Introduction

Greetings Odanites and onlookers from the rest of the club. Allow me to (re)introduce myself. I am Turel, you may remember me from my time as Headmaster, or Fist, being completely unhinged in gaming voice chats or posting random tiger facts. I’ve been in some different places over the years but COU has always been my home and close to my heart.

First, I’d like to thank Atra and Iddy for the trust they’ve put in me over the years and for letting turn my DC gold in for Consul orange and come home to COU. Thank you to Jack and Len for leading COU through the GJW, I know from firsthand experience how draining that can be in the clan summit seats.

This report will be more about my philosophy and a rough vision for where I want the clan to be. But let’s start with something uplifting before we get down to business…

GJW Celebrations

First off, let me say it was so hard to be on the sidelines for this war. Running GJWs for the whole club is a huge honor and being a part of the DC team for that is a high privilege. But I was so proud of y'all. My heart ached wanting to be in the trenches with you. Whether you did one entry or got full participation, pat yourself on the back. Life hits all of us differently and while yes I do have a competitive streak, it’s about having fun at end of the day. If you got a seal from this war, you showed up for the clan and that’s all we can ask. But so many of you went above and beyond, on and off the proverbial field. The reports I heard and what I saw from the DC level of how y'all came together as team, hyped each other up, helped people figure things out or pool your talents it’s just, I’m sorry I can’t stop gushing about how proud I am of you guys.

SECOND CLAN WOOO

No disrespect to our friends in Arcona but y'all really made them work for it. You left everything on the field and made them sweat. That’s a huge victory for us and it’s all because of how awesome you are! I’m still getting a handle on our clan GJW rewards and credit budgets for the houses but be proud of all of the loot you earned.

The proof is in the numbers and y'all really showed up and gave it your all. We had a little drop off in phase 2 but that’s something we can keep in mind for next time on how we can sustain the hype without burning out. Again, GJWs are about having fun, not killing yourself. If you are like me and you love to compete, then go wild on them. If you’re busy and only able to drop pazaak round, puzzle or stick figure, then you are still a hero.

First Heroine Kav and Third Heroine Seals, just amazing, simply amazing. Tarvitz, Strix and Windos taking 5th, 7th and 8th, respectively, as well is amazing as well. For us to take 5 of the top ten placements out of 173 total participants is just astounding, bonkers even. No wonder they were sweating it up in that Arcona war room. Y'all absolutely killed it. Guys, I need a thesaurus to find new adjectives to describe just how amazing all of you are as a group.

Ahem as acting Headmaster of the Brotherhood let me share my findings with you with some artwork from the super talented Kav and Seals

It’s a fact, I can prove it mathematically

The Odanite Code

Something you will learn about me if you don’t know me already is that I value honesty. Like genuine honesty and not I’m removing my filter just to be a dick. And being honest, COU is a little messy right now. It’s not really a question of blame we just collectively drifted over the years. Exigency after exigency lead to high turnover in the summit, people were always trained by their next higher and the chain of continuity broke somewhere along the way. We lost sight of who we are, in and out of character. As for out of character, how COU is as a subcommunity and frankly as a family…a loud…sometimes messy family, we need a common set of values to champion and rally behind. A core set of principles we all agree on to guide our decisions and actions. It just so happens I think we wrote down a pretty good set of OOC values almost 10 years ago. I present the Odanite Code:

• We treat all members with respect, all the way from the most senior elder to the newest initiate. All of their ideas are valued regardless of rank or title.
• Odan-Urr is a safe place for all. We will never use discriminatory, abusive or offensive language and will treat all with the same respect we want to be shown.
• We will compete with Integrity and Honor in everything we do, both of which are far more important than winning.
• We welcome newcomers to our community and give them a chance to be a positive member of Odan-Urr. We do not discriminate based on who they are, where they came from, or their past history.
• There are no borders within Odan-Urr. We help out other Odanites and do our best to make our fellow members feel invited and accepted. Odan-Urr is a family and we will do our best to support and help fellow Odanites, regardless of what House or Team they are in.
• Odan-Urr is completely built by the members for the members. Clan leaders will always remind and strongly encourage all members, from novices to elders, that they have the ability to create anything that will expand and enhance the lore of the clan and its houses.
• Odan-Urr strives to lead by example in the larger Brotherhood through contributions to club-wide projects and staff work, friendly competition and above all else, treating all Brotherhood members as extended family, regardless of clan affiliation. Odan-Urr endeavors to maintain positive relationships out of character with our sister clans.
• The main focus of the Odanite community is on having fun and promoting a free and relaxed environment for its members to enjoy.

