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Meeting Minutes

October 2018 Baronial Business Meeting Minutes

South Downs Baronial Business Meeting

3 October 2018, 7:30pm

Doraville Civic Center – NEW LOCATION! 3744 Central Ave., Doraville GA

Notes submitted by Lady Raven Helmsplitter, South Downs Chronicler.

Herald (THL Lucien d’Artois) called the meeting to order. Master Wistric sez “Welcome! If you did not sign in, please sign in! And – how do you like the new digs?”

Officer Reports

  • Herald (THL Lucien d’Artois)
    • Events – Tournament of the Foxes
      • Argent Comet – Master Wistric Oftun
      • Writ of Elevation to the Order of Defense – Captain Davio de la Rouge
  • Armored and Youth Marshal (Lady Mairghread)
    • No practice this Sunday due to Red Tower
    • Our monthly regional melee training practice will take place the following Sunday (14 October)
  • Rapier Marshal (Lord Brendan de Hay)
    • Practices. We are still having them (even without Brendan) Sunday afternoons at Brook Run Park, concurrent with armored. Tuesday evening practices at 7pm have gone back to Blackburn Park in Brookhaven. We’re averaging 2-12 people. For updates regarding rapier practices, go to the Atlanta SCA Fighting Facebook group.
    • We will also not have practice this coming Sunday, due to Red Tower
    • Brendan thanked all those who stepped up to run practices when he (Brendan) had work conflicts.
  • Chatelaine (Lady Justina di Silvestri)
    • We have had two newcomers join us at recent meetings or events
    • Justina mentioned that she encountered another group who opened their meeting to the general community, essentially an open house. She suggested that this could be a good idea for us, especially since our new meeting space is a promising spot to hold an open house.
    • Gold Key – we won’t be able to host a excess Gold Key yard sale at Red Tower, but she’d still like to host it sometime this month, or perhaps at Castle Wars? She’d like to hold it soon, so she can get it out of her house. She’d like to offer first dibs for new people who come to meetings.
      • Would like pricing advice on all items
      • Yard sale will also include unclaimed lost and found from past events
      • Justina emphasized that we are keeping the higher quality Gold Key – she really has an enormous amount of donated garb that she can sell off some of it
      • Details for the yard sale will be announced after Red Tower
      • Armored- and rapier-relevant lost and found will be given first to group marshals to see if they need it for loaner gear; remaining will be sold at the yard sale
    • Gold Key database is now available
  • Arts & Sciences (Mistress Sunneva de Cleia)
    • Mistress Sunneva was out sick, Master Wistric reporting
    • We have arts *and* sciences, and that is good
    • Lady Alisandre taught last month’s class on Research Tools and Methods
    • This month’s class, Voice Heraldry in Court, will be taught by THL Andreva
    • Reminder: Sunneva has made a schedule for all of 2018 as a Google Docs spreadsheet so you (yes, you!) can sign up to teach a class at one of our monthly A&S nights. She is pleased to report we have classes scheduled through most of the rest of the year; there is also a list in development for alternate/back up classes, so even if there are no specific dates available, please sign up!
  • Reeve (THL Andreva Rigaldi)
    • We have money! Yay!
    • Quarterly report is done and ready to submit
    • We have just over $4,000 in our account right now, and waiting to get PayPal funds deposited from Red Tower
    • Mistress Alessandra will be her new deputy reeve – yay!
  • Quartermaster (THL Lucien d’Artois)
    • We have stuff! Yay!
    • We completed the baronial inventory this past weekend
    • We will load up the trailer for Red Tower this coming Friday (5 October) at 8:00am. If interested in helping, please contact Lucien
    • Lucien thanked THL Mariana for her help researching and acquiring kitchen supplies for the baronial camp kitchen – yay!
  • Webminister (Lord Pietro di Conti)
    • We have a website!
    • Updates to Red tower web site
      • Pricing
      • Directions
      • Revel
      • Rapier schedule
      • Armored schedule
      • Live weapons schedule
    • Adjusted column width of text on desktop view of website
    • Added Tumblr to the social media buttons on the website
    • Updated meeting location
    • Added Andreva’s class to the October A&S class schedule
    • Updates to profile pages
      • Lady Myndee of South Downs: added as Minister of Children
      • Lady Roisin McAlister: added as Deputy Chatelaine (Gold Key)
      • Lord Jarec Markov: added as Deputy Armored Marshal (replacing Baron Robert)
      • Mistress Allesandra Giovanna Fioravnti: added as Deputy Reeve, also added a link from her profile page to her shop, Tied to History
      • Lord Mark de Wytteney: added as Deputy Seneschal
      • Lady Justina di Silvestri: added device, and a link to her blog
      • Sir Iastreb Desislavich: added device
      • Lady Alisandre: added class notes to her profile page
    • If you don’t want your photo on your profile page, or if you have a different picture for you or your device that you’d prefer, let me know!
  • Chronicler (Lady Raven Helmsplitter)
    • Nothing to report for now, other than things in the works including acquiring a deputy
  • Minister of Children (Lady Myndee of South Downs, Lord Mark reporting)
    • We have a Minister of Children! Yay!
    • All of Myndee’s paperwork is done
    • Jenny’s is in the works
    • Myndee is at home right now working on stuff
  • Seneschal (Master Wistric Oftun)
    • We have a barony! Yay!
    • 91 people have signed in to meetings since May – yay!
    • We will have our Red Tower post-mortem report and meeting on 17 October at the Cathedral of St. Philip’s
  • Their Excellencies
    • Her Excellency has reauthorized as an armored fighter; to celebrate, the baronial armored champion tournament will feature all fighters having to fight her to sort out the combatants
    • His Excellency has also authorized as in rapier, and will also fight all combatants in the baronial rapier champion tournament at Red Tower
    • Baronial archery champion will be determined at Sunday’s live weapons practice
    • Someone asked about where to get arrows – they can be purchased locally, you need to specify
        • Wood shaft
        • Feather fletching
        • Weight of your bow pull and draw length

