[Elfsea] things for thought

[Richard Threlkeld]

In the past we have done this by asking a large group of us,
"What event, demo, fighter practice, whatever was your introduction
to the SCA?" It is interesting to see the results.

Caelin

> -----Original Message-----
> From: elfsea-admin at ansteorra.org [mailto:elfsea-admin at ansteorra.org]On
> Behalf Of Stefen and Rhonda Hays
> Sent: Wednesday, October 30, 2002 6:48 PM
> To: elfsea at ansteorra.org
> Subject: Re: [Elfsea] things for thought
>
>
> Question for the Hospitalers...
>
> Do we keep records on how many folks we get from what demo or recruitment
> venue?
>
> Would a poll of some sort be in order?
>
> Medb Liath  (who has clearly been involved one too many Six Sigma
> projects)
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Richard Threlkeld" <rjt at softwareinnovation.com>
> To: <elfsea at ansteorra.org>
> Sent: Wednesday, October 30, 2002 5:00 PM
> Subject: RE: [Elfsea] things for thought
>
>
> Your Excellency,
>
> I have spent much time when I was Seneschal and since then thinking about
> what makes like good in Elfsea and what could be done to make it better. I
> believe life is still good in Elfsea, but it could always be
> better. I have
> been harping for a couple of years about recruiting and
> membership. As it is
> everything gets done, but some people (yes, Wilim I am talking
> about you and
> others here) do far more than their "share" of the work.
>
> The SCA is a wonderful place with pageantry, awards for great work, fun
> camping, the adrenaline rushes of martial arts, the feel of
> accomplishment,
> and wonderful friends to share with whom to share this. Under all this is
> the infrastructure of Marshals to make sure the martial arts are safe for
> both the fighters and the watching crowd, Hospitalers to help new people
> learn our world, Exchequers to keep track of the money we need to put on
> events, Seneschals to see things happen and keep us legal, Chirurgeons to
> fix the boo-boos, Chroniclers to keep us informed, and hard
> working members
> of the populace to setup/takedown/run troll/run security/prepare
> feasts/etc.
>
> But jobs change causing people to move away. People go back to school or
> their children join scouts or they take on a second job. Though they agree
> that life is good in Elfsea, some of us will be reducing or ending our
> participation in Elfsea. To remain a healthy group we must
> attract people to
> replace those who cannot continue to enjoy our company and a few more to
> grow on.
>
> We have not been as successful at recruiting over the last few years as
> before. Interest in the middle ages comes in cycles, so we can expect some
> ups and downs from that. After looking at other groups both in the SCA and
> outside, I believe some of this is generic trends, some of it is the
> appearance of many other organizations competing for our time, and some of
> it is ineffective recruiting.
>
> The only thing we can change is recruiting. We need to think about who we
> would like to recruit and where they might be found. Our demos are usually
> fun for us and those who attend, but we need to make them effective for
> recruiting also. We moved our fighter practice site partly to increase
> recruitment. Most of those who have joined us have said we were the most
> friendly group they have ever visited so we are doing most of it right.
>
> Would those of us who are fairly new care to comment on what they found
> attractive and unattractive about Elfsea? Anyone have any ideas on what to
> change for better recruiting?
>
> In service,
> Caelin on Andrede
>
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