Slags has somehow managed to keep up a high level of personal activity while successfully holding down demanding jobs on the DC and as a CON for most of the last seven years. He is without a doubt our most reliable and experienced CON, and his work organizing his fellow CONs for truly DB-wide Pro Bowls is a testament to his continuing enthusiasm for this club, his desire to provide members with fun and rewarding activities, and his mentorship of his fellow CONs.

Congrats on the ED!

Well, well, well. It looks like it’s finally my turn!

Now, what can I say about Slagar that hasn’t been said a thousand times before? Probably not a whole lot, but I’ll certainly give it a try. Slags is the type of leader who just doesn’t rest, like ever. One month, there has been one single month since I’ve been a member of the club that Slager wasn’t either a Consul or a Counselor, that’s over 7 years! You would actually have to go back nearly 10 years to see Slags take a sizable break from leadership, and even then sizable is a relative term here. When I first joined the DB, like many others, I was nervous and a bit unsure of myself and my place in this club. After barely being here for a few months, Slags took a risk in offering me a place on the Clan Plagueis summit. Granted, it was just as a Battleteam leader, but he saw something in this lowly Journeyman with an oversized hat and encouraged me to step out of my comfort zone and try something new. But that’s what Slagar does, he sees the potential in members and offers them opportunities to learn and grow, to try new things and get hands-on experience. Being a long time member of the clan summit and repeat consul, Slag has a LOT of experience, some things have worked, others not so much, but he is always willing to share what he’s learnt from those experiences and mentor the next generation of leaders within the club.

I’ve had the pleasure of working with Slags for a long time now and I’ve seen firsthand how much he cares about this club, he’s always willing to step up and help out or take a step back and let others run with an idea and take all the glory offering advice along the way even if he knows it may not work out. In the end, that’s because Slags has a driving goal to improve the member experience. Whether that’s through training new leaders, looking at how processes can be improved, getting members to be active and engaged or bringing everyone in the club together for a massive event like the Pro Bowl. One thing that’s always stuck out to me about Slags is his passion for awarding members, he is always watching what the members of the clan are doing, seeing how they can be awarded for their activity and pushing for a quick turn around on awards in order to keep the hype train rolling and making sure that members know that we see what they are doing and appreciate their hard work. And that is evident in every single rec he writes. Seriously, go read them, I’ll wait. Slagar has a way with words when it comes to the recs he writes. Sure there’s the usual gushing over hard numbers and site tracked info, but every rec he writes, no matter how small or large the award or promotion is, feels personal to the member, making it feel like the special event that it deserves to be. Slags has written a few recs for me, and every single one of them has brought a smile to my face. Well, I am very proud to be able to flip the tables on you for once, but for some reason the smile is still plastered across my face. I wanted to talk more about how you’re an incredible leader, mentor and friend, but I’ve rambled on for long enough so I’ll have to save that for the inevitable next time.

Congratulations on a well deserved Emerald Dagger, now please don’t use it on a very loyal hat!