"Fandom at 30,000 Feet"
by Mark Anbinder, USS ACCORD, Region 7

Three years ago, though, USS Accord was in the middle of making the decision of whether to return to STARFLEET. I hadn’t really yet been to any major STARFLEET events, and while Accord was never exactly an isolationist group (we frequently went to cons, and Watkins Glen Weekend always drew a crowd), we also weren’t really an active part of the Fleet.

That all changed in the late summer of 1997, standing on a stage in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, at the International Conference that so many Thagard members helped organize. Never one to stand on ceremony, Bob Vosseller had shoved the paperwork through the necessary signatures, and Accord was recommissioned as an active chapter of STARFLEET. It was a great weekend for the several Accord members in attendance, and it marked the beginning of a strong period of Fleet activity for some of us.

Since then, I’ve been to both International Conferences, and two Region 7 Conferences. (Heck, we even hosted the last one.) I’ve seen Fleet folks at Shore Leave, camping trips, and other casual events, and I’ve been to such more-official events as Avenger’s anniversary parties, Normandy’s commissioning BBQ celebration, Chesapeake’s tenth anniversary dinner, and even a Thagard picnic. And Watkins Glen Weekend continues; our tenth annual WGW was last fall.

All of those, of course, save the IC in Lubbock, were within driving distance. What am I doing, I find myself wondering, flying to Tennessee for a Regional Summit that’s not even for my Region?

The answer, it turns out, lies not in my continuing drive to become more involved with helping to run STARFLEET, but in my ongoing quest to hang out with the funnest folks of the Fleet. Sure, I’ve taken part in meetings and panels at the ICs and R7 Conferences, but when I skim over the above list of events I’ve attended, the common factor seems to be fun. Fun, for me, involves people, relaxation, and often, good food.

(OK, the "good food" part arises fairly often.)

The Region 1 Summit seems an excellent opportunity to relax with a number of people I typically only get to see at busy events, as well as meet several folks I’d only previously known via e-mail or IRC chats. This opportunity isn’t one to be taken lightly. Over the years, I’ve heard hundreds of names, or dealt with people by mail, phone, e-mail, or IRC, and putting faces to those names is, in some cases, a rare privilege.

At the same time, this is a great chance to see how another Region within STARFLEET organizes its events. It’s always fun to see how different-yet-similar groups handle things, especially having recently run a similar event ourselves. Not only can I enjoy sitting back and watching other people run around all weekend, this should also be a good learning experience for any future events we might decide to run.

That continuing drive I mentioned, to become more involved with helping to run STARFLEET, is worth talking a bit more about, too. I started to work actively with STARFLEET Computer Operations almost two years ago, and have become more and more active with that department, which handles one of the Fleet’s most critical functions: processing memberships and maintaining the mailing database.

CompOps even became a good example of my experience with group collaboration and shared projects when it came time to interview for my new job this winter. For this, I credit Jesse Smith (now our RC) and Teri Smith, the two CompOps Chiefs I’ve served. They’ve both run no-nonsense operations that get things done through real collaboration, without too much emphasis on who’s in charge and what the command hierarchy is.

Along the way, I’ve also edited and published two issues of STARFLEET’s Communiqué newsletter, a far more complex and challenging task than I’d envisioned. My recent work on a committee chartered by the Admiralty Board to help formulate new STARFLEET policy also feels like a good way of being helpful.

As I consider putting away my laptop, and returning my tray table to its secure and upright position for landing, I have to imagine that a successful weekend will involve not just a fun and relaxing time, and of course some good food and drink, but also a new set of friendships, and a new set of potential attendees for this fall’s Watkins Glen Weekend. (It’s October 6^th through 8^th, and you’re coming, right?)

Flying to Tennessee for the Region 1 Summit suddenly doesn’t seem like such an odd thing to do. It doesn’t sound quite as fun as my original plan, road-tripping in Liz Soley’s new yellow Beetle, but it sounds a bit more practical for someone who now has a structured full-time job.

And just think of the frequent flier miles.