[Ansteorra-announce] [Announcements] President's Report

[Baron, Meg]

PRESIDENT'S REPORT OF THE FOURTH QUARTER 2003 
SCA BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING

Greetings:

This is the President's report of the actions taken at the SCA, Inc.'s most
recent Board of Directors meeting, held October 18, 2003, in Milpitas,
California (Kingdom of the West). This material may be freely distributed,
and those receiving it are strongly encouraged to share this information
with the general populace. Permission is hereby granted to reprint all, or
part, of this report in Kingdom, Principality, and local newsletters. It is
requested that the source of the information be identified as "from the
President's Report of the October 2003 Board meeting" and that, as far as
possible, exact quotes be used. Please note that this report is NOT the
official Minutes of the Board meeting. In case of any discrepancy between
this document and the approved Minutes, the Minutes are binding. Any
inaccuracies in reporting contained herein are my own. 

Subscriptions to the Board Minutes are available from the SCA Inc. A
subscription includes this report in addition to the Minutes approved at the
meeting. Past approved Minutes are also available on the SCA website
(www.sca.org). 

The next Board of Directors meeting will be held on January 24, 2004 in
Kansas City, Missouri. The deadline for submission of agenda items is
January 1, 2004.

Respectfully submitted,

Meg Baron
President, SCA Inc.

------------------------------------
Branch Status Changes

1. The Board took note of the following new branches:

Shire of Tir Medion (Rockdale, TX)
Shire of Bentonshire (Hernando County, FL)

2. The Board took note of the following routine change in status:

Canton of Gate's Edge (Houston, TX) - to Shire

3. The Board took note of the following branch dissolutions:

Shire of Dragon's Lake (Page, AZ)
Shire of Aurochsford (Bullhead City, AZ)

Old Business

A. Corporate Office Manual - Financial Procedures section

The Treasurer presented a draft text of a Financial Procedures manual for
the Corporate office to the Board. It was returned for some changes, and the
Treasurer was requested to bring it back to the Board again at the next
meeting.

New Business

A. Proposed change to Corpora V.B.4.

Corpora V.B.4. currently reads:

A territorial Baron or Baroness may hold any other Society office for which
he or she is fitted and qualified, save only that of Baronial Seneschal, but
must not allow the duties and responsibilities of such office and the office
of Baron or Baroness to conflict.

The following change is proposed:

A territorial Baron or Baroness may hold any other Society office for which
he or she is fitted and qualified, save only those of Baronial Seneschal and
Baronial Exchequer, but must not allow the duties and responsibilities of
such office and the office of Baron or Baroness to conflict.

By consensus, Chairman Moore directed that this proposed change be placed
before the membership for comment, with a commentary due date of April 1,
2003.  

B. 2004 Budget

The 2004 budget was adopted as presented, with the note that the Board is
currently seeking information on costs for an audit, which will necessitate
an adjustment to the budget.

The 2004 budget will be available to view soon on the Treasurer's webpage.

C. Marshallate proposal from Bill Colbert

A proposal was presented to the Board concerning restructuring the Office of
the Marshal at both the Society and the Kingdom level to remove authority
for various combat activities, including rapier, archery, and equestrian
activities, from the marshallate, giving deputies full authority for their
areas of responsibility. 

By consensus, Chairman Moore ordered this proposal referred to the Society
Marshal and his deputies for comment, and remanded this item to the January
2004 meeting. 

D. Proposed change to Corpora IV.C.10

Corpora IV.C.10. currently reads as follows:

"The Royal Heirs and Royalty must maintain their memberships until their
term as Royalty is over. Should anyone serving as a Royal Heir, or as
Royalty, be found in violation of the membership requirements, the term ends
for the couple involved as of the date of the membership lapse. Provisions
of Kingdom Law dealing with the situation are in force. Official acts after
the lapse are void. The couple shall not receive any recognition for having
temporarily held the status of Royal Heirs or Royalty."

The following change is proposed:

"The Royal Heirs and Royalty must maintain their memberships until their
term as Royalty is over. Should anyone serving as a Royal Heir, or as
Royalty, be found in violation of the membership requirements, that
individual's term ends as of the date of the membership lapse. Provisions of
Kingdom Law dealing with the situation are in force. The individual shall
not receive any recognition for having temporarily held the status of Royal
Heir or Royalty."

By consensus, Chairman Moore directed that this proposed change be placed
before the membership for comment, with a commentary due date of April 1,
2004.  

E. Associate Membership elimination proposal

A proposal was submitted to the Board suggesting that Associate membership
be eliminated as a category, and that all remaining membership classes
(Sustaining, International, and Family) be counted toward membership numbers
for branch status.

