[Loch-Ruadh] Fw: [Elfsea] Baronial bid for Caelin and Pyro

Steve Rourke steverourke at charter.net
Mon Jul 7 09:29:07 PDT 2003


Missed one, sorry. To keep everyone informed.

Dohmnall
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Richard Threlkeld" <rjt at softwareinnovation.com>
To: "'Elfsea'" <elfsea at ansteorra.org>
Sent: Sunday, July 06, 2003 12:58 PM
Subject: [Elfsea] Baronial bid for Caelin and Pyro


> Here is a copy of the bid Pyro and I submitted to the Crown and Coronet.
> The original was nicely formatted, but that is not possible in this
> list. If you wish to have a copy of the formatted document, email us. If
> you read the "Plan for Elfsea" you will see the highlights of what we
> would plan to do and to continue doing. If you have specific questions,
> feel free to ask. I have never been accused of not having an opinion on
> something or not sharing that opinion. 
> 
> I believe the Crown and the populace of Elfsea will have a difficult
> choice to make among several couples who could do a good job. We believe
> we have the best combination of leadership and skills needed to help
> this Barony become what its people want it to be. However, if the
> Crown's decision is for another couple, we will support them with the
> same dedication you would see if we had won.
> 
> In service to Ansteorra and her Crown,
> HL Caelin on Andrede
> Ldy Ker Megan of Taransay (Pyro)
> 
> -------------------------------------------------
> 
> To Your Stellar Majesties and Stellar Highnesses,
> 
> Honorable Lord Caelin on Andrede and Lady Ker Megan of Taransay (known
> as Pyro) do present themselves to Your Majesties in the matter of the
> selection of a new Baron and Baroness for your Barony of Elfsea. 
> 
> Ker Megan has been a member of your Barony of Elfsea since it was a
> Shire. She has been A&S Minister and Herald, Lady in waiting to the
> founding Baroness and served several since then. She is a holder of the
> Ant of Elfsea (Shire service award), the Portcullis of Elfsea, the
> Keystone of Elfsea, an Award of Arms, and the Sable Crane. She has been
> active in the Shire and Barony for fifteen years. Her primary interests
> have been service and a wide variety of arts. She creates jewelry and
> has a complete commercial shop at our home. She spins thread and weaves
> regalia. She has done calligraphy professionally. She works gate, helps
> in the kitchen, sets up tents, serves the nobles, helps with tear-down,
> works as list mistress, is a Waterbearer, and generally does whatever
> needs doing.
> 
> Caelin has been a member of the Barony of Elfsea for six years. He has
> been Seneschal twice and Deputy Herald. He is currently the Kingdom
> Chirurgeon and the Southern Regional Exchequer. He holds the Portcullis
> of Elfsea, the Keystone of Elfsea, an Award of Arms, a Sable Crane, and
> a Star of Merit. His primary interests have been Chirurgeoning,
> training, leadership, and service. He is a chivalric fighter, a rapier
> fighter, an archer (both combat and target), and is an active
> authorizing marshal in every fighting skill except rapier (only an
> inspection marshal there). He is also a Youth Chivalric and Youth Rapier
> marshal. He dabbles in various arts, is one of six Heralds at Large in
> the Kingdom at the time of this writing, has been an autocrat for
> several large events, and has been feastocrat for a Coronation, Queens,
> Baronial College and other events.
> 
> Our home has been a center of activity in the Barony with business
> meetings, Middle Eastern dance practice, and cooking guild meeting here
> regularly and various ad hoc meetings and parties happening from time to
> time. We have attended the last five Gulf Wars (Caelin is the next War
> Chirurgeon), travel to events around the Kingdom, rarely miss a fighter
> practice, never miss a Moot or business meeting, and frequently attend
> populace meetings of our Canton of Loch Ruadh. We believe we have the
> support of a many of the populace in our bid to become the next Baron
> and Baroness.
