Board happenings

[maddie teller-kook]

This was sent to me on another mailing list. I thought it might be of
interest to this kingdom.

meadhbh




Andra Barrow wrote:
> 
> Originally sent out (at least up here in An Tir) by the current Heirs, I
> thought this to be a matter which would likely interest lots of you. So
> without further ado...
> 
> Grainne
> 
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> -----------
> 
> >       LETTER TO CROWNS, KINGDOM SENESCHALS, NEWSLETTERS, WEBSITE
> >
> > October 25, 1996
> >
> > Ladies and Gentlemen:
> >
> > The Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc., is now 30 years old. It
> > has survived its share of cultural change, both internally and
> > externally, and has seen dramatic growth in membership and geography.
> > The time has come to take a hard look at where we are and where we
> > want to go, with the understanding that it is hard for a group founded
> > on admiration for the distant past to turn its attention to the
> > future.
> >
> > The Board of Directors recognizes that there are as many reasons to be
> > in the SCA as there are members, but we have also come to understand
> > that the organization as a whole does not seem to have a cohesive
> > sense of itself. The Grand Council and the Interkingdom Advisory
> > Committee have been struggling for nearly three years to find answers
> > to some of the cross-cutting problems facing us. Although they have
> > submitted several proposals to the Board, we have found little
> > opportunity to give them the careful consideration they deserve or to
> > solicit the broad-based input from the membership that we think is
> > required before we take decisive action on issues that could have
> > profound impact on the character of the SCA.
> >
> > To that end, we intend to conduct a series of open discussion
> > meetings, one in each Kingdom, for the purpose of hearing what the
> > members of the SCA want it to be. We anticipate that two Directors
> > will attend each meeting (and will try to schedule our participation
> > in the most cost-effective possible way). We are asking the Kingdoms
> > to schedule these meetings in a way that will enable the participation
> > of the largest possible number of people who are interested, and that
> > information about the time and location of the meetings be published
> > as widely as possible, including in the Kingdom newsletter and on the
> > World Wide Web. If you find yourself unable to attend your Kingdom's
> > meeting but live near a neighboring Kingdom, perhaps you can attend
> > that meeting. Failing that, feel free to write us with your
> > suggestions, but please mark the letter "Strategic Plan." Please
> > understand that your opinions are important to us, whether you are
> > peer or peon, whether you have been a member since the very beginning
> > or since last Tuesday.
> >
> > We believe it is important to start this process as soon as possible,
> > but that it would be a serious mistake to rush it. In addition, there
> > will be a need to identify a source of funds for this fairly ambitious
> > undertaking; while we are making significant improvements in the SCA's
> > budgeting process and financial well-being, it would be imprudent to
> > commit the substantial funds required for these meetings from our
> > current budget. Therefore, among other things, we would appreciate any
> > suggestions you may have about how to fund this proposal, and
> > particularly the travel of two Directors to each of 13 to 15 meetings.
> >
> > We would like to schedule the meetings over the next nine to twelve
> > months. Once the information-gathering has been accomplished, we will
> > meet at a time separate from the regular quarterly Board meeting to
> > focus our attention on strategic planning for the organization's
> > future. We intend to consider at this meeting any outstanding issues
> > from the Grand Council and the Interkingdom Advisory Committee, as
> > well as what you tell us are the needs and desires of the membership.
> > We have already put together a list of proposed questions and radical
> > ideas which can be a starting point for discussion; we expect to
> > narrow this list to 4 or 5 of the most critical for this discussion.
> > (See below for the current complete list.) We ask you to participate,
> > as you always have, in shaping what the SCA is today and what it can
> > be tomorrow.
> >
> > QUESTIONS (not an exclusive list)
> >
> >      What is the SCA? Can it continue to be all things to all people?
> >      Is it really a social club or an educational organization? Should
> >      it split into SCA-Social and SCA-Educational?
> >      What do we want the organization to look like in 5 years? 10? 20?
> >      How should we balance growth with assimilation?
> >      Do the rules of the game need changing? How?
> >      What is the optimal size for a kingdom? Should we set a maximum
> >      size and require kingdoms to split when they reach that size?
> >      What governing bodies need to exist?
> >      How should we manage international branches?
> >      How should membership be structured?
> >      How can we most effectively solicit input from members?
> >      What do members want?
> >      How can we best serve the members' needs?
> >      How can the Board respond more rapidly and effectively to new
> >      situations (e.g., banishments, Crown Tourney crises, etc.)?
> >      Are quarterly Board meetings working? Should we have a conference
> >      call in each month without a meeting? Should conference calls be
> >      scheduled at a regular time (i.e., 3rd Monday of the month at
> >      9:00 pm ET)?
> >      There is a "mission statement" for the Board in the Procedures
> >      Manual. Is it adequate? Do we need more than that, or less?
> >      How can Directors be elected by the membership? Should they be?
> >      If so, what other functions have to be turned over to the
> >      membership by CA nonprofit laws and regulations, and how does CA
> >      law treat members outside CA/US?
> >      Should the corporate office remain in Milpitas, or should it move
> >      to an area where costs for rent, salaries, etc., might be lower
> >      (and where risks from natural disasters might be lower)?
> >
> > RADICAL (and semi-radical) IDEAS (not an exclusive list)
> >
> >      term limits for royalty (i.e., a maximum numbers of reigns
> >      allowed)
> >      eliminate County rank; give Ducal rank to everyone completing a
> >      reign successfully
> >      need to deal with the problem of not having a way to deal with
> >      problems
> >      need to deal with the fact that rhinohiding leads to high office
> >      and rank
> >      need to find a better reward system for volunteers (especially
> >      corporate and kingdom officers)
> >      need to redistribute power; "separation of church and state"
> >      (split out executive authority for the seneschalate, leaving
> >      legislative and judicial authority with the Crown); complicated
> >      by power of Crown to select/appoint kingdom officers
> >      "When people are immune to social pressure, there is no way to
> >      deal with the immortal."
> >      consider changing organizational structure from
> >      geographically-based to interest-based
> >      consider other ways to select royalty, e.g., nomination of pool
> >      of highly qualified people, then selection by lottery
> >
> >     ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > Please send comments to the Board of Directors, either via e-mail at
> > directors at sca.org, or the Corporate Office: The Society for Creative
> > Anachronism, Inc., PO Box 360789, Milpitas, CA 95036-0789.
> >     ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> >
> > Maintained by the SCA Webfolks
> > Last Updated $Date: 1996/12/01 14:50:33 $GMT
> >
> >
> >  [Image]Copyright © 1996 Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc.