Need some inspiration for writing award nominations? Check these out!

StarBase 118 Staff · May 24, 2019

It’s the most wonderful time of the year… for Awards! Great nominations for your crew mates and drum beats from across the fleet show your appreciation for a job well done. Inspiring sims coming from inspiring people, and to that end, we want to help you get the best out of your nominations to fuel that raging inferno of energy and enthusiasm.

Below are some of the best nominations we had during last year’s ceremony that stoked that fire for a win.

Ready to get started? Click here to open the award nomination panel. You’ll find full instructions, including a link to a list of all the awards and their descriptions.

Phoenix Award Nomination for Valin Dermot

There’s nothing ‘typical’ about Engineers, save for their constant tinkering with things, or their almost fanatical insistence that no one touches their warp cores…or their consoles…or their settings. In fact…you should just walk away and not touch ANYTHING because they have things set precisely how they want them to be. Yes, they know it’s not standard but that’s how they like it. No they won’t change it and yes they’ve installed cup holders in every console in Engineering. Because they need to put their coffee somewhere dangit! If that doesn’t more or less sum up an Engineer I don’t know what will and Chief Engineer Valin Dermont is no exception. When he’s not giving some of his humorous comments he’s finding ways to improve systems, or using his quick thinking to get the crew out of a jam. Also…coffee. Lots and lots of coffee.

Rising Star Award for Maxwell Traenor

From the first time I have met Maxwell Traenor I got the vibe of enthusiasm, humour and dedication to the game, that was right after he graduated the Academy. Ever since I have kept an eye on his progress and not once has he stopped showing how much he enjoys the community and loves the people in it. In short time he had risen to the ranks of Leadership as a First Officer and dedicated a lot of his time not only on the ships he has served on, but also in his work leading the Top Sim Contest, being part of the Podcast team, Trainings Team and Public Relations. Whenever help is needed he does not hesitate to jump in and blossoms in his work to make the game fun for everyone. Even in times when a firm hand is needed he does that with respect and understanding. As First Officer he is invaluable for his ship, his sims are entertaining, full of details, humour but also severity if needed. His crew loves him and his characters and I have no doubt that when his times comes he will be a fantastic CO with a crew who can build on and trust in him.

T’Pau Cluster of Distinction Nomination for Quinn Reynolds

Since taking over a Commandant of the Academy Reynolds has brought a new energy into the position. She is diligent in looking after classes and being shepherd to the the trainers as well as her deputy commandants. Always ready willing and able to answer questions or lend a helping hand to help someone out in order to give cadets their best chance at becoming active members of the fleet.

Russ Bar Nomination for Hannibal Parker

Ken, Hannibal Parker’s writer, helps define the Duronis Embassy as an excellent unit with strong continuity and connection to the Trek universe. One way in which he does this is through his strong knowledge of Star Trek lore and cannon, and his ability to integrate that knowledge into his writing. Whether the subject is an older ship class, a species covered in a single episode of one of the Trek series or his character’s recollection of an event in the established Trek timeline, Ken always brings realism to the universe in which all of our characters live and breathe. The sim I’ve chosen to illustrate Hannibal’s knowledge of cannon and incorporation of it into his writing is a very old one, from all the way back in June of 2014 when I first arrived at the Embassy. It made a strong first impression on me, as Ken continues to do for me and everyone else who writes at the Embassy.

Natasha Yar Pin Nomination for Ishani Kasun

Security through and through. Sometimes there seems to be a blurred line of the roles security and tactical should take. But Ishani Kasun defines her position, and has put her mark on it. Responsible for the safety and regulations of the areas largest starbase, it isn’t an easy task. Constantly faced with outnumbered and immeasurable odds. Everything from murder at a dinner party to keeping her captain safe. Or at least the first to point out that it’s against regulation for him to go prancing about the galaxy without protection. Meanwhile, the writer continues to provide realistic solutions her department is continuously faced with. Though the enforcers of code and regulation, there is always a need to bend a rule here and there. The writer sails through, as her character is faced with hard choices to be a good officer and following her gut – even when it goes against the rules. It has always been a joy to read this character, and watch as she’s taken her department and made it her own. From strange beasts that have made a home in the maintenance shaft around her office to the struggles faced with protecting those she cares about.

Boothby Award Nomination for Jarred Thoran

The Academy Training taskforce is a demanding and exacting calling, and rightfully so. We want to put our best foot forward with prospective members, to show them the excellence we strive for and to give each and every one of them the best possible chance to succeed. With both his enthusiasm and comportment, Jarred Thoran is a fantastic asset to this team. Usually one of the first to volunteer when the call for trainers goes out, and rarely abstaining from volunteering, Thoran strives to be available as much as anyone. During the classes, regardless of his role, Thoran solicits, accepts, and implements guidance and assistance from his peers, and always presents a kind and professional demeanor to the cadets. A true asset to the Academy taskforce and the fleet, I believe Jarred Thoran should be a strong contender for this award.

Kathryn Janeway Award Nomination for Renos

Many would not be as prosperous members of the fleet as they are today without Admiral Renos. The writer behind Renos has mentored so many and been a paragon of someone to look up for many years. What members will remember most about Renos’ time as Captain of a ship in our fleet is just how dedicated they were to their crew.

Laudean Commendation Nomination for Sky Blake

Both Sky Blake and Tristam Core, characters written by Deliera, are distinctly portrayed with rich cultural backgrounds of their own and unique to the Star Trek pantheon we’ve seen from previous species/characters on screen. Tristam Core, as a Rodulan/118-unique species, and Sky Blake, as a part Brekkian, part Betazoid, offer a pretty blank canvas for a writer, and Deliera has taken greath lengths to draft up extensive backstories not just for the characters but their entire cultures and worlds, as anyone who’s seen her “behind the scenes” page on the wiki has no doubt learned. This planning comes through with a significant payoff when she’s then able to include everything from how the characters carry themselves to even just little interjections in their mother tongues that she puts into sims effortlessly. Through her writing, the Brekkians and Rodulans have become as familiar to me as the Klingons and Vulcans of Trek canon.

Click here to start your award nominations now! Nominations close on Monday, June 10 at 11:45pm Pacific time.

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