Hi 7th Fleet,
It has been a whirl wind two weeks between Shore Leave 43 which was tremendous fun and the events that have occurred since.
It was great to see everyone present at SL 43 which featured fantastic guests, our annual SFR7 meeting, our SF Marines 7th Brigade meeting, several panels presented by members of R7 and our Saturday night dinner that was well attended, at the Nautilus Diner.
Wayne Augustson tended his resignation earlier this week noting the need to take a few steps back to attend to real life matters and thus as VRC I have stepped up to serve in that role. As required, I called for a Vote of Confidence with the Inspector General’s office and was happy to learn that in less than 24 hours received more than the required votes from chapter COs to be elected to serve out the remainder of Wayne’s term which ends at the end of next June.
Our regional staff are all remaining in place and in discussions with Wayne, who I have worked with for 15 years as his VRC, he feels he is up for the job to serve as MY VRC which provides me a valuable experienced person in that role. I do acknowledge that there are others who were in consideration and I have made sure that Wayne wishes to and can serve in this role. This will make for a good transition and allow those currently holding staff positions to remain and to continue performing the jobs they have demonstrated great expertise in.
In a way this switch (which was not in anyway planned earlier) comes to full circle to the time when Wayne was first elected. Our team will continue onward but there will be opportunities for those within the region to step up in new leadership roles and head projects.
We are seeking applicants to fill the vacancy of R7 Awards Director. Those interested in filling this position, learning more about what is involved and to share your background in either fandom or real life experience that you feel would help serve you in that role, please e-mail me at rc@region7.com.
All letters of interest will be shared with the chief of staff and VRC for review and consideration. We wish to collect all letters of interest by Sept. 1 with the idea of announcing our choice at the R7 Conference in late October.
We enjoyed a wonderful meeting at Shore Leave 43 followed by a meeting of the 7th Brigade which I sat in on and I have to say I was very impressed by the project they have developed to help homeless veterans and the goal set to complete that project. I am sure we will all learn more about the progress of that project in the weeks and months to come.
I want to urge members of the region to attend next month’s virtual STARFLEET International Conference which is set for the weekend of Aug. 12. Check out SFI.org and the Starfleet Members Only and Starfleet Business Facebook forums for additional information and details. Yesterday, I taped my greeting as RC for Region 7 at the home of USS Abraham Lincoln CO Keith Shikowitz during his chapter’s 15th annual BBQ which included attendance by members of my crew and the USS Theresa Sylvester. It was a very enjoyable event with good friends, an abundance of good food and laughs.
For now I just want to once again thank Wayne for his service as RC for the last 15 years and to thank all of you for your support as I transition into this role that I served in the 1990s for five years. I’ve been your VRC for the last 15 years and I am excited and thrilled to lead the 7th Fleet but I also know that this is a team effort and we have a wonderful regional staff who I trust to continue doing their jobs.
I will be announcing other initiatives and projects in the months to come that I hope helps to bring us altogether a bit more. I feel we are already the most active and well organized region in STARFLEET but there is always things we can do to improve and to make things even better by utilizing the many skillsets our members have.
Should you have any ideas, concerns, questions etc that you wish to discuss with me, I am certainly available and you can either PM me, e-mail me or call me. I promise get back to within a reasonable amount of time.
Have a wonderful summer!
Sincerely,
Adm. Bob Vosseller
Region 7 Coordinator
CO USS Challenger NCC-1676-D