignation of the Vice Commander, STARFLEET, Admiral Chuck Freas. Fleet Admiral Smith then appointed Admiral Gordon Goldberg, who was serving as Chief of Communications to fill the unexpired term of the Vice Commander.
In the summer of 2000, the first elections under the new constitution commenced. On July 16th, 2000 Election Coordinator, Admiral Allyson Dyar, announced that Lieutenant General Edwin L. "Les" Rickard (SFMC), and Vice Admiral Robert Westfall were to vie for the position of succeeding Fleet Admiral Smith as Commander, STARFLEET in 2001. On November 17th by Admiral Dyar, announced that General Rickard is to become the 11th Commander, STARFLEET, assuming the rank of Fleet Admiral, on January 1st, 2001.
STARFLEET had started as the Starship USS Enterprise Fan Club in 1974 and now with the new millennium about to start with the new administration of the 11th Commander. STARFLEET, membership is close to 5000 members and more than 300 chapters world-wide.

Official Starfleet History, Version 2.27 Last Update on 12/24/2000

Election 2005

LGNHoover — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 13:39:47 CST

There is no abstract available for this page revision.

Fleet Admiral John Bradbury, 1st Commander

LGNHoover — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 13:30:28 CST

Fleet Admiral John Bradbury

Photo taken during IC98 in LubbockTX

First Commander, STARFLEET; position then known as 'Chief of Staff, Starfleet Central'.

On October 5, 1974 Bradbury helped in the creation of a local Star Trek Fan Club, in Lufkin, Texas, based on a starship command structure, known as the USS Enterprise, serving as it's first Captain. When other groups made known their interest of doing the same, a parent organization was created to coordinate these individual chapters.

On May 6, 1975 STARFLEET was established, according to published reports in Issue One of the "STARFLEET Communications", which was at the time the official newsletter for STARFLEET.

During his tenure as 'Chief of Staff, Starfleet Central', Bradbury served with the rank of Commodore, later Rear Admiral and then Admiral. Only after his tenure was he 'promoted' to the honorary rank of Fleet Admiral during the administration of Fleet Admiral Longshaw.

Fleet Admiral Bradbury would make an apprearance at IC1998 in Lubbock, TX and the next year at IC1999, held in Charlotte, NC, that celebrated the 25th Anniversary of STARFLEET

5. IC1996 - Oklahoma City

LGNHoover — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 13:23:47 CST

IC 1996 was, perhaps, the turning point for McGinnis, and the beginning of the end for his term as RC. After the removal of Region 4 and Region 15's Regional Coordinator the year before, and the demotion and removal of Bill Hermann at this IC, along with the issues surrounding the original hotel for this event, as well as issues surrounding the hotel this event finally was held in, it was simply a matter of time for McGinnis.

On August 11, 1996 Mike Smith announced that the the Marriot that was originally contracted for the event had cancelled the contract. The reasons for the cancellation was that they had required an advance deposit, based on events that occurred at the Winter Conference the year before (these events were never detailed, as far as this researcher had been able to determine), no deposit was received, "multiple"checks sent by STARFLEET to the hotel bounced, HQ refused any contact from the hotel, and STARFLEET was listed as a bad credit risk by "other Mariott Hotels." However, the local committee, headed by Marion Murphy-Tompkins, secured a second hotel, and held the event as planned, running August 30 to September 1, 1996.

In his address to the fleet, McGinnis talked about the good, and the bad, in the organization. He talked about the things that his mother had dealt with in correspondence to Fleet HQ, from nasty letters to razor blades in the envelopes. He discussed what STARFLEET used to be, and what it could be, and asked that every member stand with him to better the organization. At that point, nearly all members in attendance joined him at the front of the room, in essence joining him in solidarity for the betterment of Fleet. However, by the end of his address, several members in attendance all had the same thought, this was his resignation speech. Just under three months later, McGinnis had resigned as Commander, STARFLEET.

I. Lerman Administration

LGNHoover — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 08:47:34 CST

The next election thought was less than amiable. An assortment of controversy occurred when the nominee hand-chosen by Fleet Admiral Maddox, Vice Admiral Daniel McGinnis, the Region 12 Coordinator, began to receive some bad publicity about alleged mishandling of regional finances. While the charges were discounted, Admiral McGinnis lost the election. However the election returns were immediately challenged on the grounds the Election Coordinator, Fleet Admiral Maddox, may have been biased as she was on one of the opposing teams. However since she was on one of the losing teams, this appeal was disallowed and Admiral Rob Lerman was installed as the Eighth Fleet Admiral and Ninth Commander, STARFLEET, in January 1993.

