Region
2 "Newsletter of the Year" Award, 2nd Place, 2011, 2014. 2015
Number
99
Region
2 "Best Electronic Newsletter" Award, 2009
June
(Early November) 2016
CONTENTS
UPCOMING
EVENTS •
Sat., Nov. 19: Republic and Treklanta Staff Fall
Dinner Meeting
• Saturday,
Dec. 17: Holiday Party, MOTY Award & CO Election
NEWS
& ANNOUNCEMENTS
•
The
Treklanta 2016 Postmortem Report
• Personnel Records
• Library Computer
• Recent Chapter Event Photos
SIDEBAR
• Belated June Birthdays
• May Member Reenlistments
• December Membership Renewals
• About the Republic
• For More Information
• USS Republic Online
• Crew Roster
• Photos from Treklanta 2016
UPCOMING
EVENTS USS
Republic and Treklanta Staff Fall Dinner Meeting
7:00 p.m. Saturday, November 19, 2016
Chinatown Buffet
Chamblee Plaza Shopping Center
5438 Peachtree (Industrial) Boulevard
Chamblee GA 30341
All
members and friends of the USS Republic, all current
Treklanta
directors and staff volunteers and most importantly, anyone
who's interested in volunteering for Treklanta staff are cordially
invited to attend our Fall Dinner Meeting on Saturday, November
19, at 7:00 p.m.
Interested in joining the Republic? Join
us! Need to renew your membership dues? Join
us! Want to become involved with the convention?
Join us! Just want to hang out for a while with
a great group of folks who love Star Trek? Join
us! The purpose of this meeting is to recruit new
Republic members and Treklanta volunteers, introduce
new convention staff, coordinate our presence at upcoming
events and answer any questions anyone may have about the
chapter or the convention.
Chinatown
Buffet offers a full... uh, buffet for only $8.99 per person. Most
beverages are $1.50. We've held chapter and staff
meetings there before and have found the restaurant's management
to be very accommodating to our needs. Join us
for a nice meal as we chart our course for the future!
USS
Republic Holiday Potluck Party, Member of the Year
Award Ceremony & Commanding Officer Election
7:00 p.m., Saturday, December 17, 2016
Challenges
Games and Comics
North DeKalb Mall, Westside Entrance
2050 Lawrenceville Hwy, Decatur GA 30033
(678) 973-0410
It's
one of the most important occasions of the year! SAVE
THE DATE NOW and make plans to attend the USS Republic's
annual Holiday Potluck Party on Saturday, December 17, at
Challenges
Games & Comics
in North DeKalb Mall in Decatur! All
members and friends of the USS Republic are cordially
invited to attend!
CLICK
IMAGE TO ENLARGE: Members and friends of the USS Republic
at last year's Holiday Potluck Party. Seated:
Adm Mike Henigan, Adm Kelly Hilliard, ENS1 Tracey S. Harwell,
ENS1 Sue Lin Lange. Standing: Melissa Cowart, Henry
Cowart, Ens Daniel Cowart, Matt Steinberg, Lt JG Lee Johnson,
Lt JG Tiffany Johnson, Kathy Graham Wynn, FCapt Eric L.
Watts, Ens Vicki Greve, Ens Gaylen Greve, ENS1 Zannetta
Tucker, ENS1 Richard Tucker, CDT4 Zarena Tucker, (Ens) Chris
Jones.
ADDITIONAL
DETAILS about our Holiday Potluck Party, Member of the
Year Award and Commanding Officer election will be provided
next issue. In the meantime, SAVE THE DATE NOW
and plan to attend!