Upcoming Events

  • Red Tower (5-7 October 2018), Lord Mark reporting
    • Needs to contact portapotty company to arrange for fieldside portapotties
    • What do different groups (martial, A&S, etc) need for supplies – do we have a list from last year’s Red Tower for reference?
    • Mark has a minion! (Nikon)
    • We are pretty set in general, things are coming along or being wrapped up
    • Iazzie asked to confirm if we have poles and rope for the lyst fields and offered to bring netting for live weapons field if needed – he’s got a supply of netting already for Castle Wars
    • Do we need tiki torches> We have propane torches, but we’ll need extra propane tanks to cover both nights
    • We have 70 beds and 72 feast spaces sold already. 24 feast spaces still available at the door. We have already reached break-even (yay!)
    • His Excellency asked about the pre-registration rate compared to last year – it is pretty low, and it’s expected that this is mostly due to large events surrounding Red Tower (MGT and Coronation), as well as it not being on Royal Progress. We do expect a lot of daytrippers, so we’re not worried.
    • Lady Veronica asked if everyone who is playing a god knows *who* they are portraying and if they have their garb set up
    • Raven is not doing the flyer – gah!
    • Where can we hold classes? There are some popups and people can bring chairs, and the hall is available during the day. Since the hall has ceiling fans, people may find it more comfortable.
  • Castle Wars (15-18 November 2018), Lady Juliane reporting
    • She has backed off from advertising about Castle Wars so it won’t interfere with Red Tower – but once Red Tower is in the books, it is ON!
    • Trying to get the FB staff group set up, but having technical issues; once these are fixed, all staff will be added
    • Volunteers still needed:
      • Hall steward (Duchess Ysmay is organizing the Rose Ball)
      • Saturday breakfast
      • Sunday breakfast – do we even need it?
      • Friday travelers’ fare
      • Site herald – Lord Mark volunteered, as he will be mostly done with landcrat duties by then
      • Fundraiser lunch Friday and Saturday – maybe Sol Haven or other local groups might be interested? Most of our barony will already be busy with the event, so we should try to get someone else to do the fundraiser lunches
      • Revel organizer for Saturday night
      • Other A&S competition-related volunteers needed, but will be handled separately
    • Currently, 45 paid weekend – 14 child (12 are William Scrivener’s), 1 daytripper and 16 feast
    • Bam will have the menu ready shortly
    • Iazzie has all the fighting scenarios ready, will release them individually every few days
    • Needs SCA names for all staff, so please confirm with Lady Juliane
    • We should check with the Honorable Clover group – they recently hosted a class on SCA and disabilities issues so we can make sure we address these issues adequately
    • Juliane would like to have everyone work on assembling tokens at the next project night
  • Midwinter A+S (9 February 2019), Lady Alisandre reporting
    • Received confirmation that we can have the ballroom in the student center for evening court
    • Still waiting for confirmation that we can have the classroom space for the event – the reservation person is away at a conference right now, but everyone is confident there won’t be any problems
    • Andreva needs the reservationist’s name for PayPal

Other SCA Business

  • Master Ximon showed the populace the four small towers that Sawyer brought in, which will be used to light the baronial banner poles – SO SPIFF! They cost $10 each to 3D print, so the question “how many do we want?” After discussion, it was agreed that we’d ultimately like 8 for the banner poles and 12 for feast tables, perhaps a total of 25? It was also agreed that Sawyer could provide 8 (for banner poles) for Castle Wars, and we can pay him upon receipt.
  • Ximon also proposed that the baronial encampment have a gate – he already has designed one, and can work on pricing for it. Everyone thought this was a great idea, and one of the ladies of the populace volunteered access to a maker space to help build the gate.
  • His Excellency talked about all the things they had wanted to do and have accomplished during their tenure as Baron and Baroness… then announced that they will be stepping down and will get the polling process going. If you are interested in putting your name in, please check out the rules and if you meet the qualifications, please contact His Excellency, Master Lorenzo.
  • Mistress Margavati recommended that if you want to nominate someone, *check with them FIRST*
  • Iazzie reminded everyone of the ZIP code database online, but we’re not sure how current it is
  • We now have a faculty rep at GA Tech!
  • In November, Justina will be taking over as a kingdom-level A&S rep (will provide more info)
  • MGT (Meridian Grand Tournament) was last weekend, and the Barony showed well! It was great to see the baronial arms on the lyst tree. Futhermore, Iazzie won the Rose Tourney – yay!
  • The Knowne Worlde Courtesans Guild podcast is live, baby! Justina is one of the podcast’s field reporters. She said they are looking for interviews, stories, poetry and other cultural aspects of SCA life. The podcast will be a digital salon hosted by the courtesans of the Knowne World Courtesans Guild and featuring artisans of historical arts from across the world. Tune in for intelligent discussion of history, re-enacting the pre-1600s world, and news of the Society. If you are interested in talking about your art, please contact Justina and she will be happy to chat with you!

Non-SCA Business

  • None

PLEASE NOTE: Next South Downs business meeting will be held Wednesday, 7 November 2018, at the Doraville Civic Center, 3770 Central Avenue, Doraville, GA. We will meet at the usual time, Wednesday 7-9pm.

Also – our 17 October meeting will be held at the Cathedral of St. Philip’s in Buckhead, 2744 Peachtree Rd NW, Atlanta, GA 30305. We will have our Red Tower post-mortem meeting, then our monthly dance practice – see you then!

–Raven

Announcements, Polls

Baronial Polling

At the October business meeting Their Excellencies announced they will be stepping down.

This triggers the process for a polling for new baronage. We will be conducting this process over the next couple of months.

To be eligible to vote on the polling, you must be either:

A paid member living in the zip codes of South Downs (this link will take you to the Kingdom Atlas page where you can search for your zipcode to determine whether or not it is part of South Downs: http://www.meridies.org/atlas/kingdomatlas.htm)

OR

A Non-Resident Member, which is a paid member living outside the zip codes with a record of activity within South Downs (defined as attending eight baronial activities in the last year, with six of those in the last six months). Non-resident Members must submit their request to receive a polling to the office of the seneschal (preferably by e-mailing seneschal AT atlantasca.org) at or before the October 17th business meeting (NB: If you are finding out about this from the website, the deadline for you is October 24th – please notify the seneschal when you submit your request).

