[Ansteorra-announce] [Announcements] President's Report of the October 2007 Board Meeting
Patrick Anderson
president at sca.org
Wed Nov 7 12:59:40 PST 2007
PRESIDENT’S REPORT OF THE OCTOBER 2007 BOARD 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 20, 2007 in
Phoenix, Arizona, in the Kingdom of Atenveldt. This material may be
freely distributed, and those receiving it are strongly encouraged to
share this information with the general membership. 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, 2007 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 web
site (http://www.sca.org/).
The next Board of Directors meeting will be held on January 26, 2008, in
Tampa, Florida, in the Kingdom of Trimaris. The deadline for submission
of agenda items is January 1, 2008. Please send hardcopies of any agenda
items to Renee Signorotti at the SCA, Inc. corporate office by that
date.
Respectfully submitted,
Patrick Anderson
President, SCA Inc.
BRANCH STATUS CHANGE
The Board took note of many new groups: Riversedge in Aethelmearc
(Crawford County, PA), Grimwithshire in An Tir (Pend O’Reille & Stevens
Counties, WA), Eplarheimer in Drachenwald (Ireland: Tipperary, Laois,
Olfaly), Qu al Jafar in the Middle (Hendricks County & Lebanon, IN),
Ealdnordwuda also in the Middle (Kingston, MI), Catteden again in the
Middle (Deshler, OH), Eastwatch once more in the Middle (Painesville,
OH), Westmere yet again in the Middle (Eau Claire, MI), and Three Spires
in the Outlands (Metro State College/ Denver CO)
The Board also took note of the following dissolution: Duthaich Beinne
Aird in the Outlands (Laramie, WY).
OLD BUSINESS
Adult Equestrian Liability Waivers
The Board approved new waivers for equestrian activities, as some of the
states have changed their laws regarding equestrian activities and given
that, our waivers needed to change to match those laws.
NEW BUSINESS
Non-Member Surcharge Adjustment
With the Canadian dollar and the U.S. dollar at nearly parity, the Board
approved a request by a number of corporate and Society officers to set
the Canadian NMS to $3 CAD, effective immediately.
Chancellor of The Exchequer Handbook – 2007 Revision
The Board also approved a new Branch and a new Kingdom Exchequer
Handbook.
Equestrian Handbook – 2007 Revision
The Board approved a new Equestrian Handbook as well.
2008 Budget
The Board remanded the 2008 corporate budget to the January 2008
quarterly meeting.
REPORTS
President—Patrick Anderson (Gabriel andvaka Kjotvason)
Commendations:
I would like to thank Renee Signorotti and Hal Simon for helping me keep
my sanity as we have gone through this quarter. I would also like to
thank Stephanie Drummonds, who has to hate seeing my phone number appear
on her caller id, because it always means that something
...interesting... has occurred and I need help in saying something about
it.
Publishable summary:
As everyone should know, there are now two lawsuits against us in
Pennsylvania. One is from alleged abuse victims, and one from our
insurance company seeking a judicial determination that the policy does
not cover the SCA in the case of the alleged abuse victims. These are
proceeding currently. The SCA, Inc. however, continues to be strong.
We continue to hold events, fighter's practices, arts and science
meetings, and all the other things that the SCA is known for. We
continue to have fun doing what we do. While sometimes there is
interference by the modern legal world in the activities of the SCA, the
corporate staff and officers make every attempt to keep this
interference to a minimum. We want everyone to continue to have fun in
the SCA.
Vice President of Operations (Society Seneschal) – George Reed (Aaron
faheud Swiftrunner of the Stone Keep)
Policy interpretations:
The Board upheld the following policies of the Society Seneschal:
1. How much authority does the Kingdom Seneschal have with regard to selecting Event Venues - specifically, can they forbid a given site from being used for either Kingdom or local events?”
