Greetings Fellow Guardians!

I have one more very special award to hand out. In the history of TG there has only been two other Guardians to ever receive the award being handed out today, and that would be Uncle and, more recently, Mikhal. Today we recognize another Guardian whose spirit, resolve, representation, actions and dedication to duty would be the embodiment of The Guardians. When this individual was being nominated for this award I agreed 100 fold with the nomination. I then set out to cast a wide net to garner feedback on what people thought of this individual and his being nominated for a prestigious award and received more responses than I ever have since I have taken this position and taken part spearheading the Guardian Honors System. I feel so very honored to be able to hand out this award today to person I hold the utmost respect for, consider a good friend and can never to date think of a situation in all the time I have known him where I could ever think to say anything negative or bad about any of his actions. So please allow me to present:

The Guardian Crimson Laurel to recipient: Drenarb Xchiline (Randall)
The highest honor a Guardian can receive, it is awarded to those extraordinary individuals whom personify the values and traits that the Guardians hold most dear, and live the Code through their every action. This award should be reserved for those Guardians who, without question, make TG the guild that it is. In the depths of wretchedness, their soul shines like a single torch blazing in the night.


In my quest to find out what people thought of Dren I asked:

Dren is being nominated for an award of the highest caliber and I am soliciticing feedback and statements from a large demograph of members to compile: the thoughts and feelings of people toward Drenarb, his accomplishments and contributions to TG, how he represents TG's principles, the Code and the Creed.

With leaving it open for positive and negative feedback from Councilors, Officers and Members alike, these are the response I received. I believe they pay tribute to the deserving nature of one people are so fond of:

b]"Dren could truly be called the Godfather of TG. It was his Diner thread in our pre-SWG days that drew so many people into the folds of TG. He's always gone so far above and beyond in order to make members feel welcome to the organization. He's been a member, an officer and a Councilor and served well in all those roles. He's also spearheaded and lead what could arguably be considered TG's greatest ever Division in SW:TOR. I think he's the embodiment of TG's principles, the Code and the Creed. Consider this my nomination for hm."[/b]

Dren is the person that I feel represents the Guardians in the best possible way. If I ever have any issues I know I can go right to him and those issues will be handled and they will be kept between us. He is tons o' fun to game with, even though he is from Oklahoma. He does a fantastic job leading the SWTOR Rep division and he is always trying to come up with more ways to get more members and to have members join together. Most people want to be like Mike when they grow up, I want to be like Dren, minus the Mountain Dew fetish because come on, that is just odd.

How about if I just take the whole code, find and replace 'Guardians' with 'Drenarb' and call it a day? That'd be pretty accurate? Definitely

Dren is the Gold Standard on what it means to be a Guardian. He is the embodiment of hands on leadership. He takes an active role in the division and he inspires others to enjoy themselves as Guardians.
I've had the pleasure of knowing and serving with Dren since TG was in its infancy. I am honored to serve and even more greatly honored to have him as a friend.

Dren definitely deserves the award, just from the amazing work he did before the game was even released. He single handedly put the division together. Keeping up with all the details of the game before it was released and making sure to keep the members informed on all the aspects of the game. I don't think I've seen anyone work as hard as Dren getting a division up and running since I've been here.

Dren has always dealt with me fairly and well; he is deserving of the utmost respect. Despite a hectic life with children and many other duties he maintains a fairly active presence in his division and works hard to provide the tools for everyone. He is absolutely representative of everything a Guardian should be, and has always been that way.

I wish I had a lot more to say about Dren, but either he's usually dealing with management crap regarding the swtor guild, or I'm on at times he is not. But I will report on the following:
He seems to always be busting his butt making sure he addresses all the issues that come up for the guild. He doesn't lash out at criticism, provides information for folks to know what's going on, and always lends an ear.
His concern for fellow guild members leads him to reach out to some of folks in the community to help create events and make swtor more fun. This is great imo. Good leaders and folks that care about the community get others involved. It's not about him or the power he wields, it's about the welfare and enjoyment of the others and that's a good and rare thing indeed.
I've only been in a couple ops teams with him, and he's always been friendly, helpful, and joking around with everyone. Very approachable, and everyone seems pretty comfortable. All and all, there hasn't been any real drama in swtor, and things have been running smoothly. I know it's not all Dren, but I'm sure he and the others in charge have put a lot of effort in making being in the Guardian in SWTOR much more enjoyable.
Having been a guild officer in the past in other guilds, I understand the crap that always seems to filter up into the officer's laps. The fact this isn't bled out into the general populous, and that many folks don't even know about it says a lot about the kind of character he has. (Hopefully for you all this isn't a common thing).
Most people I've talked to seem to really enjoy having him as a leader or someone they can talk to about concerns.

