[DFT] Bid for Baron and Baroness of Elfsea

[Richard Threlkeld]

I appologize for not including Dragonsfire Tor in my initial posting, but I=
 was not a member of your mailing list until today. That shows I need to ge=
t much more involved with your Canton if I am to be an effective Baron. 

Here is the document in plain text and I have attached an MS Word document =
which is formatted better. Pyro (betsy at softwareinnovation.com) and I (rjt at s=
oftwareinnovation.com) are available for comments, questions, or requests a=
nd welcome your input.

In service,
HL Caelin on Andrede
Kingdom Chirurgeon, Ansteorra
Southern Regional Exchequer

-----------------------------------------------


To Your Stellar Majesties and Stellar Highnesses,

Honorable Lord Caelin on Andrede and Lady Ker Megan of Taransay (known as P=
yro) do present themselves to Your Majesties in the matter of the selection=
 of a new Baron and Baroness for your Barony of Elfsea. 

Ker Megan has been a member of your Barony of Elfsea since it was a Shire. =
She has been A&S Minister and Herald, Lady in waiting to the founding Baron=
ess and served several since then. She is a holder of the Ant of Elfsea (Sh=
ire service award), the Portcullis of Elfsea, the Keystone of Elfsea, an Aw=
ard of Arms, and the Sable Crane. She has been active in the Shire and Baro=
ny for fifteen years. Her primary interests have been service and a wide va=
riety of arts. She creates jewelry and has a complete commercial shop at ou=
r home. She spins thread and weaves regalia. She has done calligraphy profe=
ssionally. She works gate, helps in the kitchen, sets up tents, serves the =
nobles, helps with tear-down, works as list mistress, is a Waterbearer, and=
 generally does whatever needs doing.

Caelin has been a member of the Barony of Elfsea for six years. He has been=
 Seneschal twice and Deputy Herald. He is currently the Kingdom Chirurgeon =
and the Southern Regional Exchequer. He holds the Portcullis of Elfsea, the=
 Keystone of Elfsea, an Award of Arms, a Sable Crane, and a Star of Merit. =
His primary interests have been Chirurgeoning, training, leadership, and se=
rvice. He is a chivalric fighter, a rapier fighter, an archer (both combat =
and target), and is an active authorizing marshal in every fighting skill e=
xcept rapier (only an inspection marshal there). He is also a Youth Chivalr=
ic and Youth Rapier marshal. He dabbles in various arts, is one of six Hera=
lds at Large in the Kingdom at the time of this writing, has been an autocr=
at for several large events, and has been feastocrat for a Coronation, Quee=
ns, Baronial College and other events.

Our home has been a center of activity in the Barony with business meetings=
, Middle Eastern dance practice, and cooking guild meeting here regularly a=
nd various ad hoc meetings and parties happening from time to time. We have=
 attended the last five Gulf Wars (Caelin is the next War Chirurgeon), trav=
el to events around the Kingdom, rarely miss a fighter practice, never miss=
 a Moot or business meeting, and frequently attend populace meetings of our=
 Canton of Loch Ruadh. We believe we have the support of a many of the popu=
lace in our bid to become the next Baron and Baroness.

If you should honor us with the position of Baron and Baroness, we would co=
ntinue and extend our efforts to make all the Barony thrive by recruiting n=
ew members, retaining experienced members, attending meetings, representing=
 the Barony at events local and distant, and helping the people of Elfsea a=
chieve what they desire both individually and as a group.

In service to Ansteorra and Her Crown,
HL Caelin on Andrede
Ker Megan of Taransay
 
A Plan for Elfsea

We know the next Baron and Baroness will have several years of opportunitie=
s and no single plan we propose now will be appropriate for that whole peri=
od. But we have definite ideas about where the Barony is and where it shoul=
d go. These have been developed over the last few years in active discussio=
n with other leaders in the Barony, new members, members of our Cantons and=
 College, and others throughout the Kingdom. 

Pyro and Caelin believe completely that those areas which receive the atten=
tion of the Baron and Baroness are successful and those areas that do not h=
ave to struggle. We would be active in events, meetings, guilds, fighting, =
Gulf War, our Cantons and College, and every aspect of the Barony.

Membership
First, we need to do a better job of recruiting new members. Growth is requ=
ired to get new ideas, to have people to teach what we have learned, and to=
 have people for whom doing the simple things if fun and different. We have=
 learned many ways that work to recruit new members and many ways that don=
=92t. Our Canton of Loch Ruadh has been very effective at recruiting new me=
mbers and Elfsea as a whole can learn from them. 

Specifically, we need to use sign-in sheets at all our events and follow up=
 on new people. Find out what they like initially and connect them with peo=
ple who will mentor them in those areas and generally. We need to call them=
 before meetings to see if they need a ride. We need to send them specific =
invitations to attend local events and meetings. Meetings should be friendl=
y with experienced members making sure new people are welcomed and made a p=
art of the family. We need to make sure new people camping at events are he=
lped and integrated into the group. We often have couples who share the coo=
king, for instance. New members should be invited to join and treated like =
the new friends they are.