NEWS
& ANNOUNCEMENTS
The
Treklanta 2016 Postmortem Report
A
Mixed Year: Attendance Up, Income Down The
sixth annual Treklanta
(the second with the new name; formerly TrekTrax Atlanta)—the
Star Trek and space opera convention hosted by the
USS Republic—was held April 15-17, 2016, at the
DoubleTree by Hilton Atlanta Northlake hotel in Tucker, Georgia. Our
headlining guests of honor were Carel Struycken (best
known to Star Trek fans as Mr. Homn, Lwaxana Troi's
assistant and valet, in five episodes of The Next Generation,
and as Lurch in three Addams Family feature films),
Tracee Lee Cocco (best known to Star Trek fans
as Lt. Jae, an unnamed background character in 63 episodes
of The Next Generation and its first three feature
films); Jack Stauffer (best known to science fiction
fans as Lt. Bojay in three episodes of the original Battlestar
Galactica), and John & Bjo Trimble, best known
to Star Trek fans for launching the letter-writing
campaigns that saved Star Trek from cancellation after
its second season and persuaded President Gerald R. Ford to
rename NASA's first space orbiter the USS Enterprise;
Bjo is also the author of the iconic trade paperback The
Star Trek Concordance.
Additional
guests of honor included Alec Peters (creator, executive
producer and co-star of the award-winning independent Star
Trek film Prelude to Axanar) and, for the fourth
consecutive year, Keith R. A. DeCandido, the prolific
writer/editor of many Star Trek and other sci-fi franchise
novels, novellas, short stories, comic books and eBooks.
Nearly
four dozen additional guests, performers and artists included
actress, model and entertainer Lynn McArthur; cast
and crew members from the independent Star Trek fan
film productions Battlecruiser Kupok, Project: Potemkin,
Star Trek: New Voyages and Starship Tristan;
local actor Jevocas "Java" Green; children's
educational film producer Vincent Barnett; "nerdy
pop punk" band Hyperspace; puppet troupe Felt Nerdy;
stand-up comedian Eric Daugherty and improvisational
comedy troupe Captain's Log; audio drama performers
the Atlanta Radio Theatre Company; karaoke host Hendry
Betts III; artists Justin Anderson, Maria Miller,
Gillian Parker, Malik Roberts, Scott Rorie
and Dimitri Walker; and authors Jeff Carroll,
Louis Puster III, R. Alan Siler and Winfield
H. Strock III.
Over
the course of the three-day convention, Treklanta presented
almost four dozen different events and activities on two concurrent
tracks of programming: one dedicated to the Star Trek
universe and the other dedicated to all live-action space
opera franchises, such as Star Wars and Battlestar
Galactica. In addition to Q&A hours with our guests
of honor, discussion panels with cast and crew members from
various independent Star Trek fan film and audio series,
and makeup and costuming workshops, other special events included
a VIP champagne reception, a sci-fi puppet show, a live concert
by a local band, a Star Trek-themed stand-up and improv
comedy show, the third annual Treklanta Masquerade, Dirty
Harry's Karaoke Cantina, Jack Stauffer's one-man cabaret show,
a performance by the Atlanta Radio Theatre Company and of
course, the 17th annual Miss Klingon Empire Beauty Pageant,
which was hosted by convention chairman Eric L. Watts,
judged by the convention's five guests of honor and, after
an honorable competition between five valiant contestants,
won by "T'aror of the House of Daa'maq" (Natalie Gill
of Decatur, Georgia).
CLICK
IMAGE TO ENLARGE: 2016 Miss Klingon Empire Beauty Pageant
winner "T'aror of the House of Daa'maq" (Natalie Gill of
Decatur, Georgia) is surrounded by judges John & Bjo
Trimble, Carel Stuycken and (far right) Tracee Lee Cocco. Convention
chairman Eric L. Watts (second from right) served as Master
of Ceremonies. Not pictured: Jack Stauffer also
served as a judge.
Independent
Star Trek Fan Film Awards Winners The
second annual Independent Star Trek Fan Film Awards
Ceremony, created and presented to recognize outstanding achievement
in independent Star Trek fan films, was held on Sunday.
Awards were presented in thirteen categories, including
Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form; Best Dramatic Presentation
Short Form; Best Original Story/Screenplay; Best Director;
Best Lead Actor/Actress; Best Supporting Actor/Actress; Best
Guest Actor/Actress; Best Production Design; Best Costuming;
Best Hairstyling & Makeup; Best Original Music; Best Sound
Design, Editing & Mixing; and Best Special & Visual Effects.
