[ANSTHRLD] Administrative Updates - LONG but Mandatory Reading

[Etienne de St. Amaranth]

To the heralds of Ansteorra, greetings,

First off, let me publically post that the plenary meeting held at this 
last King's Roundtable included a discussion of a structure change in the 
college related to education.  The details of this proposal will be posted 
to this list this week (barring unforeseen illness, etc.) to open 
discussion.  If you attended the meeting and have points you wish to 
discuss with me, know that you can contact me directly at any point 
starting now.  However, I expect most people to await the posting of the 
proposal so they have materials they can cut and paste from for 
discussion.  Additionally, due to time constraints, there are several minor 
details that simply could not be mentioned at the meeting so waiting for 
the coming post will likely be beneficial before in-depth discussion.  It 
is my intent to take commentary on this proposal quickly and to adapt the 
proposal into a form that can begin work quickly though I recognize that it 
may have to change and grow as more extended commentary is submitted.

Second, the monthly report form for local heralds has been revised and the 
new form was introduced at the plenary meeting.  I will be working with 
Estencele to get this uploaded to the kingdom server ASAP so that it can be 
downloaded and put into practice ASAP.  Regional heralds will get an email 
from me concerning the form and are asked, upon receipt of that email, to 
begin pushing the form out to their locals and requiring its use for local 
reporting.  While I would like it if all groups reported on August 10 using 
the new form (for July reports), I recognize that circumstrances could 
delay individual heralds so please use the August reports (due September 
10) as a deadline for locals to have converted.  As locals or regionals use 
the new forms, please send suggestions or comments directly to me for 
improving the form.

I would like to also remind all local heralds (and deputy kingdom heralds 
as well) that it is a duty to make your reports on time.  Failure to report 
or consistently late reporting have ramifications not only for yourself but 
also for the group (or the kingdom) that you represent as a herald.  While 
this is true of all offices in the SCA, given the period context of the 
herald as a voice of the noble, royalty, or group it is doubly damning to 
not perform a duty that directly adversely affects those whom you 
represent.  You carry your own personal honor and that of others 
(potentially of a whole group).  While individual office holders can be 
fired for lack of doing their job, groups can be suspended or penalized for 
the actions of a few or of even one person.  Please consider the honor of 
your duty and your position.

Third, concerning submissions turned in at our Argent Anniversary 
celebration.  I understand that the college received an estimated 60 items 
at this table.  I would like to thank Lady Galiana (Armillary Herald), Lady 
Emma (Obelisk Herald), and Mistress Mari (Rowel Herald) for their efforts 
in coordinating this and a special thanks to all of the heralds who helped 
consult.  This service to our kingdom's populace was well received.  Due to 
the number of submissions, please make anyone that you know who may have 
submitted aware that the college will have to break these into at least two 
separate months (possibly three) in order to process them.  They should not 
panic if they do not immediately appear in the next ILoI; we are processing 
them all.

Fourth, I would remind the college that the positions of Asterisk and 
Obelisk Heralds are open for application until September 10.  Applications 
should be sent to me (address in the front of the Black Star) and the 
current office holder (addresses in the back of the Black Star) including 
copies of a current membership card and a photo identification.  Questions 
concerning the offices should be directed to the current office holders.

Fifth, I would like to take the opportunity to thank Mistress Serena 
Lascelles, Zodiacus Herald, and her staff for their efforts to get up to 
speed in her office and to produce the OP required by law for the Crown at 
this last Roundtable.  She has been involved in an effort to review the 
contents of the OP as well as its normal data entry and her efforts have 
involved a lot of corrections and a very late night leading up to 
Roundtable.  I must take this opportinity to remind every warranted herald 
that you are required to fill out a court report (or have someone do it for 
you if you need to delegate for some reason) for every court that you 
attend.  Copies are to be sent to Zodiacus and the Sable Scroll (addresses 
in the back of the Black Star) within two weeks of the event.

On the topic of court reports, a consistent item that has affected reports 
deals with awards given to those who were not present.  This situation has 
not been consistently dealt with and has resulted in items being missed 
completely because people are afraid to "give away" the secret before the 
recipient gets the award.  After consulting with the Crown this past 
weekend, the following policy is now implemented and is effective 
immediately.  <<<POLICY:  Awards read into law which cannot be given to the 
recipient when they are read into law must be recorded on the court report 
where the item was read into law.  In the notes on the award, it should be 
noted that the recipient was not present.  Zodiacus will, seeing such 
notes, refrain from publishing the award in the Black Star and entering it 
in the OP until either: a) Zodiacus is notified that the recipient has 
received the award charter; or b) the end of the reign of the Crown who 
gave the award.  At the end of each reign, Zodiacus will enter all awards 
given by a Crown into the OP whether notified of actual receipt or not and 
publish the award in the next Black Star letter.>>>  Please note that even 
if this situation were to occur at an event the weekend immediately before 
a coronation, due to the long lead times for Black Star letters, the 
recipient will still not see it published until a month and a half after 
the event where it was read into law.  While it is certainly possible that 
this policy may result in some "giving away" of the award before the 
recipient is caught up with, this danger is outweighed in my opinion by the 
sheer number of awards that don't get recorded due to the efforts to "keep 
the secret" and the paperwork confusion of which court report on which to 
record the item.  Also, the current court report form is being revised and 
will include a checkbox, or somesuch, in the future to note that the 
recipient was not present.

Sixth, I would like to remind everyone of the Heraldic & Scribal Symposium 
this coming weekend in the Barony of Namron.  I hope to see as many of you 
there as possible.

Sincerely,
Seigneur Etienne
Star Principal Herald