01 November 2023, Time: 7:32 PM EST

Notes submitted by Seong Myeong Su Daesaseong, South Downs Chronicler.

Magister Lorenzo called the November meeting to order. Our Seneschal, Lady Raven Helmsplitter started recording the meeting and greeted the populace joining the Zoom meeting. Lady Raven read the Kingdom Anti-Bullying statement.

Officers’ Reports

Seneschal, (Lady Raven Helmsplitter)

• Meeting Schedule
  • 8th – Virtual project night
  • 15th – In-person dance practice
  • 22nd – no meeting due to Thanksgiving
  • 29th – In- person 5th Wednesday potluck
• We have a new storage unit!
• Holding off on scheduling new meetings at the in-person site until we work out new finances
• HE Ximon and Raven will be doing a site visit at MGT and Crown Lyst site – Bert Adams (?)
  • Looking to host Red Tower 50 there next year
• We need to start looking at a KLE event for next year to satisfy the Kingdom requirement
• We still need  Midwinter A&S bids, please contact ASAP so that we can have the bid approved by the December business meeting to make the Popchiv deadline to ensure that we can host court

Herald (Magister Lorenzo Petrucci)     

• Magister Lorenzo has stepped up as herald 
• Heraldry
  • Still doing consultations on names and devices, if you need assistance, let Lorenzo know
  • If you’ve done any heraldic displays, please let me know
• Awards
  • Kindgom of the West 
    • Rhonwyn and Aelia – Queen’s Award of Excellence
  • Coronation
    • Margavati – Argent Lily
    • Lorenzo and Aelia – Bough
    • HE Rhiannon – Order of the Velvet Owl

Knight Marshal (Lord Eiríkr Pálsson)

• We will have practice this weekend
• We won’t have practice the weekend of Crown Lyst
• Then Castle Wars the next weekend, so we’ll just have practice this weekend and the last weekend of the month
  • If you want to be reauthorized before Castle Wars, come out this weekend to get authorized. We will have forms at Castle Wars in case you want to get it done there, too.
• We do have a combat archery marshal for Castle Wars

Rapier Marshal (Captain Brendan de Hay)

1. Practices have been proceeding, weather and other events permitting.  Sundays starting around noon (concurrent with armored practice).  Schedule changes, cancellations, and any other relevant information is shared on the FaceBook group “Atlanta SCA Fighting,” and sometimes other locations depending on circumstances.  Loaner gear is usually available, but it doesn’t hurt to check the “Atlanta SCA Fighting” group in advance.  Sometimes when I’m not available, the “stunt marshal” might not be able to bring it.
2. BTW, “Atlanta SCA Fighting” is still visible publicly and searchable, but is now “Private” to keep the bots out.  If you have any trouble at all finding practice announcements, feel free to reach out directly to me or Ld. Eirikr.  It should be readable to anyone, but you’ll need to join in order to post.
3. Thanks to everyone for working together to keep practices happening.  I wouldn’t mind having a deputy step up who could take over from me in the not-too-distant future.
4. Big shout-out to folks recently giving rapier a try.  Looking forward to seeing more folks having fun!  We did a new Basic Authorization and a re-authorization this past weekend.   We had one brand-new fencer!  
5. The carpentry on the 4’ high crenelated walls is done.  Each panel is free-standing and promises to be sturdier than the last couple of times we used them.  Sadly, my work schedule got insane, and the painting probably won’t get done this time.  I’ll be setting up the towers & gates for a test run just before loading them into the trailer for transport.
6. Castle Wars schedule will include a Friday Night Firelit Fighting event,  the Meridian Order of the Blade Invitational tournament Saturday morning, and a new meleé scenario from Ldy. Ogata which draws from a story of St. Martin’s life.
7. HYDRATE!

Live Weapons (Master Mathias Blackett)

• Spoke with Isabetta about using her parents’ pasture for archery practice, looking to see if we can get a portapotty for the practices
  • If their pasture doesn’t work, their neighbors’ might, still just waiting to find our
• Will update as we get more information for our practice location.

Exchequer (La Magnifica Justina di Silvestri)

• Not much to update, we have $2,091.95 in the bank, with a few deposits pending but reimbursement checks will be sent out this week if you are waiting for Red Tower Checks
• Keep a look out for a Castle Wars troll volunteer sign-up sheet once a schedule is finalized.
• Please remember to get any 2024 budgetary requests to me or the financial committee before the last week of November. Barony will be voting on the 2024 budget next month.

Quartermaster (Maestra Isabetta de San Marco) 

• Getting a new storage unit in Douglasville – $320 a month. 10×30, pretty sure we can fit everything in, including the castle walls. The unit also comes with insurance.
• Goal will be to get everything in the weekend after Castle Wars.
• Isabetta has purchased a lock to make sure we can lock stuff.
• Still need a deputy

Chatelaine (Lady Ogata Mitsuko)

• First of all Happy After-Halloween everyone!! I hope you all had fun last night and your ‘eens got Hallowed
• We have some big news about upcoming demos
  • Count Sebastianos Ionnides has started coordinating an SCA panel for ATL Comic Con
  • The dates for our panel at the con are February 9th and 10th, 2024
  • I can put you in touch with Sebastianos about more information on ticketing, parking and staff passes
  • Although I couldn’t be at the last one personally, I heard that the SCA panel went OFF and it was absolutely amazing
  • So, if you were there helping out at the last one, you made it what it was and you’re awesome for it.
• I’ve been asked to put together a list of classes and arts exhibitions for this next one. If you do arts and/or sciences, and you are available on February 9-10, 2024, please hit me up so we can get you on our class schedule!

Demo Deputy (VACANT)

• Demos covered by Lady Ogata
• Lady Ogata is planning on taking over the demo deputy position when Baroness Arnora takes over, but if you’re interested, please let us know!

Arts & Sciences (Lady Maryam)

• We had a project night! Thanks to everyone that showed up to share what they were working on. 
• Thank you to everyone who is sharing their work on the Discord server! Our server is a great place to share your current projects and discuss anything A&S related. We’ve also got a channel just for research topics, because sharing your research is fun!
• Magna Faire is coming up, on December 1-3 at Dalwhinnie Fields, and there will be two faires – the Magna Faire and the Kingdom A&S regional. Registration is open now – you can sign up for one or both of the faires!
• And thanks everyone for the warm welcome as the new A&S officer.

