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March 2020 Baronial Business Meeting Minutes

South Downs Baronial Business Meeting

4 March 2020, 7:30pm

Notes submitted by Lady Raven Helmsplitter, South Downs Chronicler.

THL Lucien d’Artois called the meeting to order. Our new Seneschal, THL Juliane de Vivonne, sez “Welcome! If you did not sign in, please sign in!”

Before the officers began giving their reports, THL Piers asked to speak before the populace. He offered an apology for how he handled the coronation bid he submitted.

Officers Reports

  • Herald (THL Lucien d’Artois)
    • Nothing to report
    • Lucien is also the kingdom submissions deputy; if you want to submit something, please let him take a look at it before you submit it officially. It will save you time and money to do so, and he’s more than happy to help. Just contact him via Facebook or text him directly.
    • Sir Iazzie offered a PSA: a lot of people like to do their heraldic consultations at Gulf Wars, but it’s always better to work locally and wrap things up (if needed) at Gulf Wars. It usually adds time to processing your submission if you don’t work locally first – the heralds at Gulf Wars get slammed with consultations
    • Mistress Alessandra mentioned that another reason to not have your consultations done at Gulf Wars is that alcohol might be involved there, and you might end up with strange results 😀
  • Knight Marshal (Lady Mairghread Wilson), Lord JĂŒrgen reporting
    • Mairghread will be out of town for a couple of weeks for training for her new business, so Lord JĂŒrgen will cover Tuesday evening practices in her absence
    • Practices are going well – Sunday practice continues at the incipient Viking Alchemist Meadery site (3080 Jonquil Dr., Smyrna, GA 30080). Everyone is very happy with the site! We have gone back to holding joint practices on Tuesday evenings with the rapier fighters at Brook Run Park, 4770 N Peachtree Rd, Dunwoody, GA 30338, near the Veterans’ Memorial.
  • Rapier Marshal (Captain Brendan de Hay)
    • Levetan Park may be getting too dark for Tuesday evening practices. So far, so good, but suggestions for alternate locations are welcome.
    • Thanks, as always, to our collection of rapier marshals who make it possible for practice to happen without me. Efforts to get a couple more people warranted are under way.
  • Live Weapons (Mistress Mara Palmer), THL Juliane reporting
    • People have been shooting stuff! Yay!
    • We have equipment! Yay!
    • There have been some issues with the Royal Rankings – we are working through them, just be patient
    • Upcoming practices are, as always, posted on the South Downs/Owl’s Nest Live Weapons Practice group, so come check us out!
  • Reeve (Mistress Alessandra Fioravanti)
    • We have money! yay!
    • She finished the report for Midwinter – we made a profit of $1,272 from the event. Yay!
  • Quartermaster (THL Lucien d’Artois)
    • We have stuff! Yay!
    • He is planning to do another inventory before the spring event season gets too far underway, but it will likely be after Gulf Wars
  • Chatelaine (Lord Nikon Dawidowicz)
    • Tom has accepted the deputy chatelaine position. Yay!
    • Demo Deputy (Lady BĂș Feiyan)
      • Our next demo will be on 9 May at the Alpharetta Library; they are looking in particular for people to demonstrate calligraphy and embroidery inside the Library and fighters outside. The indoor demos will be very hands-on.
  • Arts & Sciences (THL Alisandre de la Chapelle)
    • We have A&S in the Barony, and it is good! Yay!
    • It’s time for the quarterly report – post what you’ve done the past three months on the baronial A+S spreadsheet so we can document it.
    • This month’s A&S class will be about silkworms taught by Erin Neko Hennessy (what is your SCA name?)
    • April’s A&S class will be on weaving with gold thread, taught by Mistress Alessandra
    • Speaking of A&S classes in the new year… are you interested in teaching a Baronial Arts & Sciences class in 2020? Submit your class idea on this form, or contact Alisandre directly.
    • There was a good turnout at the A&S/group visit to Fine Fabrics. Everyone first met up at the food court at the Global Mall for delicious Indian food, then we headed over to Fine Fabrics for a guided tour (for those like your Chronicler who gets easily overwhelmed there).
    • It is also gift basket season! Their Excellencies will need largesse for event season gifts. They’ll give Alisandre a list of largesse they already have – if you are considering making something for this effort, please contact Alisandre first so she can coordinate if necessary
  • Keeper of the Baronial Memes (Social Media Minister) (THL Emelina le Nourreys)
    • We have social media! Yay!
    • Yay! We have 20 new followers on Instagram!
    • Emelina has set up the Instagram account to automatically crosspost to Facebook
    • Social media posts from MCA got picked up by Society
  • Webminister (Captain Pietro di Conti)
    • We have a website! yay!
    • Cleaned up website menus, removing obsolete links
    • Replaced the 2019 A&S baronial class schedule with a link to THL Alisandre’s 2020 A&S spreadsheet
    • Updated baronial meetings page with the new Freeside Atlanta project night location
    • Added profile for Erikr and added him as a deputy on the Knight Marshal page
    • Added Lady Aelia as deputy on the Chronicler page
    • Submitted quarterly report to the kingdom webminster
  • Their Excellencies, Master Wistric and Mistress Sunneva
    • Thanked everyone who worked on Midwinter A&S last month
    • Reminded everyone who is planning to go to Gulf Wars that if you are considering volunteering, make sure you get your volunteer hours logged and (if so), consider applying those hours to South Downs.
  • Seneschal (THL Juliane de Vivonne)
    • Red Tower will actually start in September; not sure how this will impact the PopChiv event requirements
    • We have unofficially had our Artsy Crown bid approved; the event flyer is being published in PopChiv
    • Kingdom was notified that Coronation’s feastcrat is looking for middle and high school aged children to serve feast, and there will be a teen hafla afterwards.
    • Juliane described a plan for the next five years – she was going to take it easy and not autocrat any events in 2019, but would look at autocratting Castle Wars in 2020 before she stepped up as seneschal as she isn’t comfortable with the idea of autocratting while serving as seneschal.
      • However, she had already been making plans to autocrat this year’s Castle Wars and has asked THL Isabetta to co-autocrat Castle Wars with her so she can recuse herself from any financial issues for the event
      • Iazzie had concerns since this would remove a layer of responsibility for the barony that would be problematic.
      • THL Andreva pointed out that the legal paperwork related to submitting a bid requires three signatures: the seneschal, the reeve, and the autocrat.
      • His Excellency asked if the kingdom seneschal had any thoughts about the situation.

Recent and Upcoming Events

  • Meridian Challenge of Arms (MCA), 28 February – 1 March 2020, Dalwhinnie Fields
    • 96 people attended
    • We had fencers come in as far away as Glenn Abhann (10 hours drive!)
    • This was the first time that MCA was held as a weekend event
    • Lex was really excited to host the event there
    • Everyone had a great time, and not having a hard departure deadline on Sunday was really helpful
    • Chickens!
    • There was a brick oven onsite, and fundraiser lunch was made-to-order woodfired pizzas – so great!
    • Funny moment – the Barony of Iron Mountain was assumed by the heralds to host the event (MCA, like Meridian Grand Tournament, are hosted by the kingdom, not by any local group). Shenanigans ensued.
    • THL Isabetta was tasked to make the site full of pageantry, and had everyone bring their banners. This created a beautiful scene with the banners fluttering in the breeze around the lyst field.
    • House Excelsior made several kingdom pennons to add to the pageantry. It rocked!
  • Artsy Crown (22-25 May 2020, Camp Benjamin Hawkins, Byron GA)
    • Countess Gwynhwyfar offered a donation of a linen tunic from Linen Garb as a raffle for everyone who volunteers at troll. Thank you!
    • There will be a signup sheet for setup and teardown
    • There is a potential handfasting to be scheduled Friday night of Artsy Crown – this, however, will not be part of the official schedule, they’re just letting people know it will happen.

SCA Business

  • Lady Isabella has been asked to spearhead our baronial beautification project; she would love some help to make general signs for parking, etc., at an upcoming project night.
  • Freeside Atlanta is moving to another location and is looking for large cardboard packing boxes and help packing
  • We now have bardic meetings in our barony! For more info, please contact Master Mathias

Non-SCA Business

  • Andreva has a spring concert the weekend of 19 April at Northside Church; the theme is motets (a 16th century music form). If interested, please contact her for ticket info
  • THL Justina brought a bunch of fabric and other stuff, free to a good home. Anything not taken after the meeting will be donated to Goodwill.
  • THL Stella said we are a go for the DragonCon parade! Yay!

 
Business meeting is closed.

Next business meeting will be held Wednesday, 1 April 2020, at the Doraville Civic Center.

Thanks!

–Raven

A&S, Events, Meeting Minutes, Midwinter A&S, Society ANNOUNCEMENTS

February 2020 Mini-Business Meeting Minutes

19 February 2020, 7:30pm

Notes submitted by Lady Aelia Bassina of Veii, South Downs Deputy Chronicler.

THL Lucien d’Artois called the meeting to order. “Welcome! If you did not sign in, please sign in!”

Tonight’s meeting covers two specific issues for discussion and one for voting: the bid for this year’s Artsy Crown and the post-mortem from Midwinter Arts & Sciences.

Spring Crown List and Kingdom Arts & Sciences (Artsy Crown) 2020 Bid (22-25 May, 2020)
There had been previous discussion about submitting a bid for RUM as our required kingdom-level event bid; however, it has come to our attention that no one had submitted a bid for Artsy Crown, so we’ve put together a bid in the hopes of preserving the event. Copies of the bid were passed out to any of the populace who wanted them.