The Kingdom Seneschal is the senior Operations officer and contracting authority in the Kingdom. As such they have a responsibility to ensure we use only safe, legitimate, respectable facilities and have the authority to forbid the use of certain venues for SCA functions. It is presumed that the Kingdom Seneschal will use this authority wisely.
2. All branches which are not kingdoms are in fact subsidiary to a Kingdom. The relevant portion of Corpora is "C. Branch Designations."
Commendations:
Countess Kenna Harve, Middle Kingdom Successful tenure as Kingdom
Seneschal. In every person's life you are blessed at least once to work
with a truly good soul, whose skill, effort, and love for those around
themselves outweighs their own agendas. I had this great boon when I got
to be Midrealm Seneschal while Kenna was Queen on her own after Jafar
passed. What a shining soul I got to know that year! But now, these many
years later I am in the post of Imperial Seneschal, and Kenna stepped up
to the plate to be the Midrealm Seneschal. Her calm, perseverance,
infinite patience, and ebullient good humor created lit the dark . In
summary, when you get to work with someone like Kenna once, it is a
wonderful thing. When it happens again, you are downright blessed by the
powers that be. We do not know where Countess Kenna will go next, but we
*do* know there will be light and laughter.
Autocrats and Staff of Pennsic XXXVI War succeeded despite many
extremes of weather. The weather was turbulent this year, but the event
was not. The staff and hundreds of volunteers are to be praised for a
fine effort.
Duchess Marion Fitzwilliam, Ealdormere Kingdom Seneschal. Duchess
Marion is gifted with tremendous administrative skills and a
delightfully dry wit in full measure, making her a brilliant co worker,
a fine kingdom officer, and a completely poor choice of people to cross.
Her Grace now slips off to enjoy her pension, not realizing her
resignation letter was accidentally filed as an application for my job.
Duchess Cyneswith aet Caldhaefen, West Kingdom — Energetic Kingdom
Seneschal. Her Grace leaves us to ascend to the Coronet of the Mists—but
not before a fine term as Kingdom Seneschal was completed. Cyneswith has
implemented many administrative reforms to advance and simplify how the
West is run—something the realm will benefit from for years.
Director Jeff Brown. As many people know, Director Brown has come to the
end of his exemplary term as a Director of the Society for Creative
Anachronism. Many have benefited from his long labors even while dodging
the attentions of the kind entrepreneur in da pin strip soot and spats.
What everyone might not be aware of is the good humor, warm heart and
willingness to expend countless hours for the benefit of his charges
that are the spirit of his service. Jeff has such an easy going humorous
nature that some folk may miss the iron will to succeed and fearless
defense of those who cannot look out for themselves. The Kingdom of An
Tir has long been a shining jewel in the known world, giving us may
gifts over many years. It appears that in lending us Director Brown for
a span, they have truly outdone themselves.
Publishable Summary:
Persona Theft and False Awards and Honors. I find myself compelled to
use this space to speak to the membership about a fairly rare problem
that has tripled in quantity and directly detracts from the inherent
value of the entire system of Theatrical reenactment and recognition of
excellence that flavor so much of the Society. I refer here to the
growing number of cases where we find someone either claiming to be
possessed of the titles of a peer/noble/notable person—or outright
stealing/borrowing the persona and titles of a person who labored long
and hard for the honors and reputation being so casually nicked.
No sense of fame or positive regard is worth the ignominious and final
demise that awaits the SCA career of anyone we catch doing this. And
they are always caught. I do not write of this problem and ask the
membership to teach our new folk the value of earning honors as opposed
to sneakily claiming them because I worry the perpetrators will get away
with the caper. They will not. I worry about the disheartening impact on
the members and participants who work with good souls, a sound
conscience, and can lose faith in what we are and seek to do when they
encounter such crass thievery. This growing problem will be stemmed by
the swift and final treatment of those caught in the act of persona
theft/false honors—that is *my* job and I am all over it. It will also
be eased by teaching our new folk what the path to recognition is and
encouraging them to walk upon it.