Provost (Lord Ælfric Hort)

• This past month we had 8 people show up for our monthly class night – Theodosia Colloquia (Spooky Edition) hosted by La Magnifica Justina di Silvestri.  We will not have A&S Class Nights for November or December due to Holidays and scheduling.  Our next Class night will be January 24, 2024.  I do not currently have a class lined up for that night yet, so please let me know if you have something you would like to teach.
• Castle Wars is coming up the weekend before Thanksgiving.  Teacher and Salon signups have closed and I am still working on wrangling together a schedule, but at final count we are expecting 6 different salons as well as 15 classes, discussions, or demos. 
• And finally, on that note, I am looking for a deputy Provost to begin helping me organize and promote A&S Class activities for the coming year, as well as help with coordinating classes for Midwinter Arts and Sciences in February.  Please get in touch with me on Facebook or Discord if you are interested in the position.

Chronicler (Seong Myeong Su Daesaseong)

• Thank you to all who got your reports sent in early!
• Behind on October and November’s newsletters, but will post them as soon as I get them done
• Always looking to interview the populace for each issue, so please fill out this form to get included! Eventually I’d like to collect these into one PDF so we have a good collection of information about our members: https://forms.gle/MNxww3KUQJo2VsEG9
• Please submit photos, art, articles, shout-outs, or anything that you’ve found interesting and want to share! I’ll always be collecting stuff for the newsletters going forward. You can submit either through this form: https://forms.gle/8SyEF9D7c8rMCnZP6 or email me at chron.southdowns@meridies.org.

Social Media Minister  (THLady Agnes Halydaye) 

• Nothing reported.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Officer (DEIB), (Lady Lily of South Downs)

• Thanks to Lady Maryam and Lady Ogata for hosting the newcomers session last month for our newcomers!
• This month there will not be a DEI class; November is a very busy month for me, and I don’t want to try to put the extra pressure of a class on myself. Additionally, the class would be the day before Castle Wars, and while I’m still not sure I’ll be able to make it, I want to try. So, I think it would be easier for everyone if we skip this month. The good news is we will be able to do dance instead!
• Probably not going to have a class in December either, due to the holidays. If you have any class ideas for January or any month going forward, please let me know!

Webminister (Lord Eiríkr Pálsson)

• Webpage for Castle Wars is up, making some changes to it
• If you need stuff updated, just let me know.

Minister of Children (VACANT)

• Position is still open, if you are interested, please contact Lady Raven.

Their Excellencies, (Maestro Ximon Cordoba de Martillo & HE Rhiannon verch Madyn)

• Ximon
  • As a brag on our populace, at Danelaw, Alexius was fingerloop braiding and ended up teaching others how to do it too. Kudos to him!
  • Castle Wars court on Saturday is going to be pretty full, so we’re not going to hold baronial court during Kingdom court at Castle Wars.
    • Baronial court will be a short, morning court at 10:30 AM. Come to court if you can to see people get recognized.
  • Jumping to 2024 – next year, South Downs will be 50 years old. Therefore, we should plan something big for our 50th year at Red Tower – Oct. 4th-6th, 2024.
    • Hoping to throw some ideas around to see how we can celebrate next year
  • Send in award recommendations!

SCA Business

• Castle Wars
• • Lady Hessa
    • Could use help on a couple of things:
      • Fire marshal to monitor fires on site
      • Royal Liaison
      • In the middle of scheduling right now, including a Pelican meeting
      • If you need anything from the storage unit, please contact Maestra Isabetta
      • No children’s activities right now, but we do have a combat archery marshal
      • Will need to contact the financial committee since we need an additional porta potty
      • Master Mathias – Going to check to see if he can get a couple extra trash cans for the food vendor section of the site
        • The site doesn’t have a dumpster on site, so we usually place the trash somewhere so it can be picked up after the event.
        • There are 4 camps that have submitted over 10 reservations, going to need to figure out land layout for camps
      • La Magnifica Justina – Should we look into getting some large trash cans or collapsible ones for the barony to use for future events?
      • Lady Lily – Do we have a list of current food vendors so that we know in advance who will be there so we can plan accordingly.
        • There are currently 4 food vendors.
      • Lord Ælfric – may need one of the large pop ups for classes at Castle Wars, can use one for two classes at once. Need to get tables as well. 
      • La Magnifica Justina – Troll is going to need tables and chairs as well.
• Knowne Worlds Cooks and Bards – no updates on this yet, plan is still for 2026 and possibly at Bert Adams

Non-SCA Business

• Next Friday, Nov. 10th is the Fernback After Dark Vikings event.

The business meeting was closed @ 9:17 PM EST

The next business meeting will be held on December 6th, 2023, 7:00 PM EST via Zoom Meeting.

04 October 2023, Time: 7:36 PM EST

Notes submitted by Seong Myeong Su Daesaseong, South Downs Chronicler.

Magister Lorenzo called the October meeting to order. Our Seneschal, Lady Raven Helmsplitter started recording the meeting and greeted the populace joining the Zoom meeting. Lady Raven read the Kingdom Anti-Bullying statement.

Officers’ Reports

Seneschal, (Lady Raven Helmsplitter)

• Meetings this month:
  • Next week is virtual meeting project hosted by Baron Ximon via Discord
  • Oct. 18 – in person meeting
  • Spooky Ted Talk with Justina
• Still looking for storage space, preferably on the east side of town, so if you find something, please let us know.
• Site reservations, two times a month in person next year until budget gets fixed
• We’ll need a bid for KLE, we should plan now for next year, start thinking now about it.
• Midwinter is coming up, Feb. 2nd, 2024. Still need a bid for Midwinter. Usually Sat event, then regional FP on Sunday, but we could consider it being a weekend if we want. Need a bid in December to meet the popchiv deadline.

