[Hellsgate] Baronial questions and answers for Maelgwyn and Willoc

[K. Marsh]

1.     Francisca asked:
"how important is it to you to find opportunities for families to grow our
children in the SCA? What would you like to see happen and what things will you
want to encourage to promote fun for the whole family?"

We spoke with you about this issue a bit Tuesday night, but I'm glad to address it
again here.  Raising kids in the SCA is a lot of fun but it is also a real
challenge.  Children are perpetual newcomers and it is important  to
support them just like any other newcomers if we want to keep them in the
Society.  When both parents are actively involved there will be many times
when you have to take turns with the kids, or work with other parents in a form
of parenting cooperative, or even hire a helper from within the SCA to give you
some time to pursue your own goals at events.  As the kids get older and
need less immediate supervision this can become less of an issue.  We have
both lived through this and we understand the difficulties.  

As for what we can do to help, Willoc's goal is to offer activities for
children that are so fun the adults will want to play too.  From bringing
wool combs to court, to bringing a (mostly period) toy box to meetings, we try
to involve the kids in the fun of our activities. In addition to youth combat,
we encourage classes, activities, and service opportunities that allow both
adults and kids to participate.  This is a start, but we need to keep
looking for additional ways to make the Society kid-friendly.
 
2.     Dena asked:  “My question has two parts:  1) What is a goal you both have in common as to the future of BG?  2) What is your personal goal as Baron/ess of
BG?”

Our common goal for the future of BG is to ensure the Barony is welcoming, fun,
and fulfilling for all our members, and to help each member find a way to be an
active part of our Barony.

Maelgywn: My personal goal as Baron is to make magic moments at court, the
campfire, and elsewhere.  I will know I have succeeded when I make grown
men & women cry (like we do for the Queen at Queen's Champion).

Willoc: My personal goal as Baroness is to encourage, enable, and inspire each
member, new and old, to find their own way to live the dream of our Society.


3.     Alina asked:  “Do you two have a certain vision of how the
two of you will be leading the barony for the next few years? “

There are so many things going well in the barony, that our first rule would
need to be "Do no harm."  Willoc has summarized our goals as
Encourage, Enable and Inspire.  We want to encourage folks to come out and
play, to try new things, to learn and to teach.  We want to enable folks
who have an interest in something but may lack tools, or information, or
opportunities, or contacts with potential collaborators.  We want to
inspire folks to try to accomplish great and awesome things, because we have
seen so often in this game that great things CAN be done.

4. Alina asked:  “Do you see anything
lacking in how the barony is functioning at the present time?”

We are concerned about recruitment and retention of new folks and that is
something we would continue to focus on.  We recognize that the barony is
large and has diverse interests, but would like to see a slight increase in
group activities like Yule revel that help to bring us all together. 

5. Alina asked:  “Is there anything that
the barony lacks that you might want to introduce?”

We would like to encourage more mentoring of newcomers with informal
relationships to help them get up and running in our game.

6. Alina asked:  “Lastly, what is your
visions for the Dreigiau Bryn and  future members of the order?”

We see the Dreigiau Bryn as the foundation-members who make the barony
strong.  We would continue to look for the people who take charge of
something, who pull together a team to accomplish great things, and who act as
a unifying force among diverse groups in the Barony.  We would continue to
rely heavily on the members of the order to lead in our community, to advise us
on new members, and to point out worthy candidates for the various baronial
orders. 

Maelgwyn Dda and Willoc mac Muiredaig


PS Our names
are Maelgwyn and Willoc, our quest is to become Baron and Baroness, and our
favorite colors are blue and plaid.   :)