Vice President of Corporate Operations—Renee Signorotti
Publishable Summary:
The Corporate Office reports that all tax returns have been filed by the
October 15, 2007 deadline. The long-awaited reimbursement check of
$38,000.00 has been received from the U.S. Postal Service. This brings
the T.I. holding account down to a balance of $3,754.97; a much more
logical amount. The logic has been added down to a balance of
$3,754.97; a much more logical amount. The logic has been added to the
Registry database for capturing the status and expiration date of
background check information. These are "locked" portals and can only
be opened up with a specific code. As always, our members' personal
information is CONFIDENTIAL, and treated accordingly. The Registry
database conversion testing was slowed this past quarter, due to the
programmer moving from California to Tennessee. Testing will begin
again on Monday, October 22nd.
Tournaments Illuminated – Dori Andrepont (Doria Tecla)
Commendations:
I would particularly like to thank the kingdoms of Drachenwald and
Lochac for their contributions this issue. The third quarter issue
deadline came during Pennsic, and the resulting shortage of people to
ask for photographs and small contributions was immense. I turned to
Drachenwald and Lochac and their help was immediate, gracious and much
appreciated. Gracious thanks also go to Renee Signorotti, Michael
Harvey, and R.G.L. MacGregor for their ongoing help and commitment to
this publication.
Publishable summary:
Tournaments Illuminated is ongoing with the changes to "magazine"
format, and for the most part, the changes have been favorably received.
The Fourth Quarter issue is currently being printed and should be mailed
October 6. Incoming TI Editor Report — September 2007 Attachment: I
The Board of Directors would like to commend the Tournaments Illuminated
Editor and her staff for the excellent work being done to improve the
quality of this publication.
Compleat Anachronist - - Rae L. Hadley (Towen ferch Grufudd Aur)
Commendations:
I would like to commend Chris Lanning, the author of CA # 135, and the
14 authors of the upcoming CA #136. These people have been an
inspiration to work with.
Publishable summary:
During this quarter, CA # 135 has been delivered. Issue #136 is in
progress and several other manuscripts are in varying stages of
progress.
Treasurer – Alan Andrist (Alanus of Bunghea)
Commendations:
Commendation to Patrick Anderson for bringing his insight and nimble
response to our daily crises. Commendation to Patrick Anderson, Mazelle
Attiya, Jeff Brown and Hal Simon for bringing 'best business practices'
forward as a pervasive issue to be addressed and led by the Board or
Directors.
Publishable summary:
The 2008 budget is currently being worked on with a deadline to be
completed by the January 2008 meeting.
Society Exchequer – Mazelle Attiya (Maitresse Alysia Gabrielle de
Fougeres)
Requests for Board Action:
Upon request of the Society Exchequer, the Board approved the revised
Financial Policies of AEthelmearc.
The Board also approved the release of funds, as requested by the
Society Exchequer, from the Barony of Caerthe Building Fund to the
Medieval Properties, Inc.
Publishable summary:
Most kingdoms are continuing to report on time. Upon approval, revised
versions of the Kingdom and Branch Exchequer's Handbooks will be
available on the Society Exchequer's web page.
Society Chronicler – Tim White (Otto von Schwyz)
Commendations:
The Society Chronicler commends the outgoing Society Chronicler, Nicolaa
de Bracton (Susan Carroll-Clark) for her tireless effort and duty to the
office and to the Society as a whole.
The Society Chronicler commends the outgoing Chronicler of Midrealm,
Despotissa Heirusalem Crystoma (Sara R. Rogers). She has produced an
outstanding Kingdom Newsletter as well as consistently raising important
issues to the attention of this office and working hard to educate the
local chronicler on policy.
Publishable summary:
The Society Chronicler reported that all newsletters are running
smoothly.