Wow Dren is the PERFECT candidate! He's so dedicated and keeps things running smoothly. I'm so glad I was able to game alongside him, and hopefully in future games to come! The amount of time and effort he puts into his duties here at TG is really admirable. I'm lucky and proud to call him my guildmate.

Drenarb is and always has been everything it means to be a Guardian. He is a decisive leader who knows how to weigh up decisions to take in to account everybody's views and manage their expectations. Not only did he manage to build a huge pre-release division but when the inevitable drop in activity/members hit the division, he was never phased and there was no sense the division was any less strong than it was at launch. On top of his abilities as a leader Dren is one of the most humble and kind people I've ever had the fortune of meeting. He is somebody I am proud to call my guildmate, my division leader and my friend.

So I am probably one of the most critical people in the guild when it comes to people fulfilling their roles in any officer position. I took a lot of slack (or complaining to me I guess) from guildies asking where Dren was all the time at the release of the game. I knew he was working his ass off and couldn't play much so it was understandable but it was a critical time for the game and we took a slight hit there.
So fast forward a couple months into the game and Dren is playing more, more involved with the guild, seeing what is going on. He is making improvements now (seeing the deficiencies in our Recruit and PVE ranks) and even busting my ass (which is good I need a kick in the ass every now and then) and starting to get things done. Even though I went off on that rant one fact still remains, Dren has done more with this division in my 4+ years being here than any other division I have been in. The one thing I respect the most about him is that when a tough decision has to be made he doesn't jump the gun or ignore it. He analyzes, gets input from the guild and makes a decision based on what is best for the guild, not just for him or his officer corp and I respect that because in the end what makes or breaks good leaders are the decisions they make. And I feel up until this point he has made the right ones. So basically what I am trying to say is, if he wasn't leader of our division, I couldn't see anyone else doing a better job.

I have a bit of a handicap in answering this in that I've spent -- across all game universes and servers -- approximately 15 minutes on the same server with Drenarb. That said, he was the one to invite my very-very-late-to-the-party Republic alt. So we're obviously soul mates. Or, in other words, I base my observations for you pretty much solely on forum activity.
Drenarb must have thick skin and thicker resolve, but you've probably heard that from others already. If you haven't - you should have. What I can present to you is the Drenarb Constant:
"No matter what level of anything any Guardian is spouting crap or knowledge about - they are either above, or below, the Drenarb Constant. The DC is a line, a line of consistent adherence to the Code and Creed. Now, the great Drenarb may himself go above or below the DC line, but if anybody could be thought of as the jockey riding the Shadowfax of this guild's Code and Creed, it's Dewnarb. I mean Drenarb.

