Community Member of the Month (CMoM) - Recipient's Interviews

[Stack]

Community Member of the Month Contest

I think we can all agree that the community here on Awakening is one of the main reasons we call this home. The whole is the sum of its parts, and we recognize that it is the wonderful actions of individuals in game that truly make this a wonderful place to relive Star Wars Galaxies.
Staff wants to make sure those contributions do not go un-noticed. Therefore, we’re launching an official “Community Member of the Month” contest. Each month, we’ll select a member of the community who has really stood out from the rest, either by their general demeanor/attitude, or by concrete individual actions. The CMoM will be selected by staff based off community nominations.
Once a CMoM is selected (nominations due by the 20th of every month), staff will contact that member, and get some information and screenshots of the player for a blurb on the winner each month. That player will receive a unique decorative prize (details still under consideration), and a post on the main page of this thread. Most importantly, they will join the ranks of the select few CMoMs that have come before them, and be recognized as true contributors to the community!

DATES/RULES
Submissions due: 20th of every month, by Private Forum message to StaticStrife
CMoM Post/Award: 1st of every month, for the month prior’s winner
One nomination per person. You can nominate someone for other months if they do not win!

PRIVATE MESSAGE TEMPLATE: Please use ther following template when sending in your nomination!
Subject: (Month) CMoM Nomination for (Player Name – Guild Name) (EX: April CMoM Nomination for BigQEd)
Body: A short paragraph about what the contribution is/was, and how it influenced your stay/the community here on Awakening. Include anything you want us to know when considering your nomination! Really, anything goes here - Was someone cool to you after a PVP battle? Did they buy you your first set of armor? Anything!

So here we go! The first CMoM Contest is for the month of April. Submissions are due April 20, and the first winner will be shown to the galaxy on May 1st. The sky is the limit people, we want to hear it all!

Past Winners:
April 2016 - Merrie (See interveiw on page 1)
May 2016 - Laschana viewtopic.php?f=35&t=5679&hilit=cmom&start=29
June 2016 - Turin viewtopic.php?f=35&t=5679&hilit=cmom&start=49
April 2017 - Sionix viewtopic.php?f=35&t=5679&hilit=cmom&start=74
May 2017 - Mothman viewtopic.php?f=35&t=5679&hilit=cmom&start=88
September 2017 - Caledonian viewtopic.php?f=35&t=5679&hilit=cmom&start=104
August 2018 - Absinthe viewtopic.php?f=35&t=5679&start=116
September 2018 - Tela viewtopic.php?f=35&t=5679&start=122
October 2018 - Novro viewtopic.php?f=35&t=5679&start=125
November 2018 - Airy viewtopic.php?f=35&t=5679&start=129
December 2018 - Feuwei viewtopic.php?f=35&t=5679&start=135


Thanks, and keep making this community the best!

[Stack]

It is my great pleasure to announce the award of our first Community Member of the Month award to Merrie <BEAST>!!!

---

Alts: : Merrie, Hallie, Dolce, Ann, Neaux


Thoughts from Stack
I came to Awakening based on promises of a pre-cu like community of helpful galactic citizens. It was wildly appropriate then, that the winner of this month’s CMoM was one of the first people I came across. Over the months I’ve gotten to know her, it has become clear that she is the paragon of SWG players, playing the game in her own unique way, and doing absolutely everything she can to help those around her. In fact, presentation of this award took two days to actually get a hold of her, because she was constantly in the middle of assisting others.
Below is some background information for those of you that don’t know Merrie, and some general questions I’ve asked to get to know her better.



Who is Merrie?

I guess I am a typical gamer. My sister calls it letting my geek flag fly. It is not for everyone. But I am happy being who I am. And I do love video games. I live in the woods so in an MMO you get to meet all sorts of people you would never in real life. I love challenges and complexity and interaction that games provide. I think in a virtual world anything is possible. You can be anyone. That's the appeal. The cake is not a lie.
I love sitting in my pajamas with mad scientist hair crafting pets at 4 am . I have learned to accept this about myself and believe that a support group is not necessary.

Who is <BEAST>?

My guild is Beast. It is hard to express how much this means, but maybe here is a place people can actually understand it. I was the first Beast member to land on awakenings that I know of. It's a unique guild full of unique players. It has ties to live that are super meaningful. It was a cross server Ch/BE/Ranger guild. Some of the best memories I have on live were my pets.

Why Awakening?

I guess I found my way onto Awakening through a friend. It is said over and over but the community here is pretty amazing and full of so many unique individuals. The best thing for me about this server are two things aside from the awesome community.
First, from the moment I stepped into the dungeons here I knew it was different. Its not a casual stroll undertaking the DWB or the geo caves. You can't easily solo it to the finish. You can't afk it. It has been made what these should have been in the first place, an unpredictable wild challenge, where you have to think on your feet and it's never boring. There is always a chance , you'll catch on fire , that the Npc will have a stun baton. That you will make a mistake and then poof dead ! It makes every run different and fun , it feels amazing when you win , not so great when you end up in the cloner. The mystery is included in the road to jedi too. You just never know
Second is an odd little fact that represents a larger idea. Rancors should have always been incredible creatures. It was so often asked for on live. Ed made them that way. He made them what they should have been all along. Their dna , their resists. Because he did that , maybe with realizing it , he fixed some things that were wrong with bio engineer which is my favorite profession. This is sort of an underlying theme. You all arent afraid to make things interesting , yet you don't nerf anything. It is like the road less travelled by game developers. In struggling for balance the first easy fix seems to be to "nerf" it. But you don't here , you give it lightsaber resists and a flamethrower! I find that particularly delightful.

