As I have been making a bit of a quest for the Clan to balance our books and ensure the recognition of our members, one member for whom recognition has been far too long in coming is Ashia Kagan Keibatsu. When I first became Consul, Ashia had volunteered to help give the Clan a kickstart by serving as my ProConsul. She went above and beyond for almost two years in the position- 21 months- before the siren’s call of real life drew her away. This is above and beyond what she had initially promised, and that alone is laudable. Over that time, there were plenty of talks in Google hangouts, over emails, and over Telegram. Despite my tendency at times to get distracted, Ashia would be there to help to keep things in focus. She was there as we plotted future plot developments, brainstormed story developments she was there as a steady hand with a less-than-steady new Consul. She was not afraid to give a nice swift kick in the butt when things needed done.
When you look at the successes in Clan Naga Sadow, like our Great Jedi War XIII placement as the Second Clan, a piece of that belongs to Ashia. When you look at many successes of the time in our Clan, dare I say all the successes, a piece of that belongs to Ashia. When you look at the success of Encounter at Citadel- an event we ended up having to pivot due to member feedback- the adjustment of course that helped ensure it ended up a well-received event was in no small part due to Ashia’s cool-headedness. A particular comp from the time run by Ashia was Conspiracy Theories which allowed our members to run with a rumor or story heard about the Summit. Besides this, there was the Old Fart Sadowans competition Ashia ran with our Rollmaster Tasha’Vel, in which characters would write a fictional account of what happens when our characters reach an old age. Then there also event like Operation: Antiquity, a co-operative event between Clans Naga Sadow and Plagueis taking part on a planet previously undiscovered by elements of the Dark Jedi Brotherhood. She helped to plan what we found on the surface and much more. Really, she acted as a HUGE push to get things done in that event, in both planning and execution.
She also helped in other competitions, like when we pitched the names of our new fleet assets to the Clan at large in A Rose By Any Other Name. The realization of Naga Sadow as a “Golden Era” style Sith Empire is in no small part thanks to the hard work of Ashia Keibatsu. As a group we took a good look at the strengths and weakness of Naga Sadow, and the discussion throughout the document where we discussed the whole concept as Summit members, I can see where Ashia addressed concerns or issues in a straightforward manner. She was not afraid to say where she was uncertain- rather she did not sugarcoat anything. Yet another thing I feel I have to thank her for.
On the whole, Ashia constantly worked with other Summit members in the background as it was needed. She would poke us to get things done. She would ensure we were staying on task. She would ensure we kept forward momentum. She acted as an overseer and a lynchpin during her time as the Clan second-in-command. She was a bulldog. She was the sort to go and to do. She would keep at people to get things done. We had fairly regular meetings about the ‘what do we have to do’ and ‘what do we need to do to get it done.’ I am probably getting a bit rambly at this point, but really Ashia was a glue at the time.
There is so much I feel that we owe her in where we are, and the manner with which Ashia operated has left an indelible mark. Today, I often take a more serious look at how I choose to operate, I think through it more, and while I can’t say I do so with a ‘what would Ashia do’ mindset, I can say that the memory of her time as my right-hand does bring those sorts of thoughts to mind: ‘is this really the best way we can do this’.
Some particular example of this would include how Ashia addressed the irregularity of our unit reports. Ashia directly engaged our Summit members, set dates where reports were expected and she followed up with members when those expectations were not met. She also evaluated the way that our Telegram activity was working for the Clan and realized that our members were spread out between no less than five distinct channels besides our core Clan channel. This meant we shuttered a lot of channels, but more than that Ashia also pushed on us to be sure we were engaging with members in our chat. Ensuring we were recognizing members for their accomplishments was a part of that!
She didn't limit that to just our Telegram channels, though. She pushed hard on each of our leaders to make full use of the mailing list to be sure that all our members were reached. These communication channels have been well-improved upon thanks to the actions of Ashia. As my Proconsul, she also pushed hype for things like the Great Jedi War hard. Beyond talking to just our membership, she also reached out to our title holders to try to rally the membership more thoroughly toward Great Jedi War XIII. These activities helped to push us to an excellent showing!
Actually thinking back Ashia also looked for places where we might be wanting in terms of recognition. As such, she provided a very new Consul with an overview of our membership, their activity and a list of recommendations for recognition both in awards and promotions. She addressed our leadership directly to get to know them and to find out about the members themselves, their temperaments and their goals.
One thing I think is quite worth pointing out: the addressing our reports, talking to our leadership and reviewing our membership's recognition were all things she did within days of taking up the mantle of Proconsul.
I realize that parts of this recc probably sound a bit flowery, and yet I find it hard to do a sufficient job of describing the appreciation I feel towards Ashia and the energy she put in during her term of service as PCON. Which is also part of the reason I feel some shame in that she did not receive this award sooner.
If you look at her dossier, you will see the 6 competitions she organized and the 23 that she co-organized. This includes the Encounter at Citadel, the OPERATION: ANTIQUITY, Rebels and Ruins and our return to Orian even in conception (and name) that became Redemption and Honor. That is another event that would not have gone down even half as well without her influence.
In the personal sphere, Ashia took part in 65 competitions, oftentimes supporting Naga Sadow and the club, such as in the Pro Bowl. She also supported the Clan by competing in Great Jedi War XIV: Homefront, Great Jedi War XIII: Discord and Rite of Supremacy: Meridian to name a few that stand out in memory. These were events for which she gained 4 Seals of Visions, 14 Seals of Discord and 10 Seals of Fury respectively. She took two Gold Novae in Great Jedi War XIII, a Gold Nova in Rite of Supremacy: Meridian and got a Bronze nova for the team-writing-faction-creation competition of the Rite of Supremacy. That is nothing to scoff at!
Additionally, she participated in 9 fiction activities with word count totalling 6382 words. She wrote 4 runon posts since her last recognition and composed an additional 2178 words. Again, she earned a total of 3 Gold Novae in the last three years and change since she was last recognized by an award as well as a Bronze Nova. Through her efforts she earned a Crescent with a Ruby Star, 2 Crescents with an Amethyst Star, 2 Crescents with a Sapphire Star, 2 Crescents with a Topaz Star, 2 Crescents with a Quartz Star, 18 Clusters of Ice, 34 Clusters of Graphite and a well-deserved Seal of Loyalty in 2019. I had already made mention of the 4 Seals of Vision, 10 Seals of Fury and the 14 Seals of Discord. On a lesser note she also wrote 7 reports as Proconsul of Clan Naga Sadow and even passed a 2 courses in the Shadow Academy.
Still, I feel like many of the statistics and accolades are really quite secondary to Ashia. I cannot and do not wish to deny any part of what she had done. I do think they show but a small part of whom she has been to Clan Naga Sadow over the years and as Proconsul. Really, that last spat of facts are but a small part. Given the lateness of this award, I am thankful I was able to detail in part the sacrifices she has made in time and energy, and that I might be able to better express the gratitude I feel for what she has done for Clan Naga Sadow and what she has done for this Consul. So without the slightest hesitation, I wish to submit this recommendation that Ashia Kagan Keibatsu receive this Sapphire Blade for all she has done, with the thankfulness of her Clan and the deep (and overdue) personal thanks of this dude.
Bentre Stahoes
Consul of Clan Naga Sadow
Adept Bentre Stahoes, 2021-03-07 01:43:42 UTC