Hey members of the 7th Fleet,

Spring is here and Earth Day is coming next month. There will also be a celebration of First Contact Day by the USS Challenger who will once again hold its annual Intergalactic Food Festival at 1 pm on Saturday April 5 at the Seaside Heights Community Center at 1000 Bay Blvd. in Seaside Heights NJ. Everyone is invited to participate and join the party. Bring a food entree or dessert that will accommodate several people as we will be sharing food items for this festive event and you are encouraged though not required to come in uniform/costume to get into the spirit of things. The event will run until we close the doors which is why we moved it to a Saturday this year. Name your food items out of something we’ve seen or could see in Star Trek or even Star Wars, Doctor Who or other Sci-Fi sagas.

Also some exciting news from the Sciences Division of STARFLEET from that auxiliary’s Director Fleet Captain Barb Barton who wrote:

“I wanted to reach out to you directly to let you know of some important events coming up. Sciences is partnering with Petfleet, Medical, and Tactical on April 26th to celebrate Earth Day with a conference called STARFLEET Project Earth. There will be a session offered in the morning and then repeated in the afternoon EST to allow for folks around the globe to join us. There will be a couple pre-recorded sessions, live Sciences Trivia, live environmental-themed gaming, and our Sol Speaker Series which will feature a talk on whale and dolphin conservation by the Director and Assistant Director of the International Marine Mammal Institute of Earth Watch. The Sol talks will be offered for both sessions.

There is also a month-long park/wilderness area cleanup which is being run by Petfleet. Randy Mitson will be hosting a Zoom meeting to help folks plan their April 22 to May 11th Project Earth Day Clean Up events: Saturday March 29th (9am EST) Sunday March 30th (5pm EST). You can pick which day you’d like to join the Info/Ask Me Anything session on March 29th or 30th as well as register to host your clean up event.

As part of this event, we are inviting chapters and regional coordinators to submit a Happy Project Earth Day video (1-2 minutes long) that we will show during the event. In addition to chapters and regions, we have previous Sol speakers and some surprise guests also contributing. Videos should be sent to Mike Rosen at tactical@sfi.org by April 10th.”

They are hoping this becomes an annual event!

Sincerely,
ADM Bob Vosseller
Region 7 Coordinator
CO, USS Challenger NCC-1676-D

Greeting all!

Submissions are now open for the 2024 Region 7 Annual Awards! From now thru April 15th 2025, CO/XOs can submit nominations via the Region 7 website Awards Page … www.region7.com/web/awards/

Categories include:

  • Chapter of the Year ☆
  • Charity Chapter of the Year
  • CO of the Year ☆
  • Enlisted Member of the Year ☆
  • Flag Officer of the Year ☆
  • Helping Hands
  • Newsletter of the Year
  • Officer of the Year ☆
  • Shakedown Chapter of the Year ☆
  • Staff Member of the Year
  • Support Chapter of the Year ☆
  • Website of the Year

The winners of the starred ☆ awards are submitted to STARFLEET for consideration for the STARFLEET International Annual Awards.

Remember that nominations must be submitted in essay form, since that is what STARFLEET will be requiring when they judge for the STARFLEET Annual Awards.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask via GoogleGroups, Facebook, email or subspace transmission.

LL&P,
Region 7 Command

Dear members of the 7th Fleet,

I hope you are all enjoying this winter weekend! Earlier this month we had great Region 7 representation at Farpoint 2025 in Pikesville Maryland and a good attendance at our annual STARFLEET Region 7 Meeting. We had some special guests in the form of Tom and Kimberly Donohoe from Region 1 who work for Starfleet Shoc and Operations respectively and have chapter leadership duties as well and they answered any questions about their respective offices while present.

Commodore Robert “Bob” Smith was presented a certificate of regional achievement for his years of work as our Recruitment and Retention officer. Bob is stepping away from that position to focus on other things and we wish him well noting he’s done an excellent job during his time in this role and before that, as Region 7 quartermaster.

USS Theresa Sylvester CO while not present physically was there via a phone video and promoted October’s Region 7 Conference in northern NJ which her chapter, the USS Justice and the USS Abraham Lincoln are teaming up to host on Columbus Day weekend. Check out their conference Facebook page for more details and book that on your calendar.

Joe Traum of the USS Susquehannock received a regional commendation certificate for his excellent work and research and follow through concerning our mini flag display that features chapters of Region 7, Starfleet and Region 7 all at his own expense. Great work Joe. Joe wasn’t present but his certificate created by our VRC Adm Wayne Augustson was sent out to him recently.