Herald (Lady Bú Feiyan)     

• No real submissions recently
• Awards:
  • Ximon and Rhi – Landed Baron and Baroness
  • Ximon – writ for Master of Defense, happening at MCA.
  • Wistric and Sunneva – Court Baron and Baroness, Fellowship of St. Orion
  • Raven – Argent Comet
  • Mara – Red Raven
  • Aelfic – Swift’s Heart
•  

Knight Marshal (Lord Eiríkr Pálsson)

• Practices have been happening. Last weekend was MGT, but the stunt marshal held practice.
• People should be coming out this weekend, especially more heavy fighters. I will be out for War of the Wings and Gatalop, but we’ll see if we find a stunt marshal..
• Looking for a combat archery marshal for Castle Wars, if you know someone, please let me know.

Rapier Marshal (Captain Brendan de Hay)

• Practices have been proceeding, weather and other events permitting.  Sundays starting around noon (concurrent with armored practice).  Schedule changes, cancellations, and any other relevant information is shared on the FaceBook group “Atlanta SCA Fighting,” and sometimes other locations depending on circumstances.  Loaner gear is usually available, but it doesn’t hurt to check the “Atlanta SCA Fighting” group in advance.  Sometimes when I’m not available, the “stunt marshal” might not be able to bring it.
• This Sunday (9/10) we’ll still be cleaning up and returning from Red Tower.  Sorry, no rapier practice.
• As my mundane schedule gets even crazier, we’ve started a chat including every rapier marshal who might step in to fill those gaps.  Thanks to everyone for working together to keep practices happening.  I wouldn’t mind having a deputy step up who could take over from me in the not-too-distant future.
• Big shout-out to folks recently giving rapier a try.  Looking forward to seeing more folks having fun!
• Red Tower in the books!  Thanks everyone!  Congrats to M. Nikolaus Hildebrand, Red Tower Rapier Champion and M. Nikoslav Mikolajevich, winner of the Baron & Baroness’s rapier prize.  Huge thanks to M. Lorenzo for administering our lists, Mssrs. Nikoslav & Niccolo for marshaling assistance, and Cpt. Pietro for hard work as Baronial rapier champion.  Also a huge shout out to THLs Eamonn and Alessandra  for field setup help, and to everyone who helped clear the field Sunday AM.
• Castle Wars is coming up faster than you think.  Castle Wars requires a castle, which we happen to have.  However, it needs work.  If you are interested in helping beautify the castle, please contact me.  Some of the pieces are heavy, some of them need some minor carpentry (mostly done now), and all of them need some paint.  (Insert new calendar info)

1. Castle Wars schedule will include a Friday Night Firelit Fighting event,  the Meridian Order of the Blade Invitational tournament Saturday morning, and as all the meleé we can pack in around it.  Stay tuned.
2. HYDRATE!

Live Weapons (Master Mathias Blackett)

• LW at Red Tower went really well, thanks to Magistra Mara and Tyme for running the range
• Thanks to all who took the class to learn how to set up the range
• Still looking for an archery site
• Might hold a thrown weapons practice and 20 yd archery at my house
• Also currently setting up LW stuff at Castle Wars, still trying to figure out themes and such for the shoots.
• We’re in need of new target butts, they’re getting to the point where they may not be safe anymore. They were originally set to last five years, but have lasted longer than that already. This is the main thing I’m looking to get for LW. They cost around $190.

Exchequer (La Magnifica Justina di Silvestri)

• We have $2016.95 in our account.
• We are still waiting for Paypal checks from RUM and Red Tower.
• We are under audit, but the documentation for the auditors is getting prepared.
• We’ve discussed the need for fundraisers with Kingdom, THL Majda have agreed to be a deputy to focus on fundraising.
• We’re losing more money that we’re making due to storage, we need to find a solution soon.
• The financial committee will be meeting to focus on budgets going forward.
• If you’re on staff or an officer, please stay within budget for your events and offices. Please reach out to me if you want to discuss the process on how to request a budget for your office and how to request purchases for the barony.

Quartermaster (Maestra Isabetta de San Marco) 

• We still have stuff.
• Without the castle walls in the storage unit, we may be able to downsize to a 10×20. I’ve been looking at storage units down in Douglas county, the prices are much cheaper. 
• Justina made a motion for a budget to be established for the storage unit for $350. Motion passed.
• Baron Ximon made a motion to look at the 10×30 unit in Douglas county

Chatelaine (Lady Ogata Mitsuko)

• I’d like to give a special shout-out to people who helped me open, close, and maintain Troll as well as Gold Key during Red Tower

Demo Deputy (Lady Bú Feiyan)

• Nothing reported

Arts & Sciences (Lady Maryam and HE Rhiannon verch Madyn)

• HE Rhiannon has helped Lady Maryam transition to her office, and after this meeting Lady Maryam will be officially the new officer.
• We’ve had a few classes and we’ve got people working on stuff. If you have any questions/advice/reports for A&S, please let me know!
• Nothing much to report this month. Coming out of summer there isn’t a whole lot of A&S focus.
• I do hope everyone is thinking ahead to Magna Faire and our own Midwinter A&S Faire. I’d really like to see a good showing at both. Remember that if you enter into any or all of the regional A&S Faires and then update your entry as suggested on your judging sheets, you can re-enter the same piece for Kingdom A&S for a final judging. It’s like getting expert advice on your entry before the big event.
• This is my last report as Baronial A&S Officer. Thank you so much for all of your support. Starting next month you’ll be hearing from Lady Maryam. Please give her all of your support as well!

Provost (Lord Ælfric Hort)

• This past month we had 7 people show up for our monthly class night – Sumarliði taught us about workouts and exercise culture in the Greco-Roman world.  October’s class night will be October 25 and will be an in person Theodosia Colloquia (Spooky Edition) hosted by La Magnifica Justina di Silvestri. Come out and participate by sharing a short 5 min. talks on a spooky or spooky-adjacent topic of your choosing.  If you do not have a topic you wish to talk about, you are welcome to attend and listen in.
• This will be our final Monthly Class night for the 2023 calendar year.  We will start up monthly classes again in January.  Currently the full 2024 year is open and I am looking for those interested in teaching.
• Also, Castle Wars is coming up the weekend before Thanksgiving.  I need teachers and those wishing to host Salons for the event.  If you are a member of a Guild or other interest group in the Kingdom, please encourage them to consider hosting a salon.
• Links for signups
  • Salon Signup – https://forms.gle/5XoJkfjfrXQ98yhz9
  • Teacher Signup – https://forms.gle/fSpYXPy73rQLVnwL8
• And finally, on that note, I am looking for a deputy Provost to begin helping me organize and promote A&S Class activities for the coming year.  Please get in touch with me on Facebook or Discord if you are interested in the position.

