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Crew Biographies Captain Hello, My name is Paul Walker Jr. and as Captain of the USS Las Vegas I thought I would introduce myself to the crew of the ship with this biography. I have been a Star Trek fan since 1979 when the first Star Trek film was released. Star Trek: The Motion Picture. I remember seeing that film while I was visiting a cousin down in Oceanside Calif. Ever since then I have been addicted to ALL things Trek. When people ask me what is my favorite show I respond “being a “true” Star Trek fan I like all aspects of Star Trek. Each and every Star Trek program had good and bad things about them.” When I am asked about my favorite ships captain I answer, “I like them all equally”. If it weren’t for Capt. Kirk and his original crew we would not have Capt. Picard, Capt. Sisko, Capt. Janeway, or less we forget Capt. Archer from the USS Enterprise NX-01. Let’s not forget about all 10 of the Star Trek Feature films. I have attended many Star Trek conventions around the country and I have met with many of the key Star Trek actors or actresses. I am an avid Star Trek collector of Star Trek memorabilia such as Star Trek movie posters, Star trek plates, Star Trek computer games, and all Star Trek books both hardcover and paperback. This is not my first command of a Star Trek group as I was former President and Chief Organizing officer of Starbase:OR.CA. We were an independent Star Trek club based out of Southern Oregon. My old website is www.geocities.com/Area51/Cavern/4148 and this is how it all began. That first club had local chapters in Yreka CA, Crescent City, CA, Roseburg OR, and Klamath Falls OR. Over all we had a club membership of over 200 Star Trek fans from around the region. That club was closed when I relocated down to Las Vegas NV back in 1999. As the USS Las Vegas’ captain it is my obligation to help promote and organize club meetings and keep all crewmembers up-to-date on all the latest happenings in the world of Star Trek. There are several major KEY events current being planned during this 40th anniversary of Star Trek. As a Star Trek club based here in Las Vegas NV we will be very involved with some of them. We will also be organizing local away missions to various Las Vegas area attractions and Las Vegas shows on the fabulous Las Vegas Strip. I would like to establish and maintain an open dialogue with all Star Trek fans and encourage them to join us officially here on board. I can be reached via email at the following addresses: trekfan0001@yahoo.com or captainwalker@usslasvegas.org or via my cell at 702-689-5580. You can snail me if you desire to USS Las Vegas Star Trek Club C/O Paul Walker Jr. 2825 Bluegrass Ln. Apt. 904, Henderson, NV 89074. For the record while I am the captain, I could not do all this by myself so I want to take this time to officially recognize our XO and 2nd in command Mike Cornwell for without his help this club would not be where it is today. Thank you XO!!!!! Executive Officer My Star Trek fandom began when I was six years old and living in very rural Arkansas in 1969. My mother had started watching the show when it first came on in 1966 and became a fan. It started running in re-runs in the afternoons on our local station. It came on at 3:30 PM and I didn't get home from school until 4:00 PM. So each day, I would rush home and my mom would explain what had happened in the first half and then I would watch the rest. It was literally years before I saw every episode from the beginning. As I grew up, I tried to be like the characters that I admired from Star Trek. Spock was always my favorite and I tried to develop the professionalism and self control that Spock always exhibited. His intelligence also encouraged me to learn and grow. When the movies were released, I was thrilled to have an opportunity to see some new adventures. I remember many inspiring moments while watching the movies. I have been to every opening night of every trek movie. When the new series began, I couldn't have been happier. I was glued to the set each week to watch the new episodes. I have seen every episode of every series multiple times. It was the highlight of my entire week to wait for the the episode. In 1991, I had an opportunity to go to Washington, D.C. to attend a seminar. It just happened that the Star Trek Exhibit was also at the Smithsonian Institute at the same time. I was again thrilled to be able to view the exhibit. Having grown up in rural Arkansas, I never had any opportunities to attend any conventions or meet others that really shared my interests. So being able to see those props and be there in person was a real treat for me. Over the years, I have been able to visit the Star Trek Experience at the Hilton in Las Vegas several times. I have been lucky enough in my career to come to Vegas fairly regularly and I always made time to visit there. The Klingon Encounter is awesome and the new Borg 4D ride is extremely good as well. The History of the Future exhibit is fantastic and I admire the work and dedication in keeping it current. That basically brings me to today. I recently relocated to Las Vegas. I am the IT Manager for a local manufacturing company. When I arrived in town I decided to look up