Star Trek Welcommittee

Founded in 1972, the Star Trek Welcommittee was a national organization set up to help new Star Trek fans network, find local clubs, answer questions about the show, and act as a clearinghouse for information regarding Star Trek fanzines. The club's first chairman was Jeanne Haueisen. It was founded based on an idea proposed by Jacqueline Lichtenberg. The idea was based on Jacqueline Lichtenberg's own experience with the larger science fiction community and the National Fantasy Fan Federation (N3F). The organization played a pivotal role for many years in keeping the Star Trek community networked, in helping maintain interest in the show and helping to get movies made. It also acted as a conduit for many fan fiction readers and writers, helping them to find material. Several big name fans from the fan fiction community and science fiction community were involved in it. The Star Trek Welcommittee also garnered support from the show's producers and actors. By 1973, it had 100 workers in 23 states.

Lichtenberg in a 2004 tribute to the late Shirley Maiewski noted "We disbanded Star Trek Welcommittee a few years ago because it was no longer needed." [http://www.simegen.com/sgfandom/rimonslibrary/cz/cz20/Shirley.html ]

Chairmen

* First: Jeanne Haueisen
* Second: Helen Young
* Third: Shirley Maiewski

External links

* [http://www.ftlpublications.com/bw.htm BOLDLY WRITING: A Trekker Fan and Zine History 1967-1987] , by Joan Marie Verba. Gives details about the Welcommittee.
* [http://www.simegen.com/sgfandom/rimonslibrary/cz/cz20/Shirley.html Shirley Maiewski: A Tribute] A tribute upon the death of Shirley Maiewski, known to Star Trek fans as "Grandma Trek," with details about the Welcommittee.
* [http://www.simegen.com/reviews/rereadablebooks/trekcon.html The Star Trek Connection Underlying Everything On This Domain] An account of the founding of the Welcommittee, by its founder, Jacqueline Lichtenberg.