Laurel Sovereign of Arms – Lisa Mohr (Elisabeth de Rossignol)
New policies:
The Board recognized that Ms. Mohr has set the following new policy:
In the Cover Letter of the May 2007 LoAR I advised the College of Arms
that the June 2007 LoAR would be the final one issued in hard copy. I
anticipate this will save the Laurel Office about $2400 per year, as
well as preserve many trees. In the same Cover Letter I announced that
starting with Letter of Intent issued in October of 2007, the price of
submissions at Laurel would be reduced from S4.00US to $3.00US. This was
after consultation with the principal heralds, with recommendation that
they follow suit in reducing their Kingdom prices for submissions when
and as they are able. All expressed their willingness and ability to do
so. I feel this will be a very considerable boon to public relations
and, by their own admission, should not be a financial hardship to any
Kingdom.
Commendations:
I would like to commend Lord Symond and Mistress Marta of Atenveldt, who
have for many years produced the hard copy of the LoAR; Margaret
Pelican, and Jeanne Marie Wreath.
Publishable summary:
As of Letters of Intent dated October 2007, the price for submissions to
Laurel will go from $4.00US to $3.00US.
Marshal – Kevin Roderick (Hrothgar Monomakh)
Request for Board Action:
The Board signed the warrant for THL Siegfried Sebastian Faust as Mr.
Roderick’s Deputy for Combat Archery.
Publishable summary:
Overall marshal activity within the Society has run smoothly with few
problems to report. Pennsic generally went well with respect to martial
activities. A revised Equestrian Handbook has been submitted for review
this quarter.
Minister of Arts and Sciences – Tim Jennings (Garraed Galbraith)
Commendations:
Marquessa Laurellen de Brandevin on her recent nuptials. Thanks to
Messr. Guiseppe da Borgia for all his hard work in Caid and for being a
great deputy. Thanks to Mistress Danabren in the East for 2 years of
Joy. Great Thanks to THL (that is new! congrats!) Gwendyon Casgudcath
for being an excellent KMoAS in my own Kingdom. Happy Retirement.
Publishable summary:
I have heard from all of my officers but one who normally has good
reporting habits so I will expect this to clear up in the next few
days. My officers remain cool dudes and dude-ettes and have all served
well. Life is busy but good. I leave for England in a few days and will
be away from my desk until Oct 15.
Society Chirurgeon – Marcia Schlemm (Katrei Grunenberg)
Policy Interpretations:
The Board upheld the policy interpretation of the Society Chirurgeon,
that incident reports at inter-kingdom events should be maintained by
the Kingdom Chirurgeon of the Kingdom in whose geographical boundaries
the event occurs. Those reports should be held and destroyed as stated
in the published current paperwork retention policies.
New policies:
The Board also approved the new policy of the Society Churirgeon that
any Chirurgeon whose warrant has been revoked by their Kingdom
Chirurgeon who wishes to rejoin the active Chirurgeonate will need to
apply to the Society Chirurgeon and adhere to all strictures given by
the Society Chirurgeon.
Commendations:
Mir and Phineas stepped down as Kingdom Chirurgeons in An Tir and
Atenveldt, respectively. With much thanks for the good work and
heartfelt conversations, I wish them success in their next endeavors.
Publishable summary:
Pennsic was intermittently wet and intermittently calm.
Board comment on the Report:
The Society and Kingdom Chirurgeons have full authority to revoke
warrants of Chirurgeons within their jurisdiction, for just and stated
cause. There are standard policies and procedures governing the
imposition of sanctions, warrant revocation, and appeals that apply to
all officer chains. We strongly encourage ALL members and ALL officers,
to follow these policies and procedures and work within the official
chain of command to resolve disputes.
Chief Technology Officer – Scott D. Courtney (Justinos Tekton called
Justin)
Commendations:
Thanks to Jeff Brown for his assistance in bringing the Directors online
with the new CRM I 14 spam filtering system, and for locating an
excellent contractor so help with the web redesign project.
