Awards Policy

Tim McDaniel tmcd at crl.com
Tue Jan 14 23:14:19 PST 1997


On Tue, 14 Jan 1997, Joe Bosko <acrubray at wtrt.net> 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?  If not, then I believe the procedures need
> to be changed.

My, I had forgotten can of worms #5 -- a biggie, too.  Let me prise
off the lid some more and let more wigglies escape ...

Anyone can mail in a membership check.  I've done that, sometimes when
I haven't contributed much in service, in education, in ambiance, in
*any* way.  I'm an overpaid computer programmer.  It's less than a
couple hours of pay.  I hardly notice the amount.

I've seen non-paid-members contribute a lot, and some do nothing.
I've seen some paid members contribute a lot, and some do nothing.

Why should writing a check make someone eligible for an award -- and
if they don't, all the effort they could possibly put in, maybe even
Pelican-level service above and beyond any possible call of duty, not
overcome that?

Consider this thought experiment (along the lines of the parable of
the Good Samaritan):

Person A is the group treasurer.  He's done OK: mostly got his reports
in on time, cashes the checks within 3 months of the event (except
that one time, where a few of the checks went stale and didn't clear).

Person B is the knight's marshal.  He can't get to many fighter
practices, but he usually can authorize people if you make an
appointment and he doesn't forget.

Person C is always there to support events.  He rewired the group's
barn site.  He's among the first to arrive and the last to leave,
often doing the scutwork.  He sometimes takes night duties.  He's
helped with combat, a lot with archery.

Suppose A and B have sent $35 to Milpitas, and C has not.

Who has actually contributed the most to the group and to the Society
as a whole?  Who is the most deserving of fame, honor, and reward?

(C is a little exaggeration, if memory serves, but not that much.)

Daniel "well, maybe we can go fishin' after all this hoopla" de Lincoln
-- 
                             Tim McDaniel
                        Reply-To: tmcd at crl.com
      tmcd at mcdaniel.dallas.tx.us is wrong tool.  Never use this.



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