Once in office, Fleet Admiral Lerman learned of the secret incorporation of STARFLEET by the Maddox Administration. He also learned that as an IRS-recognized non-profit organization, STARFLEET was required to file a Form 990 return each year to the IRS. Fleet Admiral Maddox had failed to do so and the financial penalties for said inaction were severe. For the next two years, Fleet Admiral Lerman and JAG Officer Captain Gary Decker, fought to prevent these penalties from being imposed, as they would have effectively bankrupted the organization. Also, the Maddox Administration was extremely slow and haphazard in providing records to the new Administration for their first year in Office.

As seemed to become common practice with each new Administration, a new Constitution was drafted under the direction of Captain Decker. However, the proposed changes were in violation of IRS regulations and were removed before being voted on. In fact, the "Decker Unit", as he was known, was so active that on June 29th, 1993 he was actually granted by the Judge Advocate General’s Office of the United States Navy with "full Legal Officer status". Yes folks, the STARFLEET JAG was officially recognized by the US Navy!

Vice Commanding Admiral Anita Davis declared "war" on the Klingon fan groups (KAG and KLAW) in June of 1993. This made Admiral Christopher Smith’s job as the Director of the Department of Klingon Relations, a precursor to the STARFLEET Diplomatic Corps, amusing, no doubt. DKR was formed to help ensure that the generally warm relations that STARFLEET and KAG/KLAW enjoyed remained that way, troublemaking Vice Commanders notwithstanding. When not annoying the Klingons, Admiral Davis oversaw an expanded Fleet Division Chief (FDC) Program.

The Lerman Administration, according to some members of STARFLEET, was not particularly imposing years for STARFLEET. 1 The founders of the STARFLEET Marine Corps, worried by claims from Dan McGinnis during the 1992 elections that he would make the SFMC manuals STARFLEET property, created SMI – Starfleet Marines International – as an umbrella club to welcome Marines from all fan clubs, and not just STARFLEET. The STARFLEET Communiqué again began to fall behind schedule as more and more of the Administration’s efforts and time was spent trying to solve the IRS crisis.

With Star Trek: Deep Space Nine becoming more and more popular, there were calls to allow STARFLEET chapters to be something more than just starships. The STARFLEET Office of Technical Information was tasked with drafting a proposal that would allow STARFLEET chapters to become space stations and Klingon chapters. Said proposal was approved by vote of the Executive Committee in April of 1993. The first to take advantage of this was Cascade Station in Region Four, and was soon joined by others, like Freedom Station in Region 3. Today, the space station option is a popular one, with over a dozen such chapters serving in STARFLEET. In addition to space stations, Klingon "exchange vessels" became a valid class of chapter. Vice Admiral Alex Rosenzweig of the Office of Technical Information began posting lists of starship names, registry numbers, and classes to assist new shuttles in choosing a name/registry/class.

STARFLEET Academy continued to add schools and pupils. Captain Gail Rushing’s "STARFLEET Stampede" program moved into high gear. Regional summits and conferences grew so people could get together and meet one another. Each issue of the CQ was filled with reports of events, charities, and socials that members, chapters, and regions participated in. The Armed Forces Advocacy Program was started under Captain Paul Dyl to replace the moribund Armed Services Program that had been created under the Smith Administration. The Correspondence Chapter Program expanded under the Lerman Administration, with Commanders Allyson M.W. Dyar and John T. Burt tasked with helping create a list of CPs to assist them in recruiting members in areas where a meeting chapter was not available. Also, the "30-Mile Rule" separating chapters was rendered moot, allowing shuttles and chapters to form in close geographical contact. This raised the hackles of many, who felt that "member poaching" would result. Also, the "City of Charter" clause was adopted by the Admiralty Board to prevent chapters from arbitrarily "Region Hopping"2.

STARFLEET’s presence on the Internet expanded greatly under the Lerman Administration, which was not surprising considering Fleet Admiral Lerman and the Defiance were one of the hosts of the TrekNet BBS in the late 80’s. The Subspace Communications pen-pal service became something very different, unique, and powerful under Lieutenant Commander Bill Herrmann’s directorship. The STARFLEET Internet Mailing List also took off.

The various Regions of STARFLEET fought each other for members, chapters, and recognition. However, Fleet Admiral Lerman never shirked his duties and engaged the membership and Admiralty Board to help come up with solutions. The STARFLEET Policy and Recommendations Committee was chaired by Captain Kaye Downing and served as a way to funnel these recommendations to the Executive Committee and Admiralty Board. And while he started with 6526 members in 1/93, by 5/94 STARFLEET had 7809 members.

The Lerman Administration tried to keep the status quo as personnel worked toward the goals of the organization. However, secretly, others were setting the stage on events that would affect STARFLEET during the next election in 1994 and events beyond.