Publishable summary:
A combination of Pennsic staff workload and several critical support
issues held up work on strategic projects this quarter, but both of
these factors are now behind us, and work resumes on strategic
initiatives. I will be working with the Society Seneschal to begin the
process of recruiting my successor in office, with the goal of handing
over the job when my term ends in mid-April 2008.
EXECUTIVE SESSION
Greg Prevost (Janos of Cyddian Downes) Revocation & Denial of Membership
Motion by Aaron Lloyd to remove all SCA ranks, titles, honors, awards
and accommodations and the privileges thereof from Greg Prevost (Janos
of Cyddian Downes), effective October 20, 2007. Seconded by Gabrielle
Underwood. In favor: Jeff Brown, Heather English, Aaron Lloyd, Marilee
Lloyd, Shawn Reed, Gabrielle Underwood. Opposed: None. Motion carried.
Motion by Gabrielle Underwood to revoke and deny the membership of Greg
Prevost (Janos of Cyddian Downes), effective October 20, 2007. Seconded
by Aaron Lloyd. In favor: Jeff Brown, Heather English, Aaron Lloyd,
Marilee Lloyd, Shawn Reed, Gabrielle Underwood. Opposed: None. Motion
carried.
Gabrielle Plocar aka Gabrielle Ward (Murron de Draco) Absolute
Banishment
Motion by Shawn Reed to uphold the absolute banishment of Gabrielle
Plocar aka Gabrielle Ward (Murron de Draco) imposed by Morgan and Livia,
King and Queen of Atenveldt, on September 29, 2007, and to direct the
Society Seneschal to begin an investigation into a possible revocation
and denial of membership. Seconded by Aaron Lloyd. In favor: Jeff
Brown, Heather English, Aaron Lloyd, Marilee Lloyd, Shawn Reed,
Gabrielle Underwood. Opposed: None. Motion carried.
Joel A. Oppenheimer (Joel the Wanderer) Revocation & Denial of
Membership
Motion by Gabrielle Underwood to revoke and deny the membership of Joel
A. Oppenheimer (Joel the Wanderer), effective October 20, 2007.
Seconded by Shawn Reed. In favor: Jeff Brown, Heather English, Aaron
Lloyd, Marilee Lloyd, Shawn Reed, Gabrielle Underwood. Opposed: None.
Chairman Simon exercised his option to vote and did so in favor of the
motion. Motion carried unanimously.
Dirk Lancaster (Dirk Ivanovitch) Absolute Banishment
Motion by Gabrielle Underwood to uphold the absolute banishment of Dirk
Lancaster (Dirk Ivanovitch) imposed by Drogo and Ithuna, King and Queen
of Caid, on September 29, 2007, and to direct the Society Seneschal to
begin an investigation into a possible revocation and denial of
membership. Seconded by Heather English. In favor: Jeff Brown, Heather
English, Aaron Lloyd, Marilee Lloyd, Shawn Reed, Gabrielle Underwood.
Opposed: None. Motion carried.
Jason Tate Revocation & Denial of Membership
Motion by Marilee Lloyd to revoke and deny the membership of Jason Tate,
effective immediately. Seconded by Jeff Brown. In favor: Jeff Brown,
Heather English, Aaron Lloyd, Marilee Lloyd, Shawn Reed, Gabrielle
Underwood. Opposed: None. Motion carried.
Jeffery Neimeyer (Philippe) Revocation & Denial of Membership
Motion by Heather English to revoke and deny the membership of Jeffery
Neimeyer (Philippe), effective October 20, 2007. Seconded by Marilee
Lloyd. In favor: Jeff Brown, Heather English, Aaron Lloyd, Marilee
Lloyd, Shawn Reed, Gabrielle Underwood. Opposed: None. Chairman Simon
exercised his option to vote and did so in favor of the motion. Motion
carried.
David Mitchell (Damingo De Vasquez) Revocation & Denial of Membership
Motion by Jeff Brown to revoke and deny the membership of David Mitchell
(Damingo De Vasquez), effective October 20, 2007. Seconded by Gabrielle
Underwood. In favor: Jeff Brown, Heather English, Aaron Lloyd, Marilee
Lloyd, Shawn Reed, Gabrielle Underwood. Opposed: None. Motion carried.
