Meet us at Salt Lake Comic Con booth 2817

Fun_newsLog Entry: Stardate 68090.2, Rear Admiral Carl Stark recording.  Wow where did the summer go?  We just completed a very successful Fleet Day and now we are gathering once again for the 2014 Salt Lake Comic Con.

We are excited to once again team up with HopeKids of Utah and Idaho (just as we did for FanX).  This time we are bringing back the Star Trek Bridge Simulator (via the Artemis computer program and the hard work of the SS White Buffalo).  We will be in booth 2817 (near the celebrity autograph signing area on the west side of the Salt Palace).

Remember we would love you see you in your Star Trek/Starfleet costume.  If you do not have a costume, please wear your club t-shirt.  We will have the limited edition Seventh Fleet/Salt Lake Comic Con t-shirts for sale.

The Seventh Fleet will be in full force at the upcoming Salt Lake Comic Con on September 4-6.
The Seventh Fleet will be in full force at the upcoming Salt Lake Comic Con on September 4-6.

Join us for Fleet Day 2014

Fun_newsLog Entry: Stardate 67080.5, Rear Admiral Carl Stark recording. We are starting a new tradition this year on Saturday, August 16th.  The Seventh Fleet Olympics is being replaced with the new Fleet Day.  We will be continuing to play some of the various games that we have enjoyed at the past games, however we are adding even more in order to help our Star Trek family grow together.  We will be dining together (food provided by the host chapter of the USS Ticonderoga) at a cost of $5/person or $3/kids.  A fundraiser auction with some of the collection from the late Captain Ruth Burns will be held.  We will also have several mini-panels and discussion groups to talk about a variety of fleet/chapter/member subjects.  A section will be set up to help people with rank advancements and merit sheets.  We will also have some water based events as well.  Feel free to wear your club or fleet t-shirts.  With luck this new tradition could even grow into a two or three-day campout.

So everyone (fleet members or not) are welcome to join us on Saturday, August 16th at Island View Park pavilion in Clearfield (1800 S Main St, Clearfield, UT 84015).  You can show up at 10:00am, lunch will start at 11:00am.  The auction will start at noon.   We will be at the park for the majority of the day.  We will be having a ton of fun and Admiral Hollinger will be holding his Admiral’s Challenge at the end of the day.  We look forward to seeing everyone and catching up with our Star Trek family.

Farewell to the USS Tsunami

Starship_newsLog Entry: Stardate 67061.5, Rear Admiral Stark recording.  It is always a moment of sadness when a Star Trek club decides to shut down.  However it is a good thing when a club gets to end on a high note at a time of their own choosing.  Since 1989 the USS Tsunami ran as a Star Trek club under various names.  They started out as a shuttle T’Tauri Wind (chapter-in-training) from the SFI mothership USS Alioth.  When they became a full chapter they were known as the USS Fahrion (NCC-2510, Belknap Class Strike Cruiser).

Belknap-Class Strike Cruiser
Belknap Class Strike Cruiser

The Fahrion ran in Region 17 with several other Utah chapters including the USS Alioth, USS Dominion, USS Romulus and future Seventh Fleet plank holder, USS Rendezvous.  After several years the members of the Fahrion elected to leave Starfleet International and they became an independent Star Trek fan club.  They then changed their name to the USS Tsunami (NCC-74996, Intrepid Class Starship).

Intrepid Class Starship
Intrepid Class Starship

Even as an independent club, the Tsunami participated in many joint activities with other Star Trek clubs.  This included the sharing of various fan fiction involving multiple characters and ships in the local area.  Unfortunately a lack of incoming members to replace those who had moved out of the area (or suddenly passed on) began to take it’s toll on the club.  By 2014 the Tsunami was down to three active members.  Instead of just letting the club fade off into nothing, the final members decided to shut down the club and hold one last farewell party.  Previous members and friends were invited to attend and talk about the past over a slice of pizza.  As the senior representative of the Seventh Fleet, I attended with a special gift.  I had found a old copy of The Mind Meld, Vol 3 #6 from November 1989.  This USS Alioth newsletter had the first report of the Shuttle T’Tauri Wind and their first two activities.