  • Co-Autocrats: Lady Raven Helmsplitter and THL Lucien d’Artois
  • Site: Camp Benjamin Hawkins, Byron GA. This is the same site where Castle Wars and Coronation were held. We realize it is not an ideal site for Artsy Crown due to the lack of air-conditioned classroom space, but everything has already been booked for Memorial Day weekend. We will look at having A&S classes in the pavilions and bring fans to help keep things cool(ish).
  • Cost to attend: $20 adult weekend and $15 adult daytrip, including a $5 discount for members ($30 members, $20 non-members
  • There will be two feasts, one Saturday and a fighters’ feast on Sunday; each feast will be $8.
  • Minimal marshal costs; the only martial activities will be Crown List on Sunday, and the Kingdom Earl Marshal will be coordinating that.
  • Some details are still being put together, as a bid needs to be entered as soon as we can.
  • PayPal will be set up as soon as we get the go-ahead
  • Other staff:
    • Field Steward: Captain Brendan de Hay, with THL Piers Simmons serving as deputy
    • Event booklet and flyer: Lady Agnes Halydaye
    • Memes and Social Media: THL Emelina and Lady Isabella
    • Marshal in charge: Master Edward Yarborough (as Kingdom Earl Marshal)
    • Event Website: Captain Pietro di Conti
    • Youth Activities: Lady Una Ulfrdottir
    • Mentor: THL Juliane de Vivonne
    • We will need many volunteers to help make this happen; once we get the bid approved by Crown, we will need to hit the ground running.
  • There will be 3 days of breakfast, travelers’ fare on Friday night, and 2 fundraiser lunches
  • Questions from the populace:
    • Will there be childrens’ activities? Yes
    • Do we feel the amount set aside for travelers’ fare ($75) is enough? Baron Mark mentioned he spent more than $100 when he provided travelers’ fare. It was agreed that the amount would be increased.
    • Seeing as we have been using the site for a year or so now, would it be possible to do a survey to see if the attendees like or don’t like the site, and what they do or don’t like about it? Comments from the populace included that most of the complaints are about things we cannot control, such as the site not being level, etc.
    • Lady Agnes expressed interest in working troll, but she wanted assurances that she wouldn’t actually have to handle money. Yes – there’s a lot to do at troll that doesn’t include directly handling money (putting together tokens and site booklets, answering questions, helping attendees fill out paperwork, etc.). With Artsy Crown being 4 days, we will definitely need lots of volunteers at troll to cover all the shifts.
    • The discussion ended, and a motion to vote was made and seconded. The bid was approved. Since it is a long weekend (Friday through Monday of Memorial Day weekend), the suggestion was made to increase the weekend adult fee to $25. A vote to increase the adult weekend fee was made and passed; the bid will be revised to reflect this.

Midwinter Arts & Sciences and Regional Fighter Practice post-mortem
Lady Raven thanked everyone who came out to Midwinter. Everyone had a lot of fun and a good time. Not everything went perfectly, but it was a new site and overall things went well.

  • A couple of things happened:
    • The site loved us. The parish coordinator said we were the easiest outside group she’d ever worked with, and we now have Exalted Status with the parish. They would love to have us back!
    • When we host an event, it is so important for people to step and volunteer; we had a few instances of volunteers being locked into their jobs for the entire event. With enough volunteers, everyone can help *and* enjoy the event.
    • More signage is needed for the indoor areas because it was very confusing. Perhaps a signpost outside the elevators to help direct people inside?
    • There was a lack of trashcans. Perhaps as a Barony, we could invest in some pop-up trashcans to supplement what a site has available
    • Could we have a white board or tack board where event changes (room changes, class cancellations, etc) could be posted in a central location? We do have a sandwich whiteboard in our storage unit that can be brought out for this purpose.
    • While we were there, someone from another group came up and suggested having a handout for people who aren’t there for the event to explain what we do so there is no misunderstanding. We shared the space with a women’s bible study group in the morning and a Nicotine Anonymous meeting in another part of the building in the afternoon.
    • The classes were well attended, and because some of the classrooms were small, class attendees spilled out into the hallway. Class size management might be needed for next time.
  • Questions from the populace:
    • If we do this again, can we use signage instead of having a person direct parking? There was signage but because it was a new site, we wanted to have someone there to help direct people. More signage is definitely needed, and it would also reduce the number of volunteers needed on parking staff.
    • Lady Raven asked if we would like to have an event there again? Yes!
    • THL Emelina mentioned that the area for the scriptorium was awesome – it was quiet and perfect.
    • Mistress Alessandra reported we had 272 people attend, 21 of those were children
    • Lady Agnes said that Lady Raven did an awesome job!

Business meeting is closed.

Next business meeting will be held Wednesday, 4 March 2020, at the Doraville Civic Center.

Thanks!

–Raven

A&S, Announcements, Dragoncon, Events, Meeting Minutes, Midwinter A&S, Society ANNOUNCEMENTS

February 2020 Baronial Business Meeting Minutes

South Downs Baronial Business Meeting

5 February 2020, 7:30pm

Notes submitted by Lady Raven Helmsplitter, South Downs Chronicler.

THL Lucien d’Artois called the meeting to order. Our new Seneschal, THL Juliane de Vivonne, sez “Welcome! If you did not sign in, please sign in!”

Juliane announced we had special guests to the Barony attending our meeting tonight: The Honorable Lady Saruca bint Lazari from the East Kingdom, one of the Society’s Ombudsmen, and Her Exuberance, Baroness Anna, of late from the Kingdom of Lochac and newly arrived to our fair Barony. The populace greeted them warmly.

Officers Reports

  • Herald (THL Lucien d’Artois)
    • Nothing of note happened at Midwinter A&S (lol)
    • Submissions
      • No new submissions, no change in status for submissions in progress.
    • Awards
      • Midwinter Arts & Sciences, 1 February 2020
        • His Excellency, Master Wistric Oftun – Pelican
        • Lady Aelia Bassina – Meridian Cross
        • THL Juliane de Vivonne – Meridian Cross
        • Lady Mairghread Wilson – Cygnet’s Nest
        • Mistress Marianna Cristina Tirado de Aragon – Court Barony
        • Sir Iastreb Desislavich – Court Barony
        • THL Justina di Silvestri – Red Raven
        • THL Stella di Silvestri – Red Raven
  • Knight Marshal (Lady Mairghread Wilson)
    • Lady Mairghread thanked everyone who came out to the regional fighter practice last Sunday (2 February); we had more than 40 armored fighters come out, and the weather was (uncharacteristically) awesome
    • Mairghread will be out of town for a couple of weeks for training for her new business, so Lord JĂŒrgen will cover Tuesday evening practices in her absence
    • Mairghread would like to add Lord Eirikr PĂĄlsson as her deputy marshal – as there were no objections, she will move forward with getting him set up.
    • Practices are going well – Sunday practice continues at the incipient Viking Alchemist Meadery site (3080 Jonquil Dr., Smyrna, GA 30080). Everyone is very happy with the site! We have gone back to holding joint practices on Tuesday evenings with the rapier fighters at Brook Run Park, 4770 N Peachtree Rd, Dunwoody, GA 30338, near the Veterans’ Memorial.
  • Rapier Marshal (Captain Brendan de Hay)
    • Captain Brendan echoed what Mairghread said about the regional practice – we had 10 fencers attend practice
    • We have new fighters (yay!), including one crossing over from armored fighting Brendan reminded the populace that *anyone* can cross over, and fight both forms – one day armored, one day rapier (for example)
    • Mairghread mentioned that we will have a youth rapier fighter who will try to authorize on Sunday
    • Master Ximon thanked the barony for supplying the food for the cookout at the regional practice – everyone ate well
    • Ximon also thanked everyone who signed His Excellency Wistric’s birthday card at the practice, who was also very well surprised at the birthday cake.
    • Levetan Park may be getting too dark for Tuesday evening practices. So far, so good, but suggestions for alternate locations are welcome.
    • Thanks, as always, to our collection of rapier marshals who make it possible for practice to happen without me. Efforts to get a couple more people warranted are under way.
  • Live Weapons (Mistress Mara Palmer), THL Juliane reporting
    • Master Mathias and Conor have been covering practices for Mara in her absence.
    • We have equipment! Yay!
    • Upcoming practices are, as always, posted on the South Downs/Owl’s Nest Live Weapons Practice group, so come check us out!
  • Quartermaster (THL Lucien d’Artois)
    • We have stuff! Yay!
    • He is planning to do another inventory before the spring event season gets too far underway, but it will likely be after Gulf Wars
  • Chatelaine (Lord Nikon Dawidowicz)
    • Lord Nikon was welcomed as our new Chatelaine, and THL Justina was thanked for all her hard work as the outgoing Chatelaine
    • Demo Deputy (Lady BĂș Feiyan)
      • Our next demo will be on 9 May at the Alpharetta Library; they are looking in particular for people to demonstrate calligraphy and embroidery inside the Library and fighters outside. The indoor demos will be very hands-on.
        • It was pointed out that this is the same weekend as the Meridian heralds’ retreat, so some of our regular demo participants will not be able to make this demo
        • The barony has many leftover embroidery hoops from Red Tower that we can use for the demo, and Sir Iazzie has some blank practice scrolls he can donate
        • THL Saruca mentioned that her barony does an “armor petting zoo” at their demos, allowing visitors to handle some of the armor the fighters use, and that it’s very popular
        • THL Justina and THL Emelina suggested setting up some photo ops at the demo, that we can then post on our Instagram site
        • Next Wednesday (12 February) will be project night at the maker space (the old location); BĂș will be making a photo backdrop for demos.
  • Arts & Sciences (THL Alisandre de la Chapelle)
    • We have A&S in the Barony, and it is good! Yay!
    • Alisandre thanked everyone who came out to take a class or teach a class at Midwinter A&S! If you didn’t teach, consider teaching at a future event!
    • It’s time for the quarterly report – post what you’ve done the past three months on the baronial A+S spreadsheet so we can document it.
    • This month’s A&S class will be “How to Submit an Event Bid,” taught by Juliane
    • March’s A&S class will be on weaving with gold thread, taught by Mistress Alessandra
    • Speaking of A&S classes in the new year… are you interested in teaching a Baronial Arts & Sciences class in 2020? Submit your class idea on this form, or contact Alisandre directly.
    • Alisandre is looking at starting up A&S weekend sessions; the first/next one is a trip to Fine Fabrics, just before MCA later this month.
    • It is also gift basket season! Their Excellencies will need largesse for event season gifts. They’ll give Alisandre a list of largesse they already have – if you are considering making something for this effort, please contact Alisandre first so she can coordinate if necessary
  • Chronicler (Lady Raven Helmsplitter)
    • We have a deputy! Yay! Lady Aelia Bassina of Veii has graciously volunteered.
  • Keeper of the Baronial Memes (Social Media Minister) (THL Emelina le Nourreys)
    • We have social media! Yay!
    • Yay! We have more than 200 followers on Instagram!
    • Emelina thanked Lady Isabella in particular for helping cover while she was focused on scrolls for Midwinter
  • Webminister (Captain Pietro di Conti)
    • We have a website! yay!
    • Changed copyright to Year 2020
    • Communicated with Kingdom Webminister about kingdom web policy issues – they want all web sites to have a meridies.org domain, but this might be hard for us. I emailed Kingdom Webminister on 25 January 2020 asking if having meridies.org redirect to the existing web site would be acceptable. I hadn’t received any reply as of 5 February so I sent another email to follow up. If they won’t allow this, we need to either migrate content to their site (a large effort) or figure out how to change our domain name to use theirs. We would also need to reprint promotional materials.
    • Updated Seneschal’s email and web page to go to THL Juliane
    • Updated Reeve’s email and web page to go to Mistress Alessandra
    • Updated Chatelaine’s emails and web pages to go to Lord Nikon and Lady BĂș
    • Updated Minister of Children’s email and web page to go to Lady Una
    • Added Lady Isabella to social media email
    • Added Midwinter A&S kingdom-level awards for His Excellency Master Wistric, Lady Aelia, THL Juliane, Lady Mairghread, Mistress Marianna, Sir Iastreb
    • Added January and Midwinter A&S barony-level awards for THL Wenyeva, THL Juliane, Lady Aelia, Lady Isabella, THL Justina, and THL Stella
  • Minister of Children (Lady Una Ulfrdottir)
    • Discussed children’s activities at Midwinter – the kids had a lot of fun!
  • Seneschal (THL Juliane de Vivonne)
    • The populace welcomed Juliane as our new Seneschal, adn thanked THL Mark for all his hard work as the outgoing Seneschal
    • Juliane pointed out that the kingdom calendar has Castle Wars 2020 listed incorrectly – it should be 4 days (Thursday, 19 November – Sunday, 22 November)
    • RUM (the Royal University of Meridies): as a Barony, we are required to submit a bid for a Kingdom-level event; there is interest in autocratting, but we need a site! If you have any ideas, please text Juliane directly. In the meantime, she’ll find out when the bid is due – they’re not calling for it yet, so we ahve some time.
    • She is looking for a deputy for finding sites

