What immediately impressed me about GM Evant was that he said yes to almost everything. I don't mean he let everyone do whatever they wanted. I've spent most of his term negotiating, renegotiating, compromising, adjusting, or admitting defeat. But that was regarding details and implementation.

What I mean is, when you went to Evant and said "Here's a problem, can I try to solve it?" or "I think this is a growth opportunity for the club, can we try it?" or "I want to improve this experience," Evant wasn't the kind of leader who would reflexively shoot you down, or set up a bunch of arbitrary hoops for you to jump through, or make noncommittal noises until you gave up and left him alone. If you could make a case that you could make the club experience better, Evant was hardly ever the one standing in your way.

I think the reason that attitude is rare enough to be conspicuous is because leaders in the DB learn very quickly that most projects fail. The project fizzles. The member working on it ghosts or flames out. The one thing you really want to see completed lingers for years without progress, bouncing between people because you won't let it die. You learn to be cynical. And sure enough, Evant's greenlit some false starts, bad ideas, and projects that will last well into Bubba's term, if not longer. But his willingness to be bold netted us all quite a few wins, big and small:

• We now have systems in place to support chat roleplaying and an Exarch staff guiding the community. As of last week, the Envoy Corps has recognized 1.3 million words of RP activity and over 120 members participating in over 100 sessions. That's not the total since we created the Exarch position in 2021 or implemented the bot and thread system in January 2022. No, that's just the amount of RP activity since March. It's also not including the GJW run-on activity, which for years required the club to maintain a forum system we otherwise hardly touched. Evant didn't just ok this project. He gave me the role and the team and advocated for it. My ideas met with some intense and heated opposition. Evant didn't overrule it, he didn't dismiss the rest of his leadership team or spare me the work of hashing things out, but he did commit to the vision of RP as a major growth opportunity for the Brotherhood. He put his foot down and said "We are doing this and the only thing up for negotiation is how" when it mattered, and every member who enjoys their RPs and their Envoy swag ought to thank him for that.

• The RP system works because Evant approved the pitch to uproot the entire club and migrate to Discord in 2021. By that point, I'd had a Discord account for four years and I hated the interface and barely used it. I was unenthusiastic about the move. But it's paid off for us: mobility between chats, especially between clan chats, is higher than it's ever been, chat and the site work together more cohesively than they ever have. Most importantly, it's now very easy to onboard new members into our chat. Telegram, whatever its other virtues, is very rarely used in the countries we pull new members from. It was a struggle, as often as not, to convince a new member to provide their phone number and sign up for an app most associated in the West with terrorists and Russian hackers. Now, despite our convoluted (by Discord standards) authentication process, most new and returning members are happily chatting away before I even get a chance to glance at #welcome or my MAA emails.

• Evant authorized a dedicated position and bot to support chat-based trivia sessions. Is it a huge change to the club? No. But it has resulted in hundreds of competition entries and the single busiest event on our server most weeks. In hindsight, it was such an easy win and it would have been so stupid not to do it. But I can think of a lot of DB leaders who would've blown off the opportunity. GM Arch might well have been one of them.

These are just three changes that I happen to have special insight into or involvement with. My colleagues in the Brotherhood leadership corps could list plenty more.

My time during Evant's GM term and our working relationship has had ups and downs, to put it mildly, but looking back I can say he gave me the one thing I really needed, a willingness to hear me out and let me try. So thank you, Evant, sincerely, for sitting through all my harebrained schemes and spreadsheets and crude diagrams and Maltego charts and rants about leadership culture. I hope I wasn't too much of a pain in the ass, or if I was, I hope the GLS and the pile of infinite credits that comes with it make up for it.

Alethia Archenksova
Headmistress and Exarchissa Emerita

Moff Alethia Archenksova, 2023-10-12 22:12:48 UTC

Service to the Brotherhood. May your EvantBabbles continue to inspire. Congratulations!

Howlader Taldrya, 2023-10-12 18:42:06 UTC

Only a handful of members have experienced the position of Grand Master in our club. The job requires counseling, project management, cat-wrangling, membership engagement, and keeping an eye on multiple/disparate staffs. It is a lot.

I'm proud to say Evant handled the task like a boss and did exceptional work as Grand Master of our club. He oversaw major changes in societies, the way we promote members, and a billion other projects that improved our members experience.

Congratulations on your GLS! It is well deserved!

Grand Master Declan Roark, 2023-10-12 18:58:27 UTC

Many moons ago Evant popped his head in on the DB from the rogues and somehow got convinced to return. In that time he went from stellar member to helping me lead a clan to overseeing some of the biggest changes and advancements in this club. Having a chance to work with him across the entire hierarchy of the club has been a privilege. Widely insightful, tenacious, with just enough willingness to do something for the hilarity of it, Evant has been the man this club needed in so many instances over the years.

Evant has left not just a lasting mark on this club, but a radical set of changes that fundamentally change and improve the member experience.The steps this club has made due to Evant can not be understated and what he has accomplished is nothing short of incredible.

Thank you Evant for being such an awesome colleague, boss, overlord, and most of all friend.