Now this is not the final farewell for the Tsunami.  The last members of the club have decided to keep the USS Tsunami website open for anyone who wishes to submit Star Trek fan fiction.  These can be based on any starship and for those who are looking for critiques or help with their stories.

The Seventh Fleet would like to give a salute to the members of the T’Tauri Wind/USS Fahrion/USS Tsunami for the contributions that they have made to local Star Trek fandom.  Tally ho and Go with throttle up.

Happy Mother’s Day

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Log Entry: Stardate 67051.1, Rear Admiral Stark recording. The Seventh Fleet would like to salute all mothers out there for the love you give. Thank you. I think Guinan summed it up best with this quote. “A mother shapes her child in ways she doesn’t even realize. Sometimes just by listening.” Guinan- Evoltuion, Stardate: 43125.8

Photos from our HopeKids fundraiser are now online

Site_MaintLog Entry: Stardate 67042.6.  Rear Admiral Stark recording. Our apologies for the delay in uploading the photos.  Our webmaster caught a stomach virus from the convention and it put him out of commission for a few days.  However we are now happy to report that all of the photos taken with the shuttle Fairbanks are now posted online.  CLICK HERE TO FIND THE PHOTOS

The USS Rendezvous had build the shuttle as part of their Star Trek fan film called The Inquiry.  After they had completed filming, Captain Trowbridge of the Rendezvous recommended that we use the shuttle to also fulfill one of our other primary goals as a Star Trek fan club, helping our community.  At the Seventh Fleet Admiral’s Banquet she proposed running a photo booth with the shuttle at the upcoming Salt Lake Comic Con-FanX.  We discussed various charities and elected to support HopeKids of Utah and Idaho this year.

The fleet came together to help get the shuttle finished for the event.  Following out motto of “We do not stand alone”, members of all chapters pitched in to help.  They also helped when it came time to get the shuttle to Salt Lake (over 100 miles one-way) and especially to run the booth promoting both the fleet and HopeKids.

So we would like to give a big thank you to everyone from the fleet, HopeKids, The Salt Palace staff, Dan Farr and the Salt Lake Comic Con staff and to everyone who participated in this charity fundraiser.  Over $2,000 was raised for HopeKids and we look forward to helping them at future events.

Tally Ho!

Side Note: Some of you may have your photo numbers stating that the dates the photos will be online will be from 5-23 to 6-23.  To make sure everyone has a chance to download their photos, we will leave the photos up until 6-23.  Afterwards they will be taken down.

Shatner’s World in theaters on April 24th

Fun_newsFathom Events and Priceline.com are thrilled to bring one of the most recognizable actors of our time, William Shatner, to select cinemas nationwide for a one-night event on Thursday, April 24th. William Shatner shares his phenomenal journey from classically-trained Shakespearean actor to internationally-known cultural icon. In addition to the spectacular show, cinema audiences will be treated to an exclusive welcome from the man himself! For more info visit http://www.fathomevents.com/event/shatners-world

Several chapters and members of the Seventh Fleet will be present at various locations.

USS Rendezvous shuttle at Salt Lake ComicCon-FanX

Fun_newsLog Entry: Stardate 67041.4, Rear Admiral Carl Stark recording. This quote from Ray Bradbury is very inspiring: “Science fiction is the fiction of ideas. Ideas excite me, and as soon as I get excited, the adrenaline gets going and the next thing I know I’m borrowing energy from the ideas themselves. Science fiction is any idea that occurs in the head and doesn’t exist yet, but soon will, and will change everything for everybody, and nothing will ever be the same again. As soon as you have an idea that changes some small part of the world you are writing science fiction. It is always the art of the possible, never the impossible.”

