[ANSTHRLD] FZMD Laurel bid application

[Timothy A. McDaniel]

Below is a Laurel Sovereign of Arms team bid application which has
just been faxed to the Board of Directors (or will be faxed shortly).
The BoD always say that they want feedback and reactions from the
populace; indeed, often they almost plead.  No ruler can make good
decisions without informed and intelligent counselors.  So if you have
any commentary, positive negative or otherwise, on this or any other
Laurel bids you may hear of, I encourage you to contact the BoD with
your opinions.

http://www.sca.org/BOD/welcome.html says

    Comments on any proposal before the Board should be sent to
    comments at sca.org .  Correspondence concerning a particular
    Corporate function, office, or kingdom can be sent to the director
    responsible for that area (see each director's ombudsman listing).
    To write to the directors as a group, you can send e-mail to
    directors at sca.org .

Since Corporate officers are appointed by the entire Board, I think
comments at sca.org is the right address to send to, but I invite
correction.  The ombudsman for heraldry is Beth Morris (Baroness
Keilyn FitzWarin), (in London, England!), at bmorris at iamdigex.net .

    Mail for members of the Board may also be addressed to the
    Corporate Office:
        The Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc.
        P.O. Box 360789
        Milpitas, CA 95036-0789

but I don't know when they're planning to make a decision, so I don't
know whether paper mail is fast enough.

I think it a courtesy to CC the current office holders on any
comments.  Elsbeth Anne Roth (Kathryn Van Stone), the current Laurel
Queen of Arms:
    kvs+ at cs.cmu.edu
    Society for Creative Anachronism
    College of Arms
    1194 Firwood Dr.
    Pittsburgh, PA 15243
Pietari Pentinpoika Uv (Antti Leino), Pelican King of Arms:
    antti.leino at iki.fi

Fran{c,}ois and I will be at Known World Heraldic Symposium, and we
will be willing to discuss details.  I should be there tonight around
8-9ish; Fran{c,}ois should be arroving Saturday afternoon.  You can,
of course, e-mail us to discuss it.  I'm not all that reachable by
phone, but please leave a message at the tone *beep*.

Daniel "Many hands make light work" de Lincoln

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

                                                    R. Wendel Bordelon
                                                    15910 Val Verde Drive
                                                    Houston, TX 77083
                                                    (281) 277-4055
                                                    May 31, 2001

Board of Directors
Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc.
Box 360789
Milpitas, CA 95036

Dear Board of Directors,

Please accept my application for the office of Laurel Sovereign of
Arms.  I have given much thought to the duties involved and feel that
I have the talents and energies needed for the continued success of
the College of Arms and heraldry in the Society.

As the Society grows, the effort required for handling all the duties
of the Laurel office has continued to increase.  This was recognized
in the past few years with the division of the submissions processing
into two offices: Laurel and Pelican.  I believe this was a good first
step.  I have assembled a team that will divide the workload into
units that fit better with individual expertise and available time.

The structure I envision is modeled on the successful organization
used by the Ansteorran College of Heralds.  The head of the
organization, Laurel, is the manager of the College of Arms and
oversees the submissions process.  Laurel will also continue to handle
the communication, oversight, administration and reporting duties.
The submission process will be split into names and armory.  Pelican
will continue to be used as the title for the names deputy.  A title
for the armory deputy has yet to be decided.  These deputies will make
registration decisions in their area of expertise; Laurel will rule on
appeals from their decisions.  I will also have a deputy, Laurel Clerk
and Keeper of the Records.  The Clerk will keep and maintain the
submissions files, to receive and log the submissions paperwork and
distribute it to Pelican and 'Armory' for processing.

My main goal is to keep heraldry running in a smooth and timely
fashion throughout the SCA.  This includes Laurel-level submissions
processing, but also includes extending aid and support to Kingdoms
who might need assistance on a local level.  A secondary goal is that
of education: increasing the level of heraldic knowledge,
appreciation, and participation across the Known World.  I hope
particularly to increase the pool of people who are interested in, and
prepared to take, jobs as administrative and submissions processing
heralds at the Kingdom and SCA levels.

I feel it is important that this application be considered as a
complete team.  I alone do not have the time or expertise to handle
the entire Laurel office single-handedly.  The staff I have assembled
is an integral factor in my success as Laurel.  The following
paragraphs introduce each proposed office holder with their resume.  I
can provide a more complete professional resume upon request.

Laurel King of Arms: R. Wendel Bordelon
---------------------------------------

I am known as Fran{c,}ois la Flamme in the Society and have been an
active herald in Barony of the Stargate in the Kingdom of Ansteorra
for just over 10 years.  During these years, I have served as a local
herald, a regional herald and as Star Principal Herald of Ansteorra.
Each of these offices honed my communication, education and
organization skills.  As Star Principal Herald the skills of diplomacy
and delegation were further polished.  Throughout the period, I have
been active in serving the heraldic needs of the populace including
submissions processing and court heraldry.  My greatest strengths are
my experience in all facets of SCA heraldry and my ability to manage.
I am a Companion of the Order of the Pelican.

