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The Continuing Committee
Chairman
Department of Organized Play Marketing Department Department of First Edition Department of Second Edition
Chairman - Charlie Plaine (MidnightLich)

The Chairman is responsible for the group's agenda. He or she will cast the tie-breaking vote, as well as serve as an arbiter when a conflict cannot be resolved normally. Essentially, the Chairman will keep the departments coordinated, working together, and on the same page. He or she will also be responsible for any financial and legal issues.

Goals:
  1. To continue to improve every day
  2. To support the community
  3. To ensure the community continues to thrive and grow

Biography:

I started playing Trek in 2003 after the debut of 2nd Edition. When 1E was out, I'd collected the cards like mad but I'd never been able to play anyone, so I'd eventually stopped. With the debut of 2E, I was in college and in Columbus, and I was able to find a group of players. From there, I moved into running tournaments, becoming an Ambassador and then a dAgent, and finally a Level 4 Judge. I love this game and I am passionate about it's future.


Department of Organized Play
Director of Organized Play
Australian OP Coordinator European OP Coordinator North American OP Coordinator Achievement Master Chief Ambassador
Director of Organized Play - James Hoskin (RedDwarf)

The Director of Organized Play is responsible for coordinating organized play worldwide; including Regional Championships, National Championships, Continental Championships, and the World Championships. He or she also maintains the Organized Play Guide, Code of Conduct, and the sanctioned tournament formats.

Biography:

Part Man, Part Pizza, James Hoskin was introduced to Star Trek TNG CCG by his brother, Will, shortly after it was released. At the time he wasn't a fan of Star Trek at all, but the pretty pictures on the cards began to fascinate him. James started watching the Next Generation, looking for a scene that matched the cards, and before long was a huge fan of the television show. For many years, James only had his brother to play against, and he likes to tell people that he was undefeated by Will. The accuracy of that claim cannot be verified.

Things changed in the year 2000, when James discovered Star Trek CCG was being played at Gen Con UK. The convention had moved to a venue about 30 minutes travel from where he lived, and he felt he could no longer use travel time as an excuse for not attending. Despite using a supposedly good deck that he found on the Internet, he was soundly beaten. The experience changed him though, and he wanted to play on a more regular basis.

With the introduction of Second Edition, James started playing a lot. He began by organising local tournaments in his desire to play more often. When that wasn't enough, he started travelling to tournaments. First, to other parts of the United Kingdom; then to parts of Europe; then the United states; and finally, Australia. To date, James has travelled over 124,000 miles (the equivalent of 4.9 times around the world) to play Star Trek CCG. No, he does not own an airline.

When he is playing, he'll sometimes win the coin toss to see who goes first. Sometimes, he'll win a game. Sometimes, he'll even win a tournament. Once in a while, he'll also forget who took the first turn. Yes, he still has issues about that one.

As the years have passed, James has become more involved with the game. In 2004, he began judging the UK nationals. In 2005, he wrote his first multi-page tournament report. In 2006, he started writing articles for Decipher's website; and later that year, became a playtester. In 2007, he began making statements that were not true, and then he legally changed his middle name to "RedDwarf". In 2008, he helped design the Raise the Stakes expansion. In 2009, he was made an offer that he couldn't refuse, and took the position of Director of Organised Play in the Continuing Committee. In 2010, he helped design the Infinite Diversity and Peak Performance expansions, and he was head judge at the European Championships and the World Championships. In 2011 and 2012, he was head judge at the European Championships. 2013 may, or may not, see the end of the game as we know it, as he has been appointed lead designer for expansion #29, codenamed Project Queeg. Get ready for lots of Maquis cards!

James often can't believe how lucky he has been to be involved with this fantastic game for such a long period of time. He is honoured to be the Director of Organised Play, and he spends a lot of time thinking up creative ways to abuse power by disqualifying Will from tournaments.

Australian OP Coordinator - Matthyas Kiraly (stoovie)

Each continent has an Organized Play Coordinator that coordinates events on that continent.

European OP Coordinator - Thomas Schneider (thsch)

Each continent has an Organized Play Coordinator that coordinates events on that continent.

Biography:

I started playing STCCG shortly after the release of 1E. But I would take up to the beginning of 2E to play my first tournament outside of my home town. Starting from there, I got involved in the German scene more and more as a player, and in the last years also as a member of the European organized play team and a tournament director for my home town.