Chronicler (Seong Myeong Su Daesaseong)

• Working on September’s issue of The Read Tower right now, will add in the officer’s reports and business from this meeting to add in the newsletter and will hopefully have it posted by Friday this week.
• Always looking to interview the populace for each issue, so please fill out this form to get included! Eventually I’d like to collect these into one PDF so we have a good collection of information about our members: https://forms.gle/MNxww3KUQJo2VsEG9
• Please submit photos, art, articles, shout-outs, or anything that you’ve found interesting and want to share! I’ll always be collecting stuff for the newsletters going forward. You can submit either through this form: https://forms.gle/8SyEF9D7c8rMCnZP6 or email me at chron.southdowns@meridies.org.

Social Media Minister  (THLady Agnes Halydaye) 

• Nothing reported.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Officer (DEIB), (Lady Lily of South Downs)

• I’d like to thank Xander for the class on Tourette Syndrome, it was a great class that was well attended.
• Sadly, something has come up for my Silk Roads teacher, so I’d like to put out a call to anyone who might be interested in teaching a DEIB class this month! I also want to let everyone know in advance that there won’t be a DEI class in November. My schedule will just be too busy that month. 
• Please reach out to me if you’d like to teach this month or in the future.

Webminister (Lord Eiríkr Pálsson)

• Still working on getting updates to the page, so shoot me an email and I’ll get stuff updated.

Minister of Children (VACANT)

• Position is still open, if you are interested, please contact Lady Raven.

Their Excellencies, (Maestro Ximon Cordoba de Martillo & HE Rhiannon verch Madyn)

• Rhiannon
  • Thank you to everyone who helped out at Red Tower. The event was magical and everyone was very helpful. 
  • We’re looking forward to some things coming up in the future.
  • Please reach out if you have any questions or concerns. We’re here to help and support.
• Ximon
  • Thanks to everyone who helped make the event special for us, from helping set up the field to working Check-in to cooking. Thank you.
  • If you have any award recommendations, please reach out to us so we can make sure that we recognize our populace.

SCA Business

• Red Tower Post Mortem

• Master Mathias

• • • Thanks to everyone who set up things to those who worked Check-in. We were very happy to get all the slots for positions quickly. No literal fires!
    • The bathrooms on site had some issues, but that was out of our control.
    • The feast was amazing, there were lots of good things said about the pre-court feast and the to-go boxes.
  • Capt. Brendan
    • Event went well and we got to learn a few new things. We’ve got a lot of new-to-the-barony people to the barony. Wider communication could have been better to make sure that people could succeed. 
      • Traveler’s fare probably could have needed more support if it was communicated a little bit ahead of time.
  • Lady Lily
    • Just FYI, if anyone shoots archery, wear a finger guard so that you don’t get month-long numbness.
  • La Magnifica Justina
    • Shout out to Lady Ogata for running check-in at Red Tower.
    • Big thing is that the only people who can use barony money are the people on the bank account. Money was removed from the Troll box to pay for the parking passes on site. Cash should only be placed in the box and managed by those working at Troll, not used to pay for things on site.
    • Overall, the budget was under budget, missing some receipts for traveler’s fare. 
    • Send receipts to exchq.southdowns@meridies.
  • Seong Myeong Su Daesaseong
    • Consider putting together guides of how to run certain things at events or offices so that we can help everyone else who’s new in the barony.
    • There’s some interest in hosting or having roundtable discussions on how to be an event steward or officers, etc.
  • Lady Raven
    • Get teams together for setup and teardown to help resources to make sure that everyone else is on the same page.
  • Baron Ximon
    • There were some complaints about mold in dorms 1 and 2, some people had to move. 
    • Might want to see if there’s something that we can do if we want to use the site again for those with sensitivities.

• Castle Wars

• • Lady Hessa and THLady Ysabel
    • We are getting vendors coming in, about 6 or 7, more might be coming in now that we’re past MGT. Please reach out if you want to be a vendor.
    • Working on layout and making adjustments as needed
    • Classes and salons for Castle Wars: there may be something from the courtesans, fiber, woodworking, herbal. We’ve got two salon sign-ups, which are more like classes. Will need to request one of the pavilions for class space for Castle Wars.
      • Eirikr
        • Looking for a Combat Archery marshal, if we don’t have one, we can’t have combat archery.
    • Waiting to hear from the minister of children, talked to the Kingdom chatelaine to host a newcomers camp. Will need to make sure that we have a camp set aside for camp. Welcome Home may reimburse newcomers, but won’t be hosting a Welcome Home camp or anything like that. 
      • Sumarlidi
        • South Downs camp planning is underway. Make sure that you put South Downs on your reservation to get space for South Downs camp.
        • We’ll have some Trimarians back in South Downs camp again.
    • A class – one/two hours on a specific topic with a teacher talking about or demonstrating something for that time slot. A salon is a space themed around a topic so we can have discussions, watch demonstrations, or try things out even if there’s stuff going on.
    • Mods from the Honorable Clover have offered to host a How to Run Troll class.
    • Please volunteer for Troll for Castle Wars!
    • Can’t confirm youth combat for Castle Wars yet.
    • We have 27 pre registrations currently. Even if you’re supposed to be comped for the event because you’re on staff, please send in your registration via Paypal either way for record keeping.
    • Take a How to Run Troll class even if you don’t want to run a troll just as general information on how paperwork is handled or for general knowledge
    • Event Stewards want hugs!
• Discussion on Knowne World Cooks and Bards Symposium for 2026 tabled to November business meeting.
• May need to discuss the budget for fixing the castle walls, see if the financial committee can vote to approve it to make sure we’re in policy. Keep in mind that budgets for officers don’t roll over to the next year.
• Next week, Their Excellencies will be going to Coronation and will be bringing the baronial pavilion and some seating space, wouldn’t mind some help with set up and some people to volunteer for entourage. Everyone is also welcome to come sit under the pavilion. TRH have decided to set up Coronation as a grand court. They’ve asked each barony to set up a pavilion or activity, and since we’ve got a lot of fiber geeks in the barony, we’d like to have some people volunteer to bring things to work on while hanging out in the space, weaving, embroidery, spinning, etc. We’d love to have you.

