She is a prodigy, an enigma. She has served to not only push boundaries, but define them. Arcona has been blessed by her presence. She is Socorra.
Since joining back prior to GJWX, Socorra has set a standard no other has achieved. She has been a shining light in comparative darkness, the beacon for others to follow. She paved the way for many new members, and continues to lead a great many more. I have had the pleasure of working with her throughout her career as a leader in Arcona, and I can say unequivocally, unquestionably, unabashedly, that she is one of the best members to grace our summit. This promotion recommendation has been a long time waiting. She deserved it not a month after reaching the rank of Sith Battlemistress and she has proved herself to be more than a 'mere consumer' of the Brotherhood's wares. Sith Battlelord (Battlelady?) requires an individual to be a 'producer' for the Brotherhood. It requires individuals to give back to the lifeblood from which they suckled early in their career. No member has done this more than Socorra Erinos.
This promotion recommendation will consist of two parts: it will first address her achievements as a member, and then go on to outline her projects/achievements as a producer. Hopefully this twofold argument as to why this woman is absolutely deserving of reward will shine through like a stream of light through black paper... At least, that's what I'm aiming for. Bear with me, it may not be that easy. After all, she has a loooooooong activity list.
As a member, Socorra has been sublime. She achieved sixth place overall in Horizons, earning herself one Gold Nova and four Silver Novae for her efforts. She entered in 13 of the Horizons events to boot. This is nearly a 50% placement record (in top two) for each of the events she entered. Furthermore, she demonstrated her true skill in the highly-publicised Arcona-Plagueis event: Beyond the Horizons. She managed to place fourth overall, acquiring two Diamond Stars and two Ruby Stars for her efforts. Swiftly following this, she also demonstrated her ability in the Prologue to the Crusade and the next two Chapters of Phase I. In the prologue she acquired a Silver Nova and four Clusters of Ice; in Chapter 1 of the Crusade she hit 5/6 participation, along with placing fourth in the wikipedia; and, in Chapter 2 she acquired two Gold Novae and one Silver Nova. That was having placed in 4.5 of the 5/5 events in which she participated. I'll let you take in those numbers for a minute. Three Gold Novae, six Silver Novae, two Diamond Crescents and two Ruby Crescents. Acquiring only ONE of these is generally considered a huge milestone, but THIRTEEN? It's phenomenal.
Then we get onto her feats as a leader/'producer' in the Brotherhood: In the past seven months, Socorra has been a bastion in her position as Quaestor. She has not only been a visible and active presence, but she has also worked to support her members. She has proofed countless ACC posts, numerous RO posts, assisted journeymen in the absence of our Clan Rollmaster, and filled a huge void in terms of rallying the troops. She was active on IRC, email, and G+ in an effort to rally the troops, sending out numerous personal emails. She sent out and kept an updated email chain for HQD members for this purpose. She also trained a brand new HQD Summit during this time, from both BTLs to Aedile. Her three former BTLs (Scelestus, Andrelious, Cethgus) went on to become two Aediles and a Rollmaster for the Clan. She also trained Snabbie though he had to step away from the summit for personal reasons. Moreover, she is in the process of helping Valhavoc and Valtiere learn their positions. Furthermore, she has also made sure members were awarded after each event, directing the ever-new HQD Summit in how to do so.
What is more, Socorra has really demonstrated her ability to rise to any challenge in her position as a leader in this club. Recently, Marick and I placed some significant requirements on our Quaestors, bringing in weekly internal house reports and filtering down more and more of the workload we had originally undertaken. This was in an effort to see the units become autonomous in function as well as theory, and ensure that both Socks and Sang knew exactly what to do and when to do it. Honestly? Wally and I have been amazed at the result. Both have stepped up, risen to the challenge - and then some - and demonstrated why it is that we selected them both for their roles as Quaestors within Arcona.
In some wierd twist of events, Socorra has actually been MORE effective after shouldering more of the workload, putting out inspirational speeches and rallying the troops (see: Mrs. Torque), making sure that Qel-Droma stays true to its mission and goals, and also maintaining a close relationship with the members, sending emails, sometimes reams and reams of text and conversation, just to make sure the members feel welcome and to let them know that they can personally approach her at any time. This final part is significant, as it is the true mark of a leader.
So, there we have her extensive leadership credentials. But her talents reach even further to projects for the Brotherhood...
She has been heavily involved in the Seneschal's office, assisting and helping James with the new Character Sheets (for the ACC) on the new site platform. This has required a great deal of time and effort, given that it is fundamentally a 'trial-and-error' system. What is more, she has created a nearly fully-automated participation ladder built with Google Spreadsheets to keep track of various competitions and giving them scores to use in a competitive ladder or cup. Sarin was going to use this for the fiction league for trial purposes, but unfortunately it was shelved for the Crusade. Nevertheless, the legitmacy of such work cannot be overlooked. Then we get to her feats in the ACC. She served on ACC staff for a total of 10 months and up into its final days (and remains on the staff currently), continuing to judge matches, posting several introductions, sending out several timeout warnings and many Reminder Sheet Extension updates even without a CM. Furthermore, she offered an ACC staff restructuring for the revamp as well as other ideas via CM application. These are currently being implemented by Shadow in the new ACC. Finally, we get to her role as a mentor. She has recently assisted her second student, Graus, to finish his trials. He went on to finish 10th in the recent Horizons event.
