I am very excited to learn that so many of you are taking the time to attend this year’s official union! I really wish I could have attended, but given my schedule it just was not possible. I remember how much fun the Las Vegas union was and hope to some day do it all over again. I suppose I’ll just have to remember my own saying…All In Time…

The past year at OTF certainly has been an active and exciting one. Just a year ago we started planning globalization – to bring together the Star Trek and Star Wars sides of OTF. It took us a few months to get that under control, but thanks to the trust and efforts of our members we pulled it off. Technical wise this past year has also seen big improvements. Joshua Hal has rewritten and reorganized much of OTF’s internal scripts and systems; internally we are far more efficient and secure than we were a year ago. We have also restructured our administrative body in order to handle the management load more efficiently. The addition of two genre representatives and a Quadrant Commander has increased efficiency in many areas and has taken much work of my shoulders. Most recently, we have purchased and set up a webserver based on the support from community members. Thirty OTF members helped to financially support the server in exchange for web space; that’s what I call dedication! Finally, the official union. You are all meeting this weekend because of what Outpost 10F and its people have made possible. The second of its kind in its four-year history, this union would appear to be one of the largest ones yet.

Outpost 10F is a community. A virtual one that has slowly become more physical…a community filled with dynamic, creative, thoughtful and dedicated individuals. I know that OTF has made a large impact on my life…the skills I’ve learned via my participation and the friends I’ve met are invaluable. I’m sure it has had a positive effect on yours as well; otherwise you probably wouldn’t be here today. Take pride in what you’ve helped accomplish, know you’ve made a difference, and celebrate this weekend…responsibly. ?

I look forward to seeing photos and hearing the stories that will end up in our history books. I wish you well!

Andrew

Awards Speech

As I’m not here today I have asked Henri and Teekay to represent both Terrence and I at the union. There are three award announcements we’d like to make.

Firstly, OTF’s highest award for achievement, the Christopher Pike Award, has been renamed to represent the now global community. It is now called the “Supernova Award for Outstanding Achievement.” We would like to present this award today to an officer who has made an invaluable contribution to Outpost 10F and set in motion much of the happenings this past year. Taking a few ideas from the Fleet Admiral, this officer, alongside Draco Hun, constructed, launched, and initially managed the Cloud City Cantina. This officer made the CCC what it is today; he is, in essence, its father. He brought life to this wing of Outpost 10F that has now grown to be a vital and integral part of the community. Both Terrence and I would like to present Alexis Delveccia with the Supernova Award for Outstanding Achievement for his work on the Cloud City Cantina! Congratulations from all of us; you are most certainly deserving!

NOTE: Alexis will be sent a gift in the mail on behalf of the community. We will need his mailing address.

Secondly, we would like to recognize an officer who recently stepped down from active duty. This officer has spent hours of his time on the site this past year working on our scripts and systems. As I mentioned in my speech, the work he has done for OTF has been invaluable; it has enabled us to delegate work easier and run a more efficient and secure chat system, something everyone has benefited from. This accolade we’re about to present is something special, something that thus far has not been done. For some time there has been a need for a chatroom for simming and interactive events, a theatre per say. Both Terrence and I agree that such a project would add value to the site and will initiate it once some of the more pertinent issues are resolved. We are very pleased to announce that in the honor of all Joshua Hal has done for OTF, that this upcoming site feature will be named, “The Joshua T. Hal Theatre.” Through having his name on this upcoming feature the community will forever remember the efforts Josh put forward. Congratulations!

And finally, we would like to present a new admiralty award. This award is called the “Quasar Award of Excellence” and is directly below the “Supernova Award for Outstanding Achievement.” Whereas the Supernova Award is based more on overall OTF career efforts, this award is presented to officers who do an excellent job in the management and success of an individual project.

You are all here today due to the efforts of several people, however, most notably Henri. Henri has been planning this union for months and has done everything in his power to make it a success. Setting up the hotel accommodations, organizing events, etc, he’s done such a great job and I’m sure his efforts are paying off right now. We hereby present Henri with the “Quasar Award of Excellence!” Congrats!

NOTE: A gift will be sent to Henri via snail mail.

Terrence and I would also like to sincerely thank Susanne (aka TeeKay) for her efforts with the union as well. Great work guys!!!!