SCA Business

  • Midwinter post-mortem will take place later this month, due to several key absences at tonight’s meeting
  • Next week is project night, and Emelina will start publicizing. Please feel free to share her FB posts to help get the word out (so she doesn’t feel like she’s spamming everyone)
  • MCA (Meridian Challenge of Arms) – if you are planning to attend, please pre-register! Registration deadline is 14 February There are feast spots left! There will also be a bonfire and Master Geoffrey’s tavern, The Cock and Feather, will be there. It will be epic!
  • The kingdom newsletter, Popular Chivalry (PopChiv), needs to have some info updated. Juliane has reached out to its editor, Lord Einarr knytir – he said that he needs to receive the request by email and will take care of it once he’s recovered from the flu.
  • Alisandre shared a post about pronoun pins; she’s putting together a group order that she’ll pick up at Gulf Wars, if anyone is interested in adding to her order. Please post requests on the Barony FB page so she can keep track of orders.
  • Sir Iazzie is the current ombudsman for our region, and is looking for a successor. Please contact him directly if interested.

Non-SCA Business

  • Juliane mentioned the deadline for signing up the Barony for the DragonCon parade is coming up (15 February), and we need someone to volunteer to coordinate our presence at the parade. Ximon volunteered. Stella has made Meridian and South Downs ribbons for your badges if you march in the parade.
  • Saruca wanted to take a selfie with everyone before the meeting ended.
  • Iazzie recognized Brendan for being on top of things at Midwinter, and Juliane seconded.

 
Business meeting is closed.

Next business meeting will be held Wednesday, 4 March 2020, at the Doraville Civic Center.

Thanks!

–Raven

A&S, Announcements, Events, Meeting Minutes, Midwinter A&S, Society ANNOUNCEMENTS

January 2020 Baronial Business Meeting

South Downs Baronial Business Meeting

8 January 2020, 7:30pm

Notes submitted by Lady Raven Helmsplitter, South Downs Chronicler.

THL Lucien d’Artois called the meeting to order. Our Seneschal, THL Mark de Wytteney, sez “Welcome! If you did not sign in, please sign in!”

Officers Reports

  • Herald (THL Lucien d’Artois)
    • Submissions
      • THL Juliane de Vivonne – new badge
      • Sara Wandrownyczka – new name and device
      • Mistress Mara Palmer – badge registered on October 2019 LOAR
    • Awards
      • None – THL Lucien reminded everyone to write award recommendation letters, and to double-check the dramatis personae page on the baronial website or the kingdom Order of Precedence page to see if the person you wish to write a recommendation for already has the award.
  • Knight Marshal (Lady Mairghread Wilson)
    • We had an injury report that needed to be submitted.
    • Lord JĂŒrgen is away on military training, so Lady Mairghread is looking for backup marshals for practices.
    • Practices are going well – Sunday practice continues at the incipient Viking Alchemist Meadery site (3080 Jonquil Dr., Smyrna, GA 30080) starting 13 October 2019. Everyone is very happy with the site! As of this past Tuesday (6 January 2020), we went back to holding joint practices on Tuesday evenings with the rapier fighters at Brook Run Park, 4770 N Peachtree Rd, Dunwoody, GA 30338, near the Veterans’ Memorial.
  • Rapier Marshal (Captain Brendan de Hay)
    • Practices at the Meadery are awesome. Huge thanks to those making this happen.
    • Levetan Park may be getting too dark for Tuesday evening practices. So far, so good, but suggestions for alternate locations are welcome.
    • Thanks, as always, to our collection of rapier marshals who make it possible for practice to happen without me. Efforts to get a couple more people warranted are under way.
  • Live Weapons (Mistress Mara Palmer)
    • Master Mathias and Conor have been covering practices for Mara in her absence.
    • We have equipment! Yay!
    • Upcoming practices are, as always, posted on the South Downs/Owl’s Nest Live Weapons Practice group, so come check us out!
  • Chatelaine (THL Justina di Silvestri)
    • She seconded the comments of others so far that the Sunday practices at the Meadery are AWESOME! It’s also a great place to bring newcomers.
    • Collegium Vulcani, hosted by the shire of Des Forges in December, was also awesome! This year’s event featured classes particularly useful to newcomers to the SCA.
    • If you have anything you’d like to contribute to Gold Key, please get to Justina by the end of January so she can finalize inventory before Lord Nikon steps up as Chatelaine in February.
    • She reminded the populace that we all are chatelaines, in practice.
    • Demo Deputy (Lady BĂș Feiyan)
      • We have a possibility of several library demos in the next couple of months, and they’d like to pay us for it. The payments would be set up as donations to the Barony, so we would not violate any rules regarding non-profits or the Society.
      • Potential dates are 8 February or 7 March, so attendance would need to work around Knight’s Gambit and Gulf Wars (respectively). They’re also interested in having us come out in April (4 or 11 April) to demo fighting and crafting.
      • Second Wednesday project nights continue at Freecyle. They are moving to a new location in March or April, and it would be great if we could come out to help with their move since they’ve been really good to us.
  • Arts & Sciences (THL Alisandre de la Chapelle)
    • We have A&S in the Barony, and it is good! Yay!
    • It’s time for the quarterly report – post what you’ve done the past three months on the baronial A+S spreadsheet so we can document it.
    • Baron Mark will be teaching this month’s class on period dice games. He is putting together swag bags of dice and antique coins in a bag for purchase by those taking the class – he will determine the final costs for this and will let everyone know in advance of the class.
    • We are still looking for teachers for Midwinter Arts & Sciences, to be held in Decatur on 1 February. If you’re interested in teaching, please sign up on the baronial page. Alisandre was asked if time slots could be requested – this is not really possible, due to all the moving pieces involved in the scheduling puzzle.
    • Speaking of A&S classes in the new year… are you interested in teaching a Baronial Arts & Sciences class in 2020? Submit your class idea on this form, or contact Alisandre directly.
  • Reeve (THL Andreva Rigaldi)
    • We have money! yay!
    • End of year report is done, pending Seneschal’s signature.
      • Balance: $12,113.13
      • Outstanding checks: $11,XXX
      • We are up $1,401.19 from last year, which is really good given that our expenses have increased ($100 for first two meetings, $25 for each meeting after that per month)
    • This is Andreva’s last business meeting as Reeve – she’ll hand off the position to Mistress Alessandra in February.
  • Webminister (Captain Pietro di Conti)
    • We have a website! yay!
    • Many, many Castle Wars web page updates
    • Submitted quarterly report to the Kingdom Webminister
    • Lady Zhelana did several updates to add content to Midwinter A&S event page.
    • Removed temperature restrictions from Fighter Practice page; added “warranted marshal required”.
    • Disk cleanup: reduced number of backups retained from 4 to 3 for sake of disk space.
    • Posted the dates of Jan-May live weapons practices.
  • Keeper of the Baronial Memes (Social Media Minister) (THL Emelina le Nourreys)
    • We have social media! Yay!
    • Working on memes and signage for Midwinter A&S.
    • Yay! We have almost 200 followers on Instagram!
  • Minister of Children (Lady Melusine of South Downs, THL Mark de Wytteney reporting)
    • Lady Melusine (Myndee) is stepping down, and Lady Una will serve as our Minister of Children – her background check has been done, and everything is good to go!
    • Everyone thanked Myndee for all the work she’s done to really establish children’s activities both in the barony and in the Kingdom.
  • Chronicler (Lady Raven Helmsplitter)
    • Looking for a deputy to whom she can eventually hand over the office’s responsibilities.
  • Their Excellencies, Master Wistric and Mistress Sunneva
    • Thank you all for coming out for the baronial holiday party! We had a great turnout, everyone had a great time, and it went on until the wee hours of the morning.
    • We hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season.
    • Once again, we are looking for retainers for Midwinter A&S – it’s fun and easy! If interested, please contact Juliane.
    • Their Excellencies then called over Andreva, who opened the Court of Their Excellencies South Downs.
      • THL Wenyeva atte grene was called into court and awarded The Phoenix Spark for having “become (an) integral member of the Barony after moving from another Kingdom or returning to the Society from a long hiatus.” And there was much rejoicing from the populace.
      • With Their business being done, the court of Their Excellencies was closed.
  • Seneschal (THL Mark de Wytteney)
    • This is also Mark’s last business meeting as seneschal, and Juliane will be taking over. Mark was thanked for all the work he’s done as seneschal.
    • If you haven’t already done so, please sign in!