There were 18 independent Star Trek fan films released
in calendar year 2015 which met the eligibility requirements
for consideration in this year's awards. In order
of release date, they are:
Judging
for these awards took place in February and March. Judges
included Diana Dru Botsford, Keith R. A. DeCandido,
Ken Feinberg, Matthew M. Foster, Andrew Greenberg,
David Orange, Emmett Plant and Rick Sternbach. The
awards ceremony was co-hosted by convention chairman Eric
L. Watts and Star Trek Track Director Brian Holloway,
and presenters included guests of honor Carel Struyken, Tracee
Lee Cocco, Jack Stauffer and John & Bjo Trimble.
The
winners of the 2016 Independent Star Trek Fan Film
Awards are:
BEST SPECIAL & VISUAL EFFECTS
Star Trek: Renegades, "Pilot"
Bing Bailey, Roland Baron, Keith Beltramini,
Matt Boardman, Chris Dawson, Keaira
Finlay, Justin Gates, Adrianne Grady, Marc Hampson,
Tommy Kraft, Gina Lockhart, Jon Macht,
Jose L. Marin, Julie McCartney, Kevin Quattro, Tobias
Richter, Ali Ries, Michael
Struck, Ronnie Ursenbach,
Yoshi Vu, Jesse Woodward
BEST SOUND DESIGN, EDITING & MIXING
Star Trek: Renegades, "Pilot"
Ralph M. Miller, Tom Haigh,
Adrianne Grady
BEST ORIGINAL MUSIC
Star Trek Continues, "The White
Iris"
Andy Farber, George Duning,
Gerald Fried,Ivan Ditmars, Vic Mignogna
BEST MAKEUP & HAIRSTYLING
Star
Trek: Renegades,
"Pilot"
Rick L. Baker, Jacqueline Goehner, Lisa Hansell, Kwame
Head, Corina Hernandez, Ryan T. Husk, Jyll King, Ana
Laverde, Christy Maurer, Monique Paredes, Tommy Pietch,
Calli Rammel, Vyvy Tran, Tim Vittetoe, Cody J. Wilkins,
Aubriana Zurilgen
Michele
Specht
"Dr. Elise McKennah," Star
Trek Continues
BEST LEAD ACTOR OR ACTRESS
Todd
Haberkorn
"Mr. Spock," Star
Trek Continues
BEST DIRECTOR
Tim Russ Star
Trek: Renegades,
"Pilot"
BEST ORIGINAL STORY OR SCREENPLAY
Star Trek: Renegades, "Pilot"
Ethan H. Calk, Sky Douglas Conway, Jack Treviño
Star
Trek: Renegades,
"Pilot" won seven of the thirteen awards (Best
Special & Visual Effects; Best Sound Design, Edting &
Mixing; Best Makeup & Hairstyling; Best Costuming; Best
Production Design; Best Director and Best Original Screenplay),
Star Trek Continues won five (Best Original Music,
Best Guest Actor or Actress, Best Supporting Actor or Actress,
Best Lead Actor or Actress and Best Dramatic Presentation,
Long Form) and Starship Tristan won one (Best Dramatic
Presentation, Short Form).
William C. Searcy, co-star of Starship Tristan
and writer of "Moving Day," accepted his award in
person at the ceremony on behalf of the producers. The
awards won by Star Trek: Renegades and Star Trek
Continues were shipped to Tim Russ and Vic Mignogna,
respectively, after the convention. The award plaques
were sponsored by Alec Peters and Axanar
Productions.
CLICK
IMAGE TO ENLARGE: Treklanta Chairman and Master of
Ceremonies Eric L. Watts, guest of honor and awards presenter
Jack Stauffer, award winner William C. Searcy, guest of
honor and awards presenter Tracee Lee Cocco, guest of honor
and awards presenter Bjo Trimble, guest of honor and awards
presenter John G. Trimble, guest of honor and awards presenter
Carel Struycken and Treklanta Star Trek Track Director
and Master of Ceremonies Brian Holloway.