Kenneth Weaver (Padashar) Absolute Banishment
Motion by Shawn Reed to uphold the absolute banishment of Kenneth Weaver
(Padashar) imposed by Rurik and Angelik, King and Queen of AEthelmearc,
on August 4, 2007, and to direct the Society Seneschal to begin an
investigation into a possible revocation and denial of membership.
Seconded by Jeff Brown. In favor: Jeff Brown, Heather English, Aaron
Lloyd, Marilee Lloyd, Shawn Reed, Gabrielle Underwood. Opposed: None.
Motion carried.
Confirmation of Director Marilee Lloyd
Motion Shawn Reed to confirm Marilee Lloyd to Seat C for the remainder
of the standard term. Second by Gabrielle Underwood. In favor: Jeff
Brown, Heather English, Aaron Lloyd, Shawn Reed, Hal Simon, Gabrielle
Underwood. Opposed: None. Motion carried.
Ombudsman Assignments
Chairman Simon ordered the following Ombudsman assignments effective as
of the end of the October 20, 2007 quarterly Board meeting.
Hal Simon: President, Society Seneschal, Corporate Office, Legal
Committee, Executive Assistant
Gabrielle Underwood: Ansteorra, Meridies, Trimaris, Board Recruiting,
Gleann Abhann, Drachenwald, Marshal
Heather English: Atenveldt, Artemisia, Outlands, Financial Officers
Erik Langhans: AEthelmearc, East, Middle, Publications
Aaron Lloyd: Caid, Lochac, Heralds, Information Technology
Marilee Lloyd: Northshield, West, Grand Council, Ealdormere, Arts &
Sciences
Shawn Reed: Chirurgeon, An Tir, Calontir, Atlantia
Resignation of Treasurer
Motion by Gabrielle Underwood to accept the resignation of Alan Andrist
(Alanus of Bunghea) as Treasurer, effective immediately. Second by Shawn
Reed. In favor: Jeff Brown, Heather English, Aaron Lloyd, Shawn Reed,
Hal Simon, Gabrielle Underwood. Opposed: None. Chairman Simon exercised
his option to vote and did so in favor of the motion. Motion carried.
The Board of Directors would like to thank Mr. Andrist for his hard work
on behalf of the Society, and to wish him the best in his future
endeavors.
Motion by Shawn Reed to appoint Mazelle Attiya (Maitresse Alysia
Gabrielle de Fougeres) to the position of Interim Treasurer until a
replacement can be selected, effective immediately. Second by Aaron
Lloyd. In favor: Jeff Brown, Heather English, Aaron Lloyd, Shawn Reed,
Hal Simon, Gabrielle Underwood. Opposed: None. Chairman Simon exercised
his option to vote and did so in favor of the motion. Motion carried.
Barbara Busillo Appeal Request
Motion by Jeff Brown to deny the appeal Barbara Busillo of requesting
review of criteria requesting a review of the criteria of her banishment
and to further rule that Ms. Busillo has exhausted all avenues of appeal
within the SCA Inc. Second by Marilee Lloyd. In favor: Jeff Brown,
Heather English, Aaron Lloyd, Shawn Reed, Hal Simon, Gabrielle
Underwood. Opposed: None. Chairman Simon exercised his option to vote
and did so in favor of the motion. Motion carried.
--
Patrick Anderson
President
Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc.
president at sca.org
952-412-4112
Comments are strongly encouraged and can be sent to:
SCA Inc.
Box 360789
Milpitas, CA 95036
You may also email comments at lists.sca.org
or reply to this message.
This announcement is an official informational release by the Society for Creative Anachronism , Inc. Permission is granted to reproduce this announcement in its entirety in newsletters, websites and electronic mailing lists.
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