When Thorsten had to retire from his position, he and Charlie asked me to become his successor as European OP coordinator and I was happy to accept.

North American OP Coordinator - David Kuck (ikeya)

Each continent has an Organized Play Coordinator that coordinates events on that continent.

Biography:

Dave Kuck was born and raised in the great state of Minnesota. He was introduced to Star Trek: The Next Generation at a young age by his parents, who made it a Saturday tradition to order Pizza Hut and watch the show. He was introduced to Star Trek: The Next Generation CCG in 1994 by friends attending the local Junior High School. In his first booster pack, he pulled a Jean-Luc Picard, and his love of the game hasn't stopped since, although he took a brief hiatus in collecting new cards between high school and college. While attending North Dakota State University in Fargo, North Dakota -- to get his Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in Computer Science -- he stumbled upon a local STCCG player group by accident while dabbling in some other CCGs. He got re-introduced to 1E and played that until 2E came out. Dave has been heavily involved with 2E from the get-go, playing in Fargo, then playing with the Twin Cities group once he moved to Rochester, MN to take a Software Engineer position at IBM.

Dave enjoys playing games for the fierce competition coupled with the close camaraderie that results. That is why STCCG 2E is his game of choice. He's played competitively, making it to the top 16 at the World Championships once and running a variety of tournaments, most notably the first Draft Regional and the US West National tournaments. Dave was humbled to be asked to join the Continuing Committee as the North American Organized Play Coordinator and will do his best to serve the players of North America and players of STCCG 2E and continue the legacy of the best CCG ever produced.

Achievement Master - Rogue Shindler (SirRogue)

The Achievement Manager will be the primary point of contact for the community regarding achievements. He or she will work with our Web Development team to address any concerns regarding "bugs" or errors in the system, and will deal with comments from users. This individual will also monitor the system for inappropriate behavior and respond appropriately. Finally, the Achievement Manager will work with our Web Development team and our Graphic Design team to create new achievements and to ensure that existing achievements are properly balanced.

Goals:
  1. To enhance the play experience by introducing and maintaining new and interesting player goals within the game.
  2. To make Achievement requirements unambiguous and easy to understand.
  3. To make Achievements fun for everyone!

Biography:
Rogue has been playing Star Trek CCG since 1E WB Premiere, and has run tournaments up and down California. Rogue became a Decipher product champion upon the release of Star Wars, but returned to playing Trek as well after the release of First Contact, and has been playing ever since. Despite moving to Boston briefly while his wife finished school, Rogue continued to be active in the Trek scene by driving to tournaments in Hartford, CT, and later teaching friends to play when 2E was released. He has been an active member of the 2E scene since moving to San Diego in 2003, and has been gathering intelligence for you on Star Trek CCG since 2008 as one half of the on-air team of the Section 31 podcast.
Chief Ambassador - Jeremy Benedict (flrazor)

The Chief Ambassador will be responsible for working with the various departments to provide a steady flow of information, both to and from the Ambassadors. The Chief Ambassador will ensure that Ambassadors are remaining active and will follow up on assigned tasks as needed. As needed, the Chief Ambassador will work with the Continental Coordinators to maintain necessary staffing levels.


Marketing Department
Marketing Director
Writing Team Manager Chief Programmer Art Director Shipping Manager
Marketing Director - Neil Timmons (ntimmons)

The Marketing Director is in charge of the overall plan for advertising and increasing our exposure to new players across the world.

Writing Team Manager - J (The Mad Vulcan)

The Editor in Chief is "the voice" of The Continuing Committee. This person is in charge of the writing team, making sure we have fresh and regular content for the site, and providing proofreading and editing of everything that gets posted on the website, to ensure a consistent image.

