Star Trek Welcommittee

You may be looking for STW - Star Trek Winnipeg.
Founded in 1972, the Star Trek Welcommittee was Star Trek fandom's main information center for connecting with each other and assisting newcomers in finding fellow fans, local fan clubs, fanzines, and conventions. 
It was not a fan club, though sometimes erroneously referred to as such.
While fan-run and non-profit, the organization straddled a fine line in its relationship to The Powers That Be. It was dependent on maintaining a good relationship with Gene Roddenberry and Paramount. In return for promoting the show with fans, it was rewarded with information, much of which was passed along in its newsletter, A Piece of the Action. 
It emphasized that it did not take sides in political or fannish disagreements, and that it was non-partisan. It also did not endorse anything. 
In 1976, it had 130 volunteers. Many countries had a representative volunteer, such as Diane Marchant in Australia, to liaise with local clubs. 
==Publications==
Starting in 1973, the Welcommittee also produced its own newsletter: A Piece of the Action (APOTA). 
 
The STW also published a number of booklets. 
* Directory of Star Trek Organizations 
* The Fan's Little Golden Guide to Throwing Your Own Con
* How to Start a Club
* Communication the Hard Way
* The Neofan's Guide to Fandom
* Protocols
* So You Want Publicity
* 1977 Star Trek Welcommittee Calendar-Datebook
==Origins of the Organization==
Jacqueline Lichtenberg writes: 
Boldly Writing explains how the organization began: 
==Some Historical Context==
==Some 1974 Descriptions of Duties ==
The chairperson, Helen Young, wrote a long and detailed explanation of STW duties and functions in A Piece of the Action #11.
Image:stwremarks1.jpg|click to read
Image:stwremarks2.jpg|click to read
Image:stwremarks3.jpg|click to read
==Some 1975 Descriptions of Duties ==
In 1975, chairperson, Helen Young, wrote a "A Short History of the Star Trek Welcommittee." It was published in Spectrum #22.
Image:stwhistory-1.jpg|click to read
Image:stwhistory-2.jpg|click to read
Image:stwhistory-3.jpg|click to read
Image:stwhistory-4.jpg|click to read
Image:stwhistory-5.jpg|click to read
==Some 1976 Descriptions of Duties, and Info About Finances ==
From a series of letters sent to a fan in 1976 in regards to STW duties and costs of resources.
Image:stwremarksone.jpg|click to read, by a volunteer name to Diane W to another volunteer named Bonnie G
Image:stwremarkstwo.jpg|click to read, by Helen Young to a fan named Bonnie G
 
==A Fan Describes Answering the Mail==
In 2017, Joan Verba described her mail duties: 
==The Star Trek Lives! Error==
See We all should be aware to some degree of the STAR TREK WELCOMMITTEE and the role it plays in our hobby., a 1975 essay by Gerald M. Williams about this topic.
==Online Listing For The Welcommittee==
:"STAR TREK WELCOMMITTEE DIRECTORY NOW AVAILABLE
 
:"The Spring 1995 issue of the Star Trek Welcommittee's Directory of Star Trek Organizations is now available. This directory lists over 600 Star Trek clubs worldwide, over 300 Star Trek fanzines, and just about every Star Trek book ever published. To order, send $4 (USA), $5 (Canada), or $6 (elsewhere) to: Judy Segal.... (Make checks in U.S. funds payable to "Star Trek Welcommittee.") If you wish your club or fanzine listed in the Fall 1995 directory, send information to ....Listings are free of charge.)"
 
:"The Star Trek Welcommittee (founded 1972) is a service organization and central information center (not a club to join) with over 50 volunteers worldwide, which answers questions about Star Trek (original, TNG, DS9, VOY). STW offers booklets on how to start a club, how to run a small convention, and how to obtain publicity, as well as a guide to Star Trek fandom. For information, send an SASE..."
==Adult Content and Personal Responsibility==
Regarding warnings and underage fans, Maiewski wrote in 1978: 
==Neutrality, Content of Zines, and the STW==
 
The STW practiced a strict policy of inclusion regarding the fanworks they listed and included. From Shirley Maiewski in 1978: 
At times, STW's neutrality policy came under scrutiny. From the chair in 1985 : 
==In 1983, 1984, and 1985, Some Reflections==
In 1984, a fan, Randall Landers, proposed a zine called "Dead or Alive? -- A Report on the Star Trek Welcommittee." He described it as a "publication which will try to analyze the current status of the STW. The question is: is STW still alive, or is it really dead?" from Universal Translator #22 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
By the mid-1980s, fandom had become big enough, and had changed enough, that the STW wasn't the only place fans got their information, something that the chairperson of the committee recognized. In the fall of 1985, Shirley Maiewski wrote: 
==Winding Down and Then Disbanding==
A 1979 issue of A Piece of the Action announced that STW, due to a drop-off in mail, would reduce the size of its organization by not replacing volunteer workers who left. from APOTA (January 1979) 
Kay Johnson, who for many years produced the Directory of Star Trek Organizations (also known as "The Star Trek Welcommitee Directory"), died in 1987.
The Welcommittee was disbanded in December 1997 following the passing of the mailroom director, Mary Louise Dodge. Information had became more easily available on the Internet, and fans no longer depended on the STW the way they used to.
Helen Young, a former Chairman of the Star Trek Welcommittee, died in 2000, as did Shirley Maiewski in 2004.
Diane Marchant, the overseas/Australian STW representative for many years, died in 2006.
==A Recollection==
A Canadian fan (writing to the Melbourne Science Fiction Club in Australia) later recollected the STW and implied its template as an interactive form of fandom, within which one could be both a fan and a participant/creator:
==References==
Category:Star Trek TOS Communities
Category:1972 Communities
Category:1970s Communities
Category:1980s Communities
Category:1990s Communities