Minutes from 1-16-99 - Twelfth Night

In Attendance:

Lesser Officers in Attendance:

1. Minutes from 11/15/98 Coronet Tourney Meeting

(4B 4.) Exchequer

• After a run-through at Coronet, and an ongoing effort at the event today, there is a consensus that having a table staffed by Stallari members and lesser officers and set up for Stallari "office hours" is a good idea, and that it should continue at as many events as possible. A Seneschal's deputy will be assigned to organizing space reservations, staffing, etc.
• Lady Tatiana, Fundraising coordinator, requests approval to name Lady Tarja as co-fundraising Coordinator, since she's been performing these duties for some time; approved by voice vote.
• Request to extend Lady Tatiana's term in office another year to allow for overlap/training in the terms of Fundraising Coordinators; passed by voice vote with one abstention.
• There is space allocated for a fundraiser at WWVI; perhaps something other than a raffle - any suggestions? Lord Balthazar suggested a "Buy a Piece of Northshield History" auction structured like those at various conventions, where each item has a sheet for bids and goes to auction only when the sheet is full, with the minimum bid being the highest bid on the sheet. Items which don't get a full sheet of bids don't clog the auction, but just go to the highest bid on the sheet. The items for the aucti on would come from the Northshield Regalia, especially pieces which are not practical for use by the Coronet or Heirs. All Viscounts/Viscountesses and donors would be contacted for approval, and the Viscounty could be approached for donations and help at the auction (a la Vanna White.) This would be widely and heavily advertised. Consensus that this is a good idea; further planning and reporting requested.

2. Their Serene Highnesses

• Order of Persephone's Circle: HSH Fiona has talked to the members of the Order, and the consensus is not to close the order, but to make it an active entity. She suggests that the best course would be to wait, re-think the name, and solicit help from those in the eastern part of the Kingdom. It will also be discussed in Order meetings.
• TSH's letter in the upcoming Northwatch will discuss a Principality Trust Fund. Sir Saeric (Steve Traylor, Minneapolis, MN) has donated $75 to start it; TSH's home group, Korsvaag, will do a presentation in court to generate publicity and enthusiasm.

3. Their Excellencies the Heirs

4. Great Officers

• The June 1999 Coronet Tourney needs an alternate/emergency site. Usually this is WW in July. Guenievre will present a request to the autocrats to designate WW the alternate site.
• November 1999 Coronet Tourney - the bid from Falcon's Keep has been re-submitted and now addresses previous concerns. The site reservation cannot be made until August 1, 1999, and someone from Falcon's Keep will camp out at the reservation office to insure they get the site. On the calendar, it must be emphasized that the November 13 date is tentative, and we should warn people that the 6th is the alternate date - or block it out? Consensus to warn, not block the date. There is some concern regardin g the number of rooms reserved and their assignment in accommodations for royalty; TE will discuss this with the event staff.
• Lady Guenievre distributed the calendar that Lord Padruig MacLennan (Timothy Moore, Madison, WI) has submitted to be published in the February Northwatch.
  
  (At this point Lady Elaine left to attend to event business, and Lady Guenivre took the minutes.)
  
  
• Lady Guenievre will present a request to the autocrats that the November 1999 Coronet Tourney alternate site will be Boar's Head, Dec. 11, 1999, in Caer Anterth Mawr.
• Pennsic Camp Coordinator/Autocrat - one bid submitted, by Lady Madeleine B'northewye (Penny van Rens, Appleton, WI) and Lord Balthazar. The bid is approved. TE the Heirs will discuss details with Lady Madeleine and Lord Balthazar.
• Domesday Report - Lady Guenievre gave a brief summary of how the branch Domesdays were coming in. She plans to pursue the groups who have not yet reported.

