Release 0.54 Tasks

[mhess-swl]

• [x] Create v0.54 protobufs tag – created 8/29
• [x] Release new protobufs-java artifact – PR here; verified that the artifact was uploaded here
• [x] Create first alpha tag v0.54.0-alpha.0 – created 8/29 (but no previewnet deploy on 8/29)
• [x] Create tag v0.54.0-alpha.1 – created 8/29
• [x] Schedule release branch creation – PR here
• [x] Verify release branch created – created 8/30
• [x] Set release branch to use 0.54 protobufs – PR here
• [x] Create tag v0.54.0-alpha.2 – created 9/4
• [x] Bump services version to 0.55 – PR here
• [x] Create tag v0.54.0-alpha.3 - created 9/5
• [x] Create tag v0.54.0-alpha.4 – created 9/12
• [x] First deploy to preview net – scheduled for 9/5, but cancelled
• [x] Tag release candidate (v0.54.0) - rescheduled to 9/18
• [x] Generate Github release notes
• [x] Tag release candidate (v0.54.1) + release notes – 9/23