Treklanta
also hosted a gaming room, a dealers room, an artists alley,
a con suite and, for the first time, an authors alley. During
our fourth annual Star Trek Fan Film Festival, no less
than 30 independent Star Trek fan films released during
calendar year 2015 were screened in our Video Room, including
the 18 films included on the Independent Star Trek
Fan Film Awards ballot. The convention also brought
back Digital Video Productions to offer portrait photography
services to our attendees, who could get a professional studio-quality
portrait made against a variety of backgrounds and have an
8 x 10 glossy print in their hands in less than 10 minutes
for autographing.
Issues and Challenges Most
of the problems the convention faced in 2015 were solved in
2016. The DoubleTree offered complimentary wi-fi
service throughout the hotel, and we are not aware of any
connectivity issues this year. Our guests of honor
all made it to their scheduled panels and autograph sessions
on time, and we're not aware of any illegal badge-sharing
this year. We had working camcorders in both programming
rooms at all times, although keeping them staffed at all times
presented a challenge and some panels did not get recorded
simply because there was no one behind the camera.
That said, a number of new problems presented themselves this
year. The location of our Friday night VIP champagne
reception was moved off-site to another nearby hotel because
we used all the available meeting room space in the DoubleTree
for other events and activities. That didn't work
out as well as we hoped it would and we are committed to holding
next year's reception in our host hotel. We also
received feedback from our attendees that they couldn't find
the artists alley, video room and con suite, despite the fact
that a floor plan and map of the hotel was printed in the
program book. We attribute that problem to a lack
of signage, and that's a problem that can be easily solved
for next year. We also had some issues with both
preregistered and at-the-door registration and badge pick-up,
including a nonworking label printer and misplaced Saturday
Night Only badges. We're currently addressing those
problems and are committed to presenting a smoother, more
streamlined and fully digitized registration process next
year. Finally, although this wasn't something the
convention could do anything about, one of the hotel's water
heaters failed on Saturday and many of our attendees had no
hot water in their rooms on Sunday morning.
One last issue that bears mentioning was something that was
heretofore unknown to our attendees, but had a negative impact
on the convention. It has to do with selfies with
our guests of honor. We asked our guests—in
fact, it was in their contracts—to not agree to be photographed
with our attendees in selfies and instead, to pose for a portrait
in our professional on-site studio for a nominal fee. There
were two reasons for this: 1) each guest received one half
of the portrait fee as part of their compensation package,
and 2) the portrait photographer and his staff were to receive
the other half of the portrait fee as their sole compensation. At
only $20 for a professional portrait with one guest which
included an 8 x 10 glossy print delivered immediately, we
felt this was a "win-win" deal for all parties. Unfortunately,
many of our attendees asked for, and got, a selfie with one
or more guests taken with their own cameras instead of posing
for a high-quality portrait. This impacted both
our guests' compensation as well as the photographer's. As
a result, the convention was forced to compensate both our
guests and our photographer... expenses which were not anticipated
and not budgeted.
We know what other conventions charge for similar portraits
with their guests—often starting at $100 and going as
high as $250—so we know that our fee of only $20 each
is a tremendous bargain. What we don't know is
why so few of our attendees took advantage of this great deal. Portrait
photography service with our guests is something we believe
is essential to the convention, but considering the lack of
interest our attendees showed in them this year, it is unlikely
that we will be able to offer anything similar again next
year. This, in turn, impacts the compensation package
that we are able to offer potential guests and as a result,
we will most likely be unable to book certain guests that
we might have otherwise been able to get.
Digital
Video Productions provided outstanding portrait photography
services at a very affordable price, but very few of our
attendees took advantage of it.
All
that said, most of this year's attendees will tell you that
they had a fantastic time at this year's Treklanta convention.
All of our guests of honor were charismatic, approachable
and entertaining, and we are grateful to have hosted them.
All of our other guests, performers and artists were
equally so, and we appreciate their participation and involvement
to help make Treklanta the robust, multi-faceted convention
that it is. In all the important categories, Treklanta
2016 was an absolute success.