> 
> If you should honor us with the position of Baron and Baroness, we would
> continue and extend our efforts to make all the Barony thrive by
> recruiting new members, retaining experienced members, attending
> meetings, representing the Barony at events local and distant, and
> helping the people of Elfsea achieve what they desire both individually
> and as a group.
> 
> In service to Ansteorra and Her Crown,
> HL Caelin on Andrede
> Ker Megan of Taransay
>  
> A Plan for Elfsea
> 
> We know the next Baron and Baroness will have several years of
> opportunities and no single plan we propose now will be appropriate for
> that whole period. But we have definite ideas about where the Barony is
> and where it should go. These have been developed over the last few
> years in active discussion with other leaders in the Barony, new
> members, members of our Cantons and College, and others throughout the
> Kingdom. 
> 
> Pyro and Caelin believe completely that those areas which receive the
> attention of the Baron and Baroness are successful and those areas that
> do not have to struggle. We would be active in events, meetings, guilds,
> fighting, Gulf War, our Cantons and College, and every aspect of the
> Barony.
> 
> Membership
> First, we need to do a better job of recruiting new members. Growth is
> required to get new ideas, to have people to teach what we have learned,
> and to have people for whom doing the simple things if fun and
> different. We have learned many ways that work to recruit new members
> and many ways that don't. Our Canton of Loch Ruadh has been very
> effective at recruiting new members and Elfsea as a whole can learn from
> them. 
> 
> Specifically, we need to use sign-in sheets at all our events and follow
> up on new people. Find out what they like initially and connect them
> with people who will mentor them in those areas and generally. We need
> to call them before meetings to see if they need a ride. We need to send
> them specific invitations to attend local events and meetings. Meetings
> should be friendly with experienced members making sure new people are
> welcomed and made a part of the family. We need to make sure new people
> camping at events are helped and integrated into the group. We often
> have couples who share the cooking, for instance. New members should be
> invited to join and treated like the new friends they are.
> 
> We also need to do a better job of retaining those who have been members
> for a while. We commonly lose members either soon after recruiting or
> after very seasoned members "burn out". These require different
> solutions. 
> 
> The Barony often recruits people just to have them disappear after a
> month or two. Some of the things we mentioned above will help this, but
> we can go further. The group has tried assigning a mentor to each new
> person or couple. This has had some success, but it depends greatly on
> the mentor meshing well with the new person. A better method, in our
> opinion, is creating a culture where mentoring is considered part of the
> fun of being in Elfsea. Clearly, not everyone will enjoy mentoring or do
> it well, but many will. New members of the group will find several
> different personalities and can chose one or more as their new friends
> in the group. 
> 
> We also need to follow up on those new people who leave. Call them, tell
> them we are trying to improve our welcoming of new members, and ask them
> why they left. Sometimes it takes a bit of work, but you can find
> problems in the Barony that don't appear any other way. You might also
> be able to correct problems and get them back. After all, you clearly
> care about them. 
> 
> We lose experienced members because the move away, because their jobs
> now require weekend work, because their kids get into Scouts, and
> because they "burn out". We cannot do much about moving or work, except
> to include those who want to be included in our email lists and
> non-weekend activities. We need to continue and extend our welcome to
> families. Have children/parent activities and make the environment
> friendly for kids. Our active support for all the children's martial
> activities is a big help here. 
> 
> And finally, we need to help our experienced members meter their SCA
> activities to a level they can sustain. Having new members to train
> instead of doing everything will help. Getting people to try more of the
> many interesting areas in the SCA prevents burnout. Training leaders in
> the group to watch for signs of burn out and how to help is a major move
> forward. 
> 
> Officer Training
> After some of our recent troubles, our population in a business meeting
> suggested we begin training our officers. Clearly, the appropriate
> Regional and Kingdom officers are responsible for training their
> officers to be a good Rapier Marshal or Chirurgeon or Exchequer, but the
> Barony is responsible for telling our officers what we expect of them as
> officers in the Barony. This is pretty much the same for all Baronial
> officers. We want them to report correctly and on time. We want them to
> be leaders in the Barony. We want them recruit and train a deputy or two
> and then use that deputy to spread the burden of office and to ensure
> they can take over the office if required. We want them to sponsor local
> events or competitions in their area. We want them to train the rest of
> us in their area. And we want them to watch over us and each other to
> prevent burn out, heat or cold problems, dehydration, and anything else
> that makes sense.