(Forgive me if this is a bit long winded or rambling, it's 1:30 in the morning as I type this, and my thoughts may not be completely coherent  ) the thoughts and feelings of people toward Drenarb, his accomplishments and contributions to TG, how he represents TG's principles, the Code and the Creed.
Drenarb is a Guardian member of the highest caliber. He upholds each and every one of the tenets of the Guardian Code, as follows.
1) Camaraderie: Drenarb has always fostered feelings of goodwill for all of the members under his wing as the leader of the Guardian SWToR division. I remember the first new member induction we had in SWToR, where literally dozens of Guardians stood in the Senate Hall on Coruscant, all at attention, and swore in the new members as official representatives of the Guardian community. I feel that events like this invite newer members and make them feel just as welcome as the people who have been longstanding members for years. I know that was the first moment in my career as a Guardian that made me realize I was a part of something much larger, and that my friends and peers would always see me as their equal.
2) Loyalty: Drenarb has never, in my eyes, done anything except what was good for the community. In SWToR, even when challenged once with questions as to why he wasn't at the same playing level the other players were at, he stayed his course. He is always more committed to making sure his fellow players enjoy the game more than his own enjoyment. He managed the entire guild bank with an alt for quite a long time, and constantly made arrangements either through his officers or himself to further the Guardian's enjoyment of their game.
3) Honor: I have never seen Drenarb act with anything but the utmost respect for any other gaming community we have ever come in contact with. Referring to the Loyalty point as well, he always makes sure to uphold the Guardian Charter, even in the face of adversity.
4) Maturity: Drenarb is one of the most professional and mature people I've met in online gaming. While he of course will cut up and make jokes with the rest of us (once again, making us feel like comrades with him, rather than his lesser) he always makes sure to uphold maturity in both in-game interactions and has had people tone down less mature talk in voice chat to adhere to this part of the code.
5) Integrity: I've never seen him give out information that was deemed confidential or for TG eyes only, and I don't see him ever doing so.
6) Duty: This one I could write a novel about, but Drenarb has a great sense of duty towards his division. Even with staggering real-life responsibilities, he still upholds his duty as a division leader and a Guardian by being in-game quite often and participating regularly in events. He definitely upholds this value more than I can say for myself; I stopped playing the game quite a while ago due to my dissatisfaction with the game, and while he also expressed to me that certain components of the game were grating to him as well, he stuck with it and was there for his division. I have nothing but the utmost respect for him and his sense of duty towards his guildmates.
I could write much more but this basically sums up my thoughts: Drenarb is one of the most active and passionate guild leaders I've ever had in an MMO I've played in. He truly cares about the people in his division, and is always there to lend a helping hand or make someone feel at home, even if he has to go out of his way.
I'd recommend him for whatever award is being presented. He's one of the best Guardians I know.

When it comes to Dren:
If we were to bottle up everything that it means to be TG and mold a person out of its contents then it would be Drenarb.
I've sat here started and restarted typing many things trying to put things into words more information to back the above statement. But everything really is shadowed.
His RL is very hectic being his own boss. But he still takes time every day to log into the game and say hi to everyone. He posts on the boards almost every day as well. He leads through the people that he has chosen. If not for the people he chose we wouldn't have 5-7 different raiding groups going right now; and working on building even more.
He takes the time to research every possible solution before making a choice. Listening to every side. Makes the hard choose times for the betterment of the guild.
The SWTOR guild, as far as those that I have interaction with, love Dren. We all wish that he could have more time online. But we know that RL always comes first!
I'm happy to know him, glad to call him friend!

Dren! The guy whose blood has probably been replaced by Dew!
He has shown great leadership skills as well as has always been considerate and every choice he has made has been weighed and measured! 
Glad to see him nominated, he definitely deserves it!

Dren... the guy who got me into TG. He has been an honorable example. During those almost two years now, I have never seen him doing anything that conflicted with our code, always looking at the positive side of things. And when you do have a problem or something is bothering you, he's there for you when you go to him, taking your issue seriously and most important, keeping it secret.
It's also his unique personality that makes him stand out from others within this community. And his dedication to TG is admirable; even with all the time he is there for his family, church and business, he takes the time to do his part within and for this community.
I believe Dren shows us an example we all should try to achieve. And looking at what he has accomplished within TG, I can only say that he's worthy to receive this award.

I have known Dren going back to the SWG days. I've always known him to be an upstanding Guardian with an excellent head on his shoulders. He is now responsible for the opening of our SWTOR Republic division which is just another feather in his cap.

Sorry for the wall of text folks, but there is no way I could truncate down any of that... I had to let it all speak for itself. Please join me in honoring someone who, without a doubt, personifies what it means to be a Guardian.  Drenarb’s relentless dedication to duty is in keeping with the finest traditions of The Guardians and reflects great credit upon himself, the Republic Division, and The Guardians Gaming Community.


<S> Torynn, your resident Ass.


P.S. - Randall, as a person that has known you from the beginning of TG I can say in all honesty from day one you have always been, as referred to earlier, the ‘DC’ line of TG. We greatly appreciate the leadership style and caliber to which you lead as a servant to your Division and putting them above yourself.

P.P.S. - Read the Interview with Dren!

Congrats Dren, thanks for all your service !!!

Congrats indeed, very much deserved!

Grats Dren!

Now get back in the kitchen of that Diner of yours and make me a bacon mushoom swiss burger!

/cheer

Congratulations Dren! You deserve it buddy!

Congrats on your wall of positive text! Awesome people are awesome, and may you continue being awesome!

Grats! Well deserved.

WAKE UP DREN, THERE'S A THREAD ABOUT YOU.

Think he heard me?

Very well deserved, congratulations