History of the United Federation of Phoenix
A handful of ASU and high school students decided to change that.
They distributed flyers inviting local fans to meet and share their enthusiasm for Gene Roddenberry's vision. Those informal gatherings became the United Federation of Phoenix, now the oldest continuously operating independent Star Trek and science fiction fan club in the United States.
The Founding Years
The earliest UFP was governed by an Executive Council rather than elected officers. During 1975 and 1976, members including John Whiting, Dorene Wellman-Healy, John Fong, Frances O'Steen-Hatzis, Kaye Shuchman and Kandy Barber-Fong alternated responsibility for business and social meetings. Other founding members such as Toni Moore, Mike Strong and Mea Brink helped shape the young organization into a welcoming community for Arizona science fiction fans.
One of the club's greatest attractions was something almost impossible to find elsewhere. Before VHS, founding member John Fong brought ¾-inch videotape copies of original Star Trek episodes to meetings so members could watch the series together.
The club attracted attention almost immediately. In 1975, The Arizona Republic profiled the new organization under the headline "Star Trekkies Maintain the Faith." The article described members examining props, passing around a tribble, discussing conventions and preserving the optimism of a television series that had already become something much larger than entertainment. It also introduced several of the club's organizers, including Kandy Barber and Frances O'Steen, to readers across Arizona.
Visitors interested in those early years can also watch a full interview with founding member Mea Brink, available below. It has lots of fun and fascinating anecdotes from her time with the UFP.
A New Organization and the First Captain
As membership grew, so did the need for structure. In June 1977, the club adopted its first Constitution and transitioned from the rotating Executive Council to elected officers. Greg Ampagoomian became the UFP's first Captain.
Greg was always careful to credit those who built the club before he took office.
"That was not the beginning of the UFP. It started with a group of dedicated fans."
His contribution was giving the club an organizational framework that could survive for decades.
Working with fellow officers Toni Moore, Dawn Loudy and Jolaine Pecor, Greg helped draft a constitution that established responsibilities for officers while preserving the democratic spirit of the club. Looking back years later he wrote:
"Were it not for Toni, Dawn and Jolaine Pecor I don't know if the reborn UFP would have lasted."
Building Arizona Fandom
Only months after adopting its Constitution, the UFP helped organize the first Phoenix Fan Convention in August 1977.
George Takei, DeForest Kelley and Susan Sackett appeared as guests of honor while Greg handled publicity for the event. Local media covered the convention and fans from throughout Arizona and the western United States attended.
For Greg, two memories stood above the rest.
The first was being surprised with a birthday party attended by all three guests.
"It is a birthday that will stay with me forever."
The second was introducing DeForest Kelley before a packed ballroom at the Adams Hotel.
"I still have the picture over my desk," he recalled years later.
Club life during those years revolved around more than conventions. Members organized picnics, Halloween parties, auctions, car washes and fundraisers. Meetings occasionally took place inside Greg's television station after hours, followed by late-night trips to the Sombrero Theater for The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Executive Council meetings were often held in members' apartments, where lifelong friendships were formed.
The Return of Star Trek
Perhaps no single event meant more to the early UFP than December 1979.
When Star Trek: The Motion Picture premiered, UFP members volunteered as ushers at a local theater in exchange for attending a preview screening. The club also displayed its handmade Original Series transporter in the theater lobby while members arrived wearing Starfleet uniforms.
Greg remembered the evening vividly.
"There wasn't a dry eye in the house. It is an emotional memory... It is what keeps us together."
For many members, the return of Star Trek justified years of keeping the faith after cancellation.
Creativity Through the Decades
The UFP has always been more than a fan club.
Members built the transporter still displayed at events today and produced Star Trek: The Home Movie in 1980. During the 1980s, the club published six editions of Quastar, a nationally respected fanzine filled with original fiction, artwork and poetry created entirely by members.
For decades the club has also been a fixture at Arizona conventions through Sci-Fi Squares, UFP Jeopardy, convention programming and volunteer service, helping introduce new generations of fans to the organization.
In the 1990s, Eugene Glover and numerous UFP members created the public access television program Fusion Patrol, bringing science fiction news, comedy and fan productions to Phoenix audiences years before YouTube existed. The show also featured Star Trek: The Home Movie, continuing the club's tradition of creating fan media.
Carrying the Mission Forward
Leadership passed from one generation to the next as members like Jim Strait, Mark Boniece, John Wheeler, Kim Smith, David Williams, Victor Bugg and many others continued the work begun by the founders. The club weathered changing fandoms, changing technology and even the COVID-19 pandemic, moving meetings online so that its uninterrupted tradition of gathering every two weeks could continue.
Today, fifty years after a few college students handed out flyers at Arizona State University, the UFP remains exactly what they hoped it would become: a place where science fiction fans become lifelong friends.
As Greg Ampagoomian wrote near the end of his memoir,
"That core group started an organization that has bridged several decades and moved into a new century... I hope, I know, that it will, 'Live Long and Prosper.'"
Half a century later, thanks to every member who has contributed along the way, it has.
If you want to read even more history on the UFP, check out Subspace Chatter, specifically our 30th Anniversary, 45th Anniversary and 50th Anniversary issues for some amazing insights and quirky stories from days gone by. And for a gallery of more recent club events and activities, check out our photo & video gallery.