the local Star Trek Clubs and found that a new ship had been recently formed. I enjoy being in on the ground floor of things, so I immediately joined this new ship. I am cheerfully anticipating growing our ship into a very active club and building relationships along the way. Our captain, Paul Walker, is enthusiastic and shares my enthusiasm for this new venture. We are working together diligently to build, organize and create an atmosphere where fans can come together and build up each other, while having a great time. Personally I am looking forward to meeting other Star Trek fans and beginning this adventure. So I encourage anyone with an interest to contact us and get on board. It will be a great ride! Chief Operations Officer Steven George Let me introduce myself. I am a scientist for a large local water utility. I became a scientist because of the vast array of sci-fi when growing up in the Midwest. Spock was a great role model for a nerd in school with a social disorder. I live by the motto, “There are no dumb questions!” I have a love for all science fiction movies and shows, yes even the taboo, Star Wars. I cannot remember the titles or actors and actress that make up the cast, but I can remember the plots. It is said by all who visit my home, when asked ‘what’s Steven watching’, everyone that knows me responds, every TV in my house is tuned to the Sci-Fi channel, which now is a big disappointment to me since the buyout but they still have sci-fi, or any other channel that is showing a Star Trek rerun of any generation. I joined the USS Las Vegas in the year of 2008 to help with my agoraphobia: fear of crowds, public places, and uncontrolled social settings. So I may get nervous in social groups, but the commonality of Star Trek helps distract me from my anxiety. I have been told that I am a great person to have fun with once people get to know me. I enjoy Star Trek for what it stands for, tolerance and respect for those that are different. I do not live Star Trek, but call it a culture that has molded our society. It is my pleasure to serve as the Chief Operations Officer. Chief Science Officer Shawn Jipp When I was a child I enjoyed watching both Sci Fi and Comic Book (um, I mean Graphic Novel) shows on television. I watched Batman, The 6 Million Dollar Man, Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits, Lost In Space, Voyage To The Bottom of The Sea, The Green Hornet , Time Tunnel, Get Smart, I Spy and of course Star Trek. I then watched the following movies: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, The Time Machine, Superman, Battlestar Galactica, The Day The earth Stood Still, Forbidden Planet, Planet of the Apes, Logan’s Run, 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Forbin Project, The Andromeda Strain, War Of The Worlds, etc. When I was a few years older I saw Star Wars and told everyone I knew, that it was the best movie I had ever seen and they had to go see it. I paid to see it 14 times over the next year! My experience when I was 18 years old of unexpectedly witnessing a UFO reaffirmed that we truly are not alone. Then the Star Trek TOS movies began followed by ST: Next Generation and its series of movies, St: Voyager, ST: Deep Space 9 and ST: Enterprise. I attended a few Star Trek conventions around California over the years and managed to make it to Star Trek The Experience about 4 times. I had fears of going to see the recent Star Trek 11 movie because I thought they might ruin everything. Wow…I loved it! I paid to see it in the movies 9 times (mostly bringing new people with me every time) and I now own the Blue-ray version. I am eagerly waiting subsequent movies and who knows, maybe a new Star Trek TV series. We moved to Vegas in June of 2010 from Northern, California seeking a change in climate and careers. We shortly thereafter joined the USS Las Vegas. Watching all those Science Fiction shows made me interested in aviation, aerospace and technology so I studied electronics, computer science and semiconductor processing eventually holding the following titles during my lifetime: Semiconductor Process Engineer, Applications Engineer, U.K. Country Manager, Product Marketing Manager, Inside Sales Manager, and finally Regional Sales Account Manager here in Las Vegas. I received my pilots license in 1989 and love aviation although I no longer fly. I am about to start a new organization called the National UFO Research Society. My hope is that by participating in Star Trek clubs and activities, we would all be helped in working towards the lofty goals that were envisioned and extolled by Gene Roddenberry for humanity's future. April 10, 2011 ///////Shawn Jipp Chief of Security Kat (Katherine) Miyazaki I was a huge fan of the original series (mostly Vulcans) and went to my first Star Trek Convention with our current Moral Officer Dick Osborne. I mostly kept to myself and enjoyed my Star Trek novels in solitude but was introduced to many new people at the convention, then later to the USS Las Vegas. I have attended many enjoyable events, met many nice people who share my enthusiasm for Star Trek, and have had many good times. I am the new Security Officer and plan on working with the club to promote the many wonderful aspects of Star Trek.
