1996 Year in Review
Page Created: 08/25/10. Last Updated: 10/26/10. Last Google Group Page Update: 03/01/08.
Newsletter Account:
The following account is reprinted with permission from THE STARSHIP EXPRESS Copyright 1997 Philip J De Parto:
1996: The Year in Review:
This past year was a very good one for the Association. Attendance was up, finances improved, existing programs were generally strong, and a number of new initiatives were set in motion. It was the best year oveall the group has had since the mid-80s; arguably the best ever.
Membership rose from 92 on January 1, 1996 to 98 on December 31, 1996. Along the way we lost some old members, but picked up a number of new ones including Jonathan Bolster, Hope Cocchi, Peter Cocchi, Anthony Di Prima, Stephen Geisinger, Laura Gillespie, Robert Hauser, Ellen Heine, Steve Herr, Anpin Hsieh, Sal Lagattuta, Julia Dennison Le Gath, Sarah Matthews, Susan Mc Nevin, Jerome Mendel, Michael Piazza, John Radli, Stephanie Rosen, Greg Rosewall, Karen Rothenberg, Robert Sabella, Douglas Staats, Michael Stranieire, Christopher Vail, Bruce Wallace, Scott Weissberg and Andrea Woodle.
Although the weather was not always perfect, we did get in all dozen meetings. Ten of the 12 were programmed with speakers. Three were science fiction writers (Tony Daniel, William Mc Cay, and Al Sarrantonio), two were editors (Betsy Mitchell and double threat editor/writer Anne Lesley Groell), one literary agent (Martha Millard), one illustrator (Donato Giancola), two scriptwriters (David Mack and editor/scripter John Ordover), two people from the comic book field (Jeff Gomez and Chrysoula Artemis), and one fan program (the gang from THE B FILES spoof).
The following chart gives a meeting-by-meeting snapshot of how things went. (Note: "Officially Present" includes all adults officially at the meeting. This includes guest speakers, but not children or people present for the pre-meeting functions only.)
Meeting Date Program/Speaker(s) Officially Present Meeting Site
01/13/96 Business Meeting 22 Cultural Center
02/10/96 Tony Daniel 41 Methodist Church
03/09/96 Martha Millard 46 Yeager House
04/13/96 Donato Giancola 35 Cultural Center
05/11/96 William Mc Cay 33 Cultural Center
06/08/96 Betsy Mitchell 36 Borders Wayne
07/13/96 Al Sarrantonio 32 B&N Nanuet, NY
08/10/96 John Ordover & David Mack 55 Peking Duck House
09/14/96 Anne Lesley Groell 42 Methodist Church
10/12/96 Chrysoula Artemis & Jeff Gomez 38 Cultural Center
11/09/96 THE B FILES 41 Cultural Center
12/14/96 Holiday Party 47 Cultural Center
The Association launched THAT'S SCIENCE FICTION!, a sub group which meets at Borders Books & Music in Paramus, New Jersey at 8:00 PM on the second Wednesday of the month to watch and discuss an sf movie, in June of 1996. Barry Weinberger runs the group which has been slowly but steadily growing in size.
We also modified the club's first bookstore discussion group from being a straight book discussion group to being a topic discussion group (with an official book as a lead in). The change has revitalized this activity which has averaged over a dozen in attendance over the past six months. Carol Smith moderates this group which meets at the same Borders on the third Tuesday of the month.
The other sub groups are a mixed bag. The Vampire Book Discussion group in Nanuet and the Final Frontier chapter in Livingston, New Jersey have been consistently well attended. The Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Game has had its ups and downs but appears to be on the rebound from a late year slump. Attendance at the Special Activities Group and the Writers Critique Group varies greatly from month to month. The Author Discussion Group in Wayne, New Jersey continues to disappoint.
The biggest advances have taken place on internet-related projects. James La Barre and Philip De Parto have established a club website of over 120 pages. Information about the club, its activities, history, reprinted articles, and links to other interesting websites can all be found on the website.
An even more massive website is under construction by Tom Zych and Philip De Parto. This will be a directory of activities and clubs in Bergen County and the adjacent areas. A third, much smaller website will be designed and maintained by Stephanie Rosen and be an on-line, science fiction TV Guide.
We did a few email notifications to people about club meetings and activities in 1996. The hold up has been a time crunch for Philip De Parto who prepares the notices. Jacqueline and Mark Hecht take care of the actual mailing duties.