Biography:
I first encountered the Star Trek: The Next Generation: Customizable Card Game in April of 1995, not long after the game was released. Two of my friends brought me to a card shop where we agreed to get into the game. I never played against either of them as the first pulled a U.S.S. Enterprise (then worth $40) from his initially starter and opted to quit while he was ahead and the other bought up Black Border Premiere but refused to play with them due to perceived value. Instead, I went about teaching other people to play (anyone who showed interest). This produced an interesting 'home brew' play environment where any rules that I had wrong were completely accepted by everyone else. I avoided tournaments because I was afraid of losing all of my best cards to Raise the Stakes, as I had no delusions about my skill at the game. I wasn't to find out about that card's permanent ban until early 1998, when I first visited the Decipher website and it wasn't until the release event for The Dominion that I actually played in a tournament. Still, I have always considered myself a casual, low skill level player. I was always a collector more than a competitive player as I preferred to own complete sets rather than acquire multiples of power cards. I continued to collect and play quite casually until All Good Things released, at which point I decided that my wallet could use a break (I was attending the University of Washington by that time). I did stay active on the Decipher website, most often maligning the Second Edition or antagonizing the Star Wars geeks. I purchased both the Fractured Time and Adversaries Anthology sets for their boxes (though, the box for the latter was not as advertised) and this was my major mistake. After finding out about the Continuing Committee from Wikipedia, I attended a local 2E tournament and the players managed to rope me in (finally) to that game. This was more because of the great players and overall camaraderie. But I was impressed with what the CC had done for the Second Edition and eager to see what Virtual First Edition cards would bring -> and boy have I not been disappointed. In terms of volunteering, I started out offering my services as a 1E lore writer. That position was merged with 1E art and then 2E art and lore. As a result, I actually worked more on 2E sets than 1E expansions but managed to contribute more to 2E art and Lore. But ultimately, I think my place is with writing as I am quite long winded and nobody enjoyed my dissertations on the aesthetics of ship screen shots.
Chief Programmer - Chris Lobban (Maelwys)

The Chief Programmer is in charge of maintaining and updating all aspects of The Continuing Committee's web presence. In addition to maintaining the systems needed to keep things running smoothly, he or she should always be on the lookout for new tools or ideas that could benefit the community.

Goals:
  1. To make the site as inviting and user-friendly as possible.
  2. To provide as many tools as possible to the players that use the site.
  3. To automate the entire site to the point that the entire Committee will eventually be replaced by robots... err... ignore that last bit ;-)

Biography:

Well, I first discovered the ST:TNG CCG shortly after its release, back in December of 1994. A couple guys in my classes at school played, and as soon as I saw them playing and learned that the game existed, I was hooked. It was just the three of us at that time, and we played for the rest of our Grade 11 time and part of Grade 12 before they dropped it. So although I was really interested, I was forced to set it aside at that point, for lack of anybody to play with. A couple years later (Spring of 1997), I found a website called "STCCG Online Headquarters" being run by a "Wesley Crusher." It became a new place to hang out in the evenings and chat, make some great friends, and get back into the game. I also found the Decipher website, the BBSs, and the great people, articles and conversations that took place there. That all got me re-energized into the game. A few months later, in the fall of that year, I moved to university and starting chatting online at any time of the day, and it was great. I managed to apply this new energy to start to build a player community at my university, even to the point of getting sanctioned tournaments. I remember following the 1997 Worlds coverage (what there was of it, at least), and cheering for the few players that I knew (one from local, a few more from the "Online HQ" or the BBSs). The following spring (1998) I applied to become, and was accepted as, an Ambassador.

The next fall (1998), although I didn't return to the same university, I continued to make the one-and-a-half-hour drive once a month to run the tournaments there, and loved it. I also found a local player base nearer to where I lived, and started attending tournaments there as well. Then, in November of 1998, with the help of some other nearby Ambassadors (Kim Burns/Logie in Michigan and Sean O'Reilly in New York), I managed to organize and run my first BIG event. One week before the Worlds of that year, I held a 50-player tournament with the players there including World Champ Defender David Bowling, and six or seven other "contenders" who had played in the 1997 Worlds and qualified for the 1998 Worlds. These powers that be were preparing their decks for the next weekend. All in all, it was a huge success, and the pinnacle of my "Trek career" up to that point.

That Christmas, I made another big jump for the game, flying to Germany for a week over the new year to take part in a huge "week of Trek:CCG" being organized by the same "Wesley Crusher" of the Online HQ. It was a lot of fun, and I got to meet seven other players from Ireland, Germany, and the US. I managed to place 3rd, which was strange considering I didn't count myself as a "good player" at that point. Over the next year, I continued to become more involved in my local scene (running a year-long promotional raffle for our tournaments and organizing other big events), and even more so involved in the online scene (posting constantly on the Decipher BBS, taking on larger roles in the Online STCCG HQ which soon became "Kedanya").

