Category Archives: Events

Castle Wars, Meeting Minutes, Red Tower, Society ANNOUNCEMENTS

May 2019 Baronial Business Meeting Minutes

South Downs Baronial Business Meeting

1 May 2019, 7:30pm

Meeting site for May (temporary) Forest Fleming Arena – 3037 Pleasant Valley Dr, Doraville, GA 30340

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!”

Sir Iastreb introduced a newcomer to the meeting – this meeting was Rachel’s first SCA experience, so Mark gave her a quick summary of what was going on at the meeting.

Officers Reports

  • Herald (THL Lucien d’Artois)
    • Awards at Coronation (6 April 2019):
      • THL Lucien d’Artois – Burning Trumpet
      • THL Maire Dhocair Inghean Chiarain – Argent Comet
      • Captain Nikoslav Mikolaevich – Master of Defense
      • Mistress Mara Palmer – Sable Quill
      • Lady Justina di Silvestri – Order of the Velvet Owl
    • Awards at Fools’ War (20 April 2019):
      • Agnes Halydaye – Meridian Cross
      • THL Maire Dhocair Inghean Chiarain – Argent Comet
  • Knight Marshal (Lady Mairghread Wilson)
    • Mairghread announced that her marshal warrant expires in July, and although she has two deputies, they don’t come to meetings often. She said she is willing to continue serving as Knight Marshal and have her warrant renewed if the populace would like her to continue doing so.
    • Mark asked if she might want to get a deputy that would be interested in stepping up eventually. As Lord Nikon walked in, he was “nominated.”
  • Rapier Marshal (Lord Brendan de Hay)
    • Weather is improving, so practices are more frequent and back at Liane Levetan/Brook Run Park. Practices continue to take place on Tuesday evenings and Sunday afternoons, weather and event schedules permitting.
    • There have been anywhere from three to 15 people showing up at any given practice.
  • Live Weapons Marshal (Mistress Mara Palmer)
    • Mara described that Live Weapons in the SCA include target archery and thrown weapons (knives, axes, etc. that are also thrown at targets.
    • Mara said that practices have been going well – they’ve been able to hold two Royal Rounds at practices.
    • She mentioned that she is running low on loaner arrows; given that she still has available funds in her budget, she will move forward with purchasing additional arrows.
    • With the large number of children who have been attending practices, she will need to add to the supply of child-sized bows. Everyone was pleased with the enthusiasm of the participation of the children at these practices.
    • This June marks the second anniversary of the live weapons program in South Downs! Yay!
    • At last June’s (first anniversary) practice, the Baronial Live Weapons Championship was held. She suggested that this championship could be held each June as an annual event.
    • Mara also announced that due to her baby being due in the fall, she will be at Red Tower but not at Castle Wars.
    • South Downs has been asked to help out with live weapons at Arabian Nights in July, hosted by the shire of Arenal.
    • Practices for the next several months have been scheduled and are posted on the South Downs and Owl’s Nest Live Weapons Facebook group. Current averages for Royal Rounds and tassels can also be found here.
    • The live weapons marshallate has been revamped and she is now only one of two marshals in the Barony (the other doesn’t go to meetings).
  • Chatelaine (Lady Justina di Silvestri)
    • In addition to newcomer Rachel, we also had visitors from the Midrealm who were passing through our lands: Lady Aeffe Thorsdottir and Lady Godhit of Cynnabar, who presented Their Excellencies and THL Mark with a penny as a token to allow them to pass through our kingdom
    • Justina welcomed back Owen and Caroline, and welcomed (back) Lady Agnes, who has officially moved back into the Barony. Yay!
    • She also announced she has a new deputy in charge of demos, Bú Feiyan – yay!
    • We (the Barony) have been invited to present panels at DragonCon this year; this would be a great and fun opportunity for us! If you are interested, please contact Justina or Bú (who will follow up with our contacts at DragonCon about this)
    • Mark mentioned that we should try to get involved with some of the events (Lemonade Days, Cherry Blossom Festival, etc.) at the park(s) where we practice to see if we could do demos.
  • Arts & Sciences (Lady Alisandre de la Chapelle)
    • We have A&S in the Barony, and it is good! Yay!
    • Kingdom Arts & Sciences, aka Artsy Crown is coming up! There will be classes to take, and opportunities to teach! The signup sheet is available on the event website. Classes include martial topics, dance, a Courtesans track, and more!