I'm not really sure which came first: my love of Star Trek, or my fascination with outer space; one certainly influenced the other in a domino effect sort of way. I can remember being thrilled by a telescope my dad had when I was 3 years old, and begging him to haul it out into the front yard to look at the stars. Star Trek has always been a guiding influence in my life. Any time I ever came across the original series episodes on television they would have my immediate attention. I came a rerun of Next Generation when I was 8 or 9 years old; I clearly remember asking my mom what that thing on Geordi's eyes was - when she explained to me that the Chief Engineer was a blind man, I was instantly hooked. Fortunately for me, the reruns were on Monday thru Friday at 7pm, with new episodes appearing on Monday night's at 9pm. Long story short, I've been a Star Trek fan my whole life. I love traveling and exploring the world, meeting strange life forms...Naturally it would appear that I was destined to wind up in Las Vegas. Moved here in June of last year (after corresponding with the USS Las Vegas online for 6 months via the Yahoo groups). I have never had an easier adjustment to a city, or made more friends faster than I have here; it helped tremendously that I was offered an opportunity to help out with the Julien's Auction - which took began 3 days after I got into town. Engineering is just one of many of my interests. I look forward to serving the USS Las Vegas for many years to come. May we all Live Long And Prosper. Chief Medical Officer Born and raised in Miami, Florida. I love animals, Science Fiction, and I'm a total bookworm. Totally captivated and enthralled with Star Trek, The Original Series 1966-69, I was attracted to Captain Kirk's good looks and commanding presence, and had a big crush on Mr. Spock, with his phenomenal intellect. But I followed Dr. McCoy's lead into medicine. I attended undergraduate school at U of South Florida, Tampa, Florida. And I attended veterinary School at U of Florida Gainesville, Florida and graduated in 1980. During all this time, I was too busy to watch any Star Trek re-runs on TV, but I did attend a Star Trek convention that was in Gainesville, Florida, in 1979 and I certainly watched all of the Star Trek movies that came out!! My first job as a veterinarian, was in Sparks, Nevada. While there, I saw Gene Roddenberry at a lecture at University of Reno. He is called the Great Bird of the Galaxy, and I realize he was a great visionary, and wonderful writer, but what I remember of his lecture, is that he was a really boring speaker! I am a fan of ALL of the Star Trek series, and now I am also a fan of the 'alternate' Star Trek universe created by JJ Abrams in the 2009 movie. I guess some of Star Trek's appeal to me, besides the science fiction, was that women could be ANYTHING in Star Trek, even Starship Captains, and were treated just the same as the men. Even called 'Sir'! Another interesting note, is that as a doctor on a starship visiting alien worlds, medicine was not limited to humans, but other non-human (although sentient) life-forms. I felt that as a veterinarian, working on non-human life forms, one must learn all of the physiological differences of the different species, the same as Dr. McCoy, Dr. Crusher, Dr. Bashir or the Emergency Medical Holographic Program, The Doctor, (I am not sure what Dr. Phlox's medical background entails!) they had to learn all of the differences of a Vulcan, Klingon, Cardassian, Bajoran, etc. As a 'local' of Las Vegas since 1984, and attending Star Trek conventions since the 1990's, I was a frequent visitor of Star Trek the Experience at the Hilton since it opened in January of 1998. The Hilton was also the location for the Western States Veterinary Conference. Which I thought was perfect! Since I could attend the vet lectures in the daytime, and then the Experience at night!! I attended the Creation Conventions once they were held at the Hilton, and I met the XO of the USS Las Vegas at the 2006 Las Vegas Star Trek Convention when he sat down next to me!! (Is that fate or what!!) And am looking forward to my future as the Chief Medical Officer on the USS Las Vegas! Chief Morale Officer Dick Obsorne I joined the USS Las Vegas in 2009. As a child, I was a casual fan of Star Trek, but as I grew older and began to understand some of the complex themes of Star Trek I exhibited a great enthusiasm for the series . Joining the USS Las Vegas seemed a natural outlet for this enthusiasm and I could not have been more correct. I am also by nature a social person so becoming the moral office is also a good fit for me. With being the moral officer I hope to promote goodwill within in our crew members, in line with the goodwill exampled by Starfleet, and give back to the USS Las Vegas for providing me with numerous enjoyable experiences. Chief Communications Officer Robert Niwa My interest in Star Trek started about 20 years ago. I was born the same year the original series went on television 45 years ago this September 8th. I think it has always been it's optimistic vision of the future that I found "Fascinating". I actually moved to Las Vegas because of Star Trek. I saw in a old issue of the "Star Trek Communicator" magazine, A small story describing a new attraction Paramount had planned for Las Vegas. I made the decision to leave Seattle and move here in 1992. It was then I realized I might have moved to soon. On January 4th 1998 six years later the attraction finally after delay after delay opened to the public. I was one of the original opening crew of this wonderful place called Star Trek The Experience at the Las Vegas Hilton. I worked there on and off for 5 and a half years until it closed on Sept 1st 2008. I miss the people and the unique coolness of the place. I collect Star Trek memorabilia and along with my partner have quite a collection building. I joined the USS Las Vegas 3 years ago to further my interest in Star Trek. I attend every year the conventions and have even worked for vendors involved with the convention circuit. I will never be over my enjoyment of the franchise and hope to be involved with the USS Las Vegas for a good long time. Boldly going. Crewman Mac Bradley My Star Trek journey began when living in rural Oklahoma. My mother had started watching the show when it first came on the air. The local station ran re-runs in the afternoons. So each day when I came home, it would be the afternoon snack and Star Trek. As I grew up, the family experience continued when my brother-in-law has a Star Trek Fan. While living in Arizona, we would get together and watch Next Generation when the new series was on Fox. When the movies were released, we would go to view all the action on the large screen. Now relocated in Nevada, the Official Star Trek Convention is a great way to spend quality time with the family. Once a year, my sister and brother-in-law travel to Las Vegas. So the trek continues... |
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