At the business meeting on October 17th (At the Cathedral of St. Philip in Atlanta), we will take nominations for candidates.

To be eligible to be nominated you must be either a paid member living in the zip codes of South Downs, or a non-resident member as defined above. Further, you must have been an active participant within the barony for the last 3 years.

The list of candidates, and the non-member residents, will then be provided to the kingdom seneschal’s office, which will assemble the polling packets for mailing.

At the November 7th meeting we will hold a Q&A session for the candidates. You should also begin to receive your pollings in the mail around this time. At that point we’ll know the rest of the timeline for the polling process (when your completed ballots should be mailed back, when we can expect an announcement from Their Majesties).

The new baronage will be invested at Midwinter Arts and Sciences festival.

Yours,
The Seneschallate

Relevant policy documents:
Baronial Succession Policy

Corpora, Kingdom Law, and Kingdom Seneschal’s Handbook on the Kingdom Seneschal website

Society Seneschal’s Handbook

Meeting Minutes, Red Tower

September Baronial Business Mini-Meeting

South Downs Baronial Business Mini-Meeting

26 September 2018, 7:30pm

Little Tree Studios

Notes submitted by Lady Raven Helmsplitter, South Downs Chronicler.

Herald (THL Lucien d’Artois) called the meeting to order. Master Wistric sez “Welcome! If you did not sign in, please sign in!”

Red Tower

  • Lord Mark de Wytteney reporting
    • Visited the site last weekend, took lots of pictures
    • Site opens at 5:00pm, but we can get there to set up at 12:00 Noon
    • Cabins
      • Not all cabins have fans
      • Don’t plug in anything more than box fans or heated blankets, or they’ll blow the power to the entire site (example – space heaters, etc). CPAPs are fine
    • Lots of spiders – be careful
      Bloody Ridge is doing fundraiser lunch for TRHs
    • Fighting scenarios for both heavy and rapier look great
    • There aren’t any classes planned for the event (as of now), other than a scriptorium
      • Lady Justina mentioned that she does have a class planned, and has posted it on event page
    • HRH always welcomes local youth to serve as retainers to TRH
    • What is the Gold Key situation for Red Tower? Will it be available?
    • The Red Tower tournament will be a standard tournament structure
    • Do we have a merchantcrat? It looks like we’ll have at least one merchant
      • Will merchants be able to camp at the site?
      • There is supposed to be no camping allowed – cabins only – but it was pointed out that Crossroads had tent camping available as well – how did this work?
      • Everyone (including merchants) would have to registers for a cabin/bed, but merchants could camp with their booths if they need to
    • The adults-only revel will be hosted by House Broken Heart and the Knowne Worlde Courtesan Guild down at the amphitheater, away from the cabins; the path to the amphitheater will be clearly marked with glow sticks etc
    • There may be a second, family-friendly revel
    • Feast sounds fantastic!
    • By tomorrow night, Mark will have a map with cabins, etc up
      • Other than HRH cabin, all cabins are first come first serve
      • 121 beds on site (4 beds per cabin)
      • Concerns about people unloading their stuff in cabins *then* trolling in (which leaves people with cabin conflicts)
    • How will baronial supplies get from storage to site? Mark replied he has a trailer and a truck available
    • Expected baronial supplies:
      • Kitchen stuff
      • Lyst field stuff
      • Tables, popups, etc
      • Baronial supplies for the event need to get that parsed out ASAP so things can get organized and packed
    • Lucien will have storage inventory done this weekend
    • Ximon will head out to site on Friday, has car space for one person (but he’ll have to come back Friday night, so that person will need to arrange their own travel back)

Other SCA Business

  • New meeting site
    • We need to find a new meeting site by 1 October – three potential meeting sites have been lined up. Each site is approximately the same price ($50/week)
      • Doraville Civic Center: across from the Doraville MARTA station. Convenient, good space, lots of parking. However, it has already been reserved by another group on 17 October, so if we went with this site, we’d need to find an alternate space for that one evening
      • St. Philip’s Cathedral: Buckhead, right on Peachtree St. Beautiful site, lots of parking. Contact there is a former/occasional SCAdian. We should keep this site in mind for future RUM or MWA+S events. Location is deep in Buckhead, not near highways or public transportation (other than buses)
      • Masons Lodge: Sandy Springs. On Roswell Rd. near 285, so easily accessed (by car). Traffic through Sandy Springs during the evenings can be brutal, and once a quarter, we won’t have access to the site due to a regularly-scheduled event conflict.
    • The floor was opened to the populace for questions and comments.
      • There were concerns about traffic and having our meetings in religious sites.
      • Could we try out each location (for a week? month?)?
      • Concerns were raised about the possibility of losing a site if we waited too long.
      • Wistric presented a map of the Atlanta metro area to give a better idea of where each location is, and then we voted.
    • Final votes: Doraville (13), St. Philips (11), Mason’s Lodge (8). Motion to move to the Doraville Civic Center and hold our 17 October meeting at St. Philips.
    • THL Andreva wrote out a deposit check for $350 for the Doraville Civic Center ($150 deposit, $200 for the first month’s site fees).

With no other business, Lucien closed the meeting and Lady Alisandre taught her class on Research Methods.

PLEASE NOTE: Next South Downs business meeting will be held Wednesday, 3 October 2018, at the Doraville Civic Center, 3770 Central Avenue, Doraville, GA. We will meet at the usual time, Wednesday 7-9pm.

–Raven

Meeting Minutes

September 2018 Baronial Meeting Minutes

South Downs Baronial Business Meeting

5 September 2018, 7:30pm

Little Tree Studios

Notes submitted by Lady Raven Helmsplitter, South Downs Chronicler.

Herald (THL Lucien d’Artois) called the meeting to order. Master Wistric sez “Welcome! If you did not sign in, please sign in!”