As you can see, her devotion to the Brotherhood as a whole is unquestionable. Her responsibilities have been legion, and she has delivered at every critical juncture.I am proud to call Socorra a peer, and I am so very pleased to be writing this recommendation for her.
Some others now wish to say a few words, including the Deputy Grand Master himself, but let it be said that Socorra has no equal. She has done more than most who achieve the rank of Equite 3. Its time she was recognised for her work.
Congratulations, Socks. You've earned it.
~Wuntila Arconae.
Consul. Clan Arcona.
There have always been women in the club. But few, very few, have blazed such a clear trail of devotion and work-ethic as Socorra has. And not just for the women who might follow in her rather impressive footsteps. The example she sets serves equally to inspire everyone who is witness to it.
Though she joined us only a scant few years ago, Socks has remained firmly geared in high, pedal to the metal, for the entirety of her career. As a member she has set the standard for participation. As a leader she has set the standard for motivation. As a friend she has set the standard for compassion. I talk a lot about attracting fellow working, mature, professional adults. Real adults with real lives who need real relaxation and down-time from it all. When we draw those people in, look how much better everything becomes. When I'm talking about those people, I'm talking about Socorra Erinos.
- Raken, Deputy Grand Master
Everytime I'm asked to write something for Socorra (happens more often than not) I feel a small twang of pride. Despite our relationship as mentor and student, she's always been a friend to me, and someone I've had the pleasure of working with and watching grow into one of the Bortherhoods most potent members and leaders. Her recent placements in Chapter 2 of the DC are a testament to how far she's come from the little Journeyman who kept asking me, "Um, is my ACC post ok? Can you look it over for me?". It's evolved into a mutual level of sharing between proofing each others work, which is to say that I do see her on equal grounds as myself or any veteran member of the DB (Ok, I'm not THAT old, but still...).
As a Quaestor, the work she does is on par with any leader of an Independent House. We allow Socorra autonomy with running Qel-Droma, and she does well to keep her members motivated, and her staff on task. She has also stepped up to work for the DB at large as a Tribune for the Forums, but has also served on the ACC staff and will no doubt be a great asset for the creation of the new CS's once that project gets moving. There is a stigma mentioned about women in a club dominated by men. I've never honestly seen that, because I've always seen Socks as transcending any tag to a gender. Socks is simply an excellent member. Period.
For her dedication and hard work, I congratulate her on reaching EQ3 faster than anyone else I've seen. I could not be more proud as her former Master.
-Marick Arconae Proconsul Clan Arcona
The first project I had worked on with Socorra was a participation Ladder system for Clan Arcona, she had approached me about some feedback related to the gaming front. Over the course of an evening I went from quietly sitting on my couch typing a WhatsApp message back to her watching some boring TV show, to sitting at the Computer working in a Google Document with Socks until at least midnight if I remember right. Overall she is a fantastic person to work on any project with, and makes those projects fun. Its no wonder she has taken to a leadership position within the DB so well, she's a natural at it.
Socks has been significantly involved in every major Event that I can remember, earning five Noca in the Horizons Vendetta, earning fourth place overall in the Beyond the Horizon Event, earning yet another Nova in the Dark Crusade Pologue Run On, and on into the Dark Crusade itself where she's participated in ten of eleven events and earned three more Nova in the March Phase! In addition to of all of this winning she's had to train up some noob rookie Aedile for HQD as well, no small feat I might add.
Quite simply put, the woman is a force of nature.
Congratulations on Battlelord, Quaestor boss lady! You've earned it!
Valhavoc Aedile, House Qel-Droma
I've known Socorra since she joined the Dark Brotherhood eighteen months ago. In that time, her rise has been meteoric. She's the head of what has been one of the most successful Houses in the Brotherhood, did an excellent job training two Aediles (not to mention putting up with me when she was my Aedile - that deserves a sacramental in and of itself), and has managed to wheedle, beg and cajole more activity out of our membership for the past few vendettas than I honestly thought possible. She's one of those rare people who somehow manages to both delegate authority and simultaneously charge ahead and lead from the forefront. Her impressive collection of shinies is a testament to the latter, as the nearly unending string of medal recommendations that HQD sends through the MAA's office is to the former. None of this, however, encapsulates the patience, wisdom and compassion she's capable of, nor the passion she shows for her position as Quaestor and her participation in the Dark Brotherhood.
In the end, though, I think all of that is superfluous. The fact is, when we get a new member and they're trying to find their way in the Brotherhood, we point to Socorra. We say, if not in so many words: be like her, and you'll do just fine.
Socorra. She's what member of the Brotherhood should strive to be. It is my honor to recommend her for elevation to Sith Battlelord.
Congratulations, Socks! You've earned it, and then some.
-Invictus.
Wuntila Zratis Entar Arconae, 2013-06-02 05:30:58 UTC