Get to Know Your MI501st :: June, 2010

Rome Ohnui
Legion ID: 1800
Joined April, 2004

Rome Ohnui has been a fan of Star Wars since his parents took him to see "The Empire Strikes Back." He was scared for Han when he was in the carbon freezing chamber the first time watching it, so the second time, his father jokingly put his hands over his eyes during the scene. Rome pushed his hand away because he needed to watch.

Rome's favorite event so far has been the Rose Parade in Pasadena in 2007. Bringing together a United Nations of Star Wars fans to spend an entire week preparing for such a public spectacle was among the greatest privileges he could have ever been honored to receive.

"While marching in the parade itself was the pinnacle of our hard work, it was definitely the camaraderie shared at the hotel bar, lounge, and out and about in the immediate surroundings just outside Hollywood with 501st members from around the world that made the experience truly worthwhile."

Rome started off with a TIE Pilot costume and joined Omega Wing. He hadn't given much thought to trooping while a member of Omega Wing, but since Omega Wing was -- at the time -- the premier destination for all things TIE pilot, a lot of members of Omega Wing were also concurrent members of the 501st. That exposure eventually led him to discovering the 501st and he became a member in April of 2004.

"Looking back over the last 6 years, I've realized that the 501st has completely changed my life's direction. The majority of my friends that I have now have been through 501st connections. And having served as the Legion Captain of the Guard for three years has taught me invaluable management skills -- both in terms of information and people -- that have been parlayed into my regular job."

Rome's nickname, "Crimson", started as a result of a music project he was involved in called Red Witch. Since he needed a user name when joining message boards and forums, he opted to use the analogous "Crimson Warlock." Over time, typing all of that became tedious, so he just shortened it to "Crimson".

When it comes to work, Rome is a computer tech for a public school district. He has fixed computers and readjusted people's thinking about computers professionally for 12 years. For the last two years, he's been responsible for the technology asset management for the district. In his own words, "It's in this task that my management experience gained through the 501st have been handy".

Outside of the Legion, Rome likes to play bass guitar, dabble in bagpipes and build websites just for the fun of it. He recently redesigned and rebuilt the Web site of his local brewpub, along with a back-end database administration to run it all. Rome currently resides happily in Metro Detroit with his wife Lori and their dog Lucy.

View Rome's profile...