These are the values I will champion and hold the summit accountable to. In turn, I ask the summit and you the members of the clan to hold me accountable to these values. If you ever see me doing or saying anything inconsistent with the code I want you to call me out. Ideally in private but any way will do. Now if I’m wrong I’ll say you’re right, or if there’s room for different interpretations of the situation, give me a chance to explain. But overall, I’ll say it again, to every member of this clan hold me accountable. If a member of the summit is doing something against the code you can come to me or any member of the summit you’re comfortable speaking to. If you don’t feel comfortable talking to me or the summit then go find my boss the DGM or Justicar. I’ve worked with Iddy and Kam for years and believe me, they will set me straight.

My goal is to push these values so much you’re sick of hearing them. So they become ingrained in our culture again. So old leaders pass it on to new leaders. I hope you will join me in this.

Leader Development

One of my primary goals is to develop the next generation of leaders within the clan, build a sound foundation for them and pass the torch to them. This is why I asked to leave Headmaster and come home. We have so much talent in COU, so many current and potential leaders. So many old hats like me with knowledge to pass on. We have a bright future; we just need to be intentional about investing in it. I will be working with each member of the summit one-on-one, not only on the tips and tricks of their current role but career counseling to see where I can help them get to the next step.

I’m available to the regular members of the clan, well the club really, for leadership stuff to. I’ve been on more staffs than I can count, I’ve been a Consul, I’ve been in two DC roles, helped run three GJWs. I’ve made so many mistakes along the way but had some amazing mentors and teammates I’ve learned from as well. If you’re considering an application or proposal and want someone to look it over or just bounce ideas off of my door, erm tiger den, is always open.

NOW HIRING COU PCON - CLOSING JULY 31st

Len gave a lot to the clan and has decided to step down. This leaves a critical vacancy on the summit. I need a PCON, a right-hand, someone to, as the Hamilton song goes, lighten the load. As I said I want to pass the torch, there are never guarantees about a deputy moving up to take the primary’s place but I am looking for an apprentice of sorts I can train up to be a Consul. I’m not discounting any old hands who want to step up and help the clan just being transparent I prefer someone who is willing to invest in COU long-term and wants to develop as a leader. If that sounds appealing to you, then please apply. Clan summit is a lot of responsibility but I will be there to help and guide you.

• Send me an email with your application no later than site rollover on July 31st, which is roughly 8pm Eastern. It’s a relatively short app period but this is a critical vacancy.
• Give me a brief summary of any club or real-life experience you feel is relevant.
• Describe what you think COU does well and what COU could do better
• I don’t need a detailed plan of action because our summit works collaboratively but if you have any ideas on things you think the summit should do then include those as well.

Don’t be shy, apply!

COU’s Lore

I’ve been fielding questions about this in Enclave chat but I’ll discuss it here as well. I’m not coming into CON with a story bible or cast of characters pre-made. The House summits have developed a short-term plan they’ve briefed me on and I’m not disrupting that. We have heard you in the survey and other places about the complexity of our clan lore and how we could do things differently.

I have two principles when it comes to unit lore: simplicity and inclusivity. People are busy IRL, new people join, old people return and you have to be able to succinctly give them a hook to engage the macroplot in order to tell their stories with their characters. If you can’t explain the plot of your clan event to someone who only knows Star Wars in an elevator pitch you’re kind of doing it wrong in my opinion. Second is inclusivity; gone are the days when units are path-locked, and members have only one character. Unit lore and events have to be drafted in such a way as to give the widest range of character archetypes possible an onramp to engage with the narrative. That’s a challenge for COU because we have an identity as the “light” clan, formerly the “Jedi” clan yet we have to accommodate characters of all stripes.

That being said we’ve drifted from our core in-character identity. Many of you pointed that out in the surveys. Our clan motto is A Light Amidst The Darkness. I think we’ve lost sight of that over the years. We will get back to it and forge our in-character together in the coming months. Just know for now the summit has heard you and we fully intend to include the members and member content as much as humanly possible as we forge a way ahead.

Closing

That’s a lot for day one. Please pardon our dust as the summit settles and we get everyone in place. The Clan needs each and every one of you to come together in this period of change. Pat yourselves on the back for an amazing showing in the GJW. Encourage anyone you know who’s interested to apply for PCON by July 31st and just keep on being awesome. I’m so happy to be home and so honored to serve as your Consul once again.

Turel Sorenn

High Councillor of Odan-Urr