Non-SCA Business

• None reported.

The business meeting was closed @ 9:35 PM EST

The next business meeting will be held on November 1st, 2023, 7:00 PM EST via Zoom Meeting.

06 September 2023, Time: 7:32 PM EST

Notes submitted by Seong Myeong Su Daesaseong, South Downs Chronicler.

Magister Lorenzo called the September meeting to order. Our Seneschal, Lady Raven Helmsplitter started recording the meeting and greeted the populace joining the Zoom meeting. Lady Raven read the Kingdom Anti-Bullying statement.

Officers’ Reports

Seneschal, (Lady Raven Helmsplitter)

• Thanks to everyone who came out to last week’s 5th Wednesday social!
• Schedule for this month:
  • Next week (9/13) virtual TBD
  • 9/20 in-person DEIB Tourette Syndrome with Xander
  • 9/27 in person: Roman Workouts with Sumarliði
• Still looking for a new storage unit
• I will need to get the meeting site reservations set up in the next month or so. # of in-person meetings will depend on 1) interest and 2) budget. Would like to discuss further next month.
• Anyone going to MGT later this month, I would really appreciate getting photos as well as opinions of the event site. I am planning to go for a site visit in the next month or so to get a sense of suitability for which events we might host in the future.
• We need to start thinking about what KLE we might put in a bid for, as every barony is required to submit a bid for a KLE
• Midwinter A+S is coming, and we need bids! It is traditionally the first Saturday in February, but it’s currently not on the kingdom schedule.
• Red Tower is this weekend! More info later on in the meeting.
• Castle Wars is coming! More info later on in the meeting.

Herald (Lady Bú Feiyan)     

• Nothing reported from Bu
• From Lorenzo
  •  working on name submissions and armory submissions
  • Awards at Pennsic: Majda got an Argent Slipper and Arnora got her Court Barony
  • If you want to help out with site or heraldry, please let Master Mathias know!

Knight Marshal (Lord Eiríkr Pálsson)

• We have been having practices that have been relatively well attended.  
• Completed a few authorizations at last week’s practice.  I will have authorization forms at Red Tower for those in need of authorization. I will not have loaner gear with me.
• There will be no practice on 10 September due to Red Tower and unless there is a marshall available on 1 October there will be no practice, this is the week of MGT and both my deputy and I will be fighting at MGT.  
• I also completed my youth sparring authorization so if THL Mairghread or another youth marshal is there we have multiple people that can fight with youth.

Rapier Marshal (Captain Brendan de Hay)

• Practices have been proceeding, weather and other events permitting.  Sundays starting around noon (concurrent with armored practice).  Schedule changes, cancellations, and any other relevant information is shared on the FaceBook group “Atlanta SCA Fighting,” and sometimes other locations depending on circumstances.  Loaner gear is usually available, but it doesn’t hurt to check the “Atlanta SCA Fighting” group in advance.  Sometimes when I’m not available, the “stunt marshal” might not be able to bring it.
• This Sunday (9/10) we’ll still be cleaning up and returning from Red Tower.  Sorry, no rapier practice.
• As my mundane schedule gets even crazier, we’ve started a chat including every rapier marshal who might step in to fill those gaps.  Thanks to everyone for working together to keep practices happening.  I wouldn’t mind having a deputy step up who could take over from me in the not-too-distant future.
• Big shout-out to folks recently giving rapier a try.  Looking forward to seeing more folks having fun!
• This weekend, Red Tower!
• Castle Wars is coming up faster than you think.  Castle Wars requires a castle, which we happen to have.  However, it needs work.  If you are interested in helping beautify the castle, please contact me.  Some of the pieces are heavy, some of them need some minor carpentry, and all of them need some paint.  I’d like to arrange a couple of work days/weekends in my front yard.  Available times for me are Monday, 9/18-Friday, 9/29 or Saturday 10/7-17.
• Castle Wars schedule is currently expected to include the Meridian Order of the Blade Invitational tournament, as well as all the meleé we can pack in around it.  Stay tuned.
• HYDRATE!

Live Weapons (Master Mathias Blackett)

• The search for a new archery place continues, may start looking at schools or parks until we can find a new place
• Thrown weapons are still at Master Mathias’ house.
• Didn’t have practice last month, hoping to have one for September
• Around 17th of 24th for Sept. for live weapons practice
• Equipment is good, want to practice with more atlatls
• Live Weapons will be at Red Tower, Mara will be marshal at RT
• Teaching a Marshal class at 8 AM for setting up the range to get RUM credit

Exchequer (La Magnifica Justina di Silvestri)

• We have $4292.28 in our account
• PO Box is up for renewal by the end of this month. Expense is $226, previously approved in the annual budget meeting. I will renew next week. 
• We are going to need to update the signatories on our account so I will discuss that process with the financial committee.
• Just made a deposit today of $155 for pre-reg checks for RT
• Paypal Use Request for CW is complete and should be available after RT. 
• Reminder that for the time being, all troll registration must be either pre-preg via Paypal or check, or with cash or check at the gate. We can’t accept cards at this time.
• It is a requirement that if you want to purchase a member discounted ticket, then you must present a current membership card. Even if you pre-register!! If you are not able to show proof of membership, then you will need to pay the $5 non member cost.
• Reminder for all event expenses, absolutely NO personal purchases may be on a receipt that you turn in for reimbursement. 
• Please check your budgets. If you are able, please consider separating purchases onto different categories. For example, if you are buying food and general supplies for the event, making those be on separate receipts is very very helpful and helps make paperwork easier.
• If you have any purchase or money questions or any questions in general about the Barony’s funds please reach out to me any time. 
• Please be patient at troll with the volunteers, sometimes the paperwork takes time on site.
• You can show a screenshot of your membership card or even the email as proof of purchase of your membership.
• If you haven’t received a card from Corporate and you don’t have one, email them and they will send you one for free.

Quartermaster (Maestra Isabetta de San Marco) 

• We still have stuff.
• We still need a new storage space.
• She still needs a deputy.