We also need to do a better job of retaining those who have been members fo=
r a while. We commonly lose members either soon after recruiting or after v=
ery seasoned members =93burn out=94. These require different solutions. 

The Barony often recruits people just to have them disappear after a month =
or two. Some of the things we mentioned above will help this, but we can go=
 further. The group has tried assigning a mentor to each new person or coup=
le. This has had some success, but it depends greatly on the mentor meshing=
 well with the new person. A better method, in our opinion, is creating a c=
ulture where mentoring is considered part of the fun of being in Elfsea. Cl=
early, not everyone will enjoy mentoring or do it well, but many will. New =
members of the group will find several different personalities and can chos=
e one or more as their new friends in the group. 

We also need to follow up on those new people who leave. Call them, tell th=
em we are trying to improve our welcoming of new members, and ask them why =
they left. Sometimes it takes a bit of work, but you can find problems in t=
he Barony that don=92t appear any other way. You might also be able to corr=
ect problems and get them back. After all, you clearly care about them. 

We lose experienced members because the move away, because their jobs now r=
equire weekend work, because their kids get into Scouts, and because they =
=93burn out=94. We cannot do much about moving or work, except to include t=
hose who want to be included in our email lists and non-weekend activities.=
 We need to continue and extend our welcome to families. Have children/pare=
nt activities and make the environment friendly for kids. Our active suppor=
t for all the children=92s martial activities is a big help here. 

And finally, we need to help our experienced members meter their SCA activi=
ties to a level they can sustain. Having new members to train instead of do=
ing everything will help. Getting people to try more of the many interestin=
g areas in the SCA prevents burnout. Training leaders in the group to watch=
 for signs of burn out and how to help is a major move forward. 

Officer Training
After some of our recent troubles, our population in a business meeting sug=
gested we begin training our officers. Clearly, the appropriate Regional an=
d Kingdom officers are responsible for training their officers to be a good=
 Rapier Marshal or Chirurgeon or Exchequer, but the Barony is responsible f=
or telling our officers what we expect of them as officers in the Barony. T=
his is pretty much the same for all Baronial officers. We want them to repo=
rt correctly and on time. We want them to be leaders in the Barony. We want=
 them recruit and train a deputy or two and then use that deputy to spread =
the burden of office and to ensure they can take over the office if require=
d. We want them to sponsor local events or competitions in their area. We w=
ant them to train the rest of us in their area. And we want them to watch o=
ver us and each other to prevent burn out, heat or cold problems, dehydrati=
on, and anything else that makes sense.

Caelin has volunteered with Raimond and Ameline to create and teach such a =
course, but we have not yet started this. We need to get this done and the =
training accomplished. Anyone who wanted to attend would be welcome, but of=
ficers might be required to attend as a condition of getting the office.

Financials
We have had some problems with reporting and financial controls in the past=
. We, as a Barony, have agreed to follow the strictest financial policies w=
e can. We have good financial policies and are following them closely. Ever=
yone is becoming aware of what is required to do the finances correctly. Ca=
elin is mundanely a CPA and has been the Southern Regional Exchequer, so he=
 knows what should be done and has many examples of both good and bad SCA a=
ccounting.

Pyro and Caelin would not change any of that. We would look at doing a bett=
er job of budgeting, monitoring expenditures against the budget, and holdin=
g people accountable for meeting their budgets where appropriate. We would =
ask event stewards to not only provide reasonable budgets based on previous=
 such events, but also to provide contingency plans for reasonably possible=
 outcomes. What happens if threatened storms keep people away? What happens=
 if there is a fire ban in the area?

Service
Elfsea has always been a service Barony. Our members provide a large amount=
 of service to the Group, to other Baronies and Shires, and to the Kingdom.=
 In one 12 month period we hosted 11 calendar events (we will not repeat th=
at soon). When our Crown asks us to help them, we do whatever we can and wi=
th the skills of our populace, that is considerable. We have world class fe=
astocrats, top-notch autocrats, wonderful and winning artisans, equestrians=
, chirurgeons, marshals, and more.

When new members are recruited, they are quickly brought into our service m=
entality. We invite them to help us do any of the many tasks that must be d=
one: gate, security, waterbearing, entourage for the Baron and Baroness, et=
c. If that is not their desire, it is not required, but most really enjoy i=
t.

Pyro and Caelin would continue this while making sure those for whom servic=
e is not an interest can find a place in the Barony. 

Fighting
We have an active program in chivalric fighting, rapier fighting, and arche=
ry (both target and combat). We have provided the majority of siege engines=
 used in the Gulf Wars. We have an active live steel group in our Canton of=
 Dragonsfire Tor. Caelin engages in all these and is a marshal in all these=
 areas. We attend nearly every Elfsea fighter practice and would continue t=
o do so. We would attend at least one of the Canton=92s practices every mon=
th to support their efforts. 