Officer Reports

  • Herald (THL Lucien d’Artois)
    • Nothing new to report
  • Armored and Youth Marshal (Lady Mairghread)
    • Armored
      • Regional practice this Sunday (9 September 2018) will be a melee practice, hosted by Sir Gelleys
  • Live Weapons Marshal (Mistress Mara Palmer)
    • The last practice (August) went well
    • We will have a new live weapons marshal in the Barony after Foxes (Conner O’Dell)
    • Please check the Facebook group, South Downs/Owl’s Nest Live Weapons Practice to track upcoming practices.
  • Rapier Marshal (Lord Brendan de Hay)
    • Practices. We are still having them (even without Brendan) Sunday afternoons at Brook Run Park, concurrent with armored. Tuesday evening practices at 7pm have gone back to Blackburn Park in Brookhaven. We’re averaging 2-12 people. For updates regarding rapier practices, go to the Atlanta SCA Fighting Facebook group.
    • Brendan thanked all those who stepped up to run practices when he (Brendan) had work conflicts.
    • His Excellency and Lady Zhelana authorized in rapier recently (yay!).
    • Her Excellency is looking for stalwart fencers to fight on her behalf in the 5-person melee tournament at Foxes. If interested, please contact her as soon as possible.
  • Chatelaine (Lady Justina di Silvestri)
    • We have had three newcomers and 1 transfer join us at recent meetings or events
    • Dragon Con 2019:
      • Justina volunteered at the alternate history track
      • She also spoke with the person in charge of the track about volunteering again next year and brought up that she was with SCA, and he commented that the SCA was not (yet) represented! She will keep in touch with them and when they wrap up 2018 they will put us on the list for 2019 panels.
      • This is a good opportunity for a demo where anyone working the panel wouldn’t have to sit at a booth in a corner to interact with Con attendees, but can present our information in the context of a class/panel (1 hour)
    • If you have borrowed any Gold Key, please return to Justina as soon as possible. Thanks!
    • Gold Key database is now available
  • Arts & Sciences (Mistress Sunneva de Cleia)
    • Mistress Sunneva was out sick, Master Wistric reporting
    • We have arts *and* sciences, and that is good
    • Lady Zhelana taught last month’s class on celtic knotwork
    • This month’s class, Research Tools and Methods, will be taught by Lady Alisandre
    • Reminder: Sunneva has made a schedule for all of 2018 as a Google Docs spreadsheet so you (yes, you!) can sign up to teach a class at one of our monthly A&S nights. She is pleased to report we have classes scheduled through most of the rest of the year; there is also a list in development for alternate/back up classes, so even if there are no specific dates available, please sign up!
  • Reeve (THL Andreva Rigaldi)
    • We have money! Yay!
    • $7,635.52 in the bank, $5,161.01 including outstanding checks.
    • We did receive a check from Kingdom for $21.82 for Gulf Wars volunteer hours, that Andreva will deposit soon.
    • She announced that she had the checkbook with her in case anyone needed reimbursement for event expenses.
  • Quartermaster (THL Lucien d’Artois)
    • We have stuff! Yay!
    • Next Saturday (15 September) we’ll begin to re-inventory the storage shed in anticipation of the fall event season
  • Webminister (Lord Pietro di Conti)
    • We have a website!
    • Updates to profile pages
      • Aidan Mackay: added photo from George Hunter
      • Brendan de Hay: added photo from George Hunter
      • Charlie MacNeill: added photo from George Hunter
      • David Twynham: added links to his YouTube channel and his new book
      • Eyba Larsdottir: added link to her new book
      • Jarec Markov: created new profile page
      • John of Ean Airgead: added photo from George Hunter
      • Juliane: added registered badge
      • Jurgen der Vielfrass: updated his name
      • Mairghread Wilson: added photo from George Hunter
      • Mara: added registered badges, Live Weapons Marshal, Baronial Archery Champion titles
      • Mark de Wytteney: added photo from George Hunter, added device
      • Mathias: added registered badges
      • Morgan Ironheart: added photo from George Hunter
      • Morgana Bellachose: created new profile page
      • Myndee of South Downs: updated her name
      • Nikon Davidowicz: created new profile page
      • Piers Simmons: added photo from George Hunter
      • Pietro di Conti: added photo from George Hunter
      • Quintus Valerius Gracchus: created new profile page
      • Ruqayah: updated device
      • Stella di Silvestri: added her alternate name (Seong Myeong-su) and badge
      • Svala Thorfinnsdottir: created new profile page
      • Ximon Martillo de Cordoba: added photo from George Hunter, “How to watch a Rapier Fight” to class list
    • If you don’t want your photo on your profile page, or if you have a different picture for you or your device that you’d prefer, let me know!
    • Added 2 group photos from Dragoncon – feel free to send more
  • Chronicler (Lady Raven Helmsplitter)
    • Nothing to report
  • Seneschal (Master Wistric Oftun)
    • We have a barony! Yay!
    • Talked to StreetsAlive – the next one will be held the weekend of 30 September, which conflicts with MGT (Meridian Grand Tournament), so it is unlikely we will be able to take part. This is the last StreetsAlive for 2018 – maybe we can take part next year?
  • Their Excellencies
    • It was great seeing everyone at DragonCon, although they were sad because Sebastiannos didn’t have anyone to play with during the parade (lol)
    • Red Tower is coming soon! Will discuss further later in the meeting