Chatelaine (Lady Ogata Mitsuko)

• Will be writing up an article about the recent High Museum visit with some newbies and possible recruitment
• Next up is the Viking exhibit at Fernbank Museum.
• Master Mathias will be there with mead for the Fernback After Dark, Friday Nov. 10th!
• Lady Ogata will be tied up with reservations and troll for Red Tower.
• We’ve got some newcomers preregistered over Discord and garb for people!
• Full report will be coming soon.

Demo Deputy (Lady Bú Feiyan)

• Nothing reported

Arts & Sciences (HE Rhiannon verch Madyn)

• We’ve seen an explosion of A&S on our Discord server recently and it makes me super excited to see everything being shared. Lots of textile projects and garb, wood working, jewelry making and bone carving too. And Sara is even learning to write Hebrew! You all ROCK!!!
• And as a bonus, you’ve all been sharing your knowledge, research and resources. The sharing of knowledge is super important. You never know, someone may see something you’re doing or read a resource you post and become interested in a new thing. Keep sharing your work and your knowledge South Downs!!
• I’m also happy to announce that Maryam has accepted the position as our A&S Officer. I’ll be working with her over the next few months to bring her up to speed on all things A&S. Thank you Maryam!!

Provost (Lord Ælfric Hort)

• This past month we had 13 people show up for our monthly class night – Medieval Flavors with Mistress Christianna MacGrain.  
• September’s class night will be September 27 in person at the Doraville Civic Center.  Sumarliði will be teaching us about Roman Workouts.
• We also have 4 classes coming up at Red Tower this weekend.
• I currently have all Teaching spots filled for the remainder of the 2023 calendar year.  Now is a great time to be thinking ahead to Castle Wars, Midwinter A&S, as well as monthly classes for 2024.
• And on that note, I am going to start looking for a deputy Provost to begin helping me organize and promote A&S Class activities for the coming year.  Please get in touch with me on Facebook or Discord if you are interested in the position.

Chronicler (Seong Myeong Su Daesaseong)

• Working on September’s issue of The Read Tower right now, will add in the officer’s reports and business from this meeting to add in the newsletter and will hopefully have it posted by Friday this week.
• Goal is to get new bots for the Baronial and Kingdom calendars connected on the Discord and Baronial website before Castle Wars, won’t have time until after Red Tower this weekend.
• Looking into Mailchimp to see if we can use it to send out the newsletters via email to those who want to subscribe and stay updated.
• If you want to add events like Supper Club or gatherings to the South Downs Calendar, please feel free to reach out to me and we can get them added!
• Always looking to interview the populace for each issue, so please fill out this form to get included! Eventually I’d like to collect these into one PDF so we have a good collection of information about our members: https://forms.gle/MNxww3KUQJo2VsEG9
• Please submit photos, art, articles, shout-outs, or anything that you’ve found interesting and want to share! I’ll always be collecting stuff for the newsletters going forward. You can submit either through this form: https://forms.gle/8SyEF9D7c8rMCnZP6 or email me at chron.southdowns@meridies.org.

Social Media Minister  (THLady Agnes Halydaye) 

• Not much to report from social media presence; however we’ve had reasonably good interactions with Red Tower promotional posts. A notable part of that was that the Society page picked up our photo album for the Red Tower feast and that generated a lot of interest. Thanks to Lady Ysabel for taking the time to get all of those great photos during the feast test run!
• If you aren’t currently a Discord user, I encourage you to give it a shot because the Barony’s Discord server is lively and full of interesting content and discussion! South Downs server is essentially a collection of ongoing group chats, organized by topics such as A&S, upcoming events, cooking, garb, etc. As a relatively new Discord user myself, I can promise that the learning curve isn’t too bad and the payoff is well worth it.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Officer (DEIB), (Lady Lily of South Downs)

• Thanks to Maryam for stepping into A&S and for teaching her class last month on LBGTQ People in the Medieval Middle East.
• For this month’s DEI class, which will be in person on the 20th of September, Xander will be teaching a class about Understanding Tourette Syndrome.

Webminister (Lord Eiríkr Pálsson)

• Made updates to a couple of officer pages to reflect current officers/deputies and updated the Deputies needed page.  
• Made some minor updates for awards I know of for baronial members.  
• Created and made updates to the Red Tower 2023 webpage.  For future events and needed updates please email me those to the web.southdowns@meridies.org email.  This helps me keep track of what I haven’t done yet and also gives me a historical tracking.  I don’t want to forget about needed changes but if it is just through messenger I have a tendency to forget because it gets marked as read.
• I don’t think I have seen the flyer for Castle Wars yet to put up on the website.  The sooner it gets approved the sooner I can put it up.

Minister of Children (VACANT)

• Position is still open, if you are interested, please contact Lady Raven.

Their Excellencies, (Master Wistric Oftun & Mistress Sunneva de Cleia)

• Still here for the next three days!
• Thank you all, we look forward to seeing you at Red Tower. Thank you for the wonderful experience, as always.
• If you haven’t filled out your ballot for the Swift’s Heart nominations, please fill it out and send it back by midnight tonight, Sept. 6th.

SCA Business

• Red Tower

• Master Mathias

• • • • Capt. Brendan posted a list of things in the inventory, if you’re on staff and haven’t requested things from the storage unit, please let Capt. Brendan know
      • Will be driving a minivan to bring Live Weapons equipment
      • Friday, around 6:30PM, we will meeting at the storage unit in Doraville to pack for Red Tower. If you’re able to bring something down to the event, please come to the storage unit to help bring things down so we don’t have to rent a trailer.
      • Message Capt. Brendan on FB or rm.southdowns@meridies.org if you need something from the storage unit so that they can compile a list of things needed from the storage unit
      • Master Mathias is touching base with all of the staff to figure out what things would be needed
      • Still need a herald for Their Majesties for Kingdom Court at Red Tower
      • We don’t know if we’ll have Children’s Activities at RT due to positive COVID tests
      • 1PM is the earliest that the site will let us on, Master Mathias will try to be on site as early as possible
      • Still looking for someone to run the lists for the tournaments
      • For future note, certain positions on staff can get their site fees comped, but not parking or feast fees, so please keep that in mind.

