#ic2019

Positives out of IC2019 include:

- In times of crisis, STARFLEET really pulls together.  I’ve seen it time and time again in the past, but nothing quite reminds you strongly of the sense of family when the chips are down and you need help.  The most positive aspect of this year’s IC was that we inadvertently formed an all-star team of IC staff. - Within a few short weeks since taking over the event, we managed to sell 25 supporting memberships, 19 weekend memberships, and 6 Saturday memberships.  All told, the new website and registration system took in almost $3k to support IC2019. - The auction further raised another grand toward supporting the IC. - For the first time in IC history, STARFLEET was able to show licensed films with full studio permission (thanks to our friends at The Royal Manticoran Navy).  We showed Trek films, Babylon 5, and Avengers: Endgame! - Our Marketing & Branding Department kicked off the 45th Anniversary branding campaign (more on that in an upcoming post). - As with previous ICs, friends (old and new) discussed Star Trek fandom, plans for the next fiscal year within our organization, and came away filled with purpose.

So, in spite of it all... the fleet came together once more.

That’s great... but, what the hell happened?

Often times you’ll get a group of people together to try something new with the IC formula.  I think this comes from a sense of ego/pride; that they can try to do better than the previous... which isn’t a bad thing.  We should always look to improve on our concepts and adapt to the times.  STARFLEET is notoriously poor at embracing the new and recognizing obsolescence.

However, events like the International Conference are successful because attendees have a certain set of expectations.  We have core components of an IC that are now looked for every year:

- Workshops and Panels on topics of interest to members. - Meal-based events like the Marine Mess and the Admiralty Banquet - The Annual General Session, where we acknowledge our growth and listen to reports from the Executive Committee. - The meeting of the Admiralty Board and Executive Committee, to set the agenda for the coming year. - Opening & Closing Ceremonies.

In 2019, the formula seemed to be wrapping in the concept of a full-blown convention setting called IDIC Con.

Obviously, upon my early arrival, I set upon trying to find out what happened.  I spoke directly with members, hotel staff, and vendors.  The overall picture seems to be that the previous CS was sold on the idea of kick-starting a brand new “mini comic-con” on our dime.  Unfortunately, circumstances led to that being an outright failure and those involved stepped down, one by one, until the burden was too much for those remaining and the whole thing collapsed.

Roughly five weeks out from IC, Dan and I had no choice but to step up and take control of the rudderless ship and try to salvage what we could.  I personally feel that without Dan’s personal leadership, we would be in far worse shape than we were.  I can safely say that both of us lost a lot of sleep on this, in between working our full-time jobs and working phones and social media to turn things around.

In the course of setting this up, however, they booked nearly the entire ground floor of the hotel. Roughly 30k square feet of space was set aside for this event; far more space than was necessary.  At the actual IC, we did our best to utilize the space, but we gave up about 40% of the rooms.  And yes, that was money wasted as a result.

The measure of our success lays with those who attended.  So far, the positive feedback outweighed the negative.

Lessons Learned

And let’s be clear that what I’m about to say is common sense.  Hindsight being what it is, I’m sure that the adjustments we need to make are going to seem obvious.

- Improve Communication: IC teams/committees need to not be so passive with information.  IC2018 was a great example of a team that kept up their regular reports, gave us a sense of confidence that the event was progressing and coming together nicely.  I never once had a doubt about Minneapolis.  On the opposite end, the EC should be reaching out more often for information. - Update Bid Guidelines: We need to do a comprehensive review of the current bid guide.  This is already in progress, in discussion with some of the past successful IC chairs providing input on improvements. - Protect STARFLEET Financially: We’re looking into some legal and financial shields for STARFLEET, if this should ever happen again in spite of changes made.  Right now, some of those ideas are in the earliest stages of formation, so I’ll refrain from commenting too much.  But that leads me into the next point: - Improve Oversight: Many members came up to me and asked me about this, because it seems like this is a no-brainer.  We should use the above to refine and improve our oversight of the IC.  I feel that in updating the Bid Guidelines, we should cover this point as well.

Keep it Simple: Future administrations should be wary of any plans involving a brand new convention to be started alongside any IC.  As I said above, ICs have a particular core value to the membership in terms of it being an annual party to celebrate our organization and highlight all the positives STARFLEET has achieved in the previous twelve (or so) months.  Adding the stress of starting a new event on top of IC requires a lot more manpower than most IC committees have access to.  Thusly, you get encumbered by the demands of ambition and the result is something along the lines of the failed IDIC Con.  But, that failure is at the expense of the members’ dues.  In my opinion, that was an unacceptable risk.  The members are now paying for the pride and ego of IDIC Con’s concomm... and they all bailed out of the event with mere weeks to go before the first member touched down in St. Louis.

The final lesson is that we should also provide contingencies in case we have a full burnout of the IC team as we did this year.  Some kind of response team that has been keeping tabs and stands ready to step in and take over with little to no notice.  This response team should shadow their counterparts closely each step of the way, and perhaps also act as an alternate if/when it’s necessary to take on those duties when RL shifts attention away.

After having said all of the above, this begs an obvious question (that’s been asked already several times):

IC2020: But this is another convention, isn’t it?

Yes, it is.  But, I feel that BayCon has a longevity that IDIC Con never had.  Also, there’s a clear division of labor next year.  BayCon’s staff will be tending to the convention side, while the STARFLEET team shall be tending to the IC side of the programming and event schedule.  You won’t have to have the same group of people trying to manage an IC while at the same time trying to run a public convention.

Lastly, our buy-in will provide a salve to the hit being taken on by the General Fund this year.  We’re being provided facilities and programming at next-to-no cost to the organization.

Pick up your memberships now!  The $55 membership is only available until the end of August 2019: http://ic.sfi.org/2020reg

See you in San Francisco!