<span class="SFPTagline"> From SCIFIPEDIA </span>

STARFLEET: The International Star Trek Fan Association, Inc., which is also known as STARFLEET International (SFI), is an association for the fans of the television and film series, Star Trek. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, STARFLEET is the world's largest science fiction fan club, and it currently has approximately 4,000 members in 229 separate chapters located around the globe.

STARFLEET is incorporated as a not-for profit corporation under the laws of the State of North Carolina, the United States of America, and has been granted 501(c)(7) status by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. The organization derives its organizational structure from the fictional Starfleet organization depicted in Star Trek, and within the organization the name 'STARFLEET' is used exclusively to denote the fan movement, whilst 'Starfleet' refers to the fictional entity.

STARFLEET International places emphasis on community service, and encourages its chapters to take part in charitable fundraising activities and other public services.

The organization has members worldwide, and splits the world into 20 regions, each with a coordinator who supervises activities in his or her region. If members, usually living in geographical proximity, choose to form a group among themselves, they become a chapter of STARFLEET, taking the fictional form of a starship, space station or other vessel along the lines of those in Star Trek. Each member is given a fictional rank to show time in membership and contribution to fan activities.

STARFLEET International organizes a STARFLEET Academy, where STARFLEET members can take exams related to Star Trek trivia and general knowledge, amongst other themes. It also has a sub-group, named the STARFLEET Marine Corps, made up of members who prefer to role-play as military, rather than naval, personnel.

Among other publications, STARFLEET produces a bi-monthly publication called The Communiqué, which all members receive.

Beginnings

STARFLEET was founded in October 1974 as the "USS Enterprise Fan Club" out of Lufkin, Texas by a group of fans lead by John Bradbury. The group formed their club on the lines of a starship command structure, with ranks and positions based on what was then known of the Star Trek universe. On May 23, 1974, in response to several other fan clubs in the US, STARFLEET Central was created. Bradbury became the first president as Chief of Staff of STARFLEET. By the end of 1976 there were 14 chapters nation-wide, including the "USS Eagle", which stands as the longest serving chapter within STARFLEET.

The STARFLEET Communiqué

The official newsletter of STARFLEET: The International Star Trek Fan Association, Inc., is the STARFLEET Communiqué. This publication is the main source of news for the association and has been in publication since 1981.

Early editions focused on news from the Star Trek franchise as well as reports from the different departments. Later news switched to more news of charitable events, chapter profiles, and articles related to the fictional side of Star Trek and the Trekdom of the association. Editions have been published in newsletter, magazine and newspaper format (currently used).

The Communiqué was created by the STARFLEET Chief of Personnel Eric A. Stillwell, prior to becoming the leader of STARFLEET, as a means to get information to the membership of STARFLEET as the 'regular' newsletter was printed irregularly. This would later become the standardized fleet-wide publication of STARFLEET. In the early issues, the Editor was Adm. T. Wyxn, and although some wrongly assumed this was Stillwell himself, it was actually friend and later Chief of Fleet Communications, Anthony (Tony) Wynn. Wynn went on to found another Star Trek fan organization, "Trek International", in late 1983.

One of the most important issues of the Communiqué appeared with the publication of Issue 100 where a lengthy article from the Office of the Fleet Historian appeared on the History of STARFLEET. Another important issue was Issue 107, whose lead article was a news analysis of how the events of 9/11 had affected STARFLEET members; the article included comments (gleaned from public sources) by Siddig el Fadil and George Takei.

The Division of Communications, STARFLEET, publishes the STARFLEET Communiqué six times a year, every other month. The membership dues to STARFLEET cover costs. An Internet issue is also available for downloading in PDF format to members of the STARFLEET Database website.

External Links

• Official Site