Posted by D Grisham in Questions for the Candidates - All Tickets

Posted by Russell Watt in Questions for the Candidates - All Tickets
This is just a general question for all candidates, both those in currently and those who may run between now and the end of the nomination period.

Assume I am a new member who joined let’s say 2 months ago and am currently on one ship in the Academy. (I believe that two months is enough time to qualify this hypothetical new member to be involved as a voter/nominator/endorser/etc in the election.) This member has decided to vote in this election, but has no idea who anyone is in the club outside of those on their Academy ship, and no one running in this election is on their ship, that is, they know none of you from a bar of soap.

Could you share a bit about yourselves such as
1 where in the world you are from,
2 what role/s you currently play/perform in the club,
3 your favourite and least favourite roles in the club,
4 why you joined the club,
5 why you’ve stayed in the club for as long as you have been here, and
6 advice for a new role player to help them in their role playing,
Please.

This is to help this hypothetical new member get to know about you and the club.

Let’s call this new member … Gobias Koffi. And Gobias is using a smart phone to post so doesn’t want to read large blocks of text, such as this post.

Many thanks, Russell

First off, thanks for asking something non-technical, Russ. Matt is the techie out of the two of us, so he has to field those questions.

So, for those of you that don’t know me, I am D Grisham and I live in the United States. My state is Utah and although the world has heard some odd things about this state, usually concerning the Mormon church, it is a beautiful place and where I was raised. I moved away for many years and had a couple of husband and two kids, but after the second divorce, I returned because this is where my family is.

My current roles in the club are FComm 3, CO of the Olympic, XO of the Ogawa, CMO on the Olinski and the Genesis and a DR on the Europa. I have been with STF for 15+ years and have been on many ships in many roles. I have also had positions in the Academy and the PDept.

I can’t really say what is my favorite or least favorite role in the club because it depends on a lot of things at any given time. If we are talking characters, it depends on what is happening around them. If my character is involved in something exciting, I hit the computer as soon as I get home from work with a smile on my face and anticipation flowing through me. Its like that with most things, I guess. The role as FComm is good because it allows you a bigger picture of a part of STF. You get to see how an entire Fleet functions and try to help your ships spot and/or avoid negative issues. I have never run in an election before now, but I’m hoping if we win, that I will get to expand my scope once again to get an even larger understanding of the club as a whole.

I joined the club because I love Star Trek and I love to write. For the last several years, I have been taking care of my mother. She is handicapped and is on oxygen 24/7. She has very little energy/stamina because of a list of illnesses and it would be dangerous for her to try and live alone. My life consists of going to work at Barnes and Noble (I have been with that company for 20 years in a couple of different states) and then coming home to look after mom. STF is a wonderful outlet for me to have social interaction on a regular basis in our chat rooms, and for me to exercise my imagination by writing different characters. I’ve stayed this long because I love what STF has/does/could offer and over the years I’ve become close friends with several of its members.

My advice for new role players is this: Don’t give up. Not everyone here has the same strength of feeling about what we do, but there are dozens of really helpful people here. If you are frustrated that you aren’t being heard about something, then you’re talking to the wrong person so try someone else. The chat room in Discord is a huge resource to find out ‘who, what, when, where and how’ about anything. Its also important that you realize we were ALL new here once and were just as confused or scared as you might be. There is no reason to feel shy or hesitant, and there is no reason to doubt your abilities either. No one joins and immediately knows everything they need to about the club. It is a learning process and a lot of us would like to help people over the hump until they are comfortable. Just keep that in mind :)

Thanks,
D Grisham

Thanks D.

Russell