[ANSTHRLD] RFC #1: Armillary Herald

[Etienne de St. Amaranth]

To the heralds of Ansteorra, greetings from your Principal Herald.

I will occasionally be posting questions for which I am seeking comments 
and opinions of the heralds of Ansteorra.  (Lurkers are welcome to input 
constructive comments as well; though I am primarily seeking Ansteorran 
input.)  It is my preference that replies be directed to my email address 
(star at ansteorra.org) rather than the list.  But if you feel that your reply 
raises questions and want to post to the list, then feel free to do so and 
I will collect the comments from there.  I ask that you not change the 
subject line (which makes my sorting easier).  If you are going to post to 
the list, please only copy the relevant portion of my original post into 
yours so as to not flood the list with unnecessary duplicated copies of my 
original posting.

I will freely admit that the RFC concept is being copied from the IEEE but, 
to the best of my knowledge, there is no copyright related to the concept.

This is Request for Comment #1, titled "Armillary Herald".

The Armillary Herald position is currently vacant.  As of the January 
"Black Star" and "Ansteorran Gazette", heralds will see that applications 
for those offices are open.  This RFC is about the role of that 
position.  Currently the duties of this office as noted in the 
Administrative Handbook of the Ansteorran College of Heralds are as follows:
"VIII. ARMILLARY HERALD
A. Duties — The Armillary Herald is responsible for the following duties.
1. Consulting Table Duties — Armillary Herald oversees the scheduling and 
outfitting of consulting tables. Armillary Herald or a designated deputy 
will be responsible for the completion of the required copies of 
submissions accepted at “full service” tables.
2. Consulting Table Support Duties — Armillary Herald will aid in the 
outfitting of consulting tables and accumulation of resources for tables 
held by the Regional or Local heralds."

When this position was first envisioned, it was viewed as the keeper of the 
traveling library, the organizer of the consultation tables held at Crown 
Tourneys and Coronations, and a resource for local or regional heralds 
wanting to put on a consulting table.  Armillary could check-out the 
library if appropriate so it could be present, even if Armillary could not, 
at local consulting events.  The position has turned into one that has only 
run the consulting tables at Crowns and Coronations.  That is not a fault 
of the office holders, nor do I care for commentary on individual 
performance; it is simply the way things are today.

So...  Here are some specific questions.  Please feel free to add relevant 
commentary beyond these questions.  Feel free to only answer the questions 
for which you have knowledge or opinion.

1. Should Armillary Herald be a position which just focuses on the four 
Crown events and just quit trying to do the rest of the original 
vision?  Asked another way, is the status quo sufficient?

2. If Armillary should do more to "push" consulting to regional and local 
groups, what should Armillary do to accomplish that?

3. Should the regional heralds be encouraged or required to hold a 
consulting table in their region if no Crown event will occur in their 
region during a calendar year?  If so, should the table organized be run by 
Armillary or the regional with help from Armillary?

4. Is there an aspect of consulting that the college is currently blind to 
by focusing on this position?

All comments are welcome.  Please remember to keep the subject line 
unchanged ("re:" type changes automatically generated are fine).

Sincerely,
Seigneur Etienne de Saint Amaranth
Star Principal Herald