The following summer (August 1999) I managed to get to my first big convention, GenCon. I was thoroughly blown away by the size and scope of it, and delighted to meet all the great Decipher folks that were there as well as all of the other players. That fall, I managed to get to my first DecipherCon, and again met tons of great people there too... some of whom I'd already known online, and some who became completely new friends. That winter (Dec 1999), I managed to top my previous "bright points". I organized an international event in the local area, known as "Kedanyathon Y2K", inviting 20 players from around the world with the common bond being that we all played Trek, and we all met online. The event ran for two weeks, saw 20 players from Germany, Sweden, England, Ontario, Michigan, New York, Oregon, Illinois... and possibly others I forget now (sorry anybody I forgot!). We all had great fun at it, and made a lot of new friends.

Over the next few years, the trend generally continued. Lots of trips to GenCon and DecipherCon, lots of meeting people, and lots of time spent chatting with fellow enthusiasts online. But the best memory of my entire time in Trek has to be in the summer of 2001. That was when a long-time friend and fellow Trek player became even more than that. We'd met through the Online HQ years before, stayed in close contact since then, and in the summer of 2002, we were married. We continued to travel to GenCon/DecipherCon every year, and in both 2003 and 2004 I was proud to have been asked to run the World Championships. In 2005, they decided they needed my talents elsewhere instead (running the Trek RPGs for the weekend), and then in 2006 my first son was born the weekend right before GenCon (which, obviously, made it a lot harder to travel that year). Unfortunately since then (and especially since his brother was born a couple years later) I've been unable to travel for Trek anymore. So instead I've reimmersed myself in the online Trek community, first as a message board moderator for Decipher, and later becoming a moderator (and eventually programmer) here for The Continuing Committee. I'm proud to keep serving the community in any way I can, and happy to continue doing so for as long as my free time allows me.

Art Director - Johnny Holeva (jjh)

The Art Director is responsible for creating and maintaining the visual design and identity of The Continuing Committee. The Art Director will work closely with the Chairman, Director of Public Relations, Chief Programmer, Second/First Edition Design and Development teams, and the First Edition Designer to fulfill the art requests of The Committee. The Art Director must have proficiency with Adobe Photoshop and Adobe InDesign.

Goals:
  1. Just one. To carry on Decipher's Art Department's industry-leading legacy of outstanding graphics and the best-looking cards possible for the STCCG Community. Simple.

Biography:

I've played 1E since White Border Premiere, 2E from day one. I entered the "Design the Continuing Committee Logo" Contest, won, and became the Art Director for The Continuing Committee. My dream (volunteer) job. Pretty cool.

Shipping Manager - Dan Hamman (SirDan)

The Shipping Manager is responsible for all shipments of product and prize support.

Goals:
  1. Send out new requisitions twice a week.
  2. Ensure all event prizes arrive on time.
  3. Keep the Promenade from being a Continuing Committee money sink.

Biography:

I've been a member of the Trek community for quite a while (and still have my first white border '94 set). I've been an Amabssador, a dAgent, and a tournament director all over California: Irvine, Modesto, Turlock, Fresno, San Francisco, and now San Diego and Carlsbad.

I volunteered to take the Shipping position so Charlie can focus on other important things, and to get the level of trust back up so that players and tournament directors can order with confidence.


Department of First Edition
First Edition Brand Manager
First Edition Lead Designer
(assigned per expansion)
First Edition Rules MasterFirst Edition Creative Manager
Various Design Teams
(assigned per expansion)
First Edition Rules CommitteeCreative Development Team
First Edition Brand Manager - Jordan Leung (FrakkinPhoenix)

Brand Managers will guide expansions through their workflow cycles, ensuring that deadlines are being met and that the resources required for the expansion's release are available at the right times. However, the primary work of the Brand Managers will be in managing information about the expansion leading to its release: developing spoiler schedules, coordinating with Marketing to advertise the expansion, etc.

Biography:
"When you solve, download or relocate..."
First Edition Rules Master - Jon Carter (pfti)

The Rules Master is the chairman of the Rules Committee. He or she is the final authority for rules issues, errata issues, and the rulebook.

