Command Update from the Administration

We’ve now passed the one-month mark of the new Administration, and I wanted to take a moment to bring everyone up to speed. This first month has been a whirlwind that I don’t quite remember from my first time around with David – likely because of how available he always was and how much he handled in real time. Add in a family trip that put me 14 hours from home over Christmas and New Year’s, and I’m comfortable admitting that a January 1 transition may not be the ideal date for a leadership transition.

You may have noticed that a Command Status Report (CSR) did not go out midway through our first month. That was a deliberate choice. Reporting on work that hadn’t yet had time to meaningfully begin felt counterproductive. As a result, the first CSR from this Administration will be released in February, with monthly reports continuing thereafter. One important structural update: the Vice Commander has adjusted the CSR schedule. CSRs will now be published on the 20th of each month. This allows us to provide you with more current information from Operations and the rest of the Executive Committee, rather than reporting on work that is already a month out of date.

Additionally, this post (and all future official Administration communications) will be cross-posted from our website to our various communication platforms, with the Members’ Hub serving as the primary and authoritative source. If you’re ever looking for official updates from the Administration, the Members’ Hub is where you should check first.

Executive Committee Updates
As mentioned in my last post, Richard and I are new to our roles, and we are also working alongside a new Chief of Operations, Chief of Communications, and Chief of Information Services. Each of them has multiple initiatives underway already. As they reach out, I ask that you please extend them patience and grace – we’re all building momentum together.

Here are some highlights of what’s currently in progress:
Communications
Comms is actively working on improving continuity and stability around organizational communication channels. While we anticipated email access transitions, the true scope of existing Facebook and Discord group ownership across the organization was far larger than expected. To address this, Jess is rebuilding the official STARFLEET public Facebook page with shared administrative access and will be securing administrative ownership of organizational-level groups (auxiliaries and similar bodies, not individual ships). This process will be inconvenient at times, but it is necessary, especially given challenges we’ve already encountered in just the first month of this Administration.

Information Services
InfoServ is making excellent progress on what will now be referred to as the Member Portal (formerly the Membership Database). This project is already well underway, and I’m genuinely excited about how deep into development the team is at this stage. Regional Coordinators are receiving monthly reports from InfoServ detailing progress and data insights. If you are not seeing those reports, please reach out to your RC and ask for them – they’re worth your time.

Operations
Operations is currently developing a challenge coin to celebrate the department’s work while also helping create more flexible, program-driven budgeting within Ops. The coin will also commemorate the 60th Anniversary of Star Trek as a franchise. I’ve seen an early draft, and it is genuinely impressive. I’m hopeful this is just the start of renewed energy across our programs.

Upcoming Engagements
The Vice Commander will be announcing an AMA (Ask Me Anything) in the near future, please keep an eye out for that post.

I’m also working with STARFLEET Tactical to organize a “Gaming with the CS” program, where we’ll stream a game you can join and open the floor for live questions and discussion.

Sadly, I don’t have the same personal availability for everyone as the past Administration did so to help set some realistic expectations, I will be holding weekly “office hours” on Wednesdays and Fridays from Noon–5:00 PM Central Time for real-time communication. That being said, one of the bonuses of the VCS being in a totally different timezone (and continent) from me is that his day usually starts as mine is ending (and vice-versa), so you can always reach out to him as well.

Otherwise, I WILL get back to you – it just may not be within a couple minutes like my office hour times, just rest assured that I’ll see it and respond back. I hope this is helpful to everyone.