Upcoming Events

  • Midwinter Arts & Sciences (1 February 2020), Lady Raven Helmsplitter and Master Ximon Martillo de CĂłrdoba reporting
    • Event to be held at Holy Trinity Parish Episcopal Church in downtown Decatur – new site, 3 blocks to Decatur MARTA station, 5 blocks to Avondale MARTA station, so it’s intown and easily accessible.
    • Everything is moving apace – the insurance application has been submitted and we should have the documents back in plenty of time for the event.
    • The Meridian Order of the Blade will offer a fundraiser lunch of chili and stews.
    • Event staffing has been completed.
    • Andreva asked about what we have in inventory for power cords and adapters for PayPal, and if we needed to purchase more – financial committee approved, will be added to troll box.
    • We will go to the site in a week or two (depending on parish coordinator’s schedule) to do a final walkthrough and drop off deposit and insurance paperwork.
  • Jour d’Amour (24-26 January 2020)
    • THL Justina announced that the Courtesans of Meridies will be hosting a symposium and salon at the event.

Non-SCA Business

  • Mistress Margavati brought a bunch of books to the meeting, free to a good home (or homes).
  • Mistress Mara announced that she will be hosting a baby shower for Gwyneth (Morgan) at Midwinter A&S – if interested in attending, please stay tuned fro details (or contact Mara directly).

 
Business meeting is closed.

Next business meeting will be held Wednesday, 8 February 2020, at the Doraville Civic Center.

Thanks!

–Raven

Events, Meeting Minutes, Society ANNOUNCEMENTS

December 2019 Baronial Mini-Business Meeting

11 December 2019, 7:30pm

Notes submitted by Lady Raven Helmsplitter, South Downs Chronicler.

THL Lucien d’Artois called the meeting to order. “Welcome! If you did not sign in, please sign in!”

Tonight’s meeting includes a review and consideration of a bid for Spring Coronation, submitted by THL Piers Simmons. Usually, the local group where the new heirs reside hosts Coronation, but in this case, Tir Briste is already hosting Fools’ War the week following Coronation, so they have requested that other groups who might be interested in hosting should submit a bid (by 15 December).

Piers could not make the meeting tonight and therefore was unable to present his bid himself, so our illustrious Seneschal, THL Mark de Wytteney, presented it to the populace on his behalf.

Spring Coronation 2020 Bid (9-12 April, 2020)

  • Co-Autocrats: THL Piers Simmons and Lord JĂŒrgen der Vielfrass; Piers noted that he had not yet found a co-autocrat, and JĂŒrgen volunteered
  • Site: Al Sihah Shrine Temple, Macon GA
  • Cost to attend: $40 weekend, with a $5 discount for members ($35 members, $40 non-members)
  • There were many questions from the populace, which mostly fell into three categories:
    • The site itself is no longer usable
      • THL Juliane considered the site a hard no. In explanation, she reminded everyone that, as we discovered at Castle Wars last year (2018), there are now outside people permanently RV camping within our usual camping area. The location of their encampment is impossible to keep separate from our event
      • Some tents were broken into last year
      • We had problems with the RV residents following around young women who *were* attending Castle Wars, especially those who had been drinking
      • THL Lucien noticed that $300 was budgeted for ant killer treatment. He and others pointed out that based on past events there, this will not be sufficient to get rid of the fire ants before the event
      • We really don’t need to run into liability issues
    • THL Mark mentioned that we have had serious problems with the site staff
      • There have been problems with the site staff not fulfilling contract requirements
      • The site becomes a swamp when it rains
      • If it does rain, would we be able to fit everyone in the hall?
      • His Excellency pointed out that there have been problems with the site staff not mowing the campsite as we needed it to be mowed
    • The attendance fee is very expensive, especially for newcomers ($40 for the weekend for non-members)
      • Juliane pointed out that Coronation does not usually have much structured to do, especially for newcomers; mostly ceremonies, meetings, and a couple of tournaments
      • Ximon considered that price point to be unacceptable – there was discussion about how this compared to pricing of other events.
        • Castle Wars this year was $25/$30 for the weekend
        • Magna Faire is $15/$20 for the weekend (plus cabin or lodge space)
        • Red Tower was $20/$25 for the weekend (including cabin space)
  • Other questions that were raised in the discussion included:
    • Ximon pointed out that hosting Coronation is a lot to do so soon after Midwinter (beginning of February) and Gulf Wars (mid-March). Everyone will be volunteered-out
    • Sir Iastreb (Iazzie) mentioned that as a Barony, we do need to submit a bid for a KLE (Kingdom Level Event)
      • Lady Raven acknowledged that that is true, but what if we *get* the event?
      • Lucien said that he had heard there were two other groups who were also working on bids – Shire of Phoenix Glade and Barony of The Osprey
  • The discussion ended, and a motion to vote was made and seconded. The bid was rejected unanimously (an official count was not made, but the estimate was approximately 20 people voted)

With the vote completed, the business meeting time was closed and we returned to the night’s regularly-scheduled monthly dance practice.

The next business meeting will be held Wednesday, 8 January 2020, at the Doraville Civic Center REMINDER – There will be no meeting on 1 January 2020, in observance of the New Year’s Day holiday.

Thanks!

–Raven

Castle Wars, Events, Meeting Minutes, Midwinter A&S

December 2019 Baronial Business Meeting

South Downs Baronial Business Meeting

4 December 2019, 7:30pm

Notes submitted by Lady Raven Helmsplitter, South Downs Chronicler.

THL Lucien d’Artois called the meeting to order. Our Seneschal, THL Mark de Wytteney, sez “Welcome! If you did not sign in, please sign in!”

Officers Reports

  • Herald (THL Lucien d’Artois)
    • Submissions
      • Lord Nikon Dawidowicz – change of device
      • Lady Una Hrolfsdottir – new name
      • Lady Isabella Parr – name and device registered at Laurel
    • Awards
      • Castle Wars
        • THL Bram Halfdannarson – Legion of the Bear
  • Knight Marshal (Lady Mairghread Wilson)
    • Castle Wars was awesome!
    • Practices are going well – Sunday practice continues at the incipient Viking Alchemist Meadery site (3080 Jonquil Dr., Smyrna, GA 30080) starting 13 October 2019. Everyone is very happy with the site!
  • Rapier Marshal (Captain Brendan de Hay, Lady Raven reporting)
    • Real Lifeℱ is really getting in the way of my SCA time” (why he’s not here tonight)
    • Martial activities at Castle Wars seem to have been a success. Duke Bryce’s joint Heavy and Rapier scenarios worked pretty well. There was lots of fighting, and even some time for pickups. Other than some minor complaints about some of the scenarios running shorter than expected, it felt good.
    • Practices at the Meadery are awesome. Huge thanks to those making this happen.
    • Levetan Park may be getting too dark for Tuesday evening practices. So far, so good, but suggestions for alternate locations are welcome.
    • Thanks, as always, to our collection of rapier marshals who make it possible for practice to happen without me. Efforts to get a couple more people warranted are under way.
  • Chatelaine (THL Justina di Silvestri)
    • We had a lot of new people at Castle Wars – we were glad to be able to loan Gold Key garb to so many new people! YAY! and they had fun! yay!
    • We do have a lot of good Gold Key, so we’re not concerned about the timing for having loaned garb returned (but all the garb will be returned no worries!)
    • Demo Deputy (Lady BĂș Feiyan)
      • We had a great turnout and reception at ConjurationCON
      • No new demos for us on the schedule, but we’ve been asked to participate in a homeschoolers demo which is in the works for this Friday (6 December) in Marietta – see BĂș for more info
  • Arts & Sciences (THL Alisandre de la Chapelle, Lady Raven reporting)
    • We have A&S in the Barony, and it is good! Yay!
    • Thank you for everyone that taught at CW. Midwinter A&S class signup form will be posted once the event Facebook page goes up – think about teaching at Midwinter please!
    • No class in Dec due to the holidays.
    • Speaking of A&S classes in the new year… are you interested in teaching a Baronial Arts & Sciences class in 2020? Submit your class idea on this form, or contact Alisandre directly.
    • Mark has dibs on the January A&S class, but the rest of the year is up for grabs.
  • Reeve (THL Andreva Rigaldi)
    • We have money! yay!
    • THL Juliane added that she has the invoice from Camp Benjamin Hawkins, and will pass it along to Andreva.
  • Quartermaster (THL Lucien d’Artois)
    • We have stuff! Yay!
    • He wants to discuss several issues with the Baronial storage unit, but it will wait until later in the meeting.
  • Webminister (Captain Pietro di Conti)
    • We have a website! yay!
    • Many, many Castle Wars web page updates
    • Submitted quarterly report to the Kingdom Webminister
    • Lady Zhelana agreed to serve as point person on creating the Midwinter A&S event page. An initial page has been created as a placeholder, which will be updated as content becomes available.
    • Updated profile pages:
      • Lady Agnes Halydaye – apprentice to Master Lorenzo
      • Lady Anneliese Wulf – apprentice to Her Excellency South Downs, Mistress Sunneva di Cleia
    • Updated awards for:
      • THL Peryn Rose Whitehorse – King’s Lancer
      • THL Bram Halfdannarson – Order of the Bear
      • THL Emelina le Norreys – Falcon’s Faith
      • Lady BĂș Feiyan – Falcon’s Faith
      • Lady Anneliese Wulf – Swan’s Grace
  • Keeper of the Baronial Memes (Social Media Minister) (THL Emelina le Nourreys)
    • We have social media! Yay!
    • Yay! We have more followers on Instagram!
  • Minister of Children (Lady Melusine of South Downs, THL Mark de Wytteney reporting)
    • We had 33 kids at Castle Wars! Yay! (only 11 were The Scriveners’ :-))
    • The Ministry of Children has been working on having activities for all age ranges
    • The Peasant archery battle at Castle Wars was a huge hit with the kids; the adults, not quite as much lol
      • During the Peasant archery battle, Mark got to see HRH’s son Theo nail Sir Caius right in the face with an “arrow” (tennis ball), and then immediately also nail HRH in the face!
  • Chronicler (Lady Raven Helmsplitter, Captain Brendan de Hay reporting)
    • Looking for a deputy to whom she can eventually hand over the office’s responsibilities.
  • Their Excellencies, Master Wistric and Mistress Sunneva
    • Her Excellency regrets her absence, but His Tininess had to come home from daycare early.
    • Thank you to everyone who worked on Castle Wars, especially those on entourage and who volunteered with feast. Feast (and the feast hall decorations) turned out fantastic and was recognized across the Knowne World, as some of our social media photos were shared by the Society Facebook group.
    • We will host our Baronial holiday party on 14 December – stay tuned for a post on our Baronial Facebook group for organizing the potluck dinner. There will also be a Dirty Santa gift exchange for all who wish to participate.
    • Their Excellencies encouraged everyone to send in award recommendations – a lot of people worked really hard at Castle Wars, and writing award recommendations is a great way to recognize their work. Hit them up or fill out the award form on the seneschal page. They keep all the recommendations they receive.
    • Nikon pointed out that before you write a recommendation for someone, look them up on the Order of Precedence or better yet, our populace page
    • The populace was reminded that since New Year’s Day will be on the first Wednesday, the January business meeting will take place on the 2nd Wednesday (8 January)