> 
> Caelin has volunteered with Raimond and Ameline to create and teach such
> a course, but we have not yet started this. We need to get this done and
> the training accomplished. Anyone who wanted to attend would be welcome,
> but officers might be required to attend as a condition of getting the
> office.
> 
> Financials
> We have had some problems with reporting and financial controls in the
> past. We, as a Barony, have agreed to follow the strictest financial
> policies we can. We have good financial policies and are following them
> closely. Everyone is becoming aware of what is required to do the
> finances correctly. Caelin is mundanely a CPA and has been the Southern
> Regional Exchequer, so he knows what should be done and has many
> examples of both good and bad SCA accounting.
> 
> Pyro and Caelin would not change any of that. We would look at doing a
> better job of budgeting, monitoring expenditures against the budget, and
> holding people accountable for meeting their budgets where appropriate.
> We would ask event stewards to not only provide reasonable budgets based
> on previous such events, but also to provide contingency plans for
> reasonably possible outcomes. What happens if threatened storms keep
> people away? What happens if there is a fire ban in the area?
> 
> Service
> Elfsea has always been a service Barony. Our members provide a large
> amount of service to the Group, to other Baronies and Shires, and to the
> Kingdom. In one 12 month period we hosted 11 calendar events (we will
> not repeat that soon). When our Crown asks us to help them, we do
> whatever we can and with the skills of our populace, that is
> considerable. We have world class feastocrats, top-notch autocrats,
> wonderful and winning artisans, equestrians, chirurgeons, marshals, and
> more.
> 
> When new members are recruited, they are quickly brought into our
> service mentality. We invite them to help us do any of the many tasks
> that must be done: gate, security, waterbearing, entourage for the Baron
> and Baroness, etc. If that is not their desire, it is not required, but
> most really enjoy it.
> 
> Pyro and Caelin would continue this while making sure those for whom
> service is not an interest can find a place in the Barony. 
> 
> Fighting
> We have an active program in chivalric fighting, rapier fighting, and
> archery (both target and combat). We have provided the majority of siege
> engines used in the Gulf Wars. We have an active live steel group in our
> Canton of Dragonsfire Tor. Caelin engages in all these and is a marshal
> in all these areas. We attend nearly every Elfsea fighter practice and
> would continue to do so. We would attend at least one of the Canton's
> practices every month to support their efforts. 
> 
> We have a fighting company known as the Arthurian Company which
> generally provides 10-20 fighters each year at Gulf War. We practice for
> about six months of the year under the guidance of a Captain. Our Canton
> of Loch Ruadh has its own fighting company, the Finan Ruadh. A household
> in our group, Falconrose, provides additional fighters and they arrange,
> in conjunction with Caelin and other members of the Barony to provide
> mercenary fighters (in the past it has been the Iron Lance). We expect
> to heavily support all of these.
> 
> Gulf Wars
> Elfsea has always encouraged her members to go to the Gulf Wars and we
> have been successful. Caelin has provided camperships to those who want
> to go and could not afford it and expects to continue doing so. When we
> needed more siege crews, Caelin found the biggest stopping point was the
> lack of inexpensive helms. He purchased twenty of them at a large
> quantity discount and loaned them at no cost to those who would become
> siege crew. They could buy them at cost, if they wished.
> 
> Elfsea has been the group providing the most service hours for the last
> four or five years and Caelin has provided about a third of that amount.
> Last year he was turned in the second highest hour count. He will be the
> War Chirurgeon next year and cannot log hours, however. Pyro has been
> part of the trademarked Ansteorran Inspection station every year. She
> does all the jobs that fighters cannot do and still fight. As Baroness,
> she would organize these activities.
