SC - OT - Way OOP - Mocha Tim-Tams & note for Olwen the Odd

[Olwen the Odd]

hey all from Anne-Marie

this thing about volunteers eating free is one of my hot buttons.

why should servers not pay to eat? what about cooks? what about the
musicians? what about the heralds? what about the dignitaries who hold
court? what about the the gal doing the decorations? what about the little
kids passing around the hand washing water? what about the guys who come in
afterwards and help with the dishes?

the SCA is a volunteer organization. For an event to be a success EVERYONE
is supposed to pitch in somehow. To say that one batch of volunteers doesnt
pay to eat implies that their service is of greater value than someone
elses, and I for one am not comfortable making that sort of decision.

For me, the rule is simple. If you sit in a chair and/or eat food, you pay.
If, like me, you dont tend to eat while you cook/serve/play/whatever, pay
the simple site fee and not the feast fee, but you still pay.

(we've also done "sponsorships"....if I really want a live dance band I may
chip in to cover their site/feast fees, but that's my personal decision and
not reflected in the event budget).

In the last decade or so I've seen a disturbing trend of people coming to
an event or feast and saying "I paid my money, I want to enjoy the event",
or "this is my vacation. I dont want to do anything!". The net result of
this is that a small crew of folks gets worked too hard and burns out,
while the larger group complains that they arent being recognised, or that
events arent "like they used to be". The SCA I'm seeing is turning into a
spectator sport, and it is my considered opinion that differential pay
scales contribute to this.

again, this is just my opinion...take that for what its worth! (ie not much
:))

- --Anne-Marie