• Quarterly Report - For information, we have an expense budget of $2500 per year. Lord Balthazar passed out two hand-written reports, one a summary of expense accounts as allocated by Principality Law and the other a summary of funds currently in said accounts.
• Other Items
  • Fund Disbursement Policy - there needs to be a set policy for disbursement for the Regalia and Scribal funds.
  • Trust Fund - the goal for the trust fund principal would be $100,000. At 6% interest, this would give us $6,000 per year to use. This goal is attainable if 1,000 people, households, guilds, groups, etc., donate $100 each (some might donate more, some might donate less). To ease the financial burden, donors can break this down into $33/year, and we reach the goal in three years. This concept can be published in the Northwatch, packets could be sent to the populace, informing and explaining the idea and inviting pledges. It was noted that the proceeds from the WW auction will go into the general fund, not the trust fund; likewise fundraising at the June 1999 coronet will go to the travel fund. It was suggested that donors for the fund be put on the Scroll of Honor.
• Northshield Pavilion - the bid submitted by Lady Kassia Tzykandelina and Lord Matthew Smallwood (Heidi Johnson and Matthew Hajicek, Minneapolis, MN) covers the acquisition and care of the pavilion as well as generating funds to cover the cost of purchasing the pavilion. Lady Cairistiona MacRorie, known as Jondalara (Laura Fenske, Milwaukeee, WI), has volunteered to supervise the fundraising; we will suggest that Kassia and Matthew work with Jondalara on this project.

• Scouting - no applicants to be new Chief yet. Sir Wulfgang will submit an article on how easy and fun it is to be a scout and will also disseminate the rules for scouting, to stir interest.
• Archery - applications for Principality Archer Marshal (formerly P. Archer General) closed 1/15/99. HL Robin Kyrke (Greg Young, Winnipeg, MB, CAN) is the only applicant, and is Wulfgang's recommendation. It was suggested that the Heirs appoint an archery captain for Pennsic; this is not part of the Principality Archer Marshal's job description.
• Rapier - Going well. Our Principality Rapier Marshal needs to improve on his reporting. TSH had an inquiry about starting a Northshield Rapier Guild; it has been suggested to form this as a household instead.
• Equestrian - Going well, with good reporting. The demo tape to recruit horse owners (and increase our horse pool) is in progress.
• Armored Combat -- Lots of incomplete and late domesdays from group marshals (they were due 12/1/98); subsequently, some groups have had combat activities suspended. The field marshals, however, have excellent reporting. The Moorish Tavern event on July 24-25, 1999 (Midewinde - Minot, ND) looks big; the An Tirians are excited about it.

• Lord Roger, incoming Chronicler, introduced himself. He resides in Inner Sea (Duluth, MN) and has been their chronicler. He is relatively new to the SCA and is a member of House Nevermore.
• Domesday - Lord Kenric is working on his report.
• Webminister - there have been some problems with getting the site updated. Is it possibly time for a replacement? Roger will speak with her (Gwenhwyvar verch Owen ap Morgan - Regina Simmons, Madison, WI) before initiating replacement process. Lord Owen Alun (Ben Tucker, Minneapolis, MN) was recommended as an emergency back-up if necessary. Once the question of the Webminister is settled, then there will be a big push to update the site (e-mails from officers.)
• Group Domesdays - there are 22 groups that published one or more newsletters this year. Only 7 are warrantable, because they sent in domesdays and published on a regular basis. This number could rise to 16 this year.
  
  (At this point Lady Elaine returned and resumed taking notes.)
  
  
• Web sites - Domesdays? None were submitted. Lord Kenric (Kenric Malmberg, Grand Forks, ND) looked into this during his tenure as Northshield Chronicler. We need better tracking and warranting of web sites; let's put it in the job description for the Webminister.
• Hearty thanks from all of the Stallari to Lord Kenric, outgoing Northshield Chronicler, for a job well done!

• HSH Tarrach distributed a written report for Mistress Libbet, who was unable to attend due to duties at the event. Things are running smoothly, with upcoming events in Caer Anterth Mawr in March (Principality A&S Faire) and a pre-A&S preparatory event in Korsvaag in February. Also on the schedule for spring are Bardic Madness and Dance Seminar.
• Northshield has 25 MOAS's, 7 of whom are warranted. Three groups are late with reports, and Castel Rouge, with the later baronial due date, is expected to report.
• In order to get information to the many small, widely-spread groups in Northshield, preparations are being made to set up a web site with useful links. The new electronic discussion list is working well.

