Thank you!
It was a pleasure to serve as your VCS these past two years. In that time, I feel that we accomplished quite a bit, though we couldn't do everything we wanted to do. We had some major issues arise along the way, as it goes within an organization such as ours. However, I'm proud of how my team handled those issues.
With only a few short days left to my term, I wanted to take a moment to say thank you to the many members within my office who've stepped up to bring about the successes in the last 23 months since I was confirmed as Vice-Commander, STARFLEET.
· Melissa Comeau, Director of STARFLEET Human Resources: Melissa was appointed by Dan Toole when he was VCS, but the idea of creating a new department to ensure that we communicate and encourage members to step up to critical roles within our organization has been such a huge success for STARFLEET. Her hard work and diligence in pursuing applications and getting them in the hands of the right people has delivered on promises made when Dan stepped up to become CS; that we would continue to lead with openness and transparency with respect to the membership. Posting jobs and encouraging applications, staying on top of interview schedules, communicating with all involved… it's been a big help to demonstrating the large pool of talent we have in our organization. Without her involvement and bringing her own considerable talent to STARFLEET, we would not have had the right people in the right positions. So up top and foremost, I'm incredibly thankful and appreciative to her for not just calling for this role but stepping up and performing beyond expectations.
· Rey Cordero, Frank Gonzalez, Nathanial Lively and the staff of the STARFLEET Member Services Helpdesk: I'd worked with Rey and Frank in the past, in all honesty. I'm also an alumnus of the Helpdesk; having worked as a simple analyst in 2013 before taking over the Helpdesk entirely in 2014 in conjunction with working as Vice-Chief of STARFLEET Communications. Rey Cordero was on the Helpdesk back then as well, and eventually rose to succeed me when I assumed my duties as Chief and could no longer devote the kind of time the Helpdesk requires. I returned to run the Helpdesk from 2016 to 2018 under Theresa Bristow and then Dan Toole. I say this with a full appreciation for the kind of work that the Helpdesk does daily. Nate Lively took over for me as Admin when I was appointed VCS, he worked very hard to staff/train the helpdesk, did the reporting, listened to feedback and executed changes for the better. When he had to step down due to his academic and medical obligations, Rey Cordero and Frank Gonzalez immediately stepped up. The Helpdesk is one of the unsung heroes of our organization because the role isn't about achievement insomuch as it is about maintaining good relationships with the members and performing a role that is part support, part customer service, part ombudsperson, and part ambassador. Helpdesk roles are incredibly demanding; rivalling that of an actual 9-to-5 job at times. The turnover rate on the Helpdesk in the past has been at a breakneck pace because often times volunteers are wholly unprepared for the level of abuse and vitriol when the everyday things break down and members become angry and care not for whom they spit on while opening tickets. It's a mental stress unlike any other volunteer position I've ever worked, and I applaud those who step up to take those responsibilities on.
· Wallace Cady, Kelli Caplette, and Linda Kloempken, STARFLEET Member Services/Recognition: Linda Kloempken had been Director of Recognition since I first became a member of STARFLEET in 2008, and in that time I've spent getting to know her and her husband David as friends, we worked really well together when I became VCS. However, my first year as VCS was her last year as Director, and within that time, I learned a lot of about how Recognition functioned from her patient explanations. Based on her hard work and understanding those efforts, when it came time to bring on Wallace and Kelli, the ease of transition was directly related to Linda's legacy for which I'm always going to be grateful. By the time we finished transitioning to our new hires, Recognition had fallen behind to a point where the Admiralty Board was asking for daily updates. Wallace took the reins, hired Kelli very quickly after being selected as Director of Member Services and rather than hiring a new Director for Recognition, he understood Kelli's talents and brought her in as a Deputy Director and assigned her to tackle Recognition. Kelli did not hesitate and approached her new duties with gusto and aplomb. Between the two, they worked closely with all of the Region Coordinators on award and promotions, used the helpdesk to stay in constant communications with each nominator and approver, used eminent patience with the Executive Committee during voting and Q&A on each nominee, and delivered the results we were looking for. I'm extremely proud of the work they've done.
· Diane and Bob Bulkeley, STARFLEET Marketing and Branding: I've worked with Diane in the past and she's been a long-time member of STARFLEET out of Region 17 along with her husband, Bob. Bob is an exception graphic designer in his own right and bringing his talents to the Marketing department was kismet. Diane immediately set to work on a lot of the branding issues and recommended several changes. She recruited and hired an actual attorney for us to consult with (see below) in IP matters with regards to heraldry, spearheaded the 45th anniversary project by designing the entire sample set, and worked with several chapters in consulting on logos. Bob was the artist behind the refresh of the STARFLEET logo, the 45th anniversary seal/patch/pin, and several unrealized projects such as the redesign of the EC seals (rejected). Bob also spent a considerable amount of time working on the new Membership Handbook design to follow IP laws. Without Diane, Bob, and the marketing team, we would be in very poor shape from a design perspective, so I am so glad they accomplished all they could for us.
