Awards Policy

[William H. Herron III]

Hi, Joe!

Joe Bosko wrote:

> I have a question.. In order for someone to receive an Order of Merit
> (or for that matter ANY SCA Award) shouldn't they be a "PAID" member
> of the Society?

Not in Ansteorra.  It was decided that paid membership should not be a
requirement for awards.  Some other kingdoms require it, but I'm not
sure which ones.

> If not, then I believe the procedures need to be changed.

Ansteorra again:  they were left that way on purpose.  In this kingdom,
it was decided that people should be rewarded for their efforts
regardless of whether or not they are members of the Society.

> An individual CANNOT be deserving of the above mentioned award (or
> any) if he/she DOES NOT attend ANY Shire events; discourages other
> members of his/her household from attending or participating in Shire
> events or help the Shire in any way.. Can I get some other views
> (acrubray at wtrt.net)

You are taking a very specific situation and trying to generalize.

In fact, a grant-level service award (for example, a Star of Merit) is
generally given for service to a Kingdom or Principality, not to a
group.  A person who is not providing service to a local Shire could
still qualify for a grant-level award based on their service to a
Kingdom.

In Ansteorra, Shires may submit their members for the Sable Comet of
Ansteorra, which is an Award-of-Arms level award designed to recognize
individuals' efforts to a group lower than Baronial level.

All this notwithstanding, I would argue that a person who doesn't
support local groups and, in fact, undermines the group's efforts by
discouraging other members from participating, shouldn't get any kind of
award.  Even as I hold a deputy kingdom office, I still participate in
my local group's activities and support the groups around us.

Your mileage may vary.

FitzBubba
Namron, Ansteorra
wherron at sprintmail.com