Historical Record of UFP Officers
| Club Year | Captain | First Officer | Treasurer | Secretary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 75-76 | Executive Council Members alternated meetings: John Whiting¹, Dorene Wellman-Healy³, John Fong, Frances O'Steen-Hatzis, Kaye Shuchman, Kandy Barber-Fong. | ¹resigned Dec 75, replaced by Alan Kincaid², ²resigned March 76, replaced by Mike Strong, ³resigned May 76, replaced by Toni Moore | — | — |
| 76-77 | Cindy Elting-Compton, Peggy Etling-Rizzo, John Fong, Carol Gerke, Frances O'Steen-Hatzis, Mike Strong | — | — | — |
| 77 | Greg Ampagoomian | Jolaine Pecor | Dawn Loudy | Toni Moore |
| 77-78 | Kandy Barber & Toni Moore? | Kathy Cady | Dawn Loudy | Karen Methany |
| 78-79 | Greg Ampagoomian | Kathy Cady | Dawn Loudy | Karen Methany |
| 79-80 | Kathy Shirey | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
| 80-80 | Greg Shirey | Tom Monson | Katie Gillen | Thom Franklin |
| 80-81 | Katie Gillen | Petra Dombek | Kirk Hill | Thom Franklin |
| 81-82 | Kim Farr | Bobbi Rapp | Laurie Rapp | Thom Franklin |
| 82-83 | Denise Wallentinson | Jim Strait | Unknown | Thom Franklin |
| 83-84 | Jim Strait | Larry Zacher | P.J. Hefti | Carol Davis |
| 84-85 | Frank McShane | Donna Morgan | Deborah Lorsbaugh | Patty Vance |
| 85-86 | Jim Strait | Larry Zacher | Frank McShane | Lynne Kourtidis |
| 86-87 | Larry Zacher | Frank McShane | Alice Ford | Jim Strait |
| 87-88 | Barbara Barcus | Mike Elliott | Jim Strait | Frank McShane |
| 88-89 | Barbara Barcus | Dave Philpott | Jim Strait | Kris Philpott |
| 89-90 | Bobby Warren & Jeff Schreiber | Dave Philpott | Kris Philpott | Jennifer Schreiber |
| 90-91 | Kris Philpott | Dave Philpott | Barbara Barcus | David Bluestein |
| 91-92 | Diane Elliott | Jim Strait | Barbara Barcus | Lee Whiteside |
| 92-93 | John T. Wheeler | Morgan Hunt | Lee Whiteside | Ali Hutchins-Woody Harper |
| 93-94 | Jim Strait | Morgan Hunt | Lee Whiteside | Marcella Chapman |
| 94-95 | Morgan Hunt | Mark Boniece | Lee Whiteside | Jim Strait |
| 95-96 | Diane Elliott | David Hungerford | Lee Whiteside | John T. Wheeler |
| 96-97 | Diane Elliott | Frank McShane | Lee Whiteside | Mark Boniece |
| 97-98 | Mark Boniece | Jim Strait | Lee Whiteside | Angel Trinkle |
| 98-99 | Mark Boniece | Tannon Webber | Lee Whiteside | John T. Wheeler |
| 99-00 | Mark Boniece | Frank McShane | Lee Whiteside | John T. Wheeler |
| 00-01 | David A. Williams | John Wheeler | Lee Whiteside | Mark Boniece |
| 01-02 | David A. Williams | Frank McShane | Lee Whiteside | Mark Boniece |
| 02-03 | John T. Wheeler | Frank McShane | Lee Whiteside | Mark Boniece |
| 03-04 | Frank McShane | Terri Spencer | Lee Whiteside | Mark Boniece |
| 04-05 | David Clyborne; Mark Boniece | Dawn Grigsby | David Rood | Frank McShane |
| 05-06 | Mark Boniece | Dawn Grigsby | David Rood | Frank McShane |
| 06-07 | David A. Williams | Toni Moore | Mark Boniece | John T. Wheeler |
| 07-08 | David A. Williams | Toni Moore | Mark Boniece | John T. Wheeler |
| 08-09 | Glenna Lawrimore | Paul Synodis | Mark Boniece | John T. Wheeler |
| 09-10 | Jim Strait | R. Wimmer / P. Synodis | Mark Boniece | John T. Wheeler |
| 10-11 | Toni Moore (3 weeks)/Kim Smith | Doug Hall | Mark Boniece | John T. Wheeler |
| 11-12 | Kim Smith | Deb Nickelson | Mark Boniece | John T. Wheeler |
| 12-13 | Walt Bartlow | Jennifer Wirtz | Kim Smith | John T. Wheeler |
| 13-14 | David A. Williams | Mark Boniece | Kim Smith | John T. Wheeler |
| 14-15 | Walt Bartlow | Mark Boniece | Kim Smith | John T. Wheeler |
| 15-16 | John T. Wheeler | Mark Boniece | Kim Smith | John T. Wheeler |
| 16-17 | David A. Williams | Mark Boniece | Kim Smith | Walt Bartlow |
| 17-18 | David A. Williams | Annette Sexton-Ruiz | Kim Smith | Mark Boniece |
| 18-19 | Kim Smith | Annette Sexton-Ruiz | Walt Bartlow | Dianna Hopkins |
| 19-20 | Kim Smith | Annette Sexton-Ruiz | Walt Bartlow | Kevin McAlonan |
| 20-21 | Kim Smith | Annette Sexton-Ruiz | Walt Bartlow | Victor Bugg |
| 21-22 | Kim Smith | Michael Donavon | Walt Bartlow | Victor Bugg |
| 22-23 | Marcie Coutts Donavon | Michael Donavon | Kim Smith | Victor Bugg |
| 23-24 | David A. Williams | Rachel Gluck | Kim Smith | Victor Bugg |
| 24-25 | David A. Williams | Rachel Gluck | Kim Smith | Victor Bugg |
| 25-26 | Victor Bugg | Annette Sexton-Ruiz | Kim Smith | David A. Williams |
More classic photos of the UFP