Dedication

LGNHoover — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 08:27:01 CST

This edition is dedicated to Scott Akers, former Director of the

Office of the Historian, STARFLEET

and especially the Director

General Scott Akers, SFMC

"Thanks for the opportunity and the chance to make history! "

Scott Akers with Jeff Higdon at IC2001 in Kansas City

Q. Lizard Administration

captshiloh — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 15:47:52 CST

There is no abstract available for this page revision.

O. Livingston Administration

captshiloh — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 16:53:56 CDT

While the election of 2005 was the first under the new amendment concerning the new three year term for the Commander, STARFLEET, this election marked the true entrance of the modern electioneering by the candidates and their running mates. It would also be the closest election for the position in the history of the association.

Fleet Admiral, Michael Malotte had announce he would not be running for a second term in early 2004. Then two candidates came out, announcing that they would be clean and amicable in their campaigns.

Fleet Admiral Les Rickard announced his intention to run for the office which he had held two years prior along with Brigadier General Joost Ueffing as his Vice Commander running mate. Admiral Amanda Herrmann Livingston announced her candidacy with Fleet Captain Sunny Planthold as her VC running mate.

Both teams sent out fliers and information packet explaining their platforms and positions as well as announcing their Executive Committee candidates. While Rickard's Team pledged to improve communications and streamline the bureaucracy, the Livingston Team pledge to eliminate unwanted and unneeded positions and improve communications with members. Both platforms seemed identical because they were. This fact would come to haunt the Livingston Team as they were declared the winner. It was reported that Team Livingston won by a mere 50 votes, (753 - Livingston, 703 - Rickard) thus becoming one of the closest election in the history of STARFLEET since the Lerman-McGinnis election.

1. VADM James Herring, 11th Commander

captshiloh — Sat, 05 May 2007 13:11:16 CDT

Vice Admiral James Herring
Term of Office

November 15, 1996-January 3, 1997

James Barton Herring was born March 18, 1963 on Boonville, Missouri the child of Ruth and James Herring. He graduated with honors from Kemper Military School and College, where other members of his family also attended.

Herring joined STARFLEET on January 31, 1987 as a member of the USS Discovery. He transferred to the newly established Shuttlecraft Joseph P. Allen. And later was transferred to the USS Horizon, when the shuttle became a ship. He would hold positions aboard as Executive Officer and Security Officer aboard the Horizon. And would later become her 2nd commanding officer, when the first captain resigned. He was also coordinated the 1991 & 1992 Region 12 Summits and was also a member briefly of the Troubadour Station.

In April 1996, Herring was appointed Chief of Operations, STARFLEET by Fleet Admiral Dan McGinnis, replacing Admiral Cindy Krell. He would later become the Commanding Officer of the USS Arlington. On November 15, 1996, Commodore Herring became Commander, STARFLEET, succeeding Fleet Admiral McGinnis, who had announced his resignation. Instead of assuming the rank of Fleet Admiral, which was his right according the constitution in place at the time, Herring choose to take the rank of Rear Admiral. Events moved fast during the one month and eighteen days he served as Commander, STARFLEET. He had to personally drive to Belleville, Illinois, the former STARFLEET HQ site and physically retrieve the property of STARFLEET from Fleet Admiral McGinnis. As he went through the property, Herring discovered the extent of the duplicity of Fleet Admiral McGinnis’ actions. In response and with the approval of the Executive Committee, Herring stripped McGinnis of his Lifetime Membership automatically bestowed to former Commanders, STARFLEET. Then the EC demoted McGinnis to the rank of Captain, the lowest rank that the constitution allows one to be demoted to by the Executive Committee. Although this was superficial, due to the fact that McGinnis had resigned and did not expect a lifetime membership, this action help start the long road to healing the membership. Herring also assisted the Election Coordinator in the election of 1996, which was partially block by Captain McGinnis’ lack of cooperation. However with a delay of three days, the election results was announced. Herring continued to help the new Michael D. Smith Administration while continuing to command the USS Arlington.

Soon afterwards Herring was appointed as Deputy Historian for Region 12 and was elected in 2000 as the Missouri Sector Advocate on the Region 12 Command Staff of RC Wade Hoover first administration. After the election of Robert Westfall as Region 12 Coordinator he was appointed Sr. Vice Region Coordinator and assumed the position of Acting Regional Coordinator until the election of Carl Johnson. In 2006 Herring succeeded Wade Hoover (second administration) after being elected as the current Region 12 Coordinator.

Herring also heads another Star Trek Fan Association, the Federation Legion, described as a club for military historians. He is also a Lifetime Member of the National Rifle Association and 32nd Degree Scottish Rite Mason. Herring is also a member of the Professional Photographers of America. He currently lives in Columbia, Missouri.