While the Board is not inclined to eliminate Associate memberships, the
Directors feel that the  concept of counting more classes of membership
toward Branch status requirements is worth further consideration. The Board
will continue to work on this proposal, and will bring it back for formal
consideration at a future meeting.  

Officers' Reports - action items and policy decisions (note: officers not
mentioned here had no action items or policy decisions to present for Board
review)

Society Seneschal

The Society Seneschal requested warrants for George Reed (Aaron Faheud
Swiftrunner of the Stone Keep) as Deputy Society Seneschal, and for Marilee
Lloyd (Arianna Llwyd) as Deputy Society Seneschal for Special Projects. The
warrants were signed during a break. 

Society Exchequer
The Society Exchequer requested that the Board approve changes to the
Society Branch Financial Policy. The proposed changes were returned for
further work.
The Society Exchequer requested authorization to require monthly NMS
reporting from Kingdoms which are failing to meet their quarterly reporting
requirements. The Board's opinion was that the Society Exchequer is free to
require monthly reporting of activity, but that actually moneys need not be
sent more often than quarterly.
The Society Exchequer requested a warrant for Anne Klingen (Brigid Mhor
inghean Mhuirchada) as Gulf Wars Exchequer. The warrant was signed during a
break.

Investment Committee

The Investment Committee presented recommendations for the sale of all
shares of two stocks (Gabelli Small Cap Fund and Cisco Systems) in the SCA's
portfolio. The Committee also recommended an exit strategy for stocks and
mutual funds, which requires determining Short Sell and Sell Limit Order
prices for all stocks and funds in the SCA's portfolio. The Board adopted
the strategy, and has asked the committee to recommend Short Sell and Sell
Limit Order prices for our current investments. 

Chief Information Architect

The Chief Information Architect requested that the Board approve changing
the Proof of Membership letter used for on-line memberships from PDF to HTML
to eliminate the higher than expected number of people unable to print the
letter. The Board noted that this change had already been approved.

The Chief Information Architect requested that the Board consider forming a
team of experts made up of SCA members willing to donate their time and
versed in the technologies currently used by the registry, to modify the
registry system one last time so that adding Kingdoms in the future do not
require program or database modifications. Because the current registry
system has already been updated to eliminate this problem, the Board decided
that no action will be taken on this item.

The Chief Information Architect requested that an advertising flyer for
Known World Mail be created and included with all Corporate mailings to
members. The Board observed that this would be costly, and would increase
the size the just-reduced renewal packets. Chairman Moore ordered that other
advertising venues, such as announcements at sca.org and the Kingdom
newsletters, be utilized for this purpose, and designated a committee to
create such advertisements.

Laurel Sovereign of Arms

Laurel requested that the Board approve the release of a badge designated
for a College of Arms deputy, Privy Clerk to Morsulus Herald. The Board
determined that that Laurel has the authority to release badges registered
to his deputies.

Laurel requested that the Board approve a change to Admin Handbook to
require electronic copies of Letters of Intent and Letters of Comment. The
Board approved this change, noting that electronic format is already the
norm for these letters.

Corporate Development Officer

The Corporate Development Officer requested that the Board approve Dave
Weiner to create an additional web page to our online services section that
will enable direct donations to the SCA, Inc. so that members may make
donations whenever they wish, instead of having to wait for when they renew
membership. By consensus, the Board agrees that this is a worthy project,
but is not the best use of Mr. Weiner's time. The Board will find another
programmer to take on this project.

The Corporate Development Officer requested that the Board consider and then
select members interested in participating in long-range Strategic Planning
sessions for the purposes of future fundraising goals of the SCA, Inc.  The
Corporate Development Officer will facilitate these sessions. The Board
responded that the Corporate Development Officer may create this committee
herself. Interested SCA members are encouraged to contact her directly.

The Corporate Development Officer reported on some new opportunities for
those wishing to donate to the SCA:

"The SCA, Inc. continues to raise funds with www.iGive.com . This website
offers you hundreds of legitimate and popular vendors to choose from for
online purchases.  By selecting "Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc." (no
*the*) you can have a percentage of your purchase donated to your favorite
group! We hope that you will consider making a purchase, such as for the
upcoming holidays, on www.iGive.com in the very near future.  

MissionFish.org and ebay® have announced a November launch to their joint
fundraising venture.  Every ebay seller will have the chance to share a
portion (or all) of the proceeds from each item they sell with the SCA, Inc.
Watch for the inception of this fundraising effort on SCA Announcements, or
on our website.     
  
The Corporate Development Officer wants to know what you think of these
services.  Please contact her at:  DonaTeresa at baroness.sca.org or via
development at sca.org."