And Now... The Numbers
In 2011, TrekTrax Atlanta attendance numbered 25 guests,
45 staff volunteers and 187 paid memberships for a total attendance
of 257 persons. In 2012, attendance numbered 33 guests,
45 staff volunteers and 162 paid memberships for a total attendance
of 240 persons, a 6.6% decrease from the previous year. In
2013, attendance numbered 43 guests and comps, 41 staff volunteers
and 97 paid memberships for a total attendance of 181 persons,
a 24.6% decrease from the previous year. In 2014, TrekTrax
Atlanta attendance included 72 guests and comps, 40 staff
volunteers and 134 paid memberships for a total attendance
of 246 persons, a spectacular increase of 35.9% over the previous
year. In 2015, Treklanta attendance numbered 60 guests
and comps, 45 staff volunteers and 193 paid memberships for
a total attendance of 298 persons... another huge increase
of 21.1% over the previous year and 15.9% greater than our
previous all-time highest attendance in 2011, making 2015
the most successful year up to that point. This
year, Treklanta 2016 attendance numbered 70 guests and comps,
45 staff volunteers and 185 paid memberships for a total attendance
of exactly 300 persons... an increase of only two people,
or less than 1%. This is our actual attendance
number, and does not include 15 membershps that were paid
for but the members did not attend. Nevertheless,
actual attendance at this year's Treklanta was the highest
it's ever been, making 2016 our best year ever.
The percentage rate of increase in actual attendance over
the previous year is negligible, but the number of badges
did break the 300-person mark, which is significant, if only
in psychological terms. It should be noted, however,
that the number of guests and comps increased by 10, from
60 to 70, in 2016 and the number of paid memberships decreased
by 8, from 193 to 185. In other words, although
we had more people wearing badges this year, fewer people
actually paid for them. This means that revenue
from membership sales was less than last year, and that's
not good. While it's important to get as many people
in the door as possible, it's even more important to be able
to meet our financial obligations, which is difficult to do
when fewer badges are purchased.
With fewer memberships sold and with our portrait photography
revenue stream nearly nonexistent, it's not hard to guess
what direction our financial situation went at the close of
this fiscal year.
And
Now... The Books Treklanta 2016 did not meet budget goals on several
revenue line items and went over budget on several expense
line items. We received as total revenue from all
sources approximately $9.4K against budgeted income of $11K,
or about $1.6K less than goal. In addition to the
previously mentioned membership sales and portrait photos,
the convention also did not sell as many dealer tables and
t-shirts, or collect as many volunteer staff fees, as we had
budgeted. However, we did exceed budget goals on
VIP reception tickets and program book ad sales, although
the total amount of line items that exceeded expectations
was far smaller than the total amount of line items that fell
short. In the expense column, we spent more than
we budgeted on several line items such as guest fees, per
diems, guest travel, audio/visual equipment and program book
printing. Total expenses were approximately $12.3K
against a budget of $10.5K, or about $1.8K over budget. Between
the income shortfall and expenses that went over budget, this
year's convention suffered a net loss of about $3.4K. At
the close of the fiscal year, most of that loss is in the
form of an unpaid balance on the company credit card, which
will have to be paid in the coming months.
In the months since the convention ended, Treklanta management
has been addressing our financial situation and is working
hard to ensure that we will be able to move forward on a solid
footing. We've developed a Corporate Sponsorship
Program, have created a new online video ad campaign and will
be expanding our presence at other local events to market
and promote next year's convention.
Great Joy and... Gratitude Treklanta founder and chairman Eric L. Watts
would like to thank all those persons who worked to make this
year's convention the operational success that it was, including
Director of Convention Operations Matt Steinberg, Star
Trek Track Director Brian Holloway, Space Opera
Programming Director Marcia Patterson, Director of
Guest Transportation & Services Mark A. Ozanick, Gaming
Room Director Mike Henigan, Security Director Jeff
"Legoless" Moore, Con Suite Director Jay Cannon,
Director of On-Site Registration Russell Ruhland, Art
Show Director Julianne Trew, Director of Photography
Ken Lackner and Director of Social Media & Press
Relations Christopher M. Jones, as well as everyone
who served on their staffs. Almost one thousand photos
from this year's convention can be seen in our Flickr
album here.