But like I said to start, it is the community . Part of what makes a game fun for me is to help other people along. To try to give them a fishing rod and point them to the river and not just give them the fish. It took me a long time to learn the differences here . The old be formulas don't work , the well documented strategies sometimes don't work . It's a new game wrapped in the framework of a game I really love that is unique and draws me in time and again. It is what you make it. It's an incredibly rewarding feeling to help other people discover it. Thank you Awakenings for this opportunity at all this fun and friendship again.

What are some of your in-game Hobbies?

I love resources and pvp. This is such an odd mix sometimes. It is the best feeling ever to shoot at Berry, then in the next hour wonder over Endor looking for the new class 4 that spawned. To figure out the dna puzzle in busting a base. The water pump puzzle in the foreman's quest. I guess those are my hobbies. I haven't even begun to decorate or be a bounty hunter, or a merchant or learn about weaponsmith or armoursmith or get married or fish as much as I want to , or learn how to pvp without dying so much , get better at trash talking , or find the ch babies Id like to find or finish my ch or finish my road to jedi or ... there is so much to do here

Favorite moment on Awakening?

Creating that [BEAST] tag... It gives me a home and people I call friends. I just happen to be guild leader this time around. It makes me very proud and humble that I am a part of something that has always been a part of SWG for so many people. We don't really have a city at this point. There are so many we love, Halcyon, Dodge, a lot of places that Beast calls home.

What would you say is your best quality?

But like I said to start, it is the community . Part of what makes a game fun for me is to help other people along. To try to give them a fishing rod and point them to the river and not just give them the fish. It took me a long time to learn the differences here . The old be formulas don't work , the well documented strategies sometimes don't work . It's a new game wrapped in the framework of a game I really love that is unique and draws me in time and again. It is what you make it. It's an incredibly rewarding feeling to help other people discover it. Thank you Awakenings for this opportunity at all this fun and friendship again.

Fun Merrie Fact:

When I finally got a jedi on Bria, I never dropped creature handler. I was probably the weakest jedi ever, but it simply didnt matter. I was the only female wookiee jedi ch I knew of.That was enough for me.
When the Bounty hunter came for me in the crowded mining outpost on Dantooine.... And my tigers destroyed his Av21 while I got away , it was priceless and my most memorable moment from live. o the tells .

Most Embarassing Moment?

My most embarassing moment, these are daily . Usually when i wipe spectacularly well in front of people. But see above I never stop trying. It could have been that time I killed both of my combat toons on the way to Sam's and he had to come out and rez me ..

Please congratulate Merrie for being an amazing member of this community. She will receive a custom forum tag to denote this honor, as well as a custom badge in game - ...has been awarded Community Member of the Month!!!

[Turin]

Great idea and look forward to seeing this in play. For me the first person to win this should be Thor hands down for his events.

[lassic]

I like it as well. When people are the community ambassadors, and make those first very hard days easier, that should be recognized. Also, those who are quick to support those new to the Pre-CU exp in getting through that power curve.
This kind of public recognition goes a long way to fostering more of that.

[Enchurito]

I look forward to seeing the results of this, awesome idea!

[Sionix]

Nice idea

[Stack]

This month's winner has been posted! Please see the above post!!!

[Xiphos]

Well deserved! Congrats to the winner.

[saboteur]

Grats

[Turin]

Congratulations merrie,

very well deserved, i have been on many adventures with you and have alot of very fond memories with you, fully deserved.

[chewikazza31]

yay merrie great work!!! Grats!!! 1337 all the way!

[Laschana]

Congrats Merrie, you totally deserve this!! Merrie was one of the first people that I met on Awakening and we've been friends ever since! She's just so full of life and helpful, you can't help but be happy around her I don't see how she ever has time for herself, she's so giving of her time to others.

You're my hero Merrie!!!
/salute

[matthew2000uk]

Merrie, You are the best Guild leader ever.

Keep being AWESOME and a trailblazing community icon.

Zies

[SirButHurt]

Always knew you would get somewhere here. i wont say congratz but i will say its about time

[benito]

Hey and grats Merrie, a good choice you are

[Centurionforce]

Well deserved! great person!

[Abraxas]

Congrats Merrie!

We could not have had a better person win the first CMoM award. You've been an asset to this community and your efforts never go unnoticed. Thank you for all you have done to help make Awakening the best server there is.

/salute

[Neaux]

I sat here for a little while , trying to figure out what to say. The first thing is thank you . To the players who nominated me and the team who make it possible to play. A HUGE heart felt thank you . I am not very eloquent or well spoken , but we are all like those little ants who band together in floods to make a liferaft. Swg brings us together Without each other it wouldn't be SWG.


Or we would have to make a million little surfboards.

[Neoki]

Very well deserved Merrie! Congrats!

[StaticStrife]

Very well deserved. Congrats Merrie!! Loved reading the interview as well.