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Florida Fandom: Stone Hill Science Fiction Association

On January 18, 1979, a group of 10 fans met to form a science fiction club in Tampa, Florida. The founders of what would soon become the Stone Hill Science Fiction Association were Ann Morris, Kendall Morris, Kendall David Morris, Ruth Sweberg (Oswald), Oz Oswald, Dale Shuman, Cynthia Broadwater, Rex Tabor, David Bennett, and Kathy Saunders.

At the third meeting of the club, David Bennett proposed that the group adopt the name Stone Hill Science Fiction Association because the site of the rocket launch in Jules Verne's From the Earth to the Moon was Stone Hill near Tampa Town. The name was unanimously approved. (Some translations of Verne's work name the launch site Stone's Hill.)

Word spread about the group and within two years, the average attendance at a monthy meeting grew to 40 people. Meetings were held at the homes of members and at local parks, including Ballast Point Park where a tribute plaque to Jules Verne rests.

In 1982, the Stone Hill Science Fiction Association began producing a science fiction, fantasy and horror convention named NECRONOMICON. The convention has remained an all volunteer run event. Each year, the portion of the profit not needed as seed money for the successive year is donated to Kids & Canines, a program that takes students at risk of dropping out of school and teaches them to train service dogs for disabled people, and Francis House, a daycare and counseling [center for HIV affected persons and their families.

The Stone Hill Science Fiction Association also embraces the cause of blood donation. Several times a year, a bloodmobile from the local blood bank is present and members can donate while attending the club meeting.

The organization of the club is unusual in that there are no officers, no dues payments, and no written rules. Meetings are primarily run as pot-luck socials. To become a member, an interested party need only attend meetings and contribute food and a beverage for the gathering.

External Links

• Stone Hill Science Fiction Association More information on the Stone Hill Science Fiction Association.
• NECRONOMICON More information on NECRONOMICON.