Posted 29 March 2009 - 5:12pm by Fleet Admiral Andrew “Wolfe” Robinson (President) (Andrew Robinson)
Edict #58
“We rode on the winds of the rising storm
We ran to the sounds of the thunder
We danced among the lightning bolts
And tore the world asunder.”
This one is a little late, since the second term has technically started, but I was abruptly halted in my tracks last night by that beast we call RL. I’ve made a number of promotions and that’s all well and good but I would like to single out a few individuals who have been truly invaluable to the administration this term. They have been friends, advisors, sounding boards, reality checkers and punching bags. We’ve had some ups and downs this term and we got off to a shakey start but without the assistance of these members, things could have been a hell of a lot more down than up.
Brian Olinski:
My trusted right hand man, Vice President extraordinaire and an exceptional Personnel Director. Whilst Brian has not been as visible as some Vice President’s have, he has done massive and time consuming amounts of work behind the scenes that deserve recognition. He has advised my every decision and been my primary sounding board, he has handled dozens of brush fires and a massive, months long investigation on behalf of the administration dealing with another club. He has ghost written edicts, given me information whenever I’ve not had the time to investigate something directly and has been a shoulder and a rock throughout the term. Without Brian, I am positive that we’d not have achieved half as much as we have during this term. He has given us an updated and WeBBspace compliant PDICT, streamlined the application handling process in the Personnel Department and has dropped the average turnaround for applications from 72 hours to less than 24, an absolutely vital component to retaining new members. For this and more, Brian has been given a promotion but I couldn’t end the term without first offering this thanks to him for all of his hard work. I have no doubt that he will continue to serve in the same outstanding way through our second term.
Jack Dipper:
In previous administrations, Presidents have had an inner circle of sorts, advisors who are used to bounce official ideas off and pose ideas for future discussions or policy shifts before presenting them to the membership. This term I made that a somewhat more formal group and Jack was one of my advisors. His experience as a former President and his years of government wrangling have proven invaluable in proofing edict drafts, handling internal discussion proposals and the dozens of policy and procedure shifts that have helped refine concepts before presenting them to the membership. He has given me untold advise concerning the appropriate wording for edicts and has been an integral part of my decisionmaking process. Despite the kerfuffle concerning his promotion, I sincerely thank him for his assistance, guidance and experience through the high and low points of the past eight months.
Russell Watt
Our Tribble has been a truly invaluable friend this term. When needs required, he stepped into the breach as Internet Director, making his first task updating the edict archives that had been out of date for several months and the report archives which, frankly, have never been in date. No one who has not previously performed such a feat can understand how tedious, time consuming and banal this task can be and without a doubt that, if nothing else, requires a lifetime of Tribble treats. Russ has taken on every burden laid upon him and has worked effectively with the Coder to ensure that WeBBspace development continues apace. He has been a beacon example of dedication and commitment as well as organisational and leadership skills. Atop this, he has now, for the second time, been master of ceremonies for the STF Awards, a thankless and massive task which requires endless hours of coding and data collation. He has well and truly put his own stamp on the awards and I don’t think any other awards ceremony will now be complete without the All Dancing, all Singing Tribblets halftime show. My thanks and respect go out to him for his tireless dedication to the club.
Geoff Joosten:
Another member of the inner circle, Geoff has been the voice of the people throughout the term, offering the outside the box viewpoints that we sometimes lose when bowed down under the weight of STF politics. He has reminded me frequently of the reason that we are here, to serve the membership and his unbiased opinions as a member serving outside of Government have been invaluable. Despite his incredibly busy real life schedule, Geoff has always been there to offer an ear and a thought to any email discussion. My thanks go to him for his unrecognised and unknown service.
Dan Lerner:
In the first days of the term, when things were still very uncertain and I was going through the period of adjustment any first term President does, Dan’s advice was indispensible. He provided me the initial push I needed to get through the first weeks without making a complete cock up of it all. Atop this, his legal background has allowed him to offer more formal structure to discussions and decisions that have been difficult to make. He has undertaken several email investigations on my behalf concerning several major and minor issues and as the final member of the inner circle has been outstanding in offering a realists viewpoint of every discussion. His work on the Terms Of Service (it was Dan that first raised it in email as a requirement under COPPA) has given us the cover we have needed for so long and has closed a major loophole that could have left us open to legal action. Whilst he has vanished in recent months, I sincerely thank him and hope that he can return to us soon.
Ryan Empson:
Before the start of this last term, I hadn’t really had much contact with Ryan other than his application to be Engineering Director at the start of the term. Since then, we have seen his promotion to Captain and he has become one of my closest friends. He has offered a shoulder to cry on, an ear to scream at and has always been willing to indulge my wicked side when I’ve needed to blow off steam. He has cajoled, flattered, beaten and battered me whenever I’ve needed the encouragement to continue and without him it’s possible I’d have made some very bad decisions this term. His outstanding work on Entente as her CO has seen the ship win one of our most coveted awards in Best Ship which stands it in stead as the clubs flagship and it continues to go from strength to strength under his leadership. I see a bright future for Ryan and know that the club will benefit from his experience, drive and passion in future administrations.
Joe Fahey:
What is there to say about our Pony? Joe is one of our longest serving members and has always been one of the quiet ones. His work is often behind the scenes, unnoticed and sometimes unfairly, unrecognised. He always has time to offer a few words about any topic I might raise and his experience and historical knowledge has proven invaluable. He is a steadfast, loyal and honourable man who is often the comic relief we all need at times in what is so often the very serious business of administering the club. My thanks go out to him for his work as Mentors Coordinator, friend and comforting ear.
John Lucas:
John has always been a dark horse to me. The soldier we thought lost who rose from the dead (almost literally) and came back with a passion to the club. His is without a doubt one of the most massive personal commitments to the club that I have ever witnessed. In eight short months he has completely turned Fleet 2 around, taking it from a struggling, outdated and underutilised fleet to the brightest, most active and most efficient fleet in the club. He is never far away and his professional, mature and dedicated leadership has given us all an example to follow in all our Government dealings. He has often been the voice of reason in command and always has a solid opinion to offer when it’s needed. It is my sincere hope that we all take to heart his example in our Government roles, because doing so will undoubtedly leave us all the better for it.
As a final afterword to the term, I would like to thank the membership itself for giving us all the very reason we exist. Without you, there would be no reason for any of us to do what we do and it is your passion, skill and dedication to our fine club that marks us easily the very best online roleplay site on the net. Thank you, one and all and thank you for giving me a second term to serve you as President.
Fleet Admiral Andrew “Wolfe” Robinson
STF President
29th March 2009
P.S. : For those few who might have wondered, my edict quotes this term (with the exception of the Crell edict) have all been taken from the Wheel Of Time saga by the late, great, Robert Jordan.