Castle Wars Post-Mortem

  • We had an event! Yay!
  • WE had to file an accident report – Drogo cut his hand in the kitchen slicing potatoes
  • We had very few complaints – there were several suggestions for more parking and directional signs
  • The kitchen staff reported that there were some incidents of rudeness towards them. No details at the current time.
  • There was one incident of harassment at Castle Wars that is being investigated at the Society level. It was reported immediately to the autocrat and seneschal to get the timestamp on the event. Mark has been named the lady’s advocate as the situation plays itself out.
  • One vehicle was lost at the event – the car was inadvertently driven over a tree stump and lost its transmission.
  • All receipts have been received – several people/departments did not use their budget, so expenses were less than expected.
  • Lord JĂŒrgen asked for clarification about who gets the till from Troll at the end of the night. He could not find any official info about handling funds from troll – this is important to clarify for anyone who works Troll at events. Updates will be provided at the next business meeting.
  • Anyone who is looking for a reimbursement check should see Lord Farouk.
  • Juliane mentioned that at both last year’s Castle Wars and again at this year’s Castle Wars, we revamped the way we market events and both years, had a great response. How can we revisit how to market next year’s Castle Wars?
  • Baroness Angharat asked who is South Downs’ meme/social media person? She would like to hire them for Blood and Roses in April.
  • Nikon mentioned how much he loved his teacher gift.
  • Master Ximon said that he had great support as the parking person; he spent the event driving the loop around the site as shuttle driver. We really need to have a shuttle driver at events at Benjamin Hawkins, since the site is so spread out and parking is mostly in specific areas.
  • Would it be possible to get a golf cart rental in the budget for next year?
  • Mistress Alessandra asked if someone could make a map of all the walking paths and interior driving areas – it would be really helpful, since they’re not marked clearly. Ximon added, regarding parking that no matter how much you mark up a site, you’ll have people trying to ignore the signage.
    • JĂŒrgen suggested that we could make modular signposts with attachable arrows, etc. that could be illuminated (as the site at night is particularly difficult to travel through)
    • Sandwich board might be a better option since they are more flexible – they don’t need to be staked in and could still be customizable with arrows
    • Juliane added that this is a relatively new site, and as with most sites, the more we use it the more comfortable we’ll be with the layout.
    • Ximon suggested that we table this discussion for next year and is willing to lead up a parking committee/team for the site.
  • Ximon also thanked everyone who camped with South Downs, especially THL Stella who organized the camp. Everyone had a great time! Further thanks to Isabella for her great meal, and to everyone who helped break down camp on Sunday.
  • Drunk History went really well! Ximon repeated his challenge to the Barony – he is offering a prize for the winner of Drunk History, South Downs Edition.
  • Juliane will be submitting a bid for next year’s Castle Wars – stay tuned! It will be epic.
  • BĂș asked if anyone had ended up with a (her) large soup pot; it’s gone on walkabout, and since it’s her mother’s, she’d really like it back.
  • Master Lorenzo followed “speaking of large soup pots…” Stella would love to have some help with the food side of being Camp Mom for future events. Please contact her if you are interested.
  • Angharat brought a tote with lost & found from the event and invited anyone who lost something at Castle Wars to check the tote. She also brought several scroll cases to return to the Barony/scribes.

Upcoming Events

  • Midwinter Arts & Sciences (1 February 2020), Lady Raven Helmsplitter and Master Ximon Martillo de CĂłrdoba reporting
    • Submitted bid to Financial Committee; bid was approved by Financial Committee and was presented to the populace
    • Event to be held at Holy Trinity Parish Episcopal Church in downtown Decatur – new site, 3 blocks to Decatur MARTA station, 5 blocks to Avondale MARTA station, so it’s intown and easily accessible.
    • No feast, but there will be a fundraiser lunch – possibly by the Order of the Blade?
    • Initial staff includes:
      • Master Ximon Martillo de CĂłrdoba – co-Autocrat
      • THL Lucien d’Artois – Reservationcrat
      • THL Alisandre Isabeau de la Chapelle – A&S Class Coordinator
    • Complete bid is downloadable here.
    • After discussion by the populace, motion to vote on bid was made, seconded, and approved.

Other SCA Business

  • Juliane explained the process of submitting a bid
    • Bid goes to Seneschal for initial review. Seneschal has the right to accept or refuse the bid.
    • If the Seneschal accepts the bid, they forward it on to the finance committee who then approves or refuses it.
    • If the finance committee approves the bid, it is then presented to the populace for consideration and a vote.
  • Baron Piers is currently working on a bid for Coronation – as TRHs’ local group (Tir Briste) is already hosting Fools War the week following Spring Coronation, the event is being opened up to other groups. Piers mentioned he needed a co-autocrat, and ĂŒrgen volunteered.
  • Master Nikoslav offered a lyst fence to the Barony, free to a good home. Lucien confirmed that we have room for it in the storage unit, so arrangements were made to get it after it is used at Magna Faire.
  • Justina mentioned Jour d’Amour in January. The Courtesans Guild is being provided with a heated cabin and a lot of time to provide classes along the event theme (courtly love).
  • Ximon asked if we/the MoB hosts the fundraiser lunch at Midwinter, can he borrow a couple of crockpots.

Non-SCA Business

  • Mark mentioned that last Wednesday, two dogs showed up at their house. The dogs’ owner is newly disabled and can no longer care for the dogs, so Mark is trying to find a home for them. The dogs are dog- and cat- (and people!) friendly.

 
Business meeting is closed.

Next business meeting will be held Wednesday, 8 January 2020, at the Doraville Civic Center.

Thanks!

–Raven

A&S, Castle Wars, Meeting Minutes, Society ANNOUNCEMENTS

November 2019 Baronial Business Meeting Minutes

South Downs Baronial Business Meeting

6 November 2019, 7:30pm

Notes submitted by Lady Raven Helmsplitter, South Downs Chronicler.

THL Lucien d’Artois called the meeting to order. Our Seneschal, THL Mark de Wytteney, sez “Welcome! If you did not sign in, please sign in!”

Officers Reports

  • Herald (THL Lucien d’Artois)
    • Submissions
      • Robert Throckmorton. Reblazon of device. Sable, on a plate a Latin cross formy azure, a bordure parted bordurewise indented argent and azure. Registered on Aug 2019 LOAR
    • Awards
      • Red Tower
        • Una Ulfrdottir – Award of Arms
        • Lady Una Ulfrdottir – Cygnet’s Nest
        • Tryggvi Tryggsson – Award of Arms
        • Alessandro di Lorenzo – Cygnet’s Nest
        • Lady Alisandre Isabeau de la Chapelle – Velvet Owl
        • Lord Mark de Wytteney – Velvet Owl
        • Lord Mark de Wytteney – Court Barony
        • Melusine La Pucelle La Fayette – Argent Comet
        • Lady Mairghread Ragnhild Wilson – Red Raven
        • THL Juliane de Vivonne – Scarlet Star
        • THL Rhonwyn Alyna nic an Chrosain – Court Barony
        • Waelwulf – Award of Arms
        • Master Ximon Martillo de CĂłrdoba – Meridian Majesty
        • THL Rhiannon verch Madyn – Meridian Majesty
        • Baron Seric of Marston – Grant of Arms
        • Captain Brendan de Hay – Grant of Arms
        • Lady Stella di Silvestri – Grant of Arms
        • Captain Pietro di Conti – Grant of Arms
        • Lord Quintus Valarius Gracchus – Grant of Arms
        • Lady Justina di Silvestri – Grant of Arms
  • Knight Marshal (Lady Mairghread Wilson)
    • Sunday practice has moved to the Viking Alchemist Meadery site (3080 Jonquil Dr., Smyrna, GA 30080) starting 13 October 2019. Everyone is very happy with the site!
  • Rapier Marshal (Captain Brendan de Hay)
    • Hi! Welcome! and thank you!
    • Sunday practices are now taking place at the Meadery; Tuesday evening practices will remain will continue at Brook Run Park (no change)
    • A continuing thank you to all who have been helping out with practices
    • Come to Castle Wars! There are some awesome scenarios in teh works, including those with audience participation!
  • Chatelaine (THL Justina di Silvestri)
    • Will be bringing Gold Key (loaner garb) to Castle Wars; if you know you will have need of loaner garb, please let Justina know so she can make sure she has garb in the sizes needed.
    • She is preparing her quarterly report – if you have anything you’d like to contribute to Gold Key, please let her know.
    • Demo Deputy (Lady BĂș Feiyan)
      • We have the maker space arranged for monthly project nights (yay!). The address is 675 Metropolitan Parkway SW, Atlanta. If you are interested in working at the space for project night, please contact Bu for further details.
      • ConjurationCON (15-17 November 2019)
        • We will have tables in two separate areas, so we will need volunteers to help staff the tables
        • We have space for dance practice/demo, if anyone can lead this
        • We have a set schedule for the fighting demos (two periods on Saturday), as well as an open field on Friday afternoon.
        • This event will run on a typical Con schedule (nearly 24hrs/day), so there’s lots of time and opportunity to volunteer and take part in the Con
        • This is a great Con for the SCA – lots of crossover in interests; we have had several new members come from past ConjurationCONs
        • BĂș is working on getting a hotel room onsite for crash/downtime space. If you would be interested in accessing the hotel room, please let BĂș know.
  • Arts & Sciences (THL Alisandre de la Chapelle)
    • We have A&S in the Barony, and it is good! Yay!
    • October’s A&S class on bookbinding, taught by Mistress Margavati, was a big hit! Check out our Facebook group for pictures of the class.
    • Due to the upcoming holidays, there will not be a class offered either in November or December. We will regroup in January with Marks medieval gaming class.
    • Speaking of A&S classes in the new year… are you interested in teaching a Baronial Arts & Sciences class in 2020? Submit your class idea on this form, or contact Alisandre directly.
  • Reeve (THL Andreva Rigaldi)
    • We have money! yay!
    • We received the PayPal check from Red Tower.
    • The quarterly report was submitted today.
    • We are currently in a little bit of a hole due to the increased costs of our meeting site and storage site, but we are in good shape overall.
    • Mistress Alessandra and Andreva are working on getting re-warranted so they can take over/continue (respectively) the Reeve office.
  • Webminister (Captain Pietro di Conti)
    • We have a website!
    • Updated Sunday fighter practice location to Viking Alchemist Meadery
    • Added November and December dates for live weapons practice
    • Changed deputy armored marshal from Lord Jarec Markov to Lord JĂŒrgen der Vielfrass
    • Lady Zhelana agreed to serve as point person on creating the Midwinter A&S event page. An initial page has been created as a placeholder, which will be updated as content becomes available.
    • Updated Baronial Champions with latest info:
      • Master Davio de la Rouge – Baronial Rapier Champion
      • Baron Robert Throckmorton – Baronial Armored Champion
      • THL Stella di Silvestri – Baronial Arts Champion
      • TBD – Baronial Archery Champion (need SCA name, only have modern name)
    • Updated Castle Wars event page with latest info:
      • Castle Wars flyer, linked to Castle Wars Facebook event page
      • Schedule
      • Fighting scenarios
      • Feast menu
      • Live weapons schedule
      • Map
    • New profile pages for:
      • Alessandro di Lorenzo
      • Sir Kytte Meliora Stevenson
      • Lord Tryggvi Tryggsson
      • Lady Una Ulfrdottir
      • Lady Waelwulf
    • New profile photo for:
      • Lady Mairghread Wilson
    • Updated awards for:
      • Lady Agnes Halydaye
      • THL Alisandre Isabeau de la Chapelle
      • Lord Jarec Markov
      • THL Juliane de Vivonne
      • Lady Mairghread Wilson
      • THL Mark de Wytteney
      • Lady Melusine la Pucelle la Fayette
      • Lord Nikon Dawidowicz
      • Captain Pietro di Conti
      • Baroness Rhiannon verch Madyn
      • Baroness Rhonwyn Alyna nic an Chrosain
      • Master Ximon Martillo de CĂłrdoba
  • Keeper of the Baronial Memes (Social Media Minister) (THL Emelina le Nourreys)
    • We have social media! Yay!
    • Yay! We have more followers on Instagram!
    • Gearing up for Castle Wars!
  • Their Excellencies, Master Wistric and Mistress Sunneva
    • We are really excited for Castle Wars!
    • We are still in need of courtiers – if you are interested, please contact Juliane
    • We are out of Red Raven medallions. Her Excellency has contacted the manufacturer and has an invoice ($20 each); this was voted on and approved.
    • Award recommendations – send them in, please! We have events (yay!) and we love to give out awards. Hit them up or fill out the award form on the seneschal page. They keep all the recommendations they receive
  • Seneschal (THL Mark de Wytteney)
    • Reminded everyone to please sign in if they hadn’t done so already.