Grand Council

The Grand Council discussed issues of reporting funds for the Non-Member
Surcharge.  It also discussed (at the Board's request) whether the
requirements for successful completion of a reign, as listed in Corpora,
should be adjusted.  The Grand Council believes the basic rules are
adequate.  The majority felt that requests for variance should continue to
be made on a case-by-case basis, with a few members strongly stating that
the list is absolute and no variance should be granted.

Legal Committee

The Legal Committee's Subcommittee on Equestrian Waivers continues to review
the waivers available in each state, and hopes to have a report by the end
of the calendar year.

The Legal Committee was asked to advise whether Youth Marshals would or
could be held to any additional standard of care because they are in charge
of children's martial activities.  It is apparent that with a few
inapplicable exceptions, the states do not require voluntary coaches of
children's activities to undertake any special training or licensing.
Outside of scholastic sports, no state has a statute that requires the
training or registration of youth coaches, and a number of states
specifically limit the liability of volunteer coaches and officials,
although most specifically deny protection if the action is "intentional,
willful, wanton, or reckless behavior."

Executive Session

1. Tournaments Illuminated Editor Applications

The Board appointed John C. Sandstrom (Omar Mohammud Mirzazadeh) to the
office of Tournaments Illuminated Editor beginning with the Spring 2004
issue. 

2. Tournaments Illuminated Art Director Applications

The Board appointed Linda Kracker (Rhianwen o Enfys Disberod) to the office
of Tournaments Illuminated Art Director beginning with the Spring 2004
issue. 

3. Laurel Sovereign of Arms applications

The Board appointed Jacquie Ziegler (Shauna of Carrick Point) to the office
of Laurel Sovereign of Arms, effective at the close of the April 2004
quarterly meeting.

4. Revocation/Denial of Membership - R. Michael Grant

Motion by Lis Schraer to revoke and deny the membership of R. Michael Grant
(Michael O'Gaullee) effective October 18, 2003. Seconded by Gary Raine. In
favor: Dena Cady, Gary Raine, Lis Schraer, Hal Simon, Fernando Vigil.
Opposed: none.  Motion carried.

5. Absolute Banishment - Stephanie Goodfellow

Motion by Fernando Vigil to uphold the absolute banishment of Stephanie
Goodfellow (Morag the Wanderer) imposed by Dahoud and Shajara, King and
Queen of Artemisia, on May 10, 2003, and to direct the Society Seneschal to
begin an investigation into revocation and denial of membership.  Seconded
by Gary Raine. In favor: Dena Cady, Gary Raine, Lis Schraer, Hal Simon,
Fernando Vigil. Opposed: none. Motion carried.

Motion by Gary Raine that Stephanie Goodfellow henceforth be prohibited from
holding any position of financial responsibility within the SCA. Seconded by
Dena Cady. In favor: Dena Cady, Gary Raine, Lis Schraer, Hal Simon, Fernando
Vigil. Opposed: none. Motion carried.

6. Alex White Banishment

Motion by Dena Cady to uphold the banishment from the realm of Alex White
(Boldo) imposed by Christopher and Maurya, King and Queen of Aethelmearc, on
July 12, 2003.  Seconded by Gary Raine. In favor: Dena Cady, Gary Raine, Lis
Schraer, Hal Simon, Fernando Vigil. Opposed: none.  Motion carried.

7. Banishment Appeal - Alex White

Motion by Gary Raine that the Board of Directors deny the appeal of Alex
White (Boldo) and uphold the sanctions placed upon him by Christopher and
Maurya, King and Queen of AEthelmearc, on July 12, 2003.  Seconded by Dena
Cady. In favor: Dena Cady, Gary Raine, Lis Schraer, Hal Simon, Opposed:
none. Abstained: Fernando Vigil.  Motion carried.

8. Sanctions Appeal - Rick and Marie Feyes

Motion by Fernando Vigil that the Board of Directors grant the appeal of
Richard and Marie Feyes (Yoan Moon Yang and Eorann Maguire) and lift the
sanctions placed upon them on July 19, 2003, effective October 18, 2003.
Seconded by Lis Schraer. 

Motion by Dena Cady to amend the motion to change the effective date of the
lifting of sanctions to January 19, 2004. Seconded by Hal Simon.  In favor:
Dena Cady, Hal Simon, Opposed: Lis Schraer, Fernando Vigil. Recused: Gary
Raine. Chairman Moore exercised her option to vote and voted in favor of the
motion. Motion to amend carried.

In favor of the amended motion: Dena Cady, Hal Simon, Lis Schraer. Opposed:
Fernando Vigil. Recused: Gary Raine. Amended motion carried. 