• Castle Wars

• • Lady Hessa and THLady Ysabel
    • Site tokens have been ordered
    • Still looking for some positions to be filled, please let us know if you’re interested in helping
    • Still in need of a landcrat, which is most important thing so far, people to help with parking and bathroom patrol. Please volunteer even if people have volunteered already, we’re hoping to have teams to help rotate responsibilities
      • Master Mathias will take over for Landcrat for CW
    • Need to look for a merchantcrat
  • Capt. Brendan
    • The castle for Castle Wars needs some work, currently at Capt. Brendan and Lady Raven’s house.
    • Will need some work days/weekends at their house to work on the walls
    • Brendan may be out of town on days that work will need to be done on the walls
      • He is free between Sept. 18-29 and Oct. 7-17
      • Current plan is for Saturday, Oct. 7th.
    • May need to look into purchasing another measuring wheel
  • La Magnifica Justina
    • Need to figure out how teams are going to work with people for the troll team at Castle Wars to make sure she can train people properly

• Supper Club – Lady Maryam
  • Alisandre is hosting again, late Oct. or early Nov.
  • Please let Lady Maryam know if you have any ideas for a theme
  • Once the date gets finalized, we’ll post it!

• La Magnifica Justina
  • Start thinking about 2024 budgets

• Seong Myeong Su
  • Lorenzo and I are going to start opening our house after Red Tower for craft nights on Thursdays

• Master Mathias
  • Come see the commedia show at Red Tower!

Non-SCA Business

• None reported

The business meeting was closed @ 8:55 PM EST

The next business meeting will be held on October 4th, 2023, 7:00 PM EST via Zoom Meeting.

02 August 2023, Time: 7:32 PM EST

Notes submitted by Seong Myeong Su Daesaseong, South Downs Chronicler.

Seong Myeong Su Daesaseong called the meeting to order. Our Seneschal, Lady Raven Helmsplitter started recording the meeting and greeted the populace joining the Zoom meeting. Lady Raven read the Kingdom Anti-Bullying statement.

Officers’ Reports

Seneschal, (Lady Raven Helmsplitter)

• RUM has happened, Pennsic is coming, Red Tower is coming, Castle Wars is coming. Heading to a very busy fall!
• Officer positions are filling up, Thanks to Lord Eirikir and Baron Piers for setting up emails for officers, everyone should be set up with emails currently.

Herald (Lady Bú Feiyan)     

• Magister Lorenzo: Been doing some consultations but nothing was submitted yet
• Awards in South Downs at RUM: THLady Majda and THLady Alisandre – Red Raven, Baroness Laurettia – Kestral’s Talon, Lady Ogata – Baronial Award of Excellence, Valentina, Sumarlidi, and Karimatu the Wanderer – Award of Arms, Lady Ysabel – Meridian Cross, Seong Myeong Su Daesaseong – Court Barony.

Knight Marshal (Lord Eiríkr Pálsson)

• THLady Mairghread: KM is at Pennsic, but we will still be having heavy practice for the next couple weeks, so come on out!

Rapier Marshal (Captain Brendan de Hay)

• Practices have been proceeding, weather and other events permitting.  Sundays starting around noon (concurrent with armored practice).  Schedule changes, cancellations, and any other relevant information is shared on the FaceBook group “Atlanta SCA Fighting,” and sometimes other locations depending on circumstances.  Loaner gear is usually available, but it doesn’t hurt to check the “Atlanta SCA Fighting” group in advance.  Sometimes when I’m not available, the “stunt marshal” might not be able to bring it.
• This Sunday (8/6) and next Sunday (8/13), I will be attending the Pennsic War.  Our cadre of “stunt marshals” has been alerted, so practices will probably happen anyway.  Again, keep an eye on the FB group.
• Shire of Owls’ Nest is holding Tuesday evening rapier practices at Swift Cantrell Park in Kennesaw.  Captain William posts on Atlanta SCA Fighting.  Athens School of Arms is not technically SCA, but is chock full of SCA rapier & C&T folks.  Athens School of Arms
• As my mundane schedule gets even crazier, we’ve started a chat including every rapier marshal who might step in to fill those gaps.  Thanks to everyone for working together to keep practices happening.  I wouldn’t mind having a deputy step up who could take over from me in the not-too-distant future.
• Big shout-out to folks recently giving rapier a try.  Looking forward to seeing more folks having fun!
• Congrats to Conor Sofia on basic authorization, just in time for Pennsic!
• Saturday, 8/26, there’s a Regional Fighter Practice at Fort Yargo State Park (https://fb.me/e/UiwfE6dO) and an InterKingdom BIRTHDAY BASH/fighter practice at Laurel Grove (https://fb.me/e/cuGfHkmfs). Both events promise to be awesome, simultaneously high activity (if you want) and low pressure.
• Red Tower and Castle Wars are coming.  Look for more details of martial goings-on after your marshals return from Pennsic.  I would absolutely adore having another marshal to split and/or delegate duties to.
• HYDRATE!

Live Weapons (Master Mathias Blackett)

• We had thrown weapons practice, we had someone qualify for the Meridian Order of Weapons Master – Enzio Galente.
• Date for the next Live Weapons session is TBD, potentially August 27th.

Exchequer (La Magnifica Justina di Silvestri)

• $4432 in accounts
• RUM numbers $1385 – gross from day-of Troll, total $1465 from paypal pre-reg , minus the paypal fee – $80. We have to split with Kingdom, so our total profit is $1385.16, minus $50 for the non-member fee, which we’re also splitting with Kingdom.
• 282 total attendees, adult members –  255, adult non-members – 20, children – 7.
• RUM: $150 budgeted for printing, but the total cost was over by $54. Total overall budget for the event was under the proposed event budget of $300, though. 
• Vote brought up to approve overage, motion by Baron Piers and second by THLady Mairghead, vote passed and was approved.