• The revisions to the Book of Ceremonies are 80% complete. Copies of the revised document will go to royalty and heralds.
• Lord Kenric will be the new Bison Herald (West). There were no other applicants.
• There are currently no applicants for Polaris Herald; Lord Adrien des Troyes (Chris Olson) is expected to apply.

• The chirurgeonate situation is disastrous; there are only eleven warranted chirurgeons in all of Northshield. We are building from the ground up.
• Lady Sian observes that the chirurgeonate is not taken seriously by the populace or by the fighters. In an effort to improve the image of the office, she is requiring chirurgeons to show their cards at events in Northshield. Warrant cards now expire concurrently with certifications, so a valid card means valid certifications. Enforcement of this policy is experimental.
• In light of persistent insurance/liability issues and other problems, is it even viable for the SCA to have chirurgeons? Sir Wulfgang stated that the original purpose of chirurgeons was to free up marshals in injury situations. It was further discussed that the idea is good, but the application and implementation have not been. There will be a panel discussion on this and other chirurgeonate/marshallate issues today, and also at Fighter's School in March (Windhaven -- Appleton, WI) and beyond if the format proves successful.

5. Old Business

• Lady Lewina (Lauretta Wenger) is typing up the notes and revisions to the laws discussed at the Boar's Head laws session in December; she was to attend this meeting but is not here.
• Kingdom Curia did not reach quorum last week, and so is being held this weekend; kudos to Prince Tarrach for making it all the way out to Michigan to attend last week! Their Majesties liked the updates and changes we sent them, and gave their approval, with one wording change - "reviewed by curia, approved by crown." The biggest concern was the officer changeover policy.
• Officer Changeover Policy - the policy as written is good, but we need to follow it carefully, especially with warranting approval. Guenievre will send copies to everyone. A summary of the procedure:
  • a. The officer creates a warrant list and sends it to Kingdom.
  • b. The Kingdom officer sends lists to the crown and/or coronet as each reign designates.
  • c. The Kingdom officer may also OK the warrant going straight to the crown/coronet from the Principality officer ("I trust you.")
• We hope to have the changes read into law soon - maybe February.

6. New Business

• The Shire of Border Downs (Sioux Falls, SD) has requested, via Lady Morganna (Nancy Foust, Sioux Falls, SD), that Northshield take over Armorgeddon (a September border war/camping event with Calontir) and make it an official Principality event. The Shire wants the event to continue, and can get the site and work with locals, but they need help with running the event, as it has gotten too large for them to run by themselves.
• In theory, making this a Northshield event would mean we could move it to another group in an emergency. Stallari would accept bids from autocrats and work with Border Downs to construct the staff, with an emphasis on filling marshal, chirurgeon, etc., jobs with local people. Also, Northshield would get all the profits and absorb all the losses from the event.
• A reminder - coronet tourneys are not officially "Principality" events, so funds are not allocated this way.
• It was emphasized that Border Downs needs to benefit from this change, and needs support and encouragement; asking for assistance (rather than discontinuing the event or allowing the event to suffer) is generous, responsible and benefits Northshield in the long run. Also, until more final plans are drawn up, this is not a topic to discuss in public forums. Meetings with the group to plan the transition, etc., will be set up.

• Lord John Bartholomew of Flanders, current Principality Archer General, is stepping down, at a time and place to be announced.
• Let's start talking up the May 14-16 border war in Schattentor (Rapid City, SD).
• Sir Wulfgang asked Lord Roger to be assertive in reminding officers about due dates for reports/letters for the Northwatch, as was Lord Kenric.

• Lord Balthazar has the checkbook and signatory power for Rockwall. He'll hold the funds for one year, and then if they don't re-form we'll have to figure out what to do with the moneys.
• No paperwork on rolling Azur Mere into Rockwall exists. Fortunately, there is a volunteer for Seneschal in the area.
• The Azur Mere financial situation is serious and will require them to file a report. Essentially, "people who should have known better" used group funds to purchase rattan, and then gave it to individuals. This is malfeasance, and could have serious consequences for the people involved, Northshield, and the SCA. Consensus to allow the people involved to re-imburse the group and fix the mistake; if they refuse to re-imburse, we can take further measures.