Geri also received a certificate of regional achievement for her 25 years of boldly plunging into ice cold water for raising money for a good cause. She got a number of chapters to plunge together back in the early 2000s and she continues to involve her chapter in doing so to this day. Big congrats on your milestone plunging anniversary.

Speaking of milestones, Adm Alex Rosenzweig the XO of the USS Avenger promoted the 40th anniversary of his ship, the oldest chapter in Region 7 and their big bash will take place on June 21. They will have more details coming out soon so watch for them. It will certainly be an event to celebrate.

With the recruitment tote back in my hands I’m eager to pass the torch to our next Recruiting/Retention Officer and as noted at this meeting and during our CO/XO meeting last month, we are seeking a replacement for Bob whose boots will be hard to fill. And we will be reinstating the position of quartermaster which will once again fall under the purview of our Region 7 Financial Officer. Our top bean counter is Mike Stein and both will work together.

Applicants should e-mail Chief of Staff Jeff Victor, VRC Wayne Augustson, and RC Bob Vosseller.

What we are looking for is a letter stating a bit of your history in Starfleet and your chapter, what you feel you would bring to this respective position, experience you may have within Starfleet/your chapter or real-life experience and any ideas in particular that you would like to bring to the table if chosen for the position.

Applications are open now until the end of March and we hope to choose a candidate at some point in late April. The requirements and position description are listed below.

HELP WANTED

Region 7 Recruiting Officer

This position involves the following: Initiating recruitment/retention campaigns at various times of the year to promote recruiting/retention efforts with the chapters of the 7th Fleet. Interfacing with the STARFLEET Office of Retention and Recruitment to be in step with their international programs, projects and efforts so they can be reflected on the regional level. Overseeing regional recruitment efforts at major events that draw a large number of chapters such as special events and conventions such as Shore Leave in the Pennsylvania Sector and Farpoint in the Maryland Sector. This work includes maintaining the recruitment table schedule and promoting the need for volunteers to serve at a given table that is a regional effort. This officer may also be called upon to serve as the region’s representative to this special event/convention if required. This officer will also work with the quartermaster and Region 7 Financial Officer at times concerning the creation and production of certain recruitment materials and is charged with the security and safety of Region 7 recruitment materials such as our STARFLEET tablecloth, mini flag display items and other materials within our Starfleet-Region 7 Recruitment tote. This officer can enlist additional staff or develop sector representatives to work with them. Sectors being New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Delaware. As a member of the Region 7 Staff this officer’s input would be sought in matters involving recruitment/retention and would also serve as a voice for matters of general interest during Region 7 Staff meetings and during Regional Meetings during R7 Conferences or CO/XO meetings, staff meetings expected to provide reports on their department.

Region 7 Quartermaster

This position involves the following: This officer will serve under the Region 7 Financial Officer and will maintain and help promote the creation, production, design and ordering of materials of Region 7 merchandise such as sweatshirts, T-shirts, coffee mugs, jackets and promotional items that are desired by the membership of the region. This person would interface along with the Region 7 Financial Officer companies that supply such materials as listed above. This officer would also serve as a resource for the membership of the 7th Fleet in relation to maintaining a catalogue of firms where common items for costuming and other STAR TREK items can be ordered such as uniforms, pips. They would also interface with the STARFLEET Quartermaster’s Office to keep the region aware of any new items, discontinued items or pertinent news concerning that office that the members of Region 7 should be aware of so they can order said items, become aware of the discontinuation of certain items and to promote greater awareness of what is available. At the same time this officer may be able to learn of other firms that would useful to contact in reference to creating Region 7 items. While this officer would hold a position under the Region 7 Financial Officer they too would be called upon to report during regional events at conferences and conventions where meetings are held to bring awareness of the items available for purchase and to seek input from the region to learn what the region would be interested in regarding merchandise. At times this officer may also be asked to assist the Region 7 Recruitment/Retention Officer in relation to SWAG items for the recruitment tables at conventions where Region 7 has a presence.

Requirements

Applicants for these positions must be members of STARFLEET in good standing having been a member and serving on a chapter for a minimum of five years. They should also have held or hold a position of leadership within the chapter (i.e. section chief, assistant section chief, first officer, commanding officer) at some point during that time. Applicants may be required to take the Starfleet Data Protection Policy (SFDPP) test if they are not currently in compliance with it. Should you have any questions, please direct them to Wayne, Jeff and I and we look forward to receiving and reviewing all letters of interest sent to us.

Sincerely,
ADM Bob Vosseller
Region 7 Coordinator
CO, USS Challenger NCC-1676-D