> 
>  
> Resume for Caelin on Andrede
> 
> Caelin on Andrede is mundanely Richard Threlkeld, who is a business and
> computer consultant, a certified public accountant (CPA), and an
> emergency medical technician (EMT) with advanced cardiac life support
> (ACLS) and pre-hospital trauma life support (PHTLS) certifications. He
> is an instructor and trainer for BLS CPR and first aid and an instructor
> for PHTLS. He has been the owner of Software Innovation, a small
> consulting firm,  for the last twenty four years.
> 
> He holds a BA in Computer Sciences from UT Austin and a Master of Public
> Accounting from UT Arlington. 
> 
> He has been a Boy Scout leader for over 15 years in both Cub Scouts and
> Boy Scouts. He was a Cubmaster for a Pack of 120 boys for 6 years and a
> Troop Committee member for 5 years. For the Boy Scouts he became and is
> an NRA rife and shotgun instructor. He was a rappelling and rock
> climbing instructor for them. He was also an instructor for Challenging
> Outdoor Personal Experiences (COPE) which is a team building program for
> adults and scouts using problem solving and high wire experiences. He
> held a number of training positions ending with overall Training
> Chairman for the Longhorn Council. That job coordinated a team of 15
> leaders who each ran a district training of 15-20 leaders. He was
> responsible for all the training for 3000+ adults and advanced training
> for the boys. His sons are in college, but he still does merit badges
> from time to time. Much of the time formerly devoted to scouts is
> currently used for the SCA.
> 
> In the SCA he has been a local Chirurgeon, Elfsea deputy Herald, Elfsea
> Seneschal, deputy Kingdom Chirurgeon, Kingdom Chirurgeon, Elfsea
> Seneschal again, and Southern Regional Exchequer. Along the way, he has
> been an autocrat for various local and calendar events, feastocrat for
> local and Kingdom events, Waterbearer, and many unofficial jobs. He
> travels throughout the Kingdom.
> 
> He has helped build the Ansteorran Chirurgeonate from 6 Chirurgeons when
> he joined to 75 currently. He built the current Kingdom Chirurgeon web
> pages which provide online reporting, forms, and contact/certification
> information.
> 
> When he determined a major roadblock to getting new Chirurgeons
> certified and keeping Journeyman and Masters recertified was the
> availability of training programs, he established a training center,
> trained instructors and trainers (with much help from Arkell vom
> Cophous), and began putting on training programs. The programs are
> listed on the web page with online registration and aids for the
> instructors.
> 
> >From the Barony he holds the Portcullis of Elfsea and the Keystone of
> Elfsea. From the Kingdom, he holds an Award of Arms, the Sable Crane,
> and the Star of Merit. 
> 
>  
> Resume for Ker Megan of Taransay
> 
> 
> Betsy Marshall (most frequently known as Pyro- whole story on request)
> joined the SCA in 1988, in an effort to escape comic/sci-fi fandom. Many
> new friends and many new interests and skills were quickly acquired.
> 
> She has also received a BS in Physics from UDallas, an MS in Physics
> with a specialization in High energy particles from UTDallas, and is
> currently pursuing a PhD at UTArlington, with an interest in
> Astrophysics. To fund this she spent 10 years on 3rd shift, working
> nights and studying days.
> 
> She spent a season early on as A&S minister in Elfsea, was co-autocrat
> of the Elevation to Barony at the then Yule revel, served as Lady in
> waiting to Baroness Robin, and more recently held down the office of
> Baronial Herald (Nautilus).
> 
> Mostly she is known for being a willing pair of hands when something
> needs doing- list mistress for king's champion, 3am gate shift at Spring
> faire, scullery maid at 12th Night, set-up, take-down and transport for
> many local and not so local events.
> 
> Her philosophy about running a group is when you find yourself saying
> "somebody needs to.." is best replaced by "I better."
> 
> As Baroness I would mostly concentrate on supporting the interest
> groups, and building a sense of unity and group cohesiveness, so
> everyone can see that "Life is good in Elfsea".
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Elfsea mailing list
> Elfsea at ansteorra.org
> http://www.ansteorra.org/mailman/listinfo/elfsea


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