· Melyssa Dennis and Emmett Plant, STARFLEET Engage!: Emmett originated this role for us very early on in my tenure as VCS, and while I understand that he was not a popular pick, he brought his enthusiasm to the role in way I don't think many others could at the point in our term. Emm's planning and ideas were ultimately utilized, he has always been a force of nature and I wanted to promote that ability for the organization by placing him in a position to execute his ideas and seeing the result and benefit to our members. I am very thankful that he agreed to take on the role, I'm thankful that he brought a multitude of ideas to kickstart the department, and I'm appreciative of the work he put in to help make STARFLEET better and adaptive. Melyssa took on that role after Emm departed and carried the torch on behalf of our members by working to reorganize what are now known as the Auxiliaries of STARFLEET (ie: SFMC, MACOs, Sciences, Medical, PETFLEET, etc). Due to the reorganization, we worked with the Admiralty Board to implement a new classification for onboarding future auxiliaries within the Office of the VCS and set limitations on the focus of these groups to learn from mistakes made in the past so as not to burden the future.
· Matthew Parker, Special Counsel to the Vice-Commander, STARFLEET: When Diane took over Marketing, she brought on Matt Parker as a legal consultant. Matt is a practicing attorney and has experience in intellectual property law, an issue facing STARFLEET for quite some time. Matt was originally brought on to help Diane, but as we spoke as a team, I realized that he could fill a larger role within my office. His advice and review of documents led to severe overhaul of several manuals for the Marine Corps and the MACOs. His research helped guide our proposals with respect to Heraldry improvements and assisting those units in adopting MSG and SEU logos that did not infringe on copyright or trademarks. Improvements made within those auxiliaries are still being worked on, but the impetus for those changes came from Matt's analysis and providing research notes. When we have stronger manuals that comply with the law, those manuals better educate and inform the membership. I wish to thank Matt for his tireless efforts in this capacity and appreciate the long hours of providing his professional expertise at no cost to the organization.
· TJ Allen and Scott Sawyer, STARFLEET MACO: When I became VCS, the STARFLEET Special Operations group was one of my main focuses. TJ and I had a very long conversation on the phone about how to improve and expand the group from its less than 100 members to a broader focus. Out of that conversation, we hatched a plan to market the group to a larger fandom by utilizing the MACO subset of SpecOps and turning the whole group into an easily identifiable and understandable concept. Since then, the MACOs tripled their members and TJ's team is responsible for executing on that concept. Scott, as the deputy director, has been instrumental in providing insight and communications to my team, working closely on editing and improving the MACO manuals, as well.
· Jari James, Les Rickard, and Brian Allen, Commandants of the STARFLEET Marine Corps: When I first met Jari, she was serving as COMFORCECOM under Mike O'Brien and I was working as Chief of Communications. Part of my role was to gather up all the information for the Attention on Deck portions of the Communique. She and I had also worked together in another fandom group and I've always respected her as someone who gets the job done. I was thrilled to have her as my Commandant, because I know I could count on her to do the same in that capacity. Although she did not serve to the end of my term, I think the world of her and appreciate all the work she did for the Marines under my command. Following on, Les and Brian carried on as her successors more than capably. I'm very happy that Rey has asked Brian to stay on as DepDant, because in the last few months of the term, Brian has proved his ability time and time again. I've been very lucky to have a line of Commandants such as them.
· Theresa Bristow, Chief of Staff to the VCS: Theresa and I have been friends for many years, when we first met at IC2013. She was originally my Chief of Staff when I started as VCS, however, Dan and I decided to go without in the beginning in order to better server the membership. Theresa immediately understood, wished me well, and we parted ways. In the middle of 2019, however, as things were ramping up in terms of the IC2019 debacle and keeping on top of the MHB project along with other collateral duties, Theresa agreed to come back on board to take on Chief of Staff duties as she had before. She was most helpful during meetings and taking excellent notes, working with the team on reporting information and putting together minutes ahead of approval for me. Theresa has always been a kindred spirit in terms of how to best serve the memberships, and I thank her for never bringing her ego or pride into the conversation, for always keeping her eyes on the bigger picture and understanding the needs of the organization and presenting them in a helpful concern. The successes of 2019 are due to her assistance and guidance.
Were it not for the above named and unnamed members, my office would not have been as successful in execution and maintenance. Our goal was not only to provide the members with a better experience in STARFLEET, but also to ensure that the next administration would have less problems arising from past policy mistakes in order to focus on the future.
To my team, a final thank you from a grateful VCS, and I hope you continue to serve STARFLEET in the future.
To Dan Toole, thank you so much for the opportunity to work with you. I know that I was reluctant at first, but your leadership and friendship was inspiring. The pressures that usually come with this role were non-existent because of all the times that you had my and my team's back in moving forward. If I come away with any regrets, it's that this may mark the last time we get to work together like this, so I'll always recall fondly the last two years. You've got my number if you need anything!
To Jim Herring, I want to say only that I wish for nothing except a continuation of success for the Office of the VCS and my very best wishes that you have a calm sea ahead and a powerful wind at your back.
Thank you all and I hope to see everyone at IC2020!
Mike Garcia
29 December 2019