    • Mark has a friend who is interested in teaching a blacksmithing class, perhaps on making tent stakes. This class would need to be offered on a weekend.
    • This month’s baronial A&S class will be a class on the Spanish Inquisition in May, taught by Zhelana Vovkivna, followed in June by a class on the Introduction to Middle English, taught by The Honorable Lady Wenyeva atte grene. This class counts as RUM class HIS-2110, toward the Literature HIS requirement, so if you’re working on getting your RUM credits done, you won’t want to miss this.
    • 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.
  • Quartermaster (THL Lucien d’Artois)
    • We have stuff! The Quartermaster manages all the stuff!
    • Lucien started by thanking everyone who helped move to the new storage space and re-inventory everything
    • He will set up a Google doc with a supplies list so anyone who needs to access the baronial supplies for an event will know what is available and can sign out what they need.
    • Mark added that the Minister of Children still has all her supplies and will reinventory her own supplies. She will also be donating wheeled bins that will make things easier at events for the kids’ activities.
    • The Barony has collected a large lost & found inventory over many past events; Lucien will bring it all to the next project night and it will be available to whoever wants the items. There had been discussion about holding a Baronial Yard Sale at an event or practice to sell off the lost and found and excess Gold Key, but there are questions about whether it would be worth it for the group (the Barony or another local group) to run such a yard sale, so we might also just offer it to anyone who wants the items, or donate it to Welcome Home or for kingdom largesse.
    • Juliane offered that she has photos of all the lost & found items, and will post them soon.
  • Reeve (THL Andreva Rigaldi)
    • We have money! yay!
    • Coronation was much more profitable than we expected, our profit total was just under $2,000 ($982 went back to Kingdom, and the remaining $982 was deposited to the Baronial bank account)
      • The site was more expensive than others we’ve used, but we over-budgeted on other items so it worked out really well
    • The monthly report is not yet ready, as today is the first of the month
    • Andreva reminded everyone that before an event flyer is submitted to Popular Chivalry (the monthly kingdom newsletter), it needs to go to her and Their Excellencies for approval and to allow Andreva to get PayPal set up for the event.
    • Speaking of PayPal, there will be a class on PayPal offered at Artsy Crown. Anyone who might be interested in running Troll (to run credit cards) and help with reservations needs to take this class.
  • Webminister (Lord Pietro di Conti)
    • We have a website!
    • Added new page for:
      • Baroness Isabetta de San Marco
    • Updated awards for:
      • Lady Agnes Halydaye
      • Master Nikoslav Mikolaevich
    • Posted change in meeting site for the month of May
  • Minister of Children (Lady Melusine of South Downs, THL Mark de Wytteney reporting)
    • Lady Melusine mentioned she has two deputies, Svala and Una
    • Melusine described how she would like to split children’s activities into two groups, based on age: Melusine would take the older kids (9+ years old), Una taking care of the younger kids (8 and under), and Svala will float between the two groups as needed.
    • She is looking for volunteers to teach classes for the kids at events; she is particularly interested in classes that reflect on the event theme and not just busy work.
    • We have been getting great feedback from people about our children’s activities, and Melusine had been asked to run children’s activities at Fools’ War and Artsy Crown.
    • Bú mentioned that she registered her child in Page School, and suggested that if the classes Melusine wants to offer are approved by the Page School, the children taking the classes will get credit.
  • Chronicler (Lady Raven Helmsplitter)
    • Lady Raven is beginning to work on the next issue of the baronial newsletter, The Read Tower and has received a couple of articles.
      • Raven is always looking for more material – articles, photos, artwork, etc., so if you have something you’d like to contribute, please contact Raven directly.
  • Seneschal (THL Mark de Wytteney)
    • Mark thanked Brendan, Lucien, Lorenzo, Ximon, and everyone who helped with Coronaton and moving all the baronial gear to the new storage unit. Tir Briste was also very thankful for what they did to help set up Fools War.
  • Their