Upcoming Events

  • Red Tower (5-7 October 2018), Lady Veronica reporting
    • Everything is moving along well, all volunteer positions seem to be filled
    • We don’t yet have anyone to do a fundraiser lunch – this isn’t necessary, so we’re not worried. Lucien mentioned that some of the local groups have expressed interest in hosting a fundraiser lunch
    • There will be a sponsored revel which is being planned – ideas, volunteers, performers, etc are welcome. Talk to Veronica, Zoe, or Lyman (?) if interested
    • Maybe fundraiser lunch for revel funds? Donations also helpful
    • Reservations are trickling in
    • The Courtesans of Meridies are teaming up with House Broken Heart and the Salty Alliance at the 21+ only revel
  • Castle Wars (15-18 November 2018), Lady Juliane reporting
    • Site has been paid – yay!
    • Insurance certificate should be received in the next day or two
    • Duchess Ysmay mentioned that HRH wants to do her Rose Ball at Castle Wars on Saturday
      • Can we do the disco party after the ball? Friday night? Funds have already been raised for the disco party, so we want to use it at Castle Wars
    • Be on the lookout for memes to start up again
    • Stella mentioned that if you are planning to camp with South Downs, make sure you specify that when you register
    • Knowne Worlde Courtesans will be hosting their first salon during Castle Wars, at the edge of the South Downs camp. If anyone has a courtesan-theme class – does not have to be adult-themed (although it *can* be), it can be something like a class on etiquette or fashion for example, we have space for you at the Salon. Contact Justina if you are interested in being a part of the Salon
    • Wistric mentioned that we have been discussing upping the bling for our campsite, starting with Castle Wars – we’re looking for ideas
    • Stella suggested ropes and stakes for camp perimeter
  • Midwinter A+S (9 February 2019), Lady Alisandre reporting
    • Still waiting to hear from University of West Georgia to schedule their spring classes so our site can be finalized. We are confident that the reservation will go through without problems

Other SCA Business

  • We will be taking part at next year’s Anachrocon (16 February 2019). This year’s theme is “The Time Travelers’ Ball,” so we have pretty free rein with garb, demos, etc.
  • Stella is looking to find someone to take over as DragonCon contact for the parade and the fan table
  • Justina reminded everyone that the Knowne Worlde Courtesans Guild is sponsoring a “naughty scribal challenge” at Coronation. In addition, Justina is sponsoring a prize for the Best Use of A Poisonous Pigment, so get your projects going!
  • The Knowne Worlde Courtesans Guild podcast is live, baby! Justina is one of the podcast’s field reporters. She said they are looking for interviews, stories, poetry and other cultural aspects of SCA life. The podcast will be a digital salon hosted by the courtesans of the Knowne World Courtesans Guild and featuring artisans of historical arts from across the world. Tune in for intelligent discussion of history, re-enacting the pre-1600s world, and news of the Society. If you are interested in talking about your art, please contact Justina and she will be happy to chat with you!

Non-SCA Business

  • None

After the meeting was closed, the populace went to vote for the upcoming Baronial awards: the men voted for the Heart of South Downs, the ladies for the Chivalry award.

PLEASE NOTE: Next South Downs business meeting will be held Wednesday, 3 October 2018, at the Doraville Civic Center, 3770 Central Avenue, Doraville, GA. We will meet at the usual time, Wednesday 7-9pm.

–Raven

Meeting Minutes

August 2018 Baronial Business Meeting Minutes

South Downs Baronial Business Meeting

1 August 2018, 7:30pm (meeting started a few minutes late, in order to give everyone a chance to fight through traffic and storms)

Little Tree Studios

Notes submitted by Lady Raven Helmsplitter, South Downs Chronicler.

Herald (THL Lucien d’Artois) called the meeting to order. Master Wistric sez “Welcome! If you did not sign in, please sign in!”

Officer Reports

  • Herald (THL Lucien d’Artois)
    • Events – RUM
      • Lady Justina di Silvestri – Guiding Hand
    • Submissions registered at LOAR
      • Lady Juliane de Vivonne – badge
      • Master Mathias Blackett and Mistress Mara Palmer – joint badge; household name was returned
      • Ruqayah al-Zarqa – device change
    • Submissions at Society (for August decision meeting)
      • Jurgen der Vielfrass – name and device
      • Quintus Valerius Gracchus – name and device
    • Submissions at Society (for September decision meeting)
      • Lady Alisandre de la Chapelle – device
      • Lady Myndee of of South Downs – name and device
      • Nikon Dawidowicz – name and device
      • Lord Mark de Wyttenye – alternate name and device
      • Lady Stella di Silvestri – alternate name and badge
    • Advanced to Society (for October decision meeting)
      • THL Andreva Rigaldi – name
      • Margot de Saint Denis – device
    • Submitted to Kingdom (for August Kingdom decision meeting)
      • Tryggvi Tryggsson – name
      • Frigyth of South Downs – name and device
  • Armored and Youth Marshal (Lady Mairghread)
    • Armored
      • This month’s melee practice will coincide with Lord Konrad’s regional practice
    • Youth
      • Got the background check cleared, so she can start authorizing youth fighters
      • Will step up as kingdom youth rapier marshal soon, probably at Foxes
  • Rapier Marshal (Lord Brendan de Hay)
    • Practices. We are still having them (even without Brendan) Sunday afternoons, concurrent with armored. Tuesday evening practices at 7pm, at Liane Levetan / Brook Run Park in Dunwoody. We’re averaging 2-12 people. For updates regarding rapier practices, go to the Atlanta SCA Fighting Facebook group.
    • Brendan thanked all those who stepped up to run practices when he (Brendan) had work conflicts.
    • Reminder: Lord Konrad will be hosting a regional rapier practice at his home in Jasper. Facebook link to the event is here.
  • Live Weapons Marshal (Mistress Mara Palmer)
    • The July practice went well – practices continue to average about 10 people per practice, with 5-8 people on a line at a time
    • This Sunday (5 August) will be the August live weapons practice
    • Mistress Mara is the new South Downs Live Weapons Champion
    • Please check the Facebook group, South Downs/Owl’s Nest Live Weapons Practice to track upcoming practices.
  • Chatelaine (Lady Justina di Silvestri)
    • No report
    • If you have borrowed any Gold Key, please return to Justina as soon as possible. Thanks!
    • Gold Key database is now available
  • Arts & Sciences (Mistress Sunneva de Cleia)
    • We have arts *and* sciences, and that is good
    • Katerina taught last month’s class on the new PayPal system for reservations.
    • Lady Zhelana will teach this month’s class on celtic knotwork
    • Reminder: Sunneva has made a schedule for all of 2018 as a Google Docs spreadsheet so you (yes, you!) can sign up to teach a class at one of our monthly A&S nights. She is pleased to report we have classes scheduled through most of the rest of the year; there is also a list in development for alternate/back up classes, so even if there are no specific dates available, please sign up!
  • Reeve (THL Andreva Rigaldi)
    • We have money! Yay!
    • Nothing new to report
  • Quartermaster (THL Lucien d’Artois)
    • We have stuff! Yay!
  • Webminister (Lord Pietro di Conti)
    • We have a website!
    • Updates
      • Updated Red Tower event page with official graphics and staff list
      • Added Gold Key database to Chatelaine page
      • Added Known World Courtesans podcast to Justina’s profile
      • Added “Refund Policy” to events, as requested by Reeve
      • Added profile page for Wenyeva atte Grene
      • Updated awards fro Justina, Mark, and Melusine
      • Added Wine Brawl and Fall Coronation to Events list
  • Chronicler (Lady Raven Helmsplitter)
    • Nothing to report
  • Seneschal (Master Wistric Oftun)
    • The men and women of the Barony will meet separately after the business meeting to discuss nominations for the Heart of South Downs and the Chivalry award (respectively)
  • Their Excellencies
    • We have a barony! Yay!
    • We (and several other members of the Barony) are getting ready to head to Pennsic, so we have nothing much else to report