We have a fighting company known as the Arthurian Company which generally p=
rovides 10-20 fighters each year at Gulf War. We practice for about six mon=
ths of the year under the guidance of a Captain. Our Canton of Loch Ruadh h=
as its own fighting company, the Finan Ruadh. A household in our group, Fal=
conrose, provides additional fighters and they arrange, in conjunction with=
 Caelin and other members of the Barony to provide mercenary fighters (in t=
he past it has been the Iron Lance). We expect to heavily support all of th=
ese.

Gulf Wars
Elfsea has always encouraged her members to go to the Gulf Wars and we have=
 been successful. Caelin has provided camperships to those who want to go a=
nd could not afford it and expects to continue doing so. When we needed mor=
e siege crews, Caelin found the biggest stopping point was the lack of inex=
pensive helms. He purchased twenty of them at a large quantity discount and=
 loaned them at no cost to those who would become siege crew. They could bu=
y them at cost, if they wished.

Elfsea has been the group providing the most service hours for the last fou=
r or five years and Caelin has provided about a third of that amount. Last =
year he was turned in the second highest hour count. He will be the War Chi=
rurgeon next year and cannot log hours, however. Pyro has been part of the =
trademarked Ansteorran Inspection station every year. She does all the jobs=
 that fighters cannot do and still fight. As Baroness, she would organize t=
hese activities.

 
Resume for Caelin on Andrede

Caelin on Andrede is mundanely Richard Threlkeld, who is a business and com=
puter consultant, a certified public accountant (CPA), and an emergency med=
ical technician (EMT) with advanced cardiac life support (ACLS) and pre-hos=
pital trauma life support (PHTLS) certifications. He is an instructor and t=
rainer for BLS CPR and first aid and an instructor for PHTLS. He has been t=
he owner of Software Innovation, a small consulting firm,  for the last twe=
nty four years.

He holds a BA in Computer Sciences from UT Austin and a Master of Public Ac=
counting from UT Arlington. 

He has been a Boy Scout leader for over 15 years in both Cub Scouts and Boy=
 Scouts. He was a Cubmaster for a Pack of 120 boys for 6 years and a Troop =
Committee member for 5 years. For the Boy Scouts he became and is an NRA ri=
fe and shotgun instructor. He was a rappelling and rock climbing instructor=
 for them. He was also an instructor for Challenging Outdoor Personal Exper=
iences (COPE) which is a team building program for adults and scouts using =
problem solving and high wire experiences. He held a number of training pos=
itions ending with overall Training Chairman for the Longhorn Council. That=
 job coordinated a team of 15 leaders who each ran a district training of 1=
5-20 leaders. He was responsible for all the training for 3000+ adults and =
advanced training for the boys. His sons are in college, but he still does =
merit badges from time to time. Much of the time formerly devoted to scouts=
 is currently used for the SCA.

In the SCA he has been a local Chirurgeon, Elfsea deputy Herald, Elfsea Sen=
eschal, deputy Kingdom Chirurgeon, Kingdom Chirurgeon, Elfsea Seneschal aga=
in, and Southern Regional Exchequer. Along the way, he has been an autocrat=
 for various local and calendar events, feastocrat for local and Kingdom ev=
ents, Waterbearer, and many unofficial jobs. He travels throughout the King=
dom.

He has helped build the Ansteorran Chirurgeonate from 6 Chirurgeons when he=
 joined to 75 currently. He built the current Kingdom Chirurgeon web pages =
which provide online reporting, forms, and contact/certification informatio=
n.

When he determined a major roadblock to getting new Chirurgeons certified a=
nd keeping Journeyman and Masters recertified was the availability of train=
ing programs, he established a training center, trained instructors and tra=
iners (with much help from Arkell vom Cophous), and began putting on traini=
ng programs. The programs are listed on the web page with online registrati=
on and aids for the instructors.

> the Barony he holds the Portcullis of Elfsea and the Keystone of Elfsea. =
>From the Kingdom, he holds an Award of Arms, the Sable Crane, and the Star =
of Merit. 

 
Resume for Ker Megan of Taransay


Betsy Marshall (most frequently known as Pyro- whole story on request) join=
ed the SCA in 1988, in an effort to escape comic/sci-fi fandom. Many new fr=
iends and many new interests and skills were quickly acquired.

She has also received a BS in Physics from UDallas, an MS in Physics with a=
 specialization in High energy particles from UTDallas, and is currently pu=
rsuing a PhD at UTArlington, with an interest in Astrophysics. To fund this=
 she spent 10 years on 3rd shift, working nights and studying days.

She spent a season early on as A&S minister in Elfsea, was co-autocrat of t=
he Elevation to Barony at the then Yule revel, served as Lady in waiting to=
 Baroness Robin, and more recently held down the office of Baronial Herald =
(Nautilus).

Mostly she is known for being a willing pair of hands when something needs =
doing- list mistress for king=92s champion, 3am gate shift at Spring faire,=
 scullery maid at 12th Night, set-up, take-down and transport for many loca=
l and not so local events.

Her philosophy about running a group is when you find yourself saying =93so=
mebody needs to..=94 is best replaced by =93I better=85=94

As Baroness I would mostly concentrate on supporting the interest groups, a=
nd building a sense of unity and group cohesiveness, so everyone can see th=
at =93Life is good in Elfsea=94.




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