Events

  • Red Tower (4-6 October 2019), THL Justina di Silvestri and Lady Isabella Parr reporting
    • Red Tower report is done; we made a profit of approx. $1071.92 (yay!)
    • What are we going to do with all these balls (marbles)?
  • Midwinter Arts & Sciences (1 February 2020), Lady Raven Helmsplitter and Master Ximon Martillo de CĂłrdoba reporting
    • Submitted bid to Financial Committee; planning to present bid to populace at the next meeting
    • In the meantime, will take the time to get more info from the church site
  • Castle Wars (21-24 November 2019), THL Isabetta de San Marco and Baroness Angharat merch Morchant reporting
    • The Order of the Bear is the only polling order who has requested to schedule a meeting
    • The feast menu is available! It is AMAZING
    • Please let Isabetta or Angharat know as soon as possible if you need anything from the storage unit
    • Need volunteers to help with Troll, especially in the evenings and Saturday morning
    • Will it be possible to get a backdrop or drapes for the children’s activities pavilion?
    • Will we need propane for heaters? It is possible that the site will provide it – Juliane will check
    • We might be able to use the maker space to help get things done for Castle Wars
    • There was a discussion about how many tables we will need for Castle Wars – for feast hall, lyst field, etc.
    • Her Grace mentioned who thankful she is that we are able to have the memorial night archery shoot at Castle Wars; apparently, night shoots were illegal in Meridies not that long ago.
    • Ximon gave THL Stella mad props for all her work organizing the baronial encampment – yay! If you want to take part in the encampment, please contact Stella directly, and join the Facebook encampment group for the latest information.
      • Meal plan – we’re not doing an official meal plan, but we are organizing potluck meals throughout the weekend (for example, volunteers will cover the main dish at dinner, and the side dishes will be potluck from those camping with the Barony). What about lunches and breakfast? Site is offering breakfast on Saturday, included in the site fee.
      • Justina asked about Drunk History on Friday night – with a onesies competition, with prizes!
      • Her Excellency will be taking Lady Anneliese as an apprentice at the encampment Friday night, with a German dessert and hot chocolate bar reception
      • Master Lorenzo will also be taking Lady Agnes as an apprentice on Saturday night after Feast
      • Even if you don’t want to help out with cooking or bringing anything for the encampment meals, there’s still a lot that can be done to help out
    • For castle wars, come volunteer for troll! it’s right next to our encampment!
    • Get your reservations in!

Other SCA Business

  • Kingdom-level Events (KLEs)
    • We need to think about what KLEs we want to bid on in 2020, as every group is required to bid on at least one KLE. RUM/Fighters Collegium? We need to look at sites.
  • Melusine took Xander to the Atlanta Food Bank to volunteer and talked to them about the SCA. They suggested that we could do a baronial volunteer event to volunteer at the food bank. Volunteer schedule is set on a 90 day basis. Juliane suggested that we volunteer at a time when they really need the help (January?
  • Brian at the Meadery will need help with work-related projects in the upcoming weeks. Please contact him if you can help. Mark described the site in detail, and mentioned the possibility of the next-door warehouse opening a brewery as well. Everything is dependent on licensing and permits
  • Justina mentioned Jour d’Amour in January. The Courtesans Guild is being provided with a heated cabin and a lot of time to provide classes along the event theme (courtly love).
  • Justina asked if anyone would be interested in taking part in an SCA yard sale at a meeting.
  • Juliane is willing to organize a yard sale at Fools War as a merchant’s tent.

Non-SCA Business

  • Margavati had a whole bunch of Christmas decorations she gave away to any who wanted them.
  • SERFO! Master David Twynham is running this annual HEMA fencing event at Kennesaw State University’s Marietta campus. We are expecting more than 100 fencers from all over the country to attend for a full weekend of tournaments. A lot of SCA rapier fighters take part and do well in the tournaments, so register to take part, or just come by and watch a lot of great swordfighting!
  • THL Andreva’s chamber vocal group will present a concert of period music. Please contact her for more info and/or tickets.
  • Margavati is getting rid of her full-size futon, free to a good home.

 
Business meeting is closed.

Next business meeting will be held Wednesday, 4 December 2019, at the Doraville Civic Center.

Thanks!

–Raven

Meeting Minutes, Society ANNOUNCEMENTS

October 2019 Business Meeting Minutes

South Downs Baronial Business Meeting

2 October 2019, 7:30pm

Notes submitted by Captain Brendan de Hay, Baronial Rapier Marshal, and Lady Raven Helmsplitter, South Downs Chronicler.

THL Lucien d’Artois called the meeting to order. Our Seneschal, THL Mark de Wytteney, sez “Welcome! If you did not sign in, please sign in!”