Upcoming Events

  • Red Tower (5-7 October 2018), Master Wistric reporting
    • PayPal is now up and running
    • Mara thanked everyone who donated cardboard sheets for archery targets
    • Andreva is taking checks for registration, and pointed out that attendees will need to pay the $5 site/park fee, and it will need to be paid at the door since PayPal is (not yet) set up to process the park fee
  • DragonCon (30 August – 3 September 2018)
    • People are needed to pull the chariot – Ximon’s offer/bribe still stands (a six-pack of frosted adult (or all-ages) beverage of one’s choice)
    • Duke John described the setup for pulling the chariot, will ideally need 4 people (is set up to do so)
    • Took count of who is planning to take part in the parade and doing what
    • Lady Stella is the point person to get parade passes (passes will be handed out on Friday of DragonCon)
  • Castle Wars (15-18 November 2018), Lady Juliane reporting
    • Mistress Sibella is creating the site tokens, will probably schedule a project night to sew them together
    • Paypal will be up once the event flyer is approved and paperwork is done – likely within a week or two
    • Site deposit is already in for Castle Wars 2019
  • Midwinter A+S (9 February 2019), Lady Alisandre reporting
    • Alisandre talked with Sibella about securing the University of West Georgia site – their class scheduling system has apparently gone south, but this shouldn’t interfere with finalizing the site reservation by 1 October

Other SCA Business

  • The Knowne Worlde Courtesans Guild podcast is live, baby! Justina is one of the podcast’s field reporters. She said they are looking for interviews, stories, poetry and other cultural aspects of SCA life. The podcast will be a digital salon hosted by the courtesans of the Knowne World Courtesans Guild and featuring artisans of historical arts from across the world. Tune in for intelligent discussion of history, re-enacting the pre-1600s world, and news of the Society. If you are interested in talking about your art, please contact Justina and she will be happy to chat with you!
  • Ideas for next year’s baronial bid for a kingdom-level event – perhaps RUM/Fighters’ Collegium at University of West Georgia? Coronation (although this would depend on who wins Crown)?
  • Mara expressed interest in autocratting RUM/Fighters’ Collegium
  • Sir Iazzie is planning to sponsor a Rose-themed armored tournament at Crossroads – perhaps a similar tournament could be done for the rapier lyst as well?

Non-SCA Business

  • None

Next South Downs business meeting will be held Wednesday, 6 September 2018, at Little Tree Art Studios.

–Raven

Meeting Minutes, Castle Wars, Dragoncon, Events, Fighter Practices, Midwinter A&S, Red Tower

July 2018 Baronial Business Meeting Minutes

South Downs Baronial Business Meeting

11 July 2018, 7:30pm

Little Tree Studios

Notes submitted by Lady Raven Helmsplitter, South Downs Chronicler.

Herald (THL Lucien d’Artois) called the meeting to order. Master Wistric sez “Welcome! If you did not sign in, please sign in!”

