The STARFLEET International Conference is the annual business conference where members of STARFLEET: The International Star Trek Fan Association, Inc. meet the organization's leadership. The conference includes leadership meetings, information sessions, a formal banquet, an awards ceremony, and other events and entertainment.

History

STARFLEET is a nonprofit corporation based in North Carolina, and the conference also serves as the required annual meeting of the corporation where members of the Board of Directors, referred to as the Admiralty Board, and the officers of the corporation, known as the Executive Committee, meet in session. Initially called the "National Conference,"[1] the International Conference has been hosted in the United States because the majority of STARFLEET's membership resides in that country. Most conferences are stand-alone events, but some have been associated with nearby conventions; for example, in 1995, the conference was part of DragonCon in Atlanta, Georgia. Conference guests have included Vaughn Armstrong,[2] Casey Biggs,[2] Robin Curtis,[3][4] Richard Herd,[2] J. G. Hertzler,[3] Chase Masterson,[5] Colm Meaney,[6] Tim Russ,[3] Roger Stern[3] and Fred W. Haise.

In 2020, because of the COVID-19 Pandemic, the 2020 IC2020 was delayed until November. Due to the lateness of the event, a Virtual IC2020 was held ahead of the actual IC2020 online using ZOOM on August 1, 2020. In early September 2020, IC2020 at BayCon in San Mateo, California was cancelled by the STARFLEET Board of Directors, the Admiralty Board, due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Both IC2021 and 2022 were scheduled for Tallahassee, Florida in June of those years but it was deemed that the Pandemic and its subsequent spike would affect it and the site managers agreed to push it back first to 2022 and then to 2023.

In December 2022, the STARFLEET Board of Directors (Admiralty Board), citing continued concerns of the COVID Viruses, voted to cancel the event. On January 5, 2023, the IC Committee announced that a team has been awarded the next Virtual IC.

Locations

  • 1986 - June 13 to June 15 - St. Louis, Missouri - 1st Starfleet Conference, held at the Clarion Hotel in association with Archon 10 fan convention.
  • 1987 - July 10 to July 12 - Hunt Valley, Maryland - Held at the Hunt Valley Inn, in association with Shore Leave IX.
  • 1988 - June 16 to June 19 - Cleveland, Ohio - Held at the Cleveland Convention Center, this National Conference was combined with International Superman Convention and the 7th annual Neovention gaming convention.[7]
  • 1989 - August 25 to August 27 - San Jose, California Held at the LaBaron Hotel in association with TimeCon 89.
  • 1990 - August 31 to September 2 - Kansas City, Missouri - Held at Adam's Mark Hotel in association with Delecon One.
  • 1991 - July 12 to July 14 - Hunt Valley, Maryland - Held again at the Hunt Valley Inn, in association with Shore Leave XIII.
  • 1992 - July 3 to July 5 - Kansas City, Missouri - Kansas City Marriot Hotel, in association with Delecon Two. Special charity events at the 1992 IC raised money to benefit the Children's Miracle Network.
  • 1993 - July 2 to July 4 - Arlington, Texas - Held at the Arlington Convention Center, the IC was branded as "Tex-Trek '93" and some events were opened to the public.[6] Guests included actor Colm Meaney.
  • 1994 - July 17 to July 19 - Orlando, Florida - Held at Orlando North Hilton in conjunction with Vulkon 94
  • 1995 - July 13 to July 16 - Atlanta, Georgia - Held at Ramada Downtown in conjunction with Dragon Con/NASFIC

-- From 1986 to 1995 All Starfleet National Conferences were held in conjunction with another convention. 1996 marked the beginning of stand-alone Starfleet International Conferences --

