<USS Avalon> Eight Years Ago Today

*Eight years ago today, eight sims broke away from the online role playing 
group, "Continuum On Line", and joined me to bravely set up shop under the 
name, "Celestial Prime Alliance". In the month to follow, seven more ships 
left the former group and added their support to the brand new group. This 
was certainly not the first time that a Star Trek group had been formed, nor 
was it the first time sims had left a group to start out on their own. It 
wasn't even the first time I'd been part of a new group forming. COL had 
formed fifteen months earlier with several sims that had chosen to leave the 
then-sanctioned-by-AOL group, "Star Fleet On Line". But one thing that 
remained constant was the players' collective desire for a fun, supportive 
forum in which to play. I'd like to think that we reached, maintained, and 
even exceeded that goal, here.*

* *

*As with most change, there is a great deal of uncertainty right now. 
Hopefully, your Hosts and friends have remained calm and have been informed 
of the group of people who approached me with their plan for keeping CPA 
together and running well. Of course the CPA will not remain the same; it's 
changed a great deal in eight years as it is. But I am hopeful that the 
ideals that the group was founded on will remain intact. Everyone in the 
group, regardless of how many characters they played or what their "rank" 
was, has always been treated with honesty, fairness, support and respect. It 
has always been my greatest honor to do so.*

* *

*I need to publicly thank Jason, who played Vice Admiral ... er, well, there 
were a few name changes in there, but most of you know Blackthorne. Jason's 
dedication to the group's website has been nothing short of phenomenal. As 
an MSCE, Jason's skill in navigating through the morass of internet 
landmines and programming issues is truly dazzling. He provided us with a 
no-cost, advertising-free server, with far more storage space than we could 
ever use. The Celestial Prime Journal went out faithfully every month 
(sometimes late, but it *did* go out) with current ship updates, roster 
openings, editorials, articles, links and contests like the coveted Muse 
Award. He was the one with the unenviable job of reminding the Hosts each 
month to get their submissions in and, more often than not, took the blame 
when no submissions came in and players complained that their ships had no 
representation or current information. The forums were a challenge he took 
on determinedly, spending an enormous amount of time learning an entire new 
coding language on his own in order to make them work properly.*

* *

*I also owe a deep debt of gratitude to Ken, who played Vice Admiral T Earl 
Grey. Ken's incomparable leadership skills and scrupulous sense of fairness 
saved several ships from the great cosmic dustbin, and gave their players 
renewed enjoyment over the years. The group benefited immeasurably from his 
real life occupation as a Senior Manager, and drew deeply on his extensive 
and exhaustive education, which includes degrees in Physics, Psychology, 
Theology and Business Management. When we had a ship that was foundering, 
regardless of the reason, Ken was the natural choice to step in, take 
control, get the ship on an even keel, and give it back to the players. His 
impartiality made it easy to calm players who'd been upset on both sides of 
an issue. This made him the ideal person to put in place as the Judge 
Advocate General of the group. His presence was impressive, reassuring, 
calming and inspiring. He listened to each person, managed to sift through 
the personal drama to find the real issue, and made clear-headed decisions. His 
decisions were not always the popular ones, but they were infallibly the 
best ones for the group.*

* *

*There are many, many others upon whom I've leaned through the years. Many 
are no longer in the group, however, and yet, thankfully, many still are. My 
family has been the absolute best, most supportive resource I will ever have 
the privilege of knowing. My close friends, and you know who you are, have 
been a wellspring of love, laughter and support, and I am honored to know 
them. They have made my life richer in more ways than I can count.*

* *

*Wherever you choose to go, or if you choose to go nowhere, I sincerely wish 
you all the best there is to offer. There's enough unfairness and unkindness 
out there already. I fervently hope that you have enjoyed being in the
CPA. It's
been an unforgettable experience for me, and the memories I have are truly 
priceless.*

* *

*To use my signature phrase one last time …*

* *

*Thank you all for playing.*

* *

*Yours,*

* - Bernadette*

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