[DFT] Letter of Intent for Baronetcy of Elfsea

[Sabine Curter]

Unto the Populace of the great Barony of Elfsea do we, Lochlan and
Sabine, send our love and most heartfelt wishes for a wonderful holiday
season,


There is no better time than the holidays to express our appreciation for
all the hard work and accomplishments that Elfsea has achieved in 2013. We
know that Elfsea is strong because of the support that grows within her
populace. As Elfsea looks forward to an exciting 2014, one of your most
important decisions will be choosing your new Baron and Baroness. Today,
Sabine and I, would like to respectfully add our name to the list of
possibilities. Provided below is our official letter of intent that has
been submitted to the Crown and Seneschallate.


We would like to make ourselves available at any time to discuss with any
member of the populace our vision for the Barony. Please feel free to email
either Sabine or myself, and we can set up a time to speak either in person
or via phone. Our contact information is at the bottom of this email.


May the joys of the season be yours,

Lochlan and Sabine



___________________________



Unto Their Royal Majesties do we, Lochlan Dunn, Duke of Ansteorra and
Sabine le Curter, Baroness of the Court of Ansteorra send greetings during
this most joyful season,


After much deliberation and conversation with one another and our families,
Baroness Sabine le Curter and I have made the decision to submit before you
our joint letter of application to be considered for the Baronetcy of
Elfsea.  While we are well aware that our pairing may seem nontraditional
on the surface, we are eager to demonstrate to you and the populace of the
Barony that raised us both our willingness to serve our populace and
represent them to the Knowne World.


Sabine and I both found the SCA and our love of the Dream through the
Barony’s nurturing arms as newcomers to the Society over a decade ago.  We
were newcomers together, and experienced much of our initial exposure to
the Barony and the organization as friends, together.  Though in our time,
I have stayed local and played on a Kingdom level, sometimes moreso than
local, and Sabine has had the opportunity to travel the Knowne World and
experience the customs and traditions of many kingdoms, we both find that
our roots still tie us here.  She has recently returned to her home barony
as a full-time resident and she carries with her experiences she has found
as a subject of Atenveldt, Meridies, Trimaris, and as a Citizen of Gleann
Abhann (though she did not live there, that Kingdom has extended to her the
right and privilege of claiming it as her land through an award extended by
their Crown).  These differences in our Society experiences coupled with
our love of our Barony make us a pairing for this opportunity that can
bring a lot to our Barony as we work together and with our populace, to
help Elfsea to shine with the splendor that we recall from our days as
newcomers.


We look forward to working with all of Elfsea’s populace to see us ascend
to the next level in hospitality, camaraderie, and functionality. The SCA
has been a positive influence in our lives that transcends the distinction
of simply being a hobby, and we desperately want to impart that to all whom
we may.  One of our visions is to see Elfsea hosting a pavilion or table of
hospitality at each Central Region event that it is feasible, given the
blessing of the steward, of course. We would love to see a gathering place
at our local events where our populace might find respite from the day to
enjoy fellowship with one another even as they enjoy the day with those of
other groups.  Could this mean additional work for ourselves, our friends,
and our barony? Absolutely. However, we feel that the work and time given
to acts of hospitality are infinitely more rewarding than the cost of time
and energy, and we’d like to take small steps such as this to help
establish with newer members that Elfsea is not simply an SCA branch, but
also a functioning family and support network for those who call her “home”.


In that vein, we would like to assist the office of the Hospitaler by
cultivating the attitude that we are all Hospitalers, and working with them
to help fine-tune our recruitment and newcomer retention practices.  We
want to see the faces of those Baronial members who have “retired” or gone
inactive, either on a local level or entirely, return.  It is our intention
to review the past census records to try to locate those individuals, and
extend to them the hand of friendship and camaraderie.  We’d also like to
continue cultivating the healthy relationships we already have with
Dragonsfire Tor, The Steppes, and Loch Ruadh to help see the SCA continue
to thrive in the DFW metroplex.


Regarding the health of the Barony on an Organizational level, we have
great faith and love for those who currently hold offices that serve this
Barony.  We’d like to cultivate healthy relationships with those officers
so that if they feel that they need assistance, help in finding deputies,
or additional resources we can work with them to identify those needs and
see them met. It is not our intention to do the jobs of our officers, nor
to completely rearrange the Barony to some perception that we have in our
minds.  It’s just our intention, should we be blessed with serving as the
Baron and Baroness of Elfsea that we serve as facilitators to assist the
officers and populace see the dreams realized that they hold for our Barony.


Finally- I am aware that as a Duke of Ansteorra, it may strike some as odd
that I am choosing to submit my name for such a position in conjunction
with that of a dear friend, and not with my wife, Her Grace Gwen.  Gwen
supports this bid of Sabine and I, however, due to mundane
responsibilities, she does not consider herself to be a viable candidate
for Baroness at this time.  The three of us have had many conversations as
we are aware that this position is one that has a duration of two years or
more, and should not be entertained lightly.


We thank you, and the Barony, for your consideration.  If any should have
any questions regarding our bid for this position, please don’t hesitate to
contact us.


Ever in Service,

Duke Lochlan Dunn and Baroness Sabine le Curter


Duke Lochlan Dunn

Brandon McDermott

lochlanarms at yahoo.com


Baroness Sabine le Curter

Tara Derington

purpleermine at gmail.com