Officers Reports

  • Herald (THL Lucien d’Artois)
    • Awards
      • Crossroads
      • Lord John Kirikov – Argent Shield
      • Cellach ingen Oengusa – Award of Arms
    • LOAR not returned yet
  • Knight Marshal (Lady Mairghread Wilson)
    • There is no practice this Sunday (6 October 2019), due to Red Tower
    • We will likely move Sunday practice to the Viking Alchemist Meadery site (3080 Jonquil Dr., Smyrna, GA 30080) starting 13 October 2019.
      • Free indoor space, non-fighters can hang out in air conditioned rooms
      • Mead likely served after 1 January 2020 (depending on permitting)
      • Practice can run as late as we want
      • Near I-285/I-75 interchange
    • Called to a vote, seconded (only Sir Iazzie dissented 😉 )
    • (Seneschal vote: water nozzles for drinking bottles have been 3D printed by Lady BĂș – super cool!)
  • Rapier Marshal (Lord Brendan de Hay)
    • Hi! Welcome! and thank you!
    • Arrangements for Sunday practice at the Meadery are in the process of being finalized (Yay!); until then, Sunday practices will continue at Brook Run Park, and Tuesday evening practices will remain there (no change)
    • A continuing thank you to all who have been helping out with practices
    • Nothing to report for Red Tower
    • Come to Castle Wars! There are some awesome scenarios in teh works, including those with audience participation!
  • Chatelaine (Lady Justina di Silvestri)
    • Getting ready for Red Tower!
    • Demo Deputy (Lady BĂș Feiyan)
      • BĂș organized a booth for the Barony at the Maker Faire on 27-28 September at Georgia State Stadium
        • We got a page and a half of names from visitors to the booth who were interested in getting more info about the Barony! IT was great to watch the kids as they asked about what happens in the SCA
        • All our business cards were handed out
        • We are hoping that some of those who visited our booth may come by Red Tower
        • Our booth neighbor was Freeside ATL, who has offered us a free day every month (at our convenience) to use their equipment (industrial sewing machines, metalworking and woodworking equipment, etc.). They used to have a group come in regularly, but they stopped coming by. The Freeside ATL people would love to have another group come in regularly.
        • THL Andreva asked BĂș if she could set up a poll on the Baronial Facebook group to see when would be the best time to get us set up there.
  • Arts & Sciences (THL Alisandre de la Chapelle)
    • We have A&S in the Barony, and it is good! Yay!
    • It’s the end of the third quarter – please let Alisandre know about what projects you’ve been working on (yes, you!) so she can include it in her quarterly report describing all the cool stuff the Barony is doing
    • This month’s Arts and Sciences class topic is bookbinding, and it is a make + take class taught by Mistress Margavati. Please note that class size is limited, so if you’d like to participate in the class, please register via the Baronial website. However, there is no limit on those who would simply like to observe the class.
    • Alisandre discussed with Lord Einarr about teaching a weekend-long A&S demo on LED lanterns – the primary challenge is trying to schedule it around Red Tower and Castle Wars, so stay tuned for updates!
    • Interested in teaching a Baronial Arts & Sciences class in 2020? Submit your class idea on this form, or contact Alisandre directly.
  • Reeve (THL Andreva Rigaldi)
    • We have money! yay!
    • As it is the second day of the fourth quarter, she has not had a chance to look at the statements yet, so she doesn’t have a report at this time.
    • The Barony has a lot of expenses this quarter due to Red Tower and Castle Wars, so if you have a receipt, please submit it as soon as possible for reimbursement.
  • Webminister (Captain Pietro di Conti)
    • We have a website!
    • Updated fighter practice page with live weapons practices for September and October
    • Updated Red Tower event page with latest info:
      • Armored fighting, rapier, thrown weapons, archery, and overall event schedules
    • Updated Castle Wars event page with latest info:
      • Castle Wars flyer, linked to Castle Wars Facebook event page
      • PayPal registration
    • New profile pages for:
      • Countess Gwenhwyfar Mwynn
      • Lord John Kirikov
    • Updated awards for:
      • Lady Cellach ingen Oengusa
  • Keeper of the Baronial Memes (Social Media Minister) (THL Emelina le Nourreys)
    • We have social media! Yay!
    • Yay! We have more followers on Instagram!
    • We will have great social media coverage at Red Tower this weekend – we would love to have a picture of everyone in the Barony
  • Minister of Children (Lady Melusine of South Downs, THL Mark de Wytteney reporting)
    • We have kids! Yay!
    • Melusine is excited about the kids’ activities at our upcoming events
    • The Ministry has received several fantastic donations
    • We will have lots of activities to offer the children attending Red Tower; however, children’s activities will start a little late as Melusine is helping with breakfast first
  • Seneschal (THL Mark de Wytteney)
    • Reminded everyone to please sign in if they hadn’t done so already.
    • (THL Juliane, Deputy Seneschal, takes over the reporting…)
      • We have two issues, both involving money.
        1. The meeting site has raised their rates again, to $100 for the first two hours
        2. They are not taking any more reservations after December, and we don’t have a reason why – Juliane hopes to have more information on this tonight. (ETA: this should just be a formality, as there will be a new Mayor of Doraville in January; we don’t need to be concerned, but she will continue to monitor the situation.)
        3. The storage facility fees are also increasing, to $289 per month (+$114/quarter)
      • Andreva is confident that we can swing the cost increases, especially given that the site is so convenient and awesome. The storage unit also has a lot of conveniences. Both are also already paid up through the end of the year.
      • Master Lorenzo pointed out that if we have project night at Freespace, that would make up the cost difference for the meeting site.
  • Their Excellencies, Master Wistric and Mistress Sunneva
    • We still have a baby! yay!
    • Props to Lady BĂș for running Our Maker Faire presence – she rocks!
    • Interested in being a courtier (assisting Their Excellencies at events)? Please contact Baroness Sunneva – they’ll need a lot of help at Red Tower. Serving as a courtier is an easy way to learn about how events are run.
    • Mark commented that serving as a courtier during Court gives you a great view of everyone who receives awards during Court.
    • Baron Wistric thanked the gentle who brought them beaded bracelets as prizes for Their Excellencies’ tournaments.
    • Award recommendations – send them in, please! We have events (yay!) and we love to give out awards. Hit them up or fill out the award form on the seneschal page. They keep all the recommendations they receive

Upcoming Events

  • Red Tower (4-6 October, 2019)
    • Has everyone seen Lady Ellerete’s (Illy’s) updates? She’s building some great things for the event!
    • We need to spray the field for ants tomorrow – can anyone help out during the day (before 5pm?) Please let Lady Isabella or THL Justina ASAP
    • We need help loading out from the storage unit 8am Friday morning!
    • Reservationist reports that feast and cabins are sold out and both have waitlists (don’t hold your breath, tho)
    • Speaking of liquor (???)… donations of money and booz are welcome for the revel
    • Site tokens – blue marbles in the ziploc bag are for A&S voting, and the clear ones are for the baronial bebbeh
    • Speaking of Troll, Andreva reminded everyone that there were a bunch of people who took her recent How to Troll class, and Mistress Alessandra needs help!
    • Gold Key will be available at Troll – there is plenty available
    • Baby tokens will be brought to the field for the marshals to distribute
    • We are expecting a good turnout of armored fighters at Red Tower, in honor of an elevation that will take place at Red Tower
  • Castle Wars (21-24 November 2019)
    • Do we want Count Sinclair’s tavern at Castle Wars, since we have the feast hall available for revel
    • Baroness Irina had a golf cart at Fools’ War, but they had priced out golf carts for 40 Year and got some good pricing. This will help with getting people out to parking. We need to decide on whether to go ahead and pay for the insurance and will get hard numbers for golf cart rentals.
    • Ximon offered to help with his truck as back up if necessary
    • Isabetta asked Juliane to see if they can schedule a walkthrough of the site sometime soon to scope out parking
    • Equestrian has found their own space at the camp that works better for them – we can use their original space either for fighting or more camping
    • Sir Bryce posted his scenario ideas – they are really fun!
    • Andreva clarified – Red Tower is CABINS ONLY and NO PETS (service animals OK); Castle Wars, on the other hand, is tenting only, pets ok (with rabies documentation)
    • There will be doggie bags at troll, so there is no excuse to not clean up after your puppers
    • The site has zero tolerance for:
      • Taking a picture of you with alcohol or a cigarette and they see it, we could lose the site
      • NO SMOKING, NO ORIGINAL CONTAINERS
    • Ximon will be organizing the baronial encampment – yay! This includes organizing dinners during CW. IF you want to help, please contact Ximon directly.
    • For castle wars, come volunteer for troll! it’s right next to our encampment!
    • Get your reservations in!

Other SCA Business

  • Sites
    • Juliane encouraged everyone to keep an eye out for potential sites, especially for events like Midwinter Arts & Sciences and RUM

Non-SCA Business

  • Mistress Mara is having a baby shower for their baby at Red Tower; Countess Thorkatla is hosting it from 12-1
  • Decatur Makers is putting together a forge, and is looking for wood ash – let BĂș know
  • Margavati heard on NPR that the Fernbank has an Silk Road exhibit through 5 January 2020

 
Business meeting is closed.

Next business meeting will be held Wednesday, 6 November 2019, at the Doraville Civic Center.

Thanks!

–Raven

Meeting Minutes, Society ANNOUNCEMENTS

September 2019 Baronial Business Meeting Minutes

South Downs Baronial Business Meeting

4 September 2019, 7:30pm

Notes submitted by Lady Raven Helmsplitter, South Downs Chronicler.

THL Lucien d’Artois called the meeting to order. Our Seneschal, THL Mark de Wytteney, sez “Welcome! If you did not sign in, please sign in!”

Mark also announced that we have a lot of business to cover tonight, including the South Downs baronial awards nominations and voting, and Red Tower.

Officers Reports

  • Knight Marshal (Lady Mairghread Wilson)
    • Mairghread announced that her marshal warrant has been renewed for another two years.
    • At Foxes, we will have an all-women armored team, and are looking to field a second team for the Barony. Rapier will also be fighting for Her Excellency at Foxes.
    • The Shire of Owl’s Nest will no longer host a Tuesday practice after Castle Wars, so we may move our own Tuesday night practice back to Brook Run Park in Dunwoody.
  • Rapier Marshal (Lord Brendan de Hay)
    • Ben has been absent lately and thanked all who helped cover “his slack butt”
    • Practices are continuing at Brook Run Park on Tuesday nights and Sunday afternoon, and as Lady Mairghread mentioned, it looks like armored practice will join us again on Tuesdays later in the fall
    • THL Piers will be coordinating rapier teams for Foxes
  • Chatelaine (Lady Justina di Silvestri)
    • We totally rocked DragonCon (yay!)
      • Because we didn’t have a booth this year, we were able to focus our efforts on the panels we worked on – everyone thought that worked really well
      • Already thinking about next year’s DragonCon – she would like to coordinate efforts with the middle ages historical panels, and has been brainstorming on class ideas.
      • The organizers have asked for the “darker part of history” (pre-1800s)
      • If you are interested in taking part, please contact Justina
    • Demo Deputy (Lady BĂș Feiyan)
      • BĂș has put in a request for the Barony to have a booth at the upcoming Maker Faire
      • She was looking at a possible demo at next year’s Decatur Book Festival, but it is the same weekend as DragonCon, so there’s not much interest (since most will be at DragonCon). May revisit later in the year as everyone’s DragonCon plans shape up (or not)
  • Arts & Sciences (Lady Alisandre de la Chapelle)
    • We have A&S in the Barony, and it is good! Yay!
    • Labyrinth Challenge at Red Tower – to clarify, this is for fun, it is not a judged or regional A&S faire. Take the image of the labyrinth at Chartres Cathedral and create something inspired by it. It can be anything (bake a pie, for example!), Innovation and creativity are key! Her Excellency finds the labyrinth inspiring.
    • Thanks to the response from the populace, Baronial Arts & Sciences classes are nearly completely scheduled for 2019, but there’s still opportunities to share you knowledge! If you are interested in teaching a class, please fill out the form or contact Alisandre directly.
  • Webminister (Captain Pietro di Conti)
    • We have a website!
    • Posted 15th Century dinner pictures, mask decorating pictures, block printing pictures
    • Set up web site logins for Alisandre (A&S) and Emelina (Social Media)
    • Updated Red Tower event page with latest info:
      • event flyer
      • site rules
      • instructor signup
      • feast menu
      • A&S competition
    • Updated Castle Wars event page with latest info:
      • staff list
      • feast menu
    • New pages for:
      • Lady Aelia Bassina of Veii
      • Lady Isabella Parr
    • Updated pages for:
      • THL Isabetta de San Marco
      • Lord JĂŒrgen der Vielfrass
    • Updated awards for:
      • Lady Agnes Halydaye
      • Lady Justina di Silvestri
      • Lord Nikon Dawidowicz
      • Master Ximon Martillo de CĂłrdoba
      • THL Mark de Wytteney
      • Baroness Rhonwyn Alyna nic an Chrosain
    • Moved the lists of Heart of South Downs and South Downs Chivalry recipients to their own pages
    • Updated site and all plugins and themes to WordPress 5.2.2.
  • Keeper of the Baronial Memes (Social Media Minister) (THL Emelina le Nourreys)
    • Baronial Instagram has 17 followers
    • Thanked Her Excellency, Captain Brendan, and a bunch of others
  • Seneschal (THL Mark de Wytteney)
    • Reminded everyone to please sign in if they hadn’t done so already.
  • Their Excellencies, Master Wistric and Mistress Sunneva
    • We still have a baby! yay!
    • Fielding teams at Foxes for Her Excellency! Yay! If you want to be on a team, let the relevant marshal know and they can set you up!
    • Awards voting tonight – description for how things will be run at the end of the meeting
    • Will ask each group to define itself going forward – what virtues, qualities do we want to focus on for each award? How do we want to see this going forward? Start a conversation 🙂
    • Award recommendations – send them in, please! We have events (yay!) and we love to give out awards. Hit them up or fill out the award form on the seneschal page. They keep all the recommendations they receive
    • DragonCon is 12 months away – we need someone to organize the parade. Will discuss after Castle Wars
    • The baronial bebbeh loves bananas, his toes, and falling on his face.