  • 1996 - August 30 to September 1 - Oklahoma City, Oklahoma - Held at Oklahoma City La Quinta
  • 1997 - August 22 to August 24 - Cherry Hill, New Jersey - Held at Cherry Hill Hilton Hotel
  • 1998 - July 3 to July 5 - Lubbock, Texas - Held at Holiday Inn and Towers
  • 1999 - August 6 to August 8 - Charlotte, North Carolina - Held at Charlotte Marriott Executive Park
  • 2000 - September 1 to September 3 - Burlington, Vermont - Held at Sheraton Burlington Hotel
  • 2001 - July 27 to July 29 - Kansas City, Missouri - Held at Kansas City Airport Marriott
  • 2002 - August 1 to August 4 - San Jose, California - Held at DoubleTree Hotel Airport
  • 2003 - July 31 to August 3 - Greensboro, North Carolina - Held at Holiday Inn Airport
  • 2004 - July 29 to August 1 - Birmingham, Alabama - Held at Marriot Grandview
  • 2005 - July 1 to July 3 - San Antonio, Texas - Held at Hilton San Antonio Airport - Guests included Richard Herd, Vaughn Armstrong, and Casey Biggs.
  • 2006 - August 4 to August 6 - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - Held at Embassy Suites Philadelphia Airport
  • 2007 - August 9 to August 12 - Denver, Colorado - Held at Adams Mark Hotel - Included guest Tim Russ
  • 2008 - June 27 to June 29 - Ithaca, New York - Held at Ithaca Ramada Airport Inn - This IC's theme was "Back to School" and special guests included actors J. G. Hertzler and Robin Curtis, and Superman author Roger Stern.
  • 2009 - August 6 to August 9 - Greensboro, North Carolina - Held at Greensboro Airport Marriot - With the theme "One Small Step, One Giant Leap", this IC celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing[8] as well as the 35th Anniversary of STARFLEET International. The special guest was Apollo 13 astronaut Fred W. Haise.
  • 2010 - July 30 to August 1 - Sequoyah State Park, Wagoner, Oklahoma - The "Wagon Train to the Stars" theme reflects the Oklahoma setting and echoes a phrase Gene Roddenberry used to describe Star Trek to television network executives.[9][10][11]
  • 2011 - August 12 to August 14 - Held at The Inn at Pocono Manor, Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania
  • 2012 - August 3 to August 5 - Held at Whispering Woods Resort, Memphis, Tennessee - "Trekkin' on the Mississippi" - Included Guest: Rod Roddenberry
  • 2013 - August 1 to August 4 - Held at MCM Elegante Hotel, Dallas, Texas - "Year of the Phoenix" - Included Guest: Vaughn Armstrong
  • 2014 - August 8 to August 10 - Held at The Clock Tower Resort and Convention Center, Rockford, Illinois - "Time is Fleeting", Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of STARFLEET: The International Star Trek Fan Association, Inc.
  • 2015 - August 21 to August 23 - Held at The Conference & Event Center, Niagara Falls, New York - "Honeymoon in STARFLEET"
  • 2016 - August 12 to August 14 - Held at Crown Plaza Louisville Airport, Louisville, Kentucky - "Trekkin' II: Horsing around on the Ohio!"
  • 2017 - August 18 to August 20 - New Orleans, Louisiana - Held at the Crown Plaza New Orleans Airport.
  • 2018 - August 10 to August 12 - Minneapolis, Minnesota - Held at Hilton Minneapolis/St. Paul Airport Mall of America - "Family Reunion".
  • 2019 - August 2 to August 5 - St. Louis, Missouri - Held at the Marriott St. Louis Airport. A new convention, IDIC Con, attempted to use the International Conference funds to spin-off, but failed.
  • 2020 - August 1 - Virtual IC2020 - Hosted online on Zoom (software) by the Starfleet International Conference Committee. IC2020 was to be held in San Mateo, California was CANCELLED by the Admiralty Board, due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.
  • 2021 - August 7 - Virtual IC2021 - Hosted by the STARFLEET International Conference Committee. It was to be in Tallahassee, Florida but this event was postponed until 2022 due to the ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic.
  • 2022 - August 13 - Virtual IC2022 - Hosted by the STARFLEET International Conference Committee. The event was postponed until 2023 due to the spike in the new Omnicrom variant as well as other variants of COVID-19. This is the third straight Virtual IC.
  • 2023 - Date TBD - VirtualIC2023 - As the Tallahassee International Conference having been canceled due to continued COVID concerns by the STARFLEET Board of Directors (Admiralty Board).

References

  1. ↑ Wickman, G. Fred (June 23, 1992). "Beam yourself right in there". Kansas City Star. p. E6. This science fiction and fantasy convention also is the Starfleet national conference. Proceeds go for a down-to-earth cause, the Children's Miracle Network.
  2. 1 2 3 "International Conference 2005: Fiesta in San Antonio, Texas" (PDF). Communique. Vol. 130. SFI. August–September 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-21.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "STARFLEET International Conference 2008". Archived from the original on February 12, 2009. Retrieved March 10, 2009.
  4. ↑ "'Star Trek' fan group to hold '08 conference in Ithaca". The Ithaca Journal. August 1, 2007. "Star Trek" fandom will beam into Ithaca when STARFLEET, a "Star Trek" fan association, holds its annual conference here in June 2008. [...] STARFLEET, a not-for-profit organization, uses the conference to take care of yearly business and have some fun, Adinolfi said. The Ithaca chapter beat out chapters in Greensboro, N.C. and Oklahoma City, Okla. to host the 2008 conference. The conference is being held in Denver this year and will feature actor Tim Russ, who played Tuvok on "Star Trek: Voyager." [...] [T]he conference will feature panels about STARFLEET, discussions on science fiction, a TV room for showing science fiction movies and a presentation from a Cornell staff member.
  5. ↑ "Trekkies jump to warp speed, with Charlotte as destination". Charlotte Observer. July 30, 1999. p. 7E.
  6. 1 2 "Universal appeal Star Trek convention prepares to beam into town for the weekend". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. July 1, 1993. p. 23.
  7. ↑ "Convention Calendar". Dragon. June 1988. p. 97. Archived from the original on March 5, 2009.
  8. ↑ "STARFLEET International Conference 2009". Archived from the original on February 5, 2009. Retrieved March 10, 2009.
  9. ↑ "Wil Wheaton Offers Reaction To 'Spoilers' 'Star Trek' Footage: 'Relax People'". MTV.com. February 20, 2009. [...] the original "Star Trek," which was pitched by Gene Roddenberry as a Western in Space, or "Wagon Train to the Stars."
  10. ↑ "STARFLEET International Conference 2010". Archived from the original on February 7, 2009. Retrieved March 10, 2009.
  11. ↑ "Remembering Gene Roddenberry". StarTrek.com. October 24, 2003. Originally pitched as "Wagon Train to the stars," Star Trek was really a vehicle for Roddenberry to comment on contemporary issues under the guise of science fiction
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