Lord Idris Adenn, 2023-10-12 19:08:44 UTC

It's sometimes easy to forget just how long I've been working with Evant. Almost continually from 2015 when I served as his Magistrate to the Voice and then eventual Praetor until now at the tail end of 2023.

Ah hells, that's 8 years.

In that time, Evant has never been one to let a supposed mental filter get in the way of a good stream of consciousness. To him, no idea was a bad idea until it got filtered out by the sounding board that was his captive audience. That's an excellent trait to have for someone in charge of Possessions and later the club as a whole. It was my pleasure to come along for that ride, even if we completely lost track of the time. Perhaps especially because of that.

Congratulations Evant, enjoy your retirement. It's no Caliburnus, but this saber is made of a gold so it's close, right?

Darth Renatus, 2023-10-12 21:27:50 UTC

Quite simply, Evant redefined what a lot of us thought was possible in the Brotherhood simply through the power of "yes." So often organizations get bogged down in "we've always done it this way" but the transformative power of Evant's leadership was based on his willingness to look at the data, see things in a new light and keep himself open to fresh ideas.

The club is a better place in numerous tangible ways for the average member because Evant was both humble and brave enough to embrace change.

Councillor Turel Sorenn, 2023-10-12 23:15:38 UTC

Evant has been GM the entire time I've been Regent. It has been in no uncertain terms incredible working under the person who literally got possessions from nothing to fully implemented and cemented a position separate from Voice to manage that system. A position that I might add was literally created for him. In the time working under Evant he's overseen numerous reforms to this club, all for the better, and been a steady hand and guiding voice that each of us on The Council deeply respects. His job didn't make it easy, but he persevered anyways. Now his time is up, but I doubt that we've seen the last of him.

Its no hidden fact that possessions has always been the fictional baby he brought into this world, and as a result I've gotten a little more juice out of him than some other offices. Despite some of my crazier ideas, Evant has always supported my vision for possessions, regardless of what might or might not have been previously declined, and worked with me to make it happen; adding new content and systems that supports the philosophy of letting the membership (and clans to boot) play within the confines of our little sandbox however they wish, and develop their characters however they wish as a result. I will be forever grateful for him for taking a chance on me and letting me take the reigns on possessions.

Thank you for your service, Grand Master Emeritus, and enjoy your retirement. You've earned it.

General Zxyl Bes'uliik, 2023-10-12 23:34:40 UTC

Thank you for everything you've done during your time as Grand Master and before, the club wouldn't be where it is today without your work and guidance. Congratulations!

Ascendant James Lucius Entar, 2023-10-13 09:29:22 UTC

This member has obtained the required XP to be awarded a Golden Lightsaber.

Master Kamjin "Maverick" Lap'lamiz, 2023-10-13 15:57:38 UTC

Evant has been one of the constants of my DB career, such to the point that it for sure is going to be odd not to see him helming some project or Council office or another. Dating back to me being a mid level summit member “stress testing” (in a way) possessions to working with him on the Dark Council to serving under him as a Consul, Evant’s always been there. I hope that he can slide easily into retirement secure in the knowledge that he has left the Brotherhood a better place for his having been here. Thanks for everything that you have done, sir.

Master Selika Roh di Plagia, 2023-10-13 17:38:57 UTC

Evant.... You took a chance on a greenhorn wanting to take over as Consul during a tumultuous time in our clan. Beyond that you took time out of your busy schedule to answer all my stupid questions and guide me through starting my journey as a Consul. Where you could have let me sink or swim you made real effort to make sure not just me but the members of Clan Vizsla were taken care of. This is just one more example of the facet of how much you care about this club and it's membership. Thank you and Congratulations on your GLS. It is well deserved.

Hand of the Emperor Korvyn, 2023-10-13 17:56:40 UTC

It is really cool to see folks make the big seat and become a GM. It is also sobering when those folks end their tenure and step away. Thank you for everything Sir, from your days as Regent and me asking a thousand questions and always getting a response. To your tenure as GM and your continual focus for the Club's growth & prosperity, thank you. On a personal bit, thank you for all the opportunities and mentorship you have provided for me. You are more than deserving of this prestigious award and again thank you for everything!

DarkHawk

Adept DarkHawk Sadow, 2023-10-13 18:44:52 UTC

Congratulations Evant,

Having seen you as both a regular member and for a time as a Consul, I was able to see firsthand just how much you care about this community and how hard you truly worked to set things up for the future. I especially saw this when myself and Wally worked with you and the others in setting up the Envoy Corps, and through the implementation of the XP system.

You have been a phenomenal asset to the club, and though you go into retirement now, hopefully you stay around and continue to be an awesome part of the Brotherhood through the many decades to come. Maybe even join Taldryan!

Congratulations again Evant, you've earned this!

Supreme Chancellor Cassandra Oriana Taldrya, 2023-10-14 15:57:54 UTC

Thank you for your guidance over the years. You've taken the club to great heights and oversaw the implementation of so much. Thank you for all you have done and congratulations!

Ambassador Revak K'Urr, 2023-10-15 15:22:46 UTC