Upcoming Events

  • Red Tower (4-6 October, 2019)
    • Need volunteers, like yesterday!
    • Mistress Allesandra is putting a signup sheet on the troll page
    • Need someone to sponsor a fundraiser lunch – if no one, then it will be a BYO picnic lunch. Should we reach out to other groups to see if anyone would like to do it?
    • Need a herald – Master Mathias said “sure!”
    • We’re going to have another project night (masks, tokens!)
    • We will have a scavenger hunt with little dolls wearing Toby clothes hidden around the site. The fate of the baronial babe is in the populace’s hands (!!!) Votes will be determined by those who earn marbles via the various activities throughout the event. HOW MANY MARBLES?
    • There are glass beads/tokens at the storage unit, but they are not clear, which is what Justina wants for aesthetics. THL Lucien offered to paint them clear :-D.
    • It was suggested that you can get a large bag of glass marbles at the dollar store
    • Need people to teach classes! We currently have no one teaching classes. Lorenzo is writing up a class that he wants to teach at Red Tower, regarding codpieces
    • Armored tournament- championship is a bear pit. AMiC will be someone from Owl’s Nest
    • Bryn Madoc is managing the live weapons activities at Red Tower
  • Castle Wars (21-24 November 2019)
    • Still looking for some volunteers
      • Sanitation
      • Herald
      • Parking
      • Revel
    • PayPal opens this Friday
    • Feast – above the salt feast has 24 seats, below has 75?
    • Working on getting the insurance set up
    • Possible golf cart for facilitating parking?
    • THL Juliane – will start hyping the event on Friday;
      She is working with Garrett to see what options we have for siege weapons, if it’s at all possible
    • Can we get Mike Moulton’s boom stick display if the BSA will allow it
    • Ben clarified the new BSA rules – only impacts things that scouts themselves can take part in
    • We know that archery and live weapons are good, since we have the same contract as we did for Coronation
    • We don’t want to scare the site off
    • Master Lorenzo – are we doing a baronial camp, and if so, has anyone considered coordinating it? Everyone looked at THL Stella
    • Encampment will be the same as at Fools War, near troll
  • Midwinter Arts &Sciences (1 February 2020)
    • Lady Raven is contemplating submitting a bid, but needs to find a site (will work with Master Ximon?)

Other SCA Business

  • Mara – is archery marshal for Crossroads in 2 weeks. It will be fun!
  • Also at Crossroads – Lorenzo will be hosting a little shindig at the front porch of his pavilion to celebrate the 10th anniversary of his Laurelling
  • Fall Coronation – there is going to be another scribal challenge, and there will also be a naughty challenge sponsored by the courtesans, with naughty goodies as the prize! And Fame! Glory! (Not much fortune, though)
  • There will also be a middle eastern contest at Coronation

Non-SCA Business

  • Andreva is going to be performing with her vocal ensemble – tickets are $10! Come support her group
  • Makers – starting a woodworking meetup on 9/20 at 7pm in Decatur
  • Mathias – if you went to DragonCon, Viking Alchemist is offering 10% discount in September with your badge
  • Possible special DragonCon brew for next year? Yay!

 
Business meeting is closed; voting for Heart of South Downs and Chivalry awards will now take place.

Next business meeting will be held Wednesday, 2 October 2019, at the Doraville Civic Center.

Thanks!

–Raven

Events, Meeting Minutes, Society ANNOUNCEMENTS

October 2019 Mini-Business Meeting Minutes

23 October 2019, 7:30pm

Notes submitted by Captain Brendan de Hay on behalf of Lady Raven Helmsplitter, South Downs Chronicler.

THL Lucien d’Artois called the meeting to order. “Welcome! If you did not sign in, please sign in!”

Tonight’s meeting includes a review (“post-mortem”) of our Red Tower event that took place 4-6 October 2019.

Officer Reports

  • Deputy Chatelaine for Demos (Lady BĂș Feiyan)
    • Anyone available for a demo on 31 October? Demo is a Reformation-themed event for students aged 5 through 11 at Providence Classical Christian School in Oxford, GA. Possibly because it takes place on a weekday (and Halloween), there wasn’t much interest.
    • Milton Library, Saturday, 26 October, from 8:30am through 6:00pm.
      • Start talk with “Dream” video.
      • 1-2 hours of talking time slots.
      • Lots of space for dancing, fighting, outdoors (different types of outdoor spaces, so weather may be a factor)
      • Possibly a big indoor room for activities
      • Would love to have hands-on activities for children (possibly calligraphy?)
    • ConjurationCon, 15-17 November, Hilton Atlanta Airport
      • We are invited to take part all three days
      • Two outdoors tables and one indoor table
      • Fighting on Quidditch field all day Friday and Saturday
      • Outdoor space available 2-4 Saturday and 12-2 Sunday
      • Deadline for passes will be at least one week out; if interested to take part, please contact Bu directly

Upcoming Events

  • Castle Wars (21-24 November 2019)(
    • Memorial shoot for Mikael at CW. (Countess Gwenhyfar). Fynlow will run it, but when & where in the schedule? Has to be in daytime, because Meridian rules don’t allow night shoots. Autocrat will contact Countess Gwen. Need volunteers. Shoot and ceremony may be long.
    • Minister of Children: Pavilion was really too cold. THL Juliane says different location AND tarp walls and heaters will be available. However, tarp walls need to be purchased by Barony. Juliane will address
 Expect to purchase something we can use for long-term, possibly at other sites too. Juliane will call Ranger John and get measurements on space. Lady Agnes made a long-term suggestion for a collection of children’s cloaks
    • Lady Justina volunteered to be revel coordinator, and is looking for volunteers and ideas. Juliane said the hall is already planned out.
    • We need teachers!
    • Lord JĂŒrgen requested volunteers to help with Troll – he needs a Barony member who has taken the PayPal class to be at Troll at all times.
  • Red Tower (4-6 October 2019)
    • Lady Justina and Lady Isabella, autocrats for Red Tower, thanked all the volunteers. General Approbation from the populace (the autocrats did a great job!) It was agreed that silly-themed Red Towers are memorable.
    • Amanda reminded future autocrats to make sure you print the baronial inventory and re-check on re-pack.
    • Seneschal suggested we need to do an inventory before CW, and do or re-do the lists for each bin
    • The Barony needs hand soap!
    • In the future, we need more volunteers for pack out
    • The autocrats felt that site management was unresponsive. (Fire alarms were chirping.) Site visit was confirmed several times and then still got over-booked. Plumbing issues. Not enough lighting, many existing lights not functioning. No trash cans (we had to buy some). Flooding and broken pumps at main bath house.
    • Site is booked for next year. Alternative sites are being looked at for future years. Deposit is refundable.
    • Need signs on cabin doors.
    • THL Mark suggested a “landcrat” even for the cabin site. Autocrats received complaints about first-come-first-served cabin assignments. Several groups wanted to camp as a group, and wanted to reserve a group site. Mark says it’s not really possible to pre-reserve the map for cabin-only events. Exceptions on a case-by-case basis if there are special circumstances (Bloody Ridge, for example, had an elevation).
    • A better map would be really helpful.
    • Friday evening fighting is likely to be sparse at Red Tower
    • The Marshal in Charge (Lady Mairghread) and Lord JĂŒrgen agreed that they should have marked out bigger spaces for the fighting field. Mark suggested that a site steward would be a good idea (different from landcrat?) General comments were positive, though.
    • Jullianne says We need job descriptions for our jobs
 We need to write it up. Her Ex suggests a committee to write individual descriptions, then a project night meeting for input. Count Sebastian recommends that it be a living document (changes between events). Julie and Mark both talking about project shared document.
    • Need more signage to get people into the site (within the park). Mark says we need a policy about how signs are placed. Juliane suggests a project night for MORE SIGNS. Mark says all self-standing (not staked). Someone else suggests that the signs which are black & blue are hard to see.
    • THL Alisandre sent in comments while out of town (in the Midrealm’s scenic Marche of Winged Hills), also suggesting more signs would have been helpful. She and Captain Pietro drove around the park for close to half an hour lost that morning.
    • Signs for all the “standard” building sites (troll, main hall, etc.) should be in baronial colors, but visible. Mark wants to make them more reflective. Money will be an issue. (Isabella suggests that those paints do go on sale.)
    • Mark received email complaints re: spiders and general lack of pre-event cabin cleanliness. Group acknowledged that only so much can be done. Agnes (arachnophobe) volunteered to be the spider hunter.
    • Mark received comments about where court is held at that site – there was no parking or access at court location. Perhaps court at the field where cars are parked? Lucien ointed out that court on the field would lengthen load-out (personal pavilions would be left up later). We seem to be outgrowing the site.
    • JĂŒrgen heard complaints about high event fee ($20). Mark commented that people need to learn that sites are more expensive now than many SCA members remember – this is just something people need to learn. Juliane added that comparisons with other groups who have lower overhead are not fair.
    • Mask sales didn’t work out so well – perhaps sell at or adjacent to troll instead of later in the day? Mark suggested that we could advertise sales more.
    • Countess Gwen reminded us that it WAS a really good event – South Downs people do a great job. Side note: Learn to turn the price complaints into market research. Get them to be specific about feedback—what do they want or are willing to pay for?
    • Merchants were all really happy. One was back after a long absence, one new, very happy.

Other SCA Business

  • Count Sebastiannos and Countess Morgan thanked everyone for all their help during their reign. Morgan then distributed some last minutes kids’ and scribal items.

Next business meeting will be held Wednesday, 6 November 2019, at the Doraville Civic Center.

Thanks!

–Raven