Tomorrow marks 3 years since R1sen Madness and I founded this regiment out of the rubble of the 44th "East Essex" Regiment of Foot. There were a few struggles over the course of those three years, but at no point did its members put down their arms and give up. People have showed up to every single event expecting to play and while our numbers have declined over the past year, being able to bring as many people to events as we started out with 3 years ago is no worse in my eyes. But the defining feature of this regiment is its members, not just for their dedication to presenting themselves professionally in battle, but for their willingness to just be themselves and nobody else. Despite our stringent recruitment requirements, we still welcome new recruits into our regiment on a regular basis and it's a great feeling to see them integrate into the memberbase as individuals rather than assimilating into a single consciousness.
3 years and still these people surprise me with unexpected displays of skill and perseverence. I have never seen so much optimism among a single group of people and I must thank them because I would not have maintained the sense of confidence that I have with everything I do in NW. Some have moved on to pursue other interests, but their contributions have outlasted their service with us.
Some people that deserve specific praise are the following:
cOre: With the knowledge that he was not well known and not regarded as the best leader we had in the 22nd, he proceeded to sink 2.5 years of his life into the running of the 22nd and only stopped when his schedule could no longer allow for it. Without his administrative capability this regiment would have fallen apart very soon after it was created.
Lemon: The 22nd's cheerleader and financial backer. Lemon has more than made up for his troubled past in the early days of the 22nd. His willingness to admit his mistakes and return under intense scrutiny from both people he knew and many that he didn't was brave; he came to gain the respect of those people once again. After leaving his troubles behind, he discovered his passion for running groupfight tournaments and has left his own small mark on the NW community in that way. While not active with NW anymore, he is still in the regiment. If it were not for Lemon pushing us to move outside our comfort zone, then we would never have won TNWL Season 1. We would never have known what we were capable of.
The OP is in dire need for an update. I will get to that soon.