9. Revocation/Denial of Membership - Robert Earl Hogan

Motion by Gary Raine to revoke and deny the membership of Robert Earl Hogan
(AElfric of the Black Arrow) effective October 18, 2003. Seconded by Hal
Simon. In favor: Dena Cady, Gary Raine, Lis Schraer, Hal Simon, Fernando
Vigil.  Opposed: none.  Motion carried.

10. Banishment from the Realm  - Stephanie Allen

Motion by Fernando Vigil to uphold the banishment from the realm of
Stephanie Allen proclaimed by Ulsted and Cateau, King and Queen of
Ansteorra, on July 26, 2003.  Seconded by Gary Raine. In favor: Dena Cady,
Gary Raine, Lis Schraer, Hal Simon, Fernando Vigil. Opposed: none. Motion
carried.

Motion by Gary Raine that the Society Seneschal be directed to begin an
investigation into possible revocation and denial of membership of Ms.
Allen. Seconded by Dena Cady. In favor: Dena Cady, Gary Raine. Opposed: Lis
Schraer, Hal Simon, Fernando Vigil. Motion failed.

Motion by Gary Raine that Stephanie Allen henceforth be prohibited from
holding any position of financial responsibility within the SCA. Seconded by
Hal Simon. In favor: Dena Cady, Gary Raine, Lis Schraer, Hal Simon, Fernando
Vigil. Opposed: none. Motion carried.

11. Revocation/Denial of Membership - Richmond Slate

Chairman Moore ordered this item remanded to the January 2004 quarterly
meeting. 

12. Revocation/Denial of Membership - Tracy Donaldson

Chairman Moore ordered this item remanded to the January 2004 quarterly
meeting. 

13. Revocation/Denial of Membership - Paul Serio
	
Motion by Fernando Vigil to revoke and deny the membership of Paul Serio
(Aonghais dubh Mac Tarbh) effective October 18, 2003. Seconded by Lis
Schraer. In favor: Dena Cady, Lis Schraer, Hal Simon, Fernando Vigil.
Opposed: none.  Recused: Gary Raine. Motion carried.

Motion by Fernando Vigil that, upon consideration of the recommendation of
the Crown, Peers, and Officers of the Kingdom of Trimaris, the Board of
Directors herewith removes Aonghais dubh Mac Tarbh (Paul Serio) from the
Order of Chivalry, along with all rights and privileges associated with that
Order. Seconded by Hal Simon. In favor: Dena Cady, Lis Schraer, Hal Simon,
Fernando Vigil.  Opposed: none.  Recused: Gary Raine. Motion carried.

14. Appeal of Revocation/Denial of Membership - Eric Mauer

By consensus, in keeping with a request from Eric Mauer (Alaric Styrr),
Chairman Moore ordered this item remanded to the January 2004 quarterly
meeting.

Personnel Changes

Director Jason Williams (Duke John ap Gwyndaf of Holdingford) took his seat
at the conclusion of this meeting.

New Ombudsman assignments are as follows:

Linda Moore: President, Executive Vice President for Legal Affairs, Society
Seneschal, Corporate Office, Legal Committee
	
Dena Cady: Caid, Lochac, West, Chirurgeon, Communications

Gary Raine: An Tir, Calontir, Heralds, Chief Information Architect 

Lis Schraer:  Atlantia, Drachenwald, Ealdormere, Arts & Sciences, Board
Recruiting

Hal Simon:  Artemisia, Atenveldt, Outlands, Grand Council, Development
Officer

Fernando Vigil:  AEthelmearc, East, Middle, Financial Officers, Marshal

Jason Williams: Ansteorra, Meridies, Trimaris

Quarterly Meeting Schedule

The First Quarter 2004 meeting will be held on January 24, 2004, in Kansas
City, MO (Kingdom of Calontir). Due date for agenda items is January 1,
2004.
The Second Quarter 2004 meeting will be held on April 24, 2004, in Tampa,
Florida (Kingdom of Trimaris).
The Third Quarter 2004 meeting will be held July 17, 2004. The tentative
location is the Kingdom of the East.
The Fourth Quarter 2004 meeting will be held October 16, 2004. The tentative
location is the Kingdom of Ealdormere.
The First Quarter 2005 meeting will be held January 15, 2005. The tentative
location is the Kingdom of Ansteorra. 



REPORT ON THE CONFERENCE CALL MEETING OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
September 17, 2003

In the sole item of business at this meeting, the Board took note of the
abdication of Nan Gresko (Berengaria d'Hainault) as Crown Princess of
AEthelmearc.
Comments are strongly encouraged and can be sent to: 
SCA Inc.
Box 360789
Milpitas,  CA 95036

You may also email comments at sca.org or reply to this message.
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