Need help with your award nominations? Check this out.

StarBase 118 Staff · June 3, 2018

If you’re wanting to maximize the number of award winners on your ship, you’ll need to write some good nominations for your fellow crew mates. But we know if you’re new, that can feel a little daunting! That’s why Cmdr. Maxwell Traenor and Capt. Theo Whittaker have combed through past nominations to find the really good ones that led to an award win, to provide you with a little inspiration.

Read through some of the nominations below to get an idea of the type of things people said about their nominees to help push them over the line for a successful award win.

Community Champion Award nomination for Mirra Ezo

When I think of our 118 community I think of the personalities that are often found in our chat area, and chief among those individuals is Mirra Ezo, always available for advice, feedback, and a laugh. Her warmth and charm have become a staple of our community. Examples of her involvement do not end with her chat presence but have to include her activity on our forum. Always eager to encourage others, she is a top champion for keeping our forum active and acknowledging others, making a habit of shining the spotlight of recognition in the form of quotes, top sim nominations, and so much more. Adding chat team member to her list of credentials, she was an eager facilitator and judge of our trivia contest and has been a strong supporter of our fleet chats in general, I cannot think of a single one she has missed in her years of membership.

Great Bird nomination for Renos

The Great Bird of the Galaxy Award has only been received by one person of this illustrious group, and for good reason. It is the pinnacle, the highest honor that can be bestowed upon a member. I can think of no one more deserving of this than Renos. Ne has been with and served SB118 for nearly a decade, in various capacities. He has commanded multiple ships and instillations, and is recognized as an expert in both simming and leadership. Nes crew will testify to the skill and mind-boggling dedication ne has shown in nes interaction with every facet of the group’s operation. Most relevant to this discussion, however, is nes contributions to the Star Trek universe. Ne has opened eyes with incredibly compelling characters, drawing upon personal and painful experiences to give them substance and meaning. Ne has pioneered new simming endeavors that have never been attempted, such as the creation of a hospital ship, and the commissioning of a permanent, multi-sim community (the Andaris Task Force). Ne has ushered in countless new ensigns, and has seen them grow into strong members of this community.

Khan Award nomination for Rustyy Hael

Since joining Ops, we have yet to see a mission where this writer did not provide us an unforgettable villain. This writer has come up with so many characters that we all just love to hate. From the grotesque Yridian dealer, to the despicable eye roll inducing traitor scientist. I could nominate this simmer for each and every bad guy as they have all been unique staples and the topic of many ooc discussion and laughs. Hael paints a very vivid picture of each antagonist and gives us a unique look at the criminal mind. These are characters with thoughts, feelings, motivations and depth. When it comes to bad guys, Ops has a known specialist: Rustyy Hael.

Laudean Commendation nomination for Brell

There are many, many species in Star Trek. Only a few of this vast number receive any sort of in-depth discussion regarding their society, psychology, and other important characteristics of their existence. As such, it is usually an enjoyable challenge for a writer to develop a character’s society on their own, if it has not already been laid out by generations of Star Trek. One such example of a writer building around his character is Brell, played by Lee. As the only writer currently simming a Bolian in the fleet, Brell has shown himself to be a veritable powerhouse of creative output. He has, almost single-handedly, painted an entire world, through the eyes of well-developed, well-written characters. Lee’s sims are engaging, and it seems that almost every one contains some previously unheard-of tidbit of cultural background, whether it be psychological, social, or culinary. Indeed, I feel that he deserves this award for his unfailing, unwavering ability to add relevance behind a fictional universe so as to make it almost indistinguishable from a first-person account. For this reason, I believe Brell would be an excellent candidate for the Laudean Commendation.

Nebula Bar nomination for Sal Taybrim

When it comes to imagination, one can always rely on Sal Taybrim. When writing a new species as an MSNPC, Taybrim’s writer has a demonstrated ability to give them the differences that separate species, not only in terms of anatomy but in culture, in attitude, an in psychology. There is always depth, not a two-dimensional version of a character. As a science officer, Taybrim made huge contributions to the descriptions of new areas and planets, and gave each a unique feel (or unique “problems”) without indicating that they were the sole feature of interest. Despite everything he has contributed, Sal always leaves plenty of room for other writers to work, even setting them up to make such contributions.

Neelix Award nomination for Anora Manar

“As always, if you (or anyone else) ever need help with anything, never hesitate to ask. I’ll gladly lend a hand.” Often we hear these words, but when they come from someone who truly means them, and proactively seeks out ways to help you and your crew, you are very fortunate indeed. Lt. Commander Anora Manar (Jers) is one of those people who means what he says, and whether it’s helping with the wiki, helping new crew members find their way around the Thunder or the Embassy, or simply offering words of encouragement, we can count on him to do it to perfection, often without prompt.

Phoenix Award nomination for Varaan

Varaan is everything you would expect from a Vulcan – stoic, professional, organised, intelligent and logical. All these qualities and more make him an astonishingly good engineer. At the same time we are able to see that the Vulcan is not infallible and are given glimpses into what lies behind the facade. Along with some subtle humour, Varaan is much more than a hyperspanner wielding, treknobabbling drone. He brings the duty post to life in a way that is truly remarkable and has kept the sturdy Horizon class ship from falling apart in the face of attack from superior forces on numerous occasions. Not one to be easily defeated by difficult problems he has worked diligently with the science department to investigate a power problem that has been plaguing the ship since it relaunched. It is suspected to be a design flaw and though the problem remains unresolved for now, the subplot has taken a problem introduced by another player (that shouldn’t have existed) and turned it into an interesting story that will lead to a satisfactory resolution. Other highlights include helping to ensure a Borg device being studied by the science department does not overtax the Darwin’s systems and remains safely quarantined.

TOSMA nomination for Choi Ji-hu

Though only with us for a matter of months, Choi Ji-hu has already been established as one of the stronger simmers aboard the Constitution. Using a deft touch to convey humor, gravitas, or any other number of emotions, he thrills us with masterful writing and engaging plotlines. The writer behind Choi Ji-hu goes out of his way to ensure inclusiveness by tagging and writing joint posts with anyone and everyone, and can be counted on to push the plot and provide solid worldbuilding and character building threads in his work. On top of this, he is very active on the OOC side of the Constitution’s presence, with solid wiki contributions, frequent forum additions, and a staple on both the Constitution’s and the fleet’s Discord chat channels.

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