Next year's Treklanta
will be held April 28-30, 2017, once again at the DoubleTree
by Hilton Atlanta Northlake hotel in Tucker, Georgia. Our
special group rate for guest rooms is only $95 per night. Visit
the Treklanta
web site today to purchase your membership and book
your hotel room! Next issue, we'll announce several
guests that have already been confirmed and introduce you
to several new senior directors who have joined the team. With
a brand new Star Trek television series due to premiere
next spring, next year's Treklanta will be an exciting event
that you won't want to miss!
Personnel
Records
STARFLEET
Academy is a special collection of correspondence courses
available to every STARFLEET member. Over 60 Academy
Colleges offer courses spanning all aspects of Star Trek
and science fiction; some courses even cover non-sci-fi real
world topics. Each college offers dozens of different
courses at varying levels of challenge from super-easy to
really hard. In total, there are nearly 1,000 different
courses available. Take
a course today!
Something
special going on in your life? Submit
your Personnel Record for publication in the next
issue of The Republiqué!
Library
Computer CLICK THUMBNAIL TO PLAY VIDEO
Scott
& Cindy Rennick talk about why they attend Treklanta.
Written by Eric L. Watts and Scott & Cindy Rennick. Directed
and produced by Eric L. Watts. Video editing and post-production
by Eric Hendrix.
Recent
Chapter Event Photos CLICK ANY PHOTO TO ENLARGE
Captain
Eric's 10th Anniversary Celebration || May
7, 2016
The
Blue Ribbon Grill || Tucker, Georgia
FCapt
Eric L. Watts (seated) celebrates 10 years of service to
the USS Republic as Commanding Officer with ENS1 Eddie Hines,
Ens Matt Steinberg, Lt JG Tiffany Johnson, Lt JG Lee Johnson,
ENS3 Carly May, ENS3 John May, Ens Kathy Graham Wynn, Ensign
Wolfy and ENS1 Sue Lin Lange
Left
(clockwise around the table): Lt JG Lee Johnson, Lt JG Tiffany
Johnson, ENS1 Eddie Hines, Ens Kathy Graham Wynn, ENS3 John
May, Ensign Wolfy, ENS1 Sue Lin Lange, ENS3 Carly May, Ens
Matt Steinberg and FCapt Eric L. Watts
Right: FCapt Eric L. Watts holds the awesome (and, as it
turns out, delicious) cake he was given by Ensigns John
and Carly May
MAY
MEMBER REENLISTMENTS These members renewed their SFI and chapter
dues in May. Thank you!
Lt JG Robert Louis Simon
ENS1 Richard Tucker
ENS1 Zannetta Law Tucker
CDT3 Zarena Nova Tucker
DECEMBER
MEMBERSHIP RENEWALS These members' dues will expire in December.
Please renew now!
ENS1 Hal Doby
CAPT Matthew D. Ebeling
ENS1 James P. Gronski
ENS1 Leslie C. Gronski
ENS1 Tracey S. Harwell
Lt JG Lee Johnson
Lt JG Tiffany Johnson
ENS James King
ENS3 Carly May
ENS3 John May
ENS1 Karen Neal
ABOUT
THE REPUBLIC
The
USS Republic NCC-1371 was originally commissioned
as a chapter of STARFLEET International on May 14, 1988,
at the Dixie-Trek convention in Atlanta, Georgia. As
of November 5, 2016, the Republic crew includes 38
members who are active members of STARFLEET in good
standing.
The
Republic plans and coordinates an active schedule
of events for its members, but does not hold meetings
on a consistently fixed date each month.
Because
the USS Republic is a duly commissioned chapter
of STARFLEET International and is bound and governed by
its Constitution and By-Laws, membership in STARFLEET
is a prerequisite for membership in the Republic. STARFLEET
and Republic membership dues are $10 each for one
person ($20 total) and are typically remitted as a single
payment to the Republic. STARFLEET offers
family discounts for additional members as shown below. Additional
information about membership options, amounts due for
additional family members, payment options and instructions
for other forms of payment is on the "How to Join" page
of our award-winning web site.