Officer Reports

  • Herald (THL Lucien d’Artois)
    • Events – Legends
      • Lord Lucien D’Artois – Grant of Arms
      • Lady Mairghread Wilson – Argent Shield
      • Sable of South Downs – Award of Arms
    • Submissions registered at LOAR
      • Lady Juliane de Vivonne – badge
      • Master Mathias Blackett and Mistress Mara Palmer – joint badge; household name was returned
      • Ruqayah al-Zarqa – device change
    • Submissions in Society Commentary
      • Jurgen der Vielfrass – new name and device
      • Quintus Valerius Gracchus – new name and device
      • Lady Alisandre de la Chapelle – new device
      • Lady Myndee of of South Downs – new name and device
      • Nikon Davidowicz – new name and device
      • Lord Mark de Wyttenye – new alternate name and device
      • Lady Stella di Silvestri – new alternate name; badge was returned at Kingdom
    • Submissions in Kingdom Commentary
      • THL Andreva Rigaldi – new name
      • Margot de Saint Denis – device resubmission
    • Submitted to Kingdom
      • Tryggvi Tryggsson – new name
  • Armored and Youth Marshal (Lady Mairghread)
    • Armored
      • Sir Gelleys has offered up an armored practice for unit/melee training, to be held the second Sunday of the month, in order to make ready for fall events (including Foxes and Castle Wars)
      • Project night, focusing on armor workshops and repairing loaner gear, will take place next week at Baronial Project Night.
      • The Kingdom Marshallate will count the Tuesday evening armored practice held at Swift Cantrell as an Owl’s Nest practice, since the location is within the shire and many of the participants are members of the shire
      • Jaden Baron has agreed to be the new deputy armored marshal (yay!)
    • Owl’s Nest (Lady Mairghread is serving as their knight marshal until they have one established)
      • Received the rest of the loaner gear from Crispin
      • Owl’s Nest has finally got their own knight marshal again (yay!), so Mairghread no longer has to be responsible for that anymore. The joint Owl’s Nest/South Downs’ Tuesday evening armored practice at Swift Cantrell will continue as before.
    • Youth
      • Nothing to report
  • Live Weapons Marshal (Mistress Mara Palmer)
    • Our practices are averaging about 10 people per practice, with 5-8 people on a line at a time
    • We’ve also been getting a lot of kids attending practice (or wanting to), so we will be looking at acquiring more youth loaner gear; we still have funds available from our initial budget request, so we will just move forward with the purchases
    • This Sunday (15 July), their Excellencies will host the Live Weapons Baronial Championship, so come on out! We will have a celebrity guest marshal to marshal the event
    • Mara is looking for volunteers to become live weapons marshals-in-training; if interested, please contact her directly
    • Please check the Facebook group, South Downs/Owl’s Nest Live Weapons Practice to track upcoming practices.
  • Rapier Marshal (Lord Brendan de Hay)
    • Practices. We are still having them (even without Brendan) Sunday afternoons, concurrent with armored. Tuesday evening practices at 7pm, at Liane Levetan / Brook Run Park in Dunwoody. We’re averaging 2-12 people. For updates regarding rapier practices, go to the Atlanta SCA Fighting Facebook group.
    • Brendan thanked Master Ximon for his help in getting loaner gear to practices when he (Brendan) had work conflicts with practices.
    • We have plenty of rapier marshals-at-large, so even when Brendan can’t attend practice, there has been no problem with having marshal coverage at practices
    • Reminder: Lord Konrad will be hosting a regional rapier practice at his home in Jasper. Facebook link to the event is here.
  • Chatelaine (Lady Justina di Silvestri)
    • Justina has a carful of gold key that was donated by a former SCAdian that she will need help processing/repairing.
    • Justina would like to hold another Baronial swap meet before? after? DragonCon, since she may not have use for all the donated items.
    • If you have borrowed any Gold Key, please return to Justina as soon as possible. Thanks!
    • Gold Key database is now available
  • Arts & Sciences (Mistress Sunneva de Cleia)
    • We have arts *and* sciences, and that is good
    • Lady Justina taught last month’s class on poisons and the macabre and was well received
    • Katerina will teach this month’s class, on the new PayPal system for reservations. If you are interested in volunteering with troll at an SCA event, please come out for this class. She will teach both parts, covering reservations, troll, etc. THL Andreva encouraged everyone to consider taking the class, because the more people who are approved to handle the new Paypal registration/payment system, the easier it will be for those running troll at events.
    • Reminder: Sunneva has made a schedule for all of 2018 as a Google Docs spreadsheet so you (yes, you!) can sign up to teach a class at one of our monthly A&S nights. She is pleased to report we have classes scheduled through most of the rest of the year; there is also a list in development for alternate/back up classes, so even if there are no specific dates available, please sign up!
  • Reeve (THL Andreva Rigaldi)
    • Quarterly report was due yesterday (10 July), and was submitted on time
    • Our current accounts show that we had $10,621 in the bank at the beginning of the quarter, and we are now at approximately $8,000. This is due to having just made payments such as the storage unit rental, site fees, etc., and is rather average for us at this time of the year. Our two big events in the fall will take care of our finances.
    • Mistress Allesandra will be the new deputy (yay!)
  • Quartermaster (THL Lucien d’Artois)
    • We have stuff! Yay!
    • Lucien planning to have another storage unit inventory update after Pennsic; he had planned to do this before Pennsic, but he has been asked by Sol Haven’s quartermaster to help them get set up.
  • Webminister (Lord Pietro di Conti)
    • We have a website!
    • Updates
      • Disk cleanup to get under the web site’s disk quota
      • Added Castle Wars 2018 banners and “Your Fate in the War of Roses” random image generator game – sharable to Facebook. Several members of the populace commented on how much fun the game is!
      • Updated Red Tower 2018 site with initial blurb, event site, link to Facebook page, link from toolbar
      • Updated website to WordPress 4.9.6
      • Added ability to share to social media from AtlantaSCA and tinkered with which images are used as thumbnails on facebook
      • Swapped Lucien and Ximon as Quartermaster and Deputy Quartermaster
      • Updated Alisandre to be Deputy A&S Minister
      • Updated honors and titles for Lucien, Sable, and Mairghread from Legends event
  • Chronicler (Lady Raven Helmsplitter)
    • Raven mentioned that recently, a couple of people had shown interest in becoming the deputy Chronicler, and asked if anyone is interested, please contact her directly.
    • Justina mentioned she is interested in serving as deputy, and has ideas about expanding social media opportunities, perhaps in conjunction with the Chatelaine?
  • Seneschal (Master Wistric Oftun)
    • After the recent “Find All The Sites” session, approximately 80 potential sites have been identified for further research. Anyone interested in helping research these potential sites, please contact Wistric.
    • A Future Farmers of America (FFA) site in Conyers was suggested by a member of the populace who had attended an event there recently. This has been added to the list.
    • It’s great that so many officers have gotten deputies lined up. All officers should consider finding a deputy for their position
    • September brings DragonCon!
      • Lady Stella is coordinating our presence at the parade. For those planning to attend, please check out the SCA at DragonCon page.
      • Owl’s Nest will be managing the table this year.
      • Ximon commented that he will again offer a six-pack (or equivalent) adult beverage of their choice to anyone who helps pull the chariot in the parade this year
    • Castle Wars!
      • Sir Iazzie is still waiting on getting the additional walls built – the funds are standing by.
      • Questions were raised about who owns the walls – Iazzie says we (South Downs) do, but things aren’t clear about the ownership of the towers
      • Things need to be determined about ownership and deputy ownership (in case the point person for the walls/towers is no longer available)
    • Do we still want to create a demo box? What would we want to include in it?
    • StreetsAlive will take place 30 September along Peachtree Street. Sawyer won’t be able to organize it, but Mistress Margavati can get info to Wistric to get things going. (note: this is the same weekend as MGT)
    • A high school teacher from Coweta County who attended the History Bee is interested in having us come do a demo at their school
  • Their Excellencies
    • Adela has re-authorized as an armored fighter! To celebrate, the baronial armored champion tournament will feature all combatants to fight her to sort out the fighters into brackets
    • Lorenzo is hoping to authorize in rapier by Red Tower
    • Their Excellencies reminded the populace that the baronial live weapons champion tournament will be held this Sunday during the live weapons practice, so come on out!
    • For those wanting to go to the live weapons practice and need arrows, they are available locally – just make sure you specify wood shaft, feather fletching, how much your bow draws (pounds) and the length of your draw
    • Upcoming events!
      • Royal University of Meridies (RUM) / Fighters’ Collegium (20-22 July)
        • Will be held in Murfreesboro – come on out!
      • Tournament of the Foxes (21-23 September)
        • We have sponsored Baronial teams for rapier and archery; we would love to also have an all-South Downs armored combat team as well! Represent!

