IFT Fan Club Relaunches As ‘The Federation’

Today the 26 year-old International Federation of Trekkers fan club has relaunched (and rebranded) itself as "The Federation", complete with a brand new website, and a new online magazine. More information and links below in the official press release.

 

 

Press release

A New Day Dawns for International Federation Of Trekkers

International Federation Of Trekkers Re-launches as The Federation.

June 15th, 2010, will mark a new beginning for the Star Trek fan club known as the International Federation of Trekkers as the group undergoes a re-launch and re-brands itself as The Federation . This will be a culmination of a months-long project for members of the club’s staff who have been at work redesigning the organization in preparation for this day.

Originally launched in 1984 in Cleveland, Ohio, the International Federation of Trekkers has grown over the years into an international non-profit corporation and is the only Star Trek fan group that was started with the help of the show’s creator, Gene Roddenberry. Roddenberry’s assistance is a legacy that Federation founder Russ Haslage keeps close to his heart. This is a very exciting day for me. I promised Gene that I would take good care of this organization. I hope today he might be proud. Not so much of me, but of what The Federation has become.

Haslage went further into what Roddenberry wanted for the organization, He wanted our organization to be one where fans from all over the world, fans with different interests and different talents, would come together to do wondrous things. ‘Do as the crew of the Enterprise does in every episode….go places and help people,’ were our orders from Gene.

I hope I have done well in fulfilling that mission. Today’s Federation brings people from all over the world together to do great things and have fun doing it. Gene wanted us to be a service organization, serving all fans as we helped to make the world a better place. I hope Gene is proud of us today.

The re-launched Federation will have several new features never before seen in the group, including a new Federation Marine Corps, for members who want to play in the land forces part of Star Trek, much like the MACOS seen in Star Trek: Enterprise, a newly redesigned website with more features for members and non-members alike, and a new magazine for fans called VOYAGES.

I think the thing that is most exciting and will get the most acclaim is the new VOYAGES magazine. It is a top-notch publication that will rival any magazine on the market today. And what’s special about it is that is for fans, by fans and about fans. I think the magazine will really get a lot of attention.

About the changes in The Federation, Haslage further commented, The new TrekFederation.com  website is the best in fandom. Its high-tech, has lots of neat features for visitors and even more for Federation members. I’m excited that Cyrano Jones has taken on the job as Proprietor of the Federation Promenade shopping area and will be visible on the site and on the invoices that go with each order. I’m excited that Chase Masterson is our Face of The Federation; that George Takei is one of our most famous advocates (and a member). I’m excited that the new website will have live customer service. And I’m excited that we will continue to add enhancements and new features to the website in the months to come. Most of all, I’m excited that we have assembled a great team of members and affiliates to serve Star Trek fans as never before. And I am most excited that THIS is the ultimate fan club that Gene envisioned.

All of the features being unveiled to the world on June 15th, combined with the organization’s recent purchase of TrekUnited.com, promises to make The Federation the talk of Star Trek fandom for a long time to come.


New "Federation" site

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I can see Paramount suing for infringment.

The first time I signed with them, it was mildly organized. The second time, I think there was no organization whatsoever (essentially I think I just donated them money). Hopefully it’s back on track. Nice looking site, though I hate the “peacekeeping” quote they’re using on the front page.

Abrams fans will no doubt approve of the IFT’s reboot.

Good luck on your future endeavors, Federation fans!

I would think this is a good thing, although there has been no local news of this in our ST fan clubs who are members.

@1

Everything the IFT has done here has been run through CBS, so its all good.

Everything has been run through CBS? Then how did that logo end up looking like Galactica’s insignia from BSG?

@2
I agree. I signed up a while back, but there was no organization at all, and at the time I wasn’t in a position to help in that area. Hopefully this new site indicates a renewed commitment and involvement. Best of luck to them!

That’s not BSG’s insignia. That’s the Federation logo from the Star Trek films.

Yoo bad the sites gives you a 404…

Too bad it’s still run by the same people; self-important blow hards who think they are the end all be all of Trek just because they had Gene’s blessing 26 years ago.

I agree, it’d be a great site…IF IT DIDN’T GIVE A 404 ERROR MESSAGE!

The Federation?

Those Blake’s 7 fans are going to be upset….

Russ is a good guy, but the truth get VERRRY stretched. The whole Roddenberry thing. What he doesn’t point out is that the Roddenberry family made them stop saying that Gene helped found the organization back when they first started. Therefore I take a huge grain of salt when I hear about Chase and George.

All these guys did (and they admit it) is rip off the concept that Starfleet International began with in 1974. Even SFI has had a new website for years. Just another Johnny Come Lately. Roddenberry, really? I’d like to see proof.

I joined, and donated, but several of the linked pages give me this:

500 – View not found [name, type, prefix]: 46,html,contentView

@7

I was hoping so. We all know how paramount can be. When i was at the star trek traveling museum in Detroit last year I had to turn off my flash to take pictures because the Paramount Gastapo was everywhere to make people stop taking picts.

best in Fandom? It may have a lot of really cool “switches and dials, and other dealy’s” but I rather like the simplicity of Trekmovie. It brings solid information in an easy to understand formate, and has updates daily. What more does a Trekkie need. I’ve also become fond of the general Sci-Fi colums and the Science colums (both of which the average Trek site could use). There isn’t always something to say about Trek, but these other things are of just as much interest to the average Trekkie, that they make this site fun. Thanks to all you guys for putting on a pretty darn good Fan sight. I haven’t really cruised around THE FEDERATION site, but I’m already saying “who needs them”

Marines? Wow. That is new (rolls eyes)! Starfleet International has been doing that since the late 1980s. Yeah, like Jimmy T said. These guys are just ripping off what somebody else has already been doing. How about coming up with your own ideas guys!

I have to agree with TJ Trek regarding Trekmovie. It is the only Trek fansite I regularly visit. I think it does have something to do that it covers areas of interest to Trekkies outside of Star Trek as well as being the single most valuable source of movie info. I haven’t bothered with startrek.com since it went dormant and I haven’t visited another active fansite in months.

I did wander over the The Federation website and I have to admit it was a little put-off by it. Now, somone please correct me if I’m wrong, but from what I could tell, is this group suggesting they have a place within the Star Trek mythos itself? That they operate (or at least fancy themselves) as some group that supposedly ran parallel to Starfleet? Am I reading this wrong?

“TrekMovie.com” beats every other website hands down. Just that simple.
But I would like to see the “Official Star Trek Fan Club” resurrected.

Yep, Trekmovie is the best Trek news site out here these days.

awesome