Quartermaster (Maestra Isabetta de San Marco) 

• We have stuff!
• Looking for a new storage space
• Still looking for a deputy

Chatelaine (Lady Ogata Mitsuko)

• I have more information on a demo opportunity on September 16th, it is the Haralson County Annual Fried Pie Festival in Buchanan GA!
• The festival goes from 9am to 4pm in downtown Buchanan. Please get in touch with myself or my demo deputy Lady Bu Feiyan if you’re interested in participating!
• We also have a museum outing in the works, we’ll be checking out the High Museum’s exhibit on historic samurai armor and accoutrements! We are using a doodle survey to check off which days we are available. If you are interested in attending, be sure to check out the baronial discord server for that doodle link. I’ve personally been to the exhibit 3 times already and I am so hype for a 4th! I’ve also been advertising this to my friends outside of the SCA, so this is a great time to enjoy historic topics with some new faces.
• I’d also like to give a big thank you to Sara Wandrawnyzcka for her gold key donation last month

Demo Deputy (Lady Bú Feiyan)

• Nothing reported, but potential demos covered by Lady Ogata

Arts & Sciences (HE Rhiannon verch Madyn)

• From the A&S side of things there’s nothing to report this month other than I still need a deputy.
• The report is quarterly, through Google sheets and forms. Quick and easy, please contact me or Lady Raven if you’re interested in this officer position!

Provost (Lord Ælfric Hort)

• This past month we had a good turnout for our monthly class night – History of Comedy with Master Mathias Blackett.  August’s class night will be August 23 via Zoom.  Mistress Christianna MacGrain will be back with us teaching “Medieval Flavors”
• I currently have all Teaching spots filled for the remainder of the 2023 calendar year.  In the next week or so, I will be putting out the teacher sign up for Red Tower.  We will also need teachers for Castle Wars later in November, and of course I will need teachers again next year for A&S class goodness, so please get with me if you have any questions or want to discuss anything that you might want to teach in the future.

Chronicler (Seong Myeong Su Daesaseong)

• The July issue of The Read Tower has been posted!
• The August issue will be posted by the end of the week, but may be shorter than the July issue.
• That said, I’m going to be collecting interviews from members of the populace for each issue, so please fill out this form to get included! Eventually I’d like to collect these into one PDF so we have a good collection of information about our members: https://forms.gle/MNxww3KUQJo2VsEG9
• Please submit photos, art, articles, shout-outs, or anything that you’ve found interesting and want to share! I’ll always be collecting stuff for the newsletters going forward. You can submit either through this form: https://forms.gle/8SyEF9D7c8rMCnZP6 or email me at chron.southdowns@meridies.org.
• If you’re going to Pennsic this year, please grab some photos for me and let me know what your favorite memory is from this Pennsic. I want to do a post-Pennsic “South Downs: On the Road Again” section for the September newsletter.
• Baronial calendar will get integrated and posted/linked once I get back from Pennsic.

Social Media Minister  (THLady Agnes Halydaye) 

• Nothing reported, but ramping up Red Tower social media.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Officer (DEIB), (Lady Lily of South Downs)

• On DEIB this month, still looking for teachers for a class on intercultural connectivity in period, specifically the Silk Road.
• I’d like to thank my teachers from last month, Dorian, Alawyn, Sumarlidi, for the fantastic class on Quiet Spaces!

Webminister (Lord Eiríkr Pálsson)

• Nothing reported

Minister of Children (Vacant)

• Position is open, please talk to Lady Raven or Lady Una with any questions or if you’re interested
• A background check is required for the position

Their Excellencies, (Master Wistric Oftun & Mistress Sunneva de Cleia)

• This is our penultimate meeting with everyone! We’re going to Pennsic on Friday.
• We really appreciate how the barony held together for the past three years during the pandemic and during our tenure.
• Thanks to Myeong Su and the RUM crew for a great event. Congratulations to everyone who was recognized at RUM and we’ll see you at Pennsic or Red Tower!

SCA Business

• RUM:
  • Seong Myeong Su Daesaseong:
    • Thanks again to everyone who helped with RUM! If you’d like to run RUM or have any questions, please feel free to contact to me at seongmyeongsu.sca@gmail.com

• Castle Wars Bid:
  • Ysabel and Hessa have revised the bid for Castle Wars from before, revised budgets look good.
  • If anyone is interested in learning how to run an event, please contact Lady Hessa or Lady Ysabel so you can shadow and learn
  • Paypal fee line may be off on the spreadsheet, will check and edit
  • Macintosh may not require additional insurance, will check contract to confirm
  • Lady Hessa has talked to Ellawin about Equestrian
  • General budget may be used to cover emergency expenses, like ant killer, etc.
  • Mairghread made a motion to approve the budget, La Magnifica Justina seconded the motion.
  • Bid has been approved.
  • PDF of the bid will be passed around to the Financial Committee for signatures.
  • La Magnifica Justina made a motion to add $100 to the General Budget 

• Red Tower:
  • Baron Piers: 
    • Site visit on the 12th, if you want to go, let me know so we can coordinate timing. 
    • THLady Mairghread may go to have a deputy marshal look at the field.
  • Lady Raven: 
    • Look at the parking situation for weekend parking. Check if they’ll allow for archery for the large field in the back.
    • Possibly look into using the field set up from Red Tower last year to see if we can set up the same way for this Red Tower.
  • Master Mathias: 
    • Magistra Mara will be taking over as live weapons marshal since Conor couldn’t get the weekend off.
    • Site tokens: get with Mathias to see if we have site tokens already
    • Quote 200 site tokens in just materials for fingerloop from Luke, $100 was budgeted for site tokens.

• DragonCon:
  • Not doing anything for DragonCon as the Barony for the parade or demo table.
  • Lord Ælfric remembers someone mentioning a change for an onstage demo at DragonCon for 15 mins, may need to look into if there’s a post for that for more information.

• Pennsic Meridian Hafla:
  • Acharya Margavati: If you’re going to Pennsic, Meridies is hosting a hafla on Tuesday night by the request of Her Majesty. If you’re available from 7pm-9pm on Tuesday to help setup or come afterwards to help cleanup, or want to volunteer for checking IDs, we’d love to have you, Meridian Royal Camp is in block N03. You’ll get free food (before everyone else!)
  • Party starts at 9pm, if you come before 8 to help direct traffic, it would be appreciated.

Non-SCA Business

• None reported.

The business meeting was closed @ 8:25 PM EST

The next business meeting will be held on September 6th, 2023, 7:00 PM EST via Zoom Meeting.