The Seventh Fleet would like to thank the USS Rendezvous for the use of the Shuttle Fairbanks at Booth 2520 of the Salt Lake Comic Con-Fan Experience.  For those of you who don’t know, building the shuttle was the brainchild of Stewart Hunsaker who wanted to have it for an episode of the Star Trek Rendezvous fan film.  Stewart and the Rendezvous spent a year putting this idea together (spending lots of time, effort and money into the project).  If you would like to see the final results of these efforts, you can view the fan film on YouTube by clicking on this link.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTD77e1gZ5I

If you can read the excitement in the Ray Bradbury quote above, the same level of excitement started hitting members of the Seventh Fleet.  We loved the fan film, the costumes, the sets that were put together and especially all of the effort that went into this love of Star Trek.  We were especially excited about the shuttle.  As the opportunity to use the shuttle as part of a charity fundraiser appeared, other clubs in the Seventh Fleet were invited to help finish the shuttle exterior (sanding, painting, adding greebles). With their assistance, the shuttle is now ready to help raise money for HopeKids Utah at FanX in Salt Lake City this Thursday, Friday, and Saturday (April 17–19).  Like Ray said, “It is always the art of the possible, never the impossible.”

Science fiction is any idea that occurs in the head and doesn’t exist yet, but soon will.
Science fiction is any idea that occurs in the head and doesn’t exist yet, but soon will.

Log Entry Supplemental: This photo of the shuttle was shown to the head of Salt Lake Comic Con, Dan Farr. Dan responded with the following. “Wow! This is so impressive and fun that you guys accomplished such an amazing work. I look forward to seeing it and you guys next week. Thanks for sending the photo.”

Congratulations to Captain Roger Taylor

Personnel_newsLog Entry: Stardate 67031.5, Rear Admiral Carl Stark recording. The members of the Seventh Fleet Council gathered together to discuss what will be happening with the Seventh Fleet for the next three months and beyond.  One of the many discussions that we had tonight was the advancement of Commander Roger Taylor to the rank of Captain.  We are proud to announce that this proposal was accepted and Captain Taylor was awarded his rank.  This also means that the chapter-in-training, PCU Essex, will now become a fully active chapter, the USS Essex.  The details on the launch ceremony will be announced soon.  Well done Captain Taylor and well done to the crew of the USS Essex.  Tally Ho

Happy Anniversary to the USS Ticonderoga

Starship_newsLog Entry: Stardate 67030.9, Rear Admiral Carl Stark recording. On March 9, 1996, several Star Trek fans got together at the Davis County North Library in Clearfield and started the club that would eventually become the USS Ticonderoga.  This first club was called the Runabout USS Euphrates, a Chapter-in-Training off of the USS Kelly in Salt Lake City, Utah.  The Euphrates completed it’s mission on October 25, 1997 and was launched as the full chapter, the Intrepid-Class USS Ticonderoga.  The Ticonderoga is one of the founding chapters of Starfleet Command’s Seventh Fleet when it launched on January 1, 1998.  Because the Ticonderoga crew was proud of it’s time as a chapter-in-training, the club celebrates the anniversary of it’s club founding every year.

The Seventh Fleet would like to congratulate the staff and members of the Ticonderoga for running 18 years as a Star Trek family.  Tally Ho

What is your challenge for 2014

From_AdmiralLog Entry: Stardate 67022.2 Rear Admiral Carl Stark recording Last month at our Seventh Fleet Admiral’s Banquet, a lot of our members talked about the challenges they would be facing in 2014.  For myself, I am returning to school with Western Governors University.  I know that some of you are already on the road to losing weight (good job) and a lot of you want to gain a Command Grade rank (Lt. Commander or Commander).  So the question I would like to ask is, what is your challenge for 2014?  How do you plan to accomplish this challenge?  What help can we provide to get you past this challenge?  I’d love to hear your ideas.

A Free Star Trek Fan Association and Parent Organization.