BMC Software employs me in Houston, Texas.  During my career, I have
worked as a team leader supporting a worldwide system.  I have managed
two projects to integrate the disparate systems and people of newly
acquired companies into our network and e-mail structure.  These
experiences taught me how to communicate, coordinate, supervise and
encourage people in scattered locations.

I am currently an Educational Consultant teaching BMC Software
products to customers at their own offices.  Each year, I travel to
about 25 different locations around North America.  My business travel
will allow me to make visits and personal contacts in many kingdoms at
little or no cost to the SCA.

Pelican Queen of Arms (names): Kathleen M. O'Brien
--------------------------------------------------

Mari Elspeth nic Bryan (Kathleen M. O'Brien) has been an active herald
doing consultation and commentary for various Kingdoms since 1989.
She has been providing commentary for the College of Arms since 1999.
In 1999 and 2000 she was the Ansteorran Bordure Herald with the
responsibility of sending Ansteorran Letters of Intent to the College
and writing Responses to Commentary on those letters.  Mari is
currently the Ansteorran Orle Herald, a commenting member of the
College of Arms.  Mari continues to participate in local commenting
meetings on the Internal Letters of Intent in Ansteorra.  She is a
Companion of the Order of the Star of Merit, a grant-level award for
service to the Kingdom.

Mari has published a number of articles and done a tremendous amount
of research in the field of onomastics.  Many of the articles are
specifically to aid submitters in understanding the naming practices
of an area and providing documentable names of the period.  She is an
active member of the Academy of Saint Gabriel.

"Armory" Queen of Arms (armory): Leslie A. Schweitzer
-----------------------------------------------------

Zenobia Naphtali (Leslie A.  Schweitzer) has been a herald at local,
Kingdom and Laurel levels.  She has been a commenting member of the
College of Arms since 1988 under various heraldic titles.  She was
Lions Blood Herald (internal and external submissions) in An Tir for
two years, Black Stag Herald (education) in An Tir for two years, and
was Crescent Principal Herald in Caid for a brief period (cut short by
a real world job move to An Tir).  She is an active member of the
Academy of Saint Gabriel, and a Companion of the Orders of the Laurel
and Pelican.

Zenobia has published a number of papers in KWHS proceedings, and
compiled the precedents of Da'ud ibn Auda's first two years in office.
As Leslie A. Schweitzer, she has a number of publications (and pending
publications) written singly or jointly with David Hunter of Montlaw,
on heraldica.org, in the Proceedings of the 1998 International
Heraldic and Genealogical Congress (Turin), and in the journals of the
Heraldry Society (England) and the Heraldry Society of Scotland.

Laurel Clerk and Keeper of the Records: Tim McDaniel
----------------------------------------------------

Daniel de Lincoln (Tim McDaniel) started with heraldic commentary
under four successive Star Principal Heralds.  He served as a local
herald for two years, and he has been doing internal commentary for
Ansteorra since 1994.  Da'ud ibn Auda wrote at the end of his second
tenure that Daniel was "chief clerk and filing wizard, sounding board,
...".  He was Bordure Herald, the external submissions herald for
Ansteorra, from November 1996 to December 1998.  He produced an index
of Ansteorran heraldic submissions, currently available on the
Ansteorran Web site.  Daniel has published two papers in the 1990 KWHS
Proceedings on administrative and heraldic matters: 'On Mailing the
College of Arms' and 'On Being a Kingdom External Submissions Herald.'
For 1-1/2 years, he was a volunteer filing and typing clerk for the
Dallas Gay and Lesbian Alliance Credit Union.  He is a Companion of
the Order of the Pelican.

I could assume the position as early as July 2001.  I believe that
submissions already in progress by the current Laurel and her staff
should have their processing completed by that same staff under my
supervision.  To do otherwise would burden my team with effectively
double the normal paperwork, between the new submissions, and the
submissions and commentary gathering work in process.  A proposed
timeline for the transition of the Laurel paperwork handling process
will be made available upon request.  Thank you for your
consideration.


Respectfully,
R. Wendel Bordelon

Contact information for applicant and staff

Fran{c,}ois la Flamme

R. Wendel Bordelon              Phone:  281 277-4055 (home)
15910 Val Verde Drive                   713 918-2947 (office)
Houston, TX 77083               email:  wendel_bordelon at bmc.com

Mari Elspeth nic Bryan
[snipped]

Zenobia Naphtali
[snipped]

Daniel de Lincoln

Timothy McDaniel                Phone:  512 795-9668 (home)
6805 Wood Hollow Dr Apt 212             512 838-2408 (work)
Austin, TX 78731-3104           email:  tmcd at jump.net