On May 5th, 2007, Herring was promoted to the rank of Vice Admiral, effective May 3rd. The promotion was announced and presented to Herring at the 2007 Region Twelve Summit held in Urbana, Illinois.

D. Wetsch Administration

captshiloh — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 14:05:27 CDT

When Fleet Admiral Longshaw stepped down as the Chief of Staff due to serious hospitalizing illnesses in her family, it took a little while to stage the election for the next Chief of Staff, Starfleet Command (Commander, STARFLEET). During this time Admiral Heatherington, who at the time was 14 years of age, stepped in as STARFLEET’s Third Commander, STARFLEET, succeeding Longshaw briefly. A few short months, Admiral John Wetsch became the Fourth Commander, STARFLEET.

The Wetsch administration improved further on the organizational structure of STARFLEET. The STARFLEET Officer's Handbook was greatly improved and a previous backlog in distributing membership packets was addressed. Also in August, 1981, the IRS granted STARFLEET the official designation as a 'Non Profit Organization'. However these accomplishments are eventually overshadowed with problems that had developed that could only be pointed to the lack of experience, youthfulness and indecision on the part of those in charge.

Soon, breakdowns in communication between staff members, Fleet Admiral Wetsch, and the membership in general began to manifest themselves. Correspondence was not being answered and membership applications and renewals were not being processed. This was complicated by that the membership fees of the time, $3, did not cover the cost of making and sending membership materials, which cost a total of $5. Members complained bitterly to Heatherington as his own parents help in covering the funds need to make and send membership materials. 1 These problems became so bad that the "Star Trek Welcommittee" actually blacklisted Starfleet. At this point, extreme and immediate measures became necessary, lest Starfleet start to whither.

Admiral Heatherington choose to leave the position as Chief of Personnel and Vice Admiral Eric Stillwell stepped up from the Vice Chief position to take over. Admiral Stillwell then began a personal crusade to improve Starfleet under a program called "Mandate for Change". While Admiral Stillwell at first had nothing but praise for the efforts of Fleet Admiral Wetsch, soon his vision of what Starfleet should be differed from Admiral Wetsch’s and a power-struggle formed between the two. 2

A new STARFLEET Constitution was approved in July of 1981, which defined the ruling body of STARFLEET to be "The Admiralty Board". This Board consisted of the Chief of Staff, the Vice Chief of Staff, and the Chiefs of Operations, Personnel, and Communications. It gave the Chief of Staff the power to appoint and remove all officers in STARFLEET, including other Admiralty Board members and chapter commanding officers. It also defined the type of chapter based on members, ranging from Tugs (fifteen members) to Dreadnoughts (fifty-plus members). While the concept of Regions as we now know them did not exist, one chapter was chosen by the Chief of Staff to be the "Flagship" for a group of geographically-located chapters. STARFLEET members also had the option of now being "Associate" members or requesting a rank and serial number from the Chief of Personnel.

With delays in the publishing of the official Starfleet newsletter, Admiral Stillwell started his own high-quality newsletter, called the Starfleet Supplemental Communiqué. With the help of his roommate, Chief of Communications Vice Admiral Anthony Wynn, who used the pseudonym "T. Wxyn" 3, this soon came to replace Starfleet Communications as the official news source for most members. Admiral Stillwell used this to help improve his position in his struggle against Fleet Admiral Wetsch.

1. ADM Brandt Heatherington, 3rd Commander

captshiloh — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 13:57:12 CDT

Admiral Timothy Brandt Hetherington

1979

Served as Commander, STARFLEET, after Fleet Admiral Adeline Longshaw resigned and until the election of Admiral John Wetsch to the position of Commander, STARFLEET. Held the position of Chief of Personnel, STARFLEET, was responsible for the mailing and delivery of the membership packets. A few years after the election, Heatherington was forced to resign the position when it was determined that it cost too much for each packet to be produced and mailed. Heatherington revealed years later that his parents actually defrayed some of the costs of send the materials out to the membership and it became too much for them to handle. This was their way of contributing to the association they felt was an asset.

Heatherington has been described as 14 years of age at the time of his service as the Commander, STARFLEET. If so, he will have been the youngest to hold the position of Commander, STARFLEET. (NOTE: It would be impossible for someone his age to hold the position of Commander, STARFLEET now due to age restrictions set out by the STARFLEET Constitution and incorporation laws for the State of North Carolina.) However the 'Interim' title was dropped for Heatherington and he is now considered the 3rd Commander, STARFLEET.

Heatherington is a successful communications consultant in the Washington, DC area. Heatherington recently rejoined his membership in STARFLEET, first as a correspondent member of the USS Black Hawk and later as a correspondent member of the ISS MacArthur.