Upcoming Events

  • Red Tower (5-7 October 2018), co-Autocrat Lady Veronica reporting
    • We have all volunteer positions covered; Veronica read through the list to confirm
    • Veronica will get together with Andreva and Mathias to work through herald logistics and duties
    • Mara requested donations of large pieces of cardboard for live weapons targets
    • Lorenzo asked about site tokens – Veronica has a bagful of tokens from past events that she will be using
  • Castle Wars (15-18 November 2018)
    • Juliane needs volunteers! We already have 378 (via the Facebook event page) planning on attending.
    • If we don’t offer a GTFO breakfast Sunday morning, we should at least make sure there’s coffee “so people don’t die”
    • There was discussion about offering a volunteer war point, perhaps a York vs Lancaster competition
    • Need donations for the volunteer raffle
    • Ximon asked about a truck rental to haul supplies from the storage unit (and walls?) – Juliane confirmed the truck rental is included in the approved budget
    • Andreva reminded everyone that per Kingdom law, any receipts submitted for reimbursement can not include any personal items on the receipt, regardless of how minor the cost.
  • Midwinter A+S (9 February 2019)
    • We have a theme! The Gutenburg Printing Press!
    • That’s pretty much all that’s ready to mention now

Other SCA Business

  • The Knowne Worlde Courtesans Guild podcast is live, baby! Justina is one of the podcast’s field reporters. She said they are looking for interviews, stories, poetry and other cultural aspects of SCA life. The podcast will be a digital salon hosted by the courtesans of the Knowne World Courtesans Guild and featuring artisans of historical arts from across the world. Tune in for intelligent discussion of history, re-enacting the pre-1600s world, and news of the Society. If you are interested in talking about your art, please contact Justina and she will be happy to chat with you!
  • In local courtesan news, the Courtesans of Meridies are sponsoring an adult-themed scribal challenge at Meridies Fall Coronation 2018! They want to see your naughty scribal side…
    • Prize: Replica Roman brothel coins (spintriae) and more!
    • Rules: Teams allowed, tracing allowed, incomplete allowed, documentation encouraged but not required.
    • Due to the nature of the subject, ONLY AGES 18+ may enter this challenge.
  • Justina is also sponsoring a category in the Meridies Scribal Challenge for Fall Coronation!
    • Best use of Poisonous Pigment in a Scroll
    • Prize: Historic poisonous plant seeds for the garden
    • Teams allowed, tracing allowed, documentation encouraged. Please include a description of materials used. Have fun!!!
  • Ca d’Oro has teamed up with the Sable and Gules Theater at Gulf Wars 2019. Lady Þýri’s fashion show was incredibly inspiring, so they are going to host a fashion show Monday of Gulf and will process to the Ca d’Oro department for a salon to discuss what each of them are wearing. They are looking for models – show off your garb of all eras and inspire newcomers! If you are interested, please contact Justina, or Sable and Gules directly
  • Iazzie mentioned that we need to start thinking about kingdom-level bids for 2019 – perhaps RUM/Fighters’ Collegium?

Non-SCA Business

  • None

Next South Downs business meeting will be held Wednesday, 1 August 2018, at Little Tree Art Studios.

–Raven

Castle Wars, Meeting Minutes, Red Tower

June 2018 Business Meeting Followup

South Downs Baronial Business Meeting

20 June 2018, 7:30pm

Little Tree Studios

Notes submitted by Lady Raven Helmsplitter, South Downs Chronicler.

Herald (Lord Lucien d’Artois) called the meeting to order. Master Wistric sez “Welcome! If you did not sign in, please sign in!”

The purpose of tonight’s meeting is to have the autocrats of Red Tower and Castle Wars present their budgets for each event for review and approval before they are submitted to Kingdom.

Event Bid Presentations

  • Red Tower
    • Lord Mark reviewed the details of the budget breakdown. Please click here to view the budget
    • It has been confirmed that we will be able to have live weapons at the site (Camp Rutledge)
    • Motion to approve the bid was made, seconded, and approved unanimously
  • Castle Wars
    • Lady Juliane reviewed the details of the budget. Please click here to view the budget
    • Lady Juliane further reported that our Facebook event page shows we’ve already got 300 people saying that they’re planning on going to Castle Wars, and are asking about event registration.
    • THL Sibella will be making our site tokens (300 each red and white roses)
    • We will rent a U-Haul truck to transport the castle walls to and from site
    • Motion to approve the bid was made, seconded, and approved unanimously (except for Sir Iazzie, on principle 😀 )

Other SCA Business

  • Camp Kitchen Purchases
    • THL Mariana did a great job breaking down what we need and what we already have
    • Budget requested: $450 ($417 for supplies, remainder to cover shipping, etc.)
    • Motion to approve the bid was made, seconded, and approved unanimously
  • THL Andreva, our fearless reeve, pointed out that any purchases for SCA purposes must not include any personal purchases on the receipt – they must be completely separated.
  • Iazzie reported that Lady Mairghread received her Argent Shield at Legends last weekend (yay!)
  • Mairghread has been asked by the shire of Owl’s Nest to serve as their interim Knight Marshal, as they don’t have one right now.
  • Sir Caius Aurelius, the Kingdom Earl Marshal, has asked all the local groups to provide him with an inventory of their loaner gear; Mairghread will work on that for the Barony, and will be coordinating with our quartermaster, Lord Lucien, on this project. Mark will be adding further to our loaner gear (in process).

With all business being completed, the business meeting was closed and we returned to our regularly-scheduled dance practice.

The next South Downs business meeting will be held Wednesday, 11 July 2018, at Little Tree Art Studios.

–Raven