Goals: 1. To effectively communicate rulings to the community 2. To streamline the 1E rules without undermining the nuance and spirit of 1E.
Biography:
I fell in love with trek watching TNG, and later DS9, every weekend with my parents and their D&D play group (I come by my nerddom quite naturally). I started playing 1E in the PAQ era. A friend of mine had a bunch of cards (he was much more into trek. I started collecting with the purchase of a first anthology. I still have the box taped together holding part of my collection. During the late 90's we had a playgroup of about 8 at my high school and went to frequent tournaments in the Denver and Colorado Springs area. I learned to appreciate, and later love the rules, at a Colorado state tournament (which had over 40 players -- the good old days). I had stocked a Writ, but totally missed that I could use if for a self seeded Plan-net. After that I made it my mission to try to be aware of the rules interactions as possible. After moving to the Chicago area I played until 2E came out. I was frustrated by the prospect of starting over, and saddened by the simplicity of early 2E (it felt a bit to much like Young Jedi to me). In 2011 I decided to dig out my old cards and look for games, It was that time I found the CC and was excited by the state of the game. I have since dabbled in 2E and Tribbles, but 1E is still the Best. Hence, why I am excited to now work on the rules for 1E.
First Edition Creative Manager - David Runyon (superdave)

The Creative Managers will jointly manage a single Creative Team, working on new First Edition or Second Edition expansions respectively. Members of the creative team will work on both editions, but the Creative Managers are asked to be experts in their edition (as each edition has different styles and traditions to respect). Creative Managers will work with both the Graphic Design teams and the Design & Development Teams to ensure the art, story, and game play meld into the perfect cards. In addition, they will be called upon to select story for alternate image promo cards and might be asked to provide options to Design early in the process.

Goals:
  1. Develop 1E cards with pleasant aromas and a subtle mix of flavors.

Biography:
I pulled a white-border (Premiere Unlimited Alpha, I think) Deanna Troi in my first pack back in 1994 or 1995 and I've been playing casually ever since. I've been working with the Continuing Committee since its formation, doing proofing, article editing, card lore, and some design work (usually proposing off-the-wall solutions while not actually solving anything). I'm a librarian in the USA.

Department of Second Edition
Second Edition Brand Manager
Second Edition Lead Designer
(assigned per expansion)
Second Edition Rules MasterSecond Edition Creative Manager
Various Design Teams
(assigned per expansion)
Second Edition Rules CommitteeCreative Development Team
Second Edition Brand Manager - Vacant

Brand Managers will guide expansions through their workflow cycles, ensuring that deadlines are being met and that the resources required for the expansion's release are available at the right times. However, the primary work of the Brand Managers will be in managing information about the expansion leading to its release: developing spoiler schedules, coordinating with Marketing to advertise the expansion, etc.

Second Edition Rules Master - Tyler Fultz (DJstormtrooper)

The Rules Master is the chairman of the Rules Committee. He or she is the final authority for rules issues, errata issues, and the rulebook.

Goals:
  1. To effectively communicate rulings to the community
  2. To streamline the 2E rules framework.

Biography:
Tyler has been playing the Star Trek CCG since he opened his first starter of 1E Premiere in 1995 (which got him in trouble in his 5th grade class.) Tyler has played Trek competitively in both Europe and the United States earning him a European Continental Championship (2010) and a place as Worlds Runner-Up (2010). Tyler has also worked as a playtester and designer, most recently designing for 2E's Unity expansion.
Second Edition Creative Manager - Matt Kirk (CaptMDKirk)

The Creative Managers will jointly manage a single Creative Team, working on new First Edition or Second Edition expansions respectively. Members of the creative team will work on both editions, but the Creative Managers are asked to be experts in their edition (as each edition has different styles and traditions to respect). Creative Managers will work with both the Graphic Design teams and the Design & Development Teams to ensure the art, story, and game play meld into the perfect cards. In addition, they will be called upon to select story for alternate image promo cards and might be asked to provide options to Design early in the process.

Goals:
  1. Production of a high-quality flavor for 2E, consistent with established standards
  2. Inclusion of as much different source material as possible
  3. Excellence in proofreading, grammar, and spelling
  4. Cooperation with other TCC departments to communicate intent through story

Biography:

A life-long Star Trek fan, Matt has been semi-professionally involved with STCCG 1E and 2E for almost fifteen years. Based in San Diego, he has served the community in several capacities; as a tournament director, Ambassador, dAgent, volunteer, interviewer, writer, playtester, Level 4 Judge, and designer, Matt has striven for excellence in his efforts to promote the game we all love.

With a Bachelor's Degree in Music Education, Matt's commitment to thoroughness and elegance is now being put to use as the Second Edition Creative Manager. He was an original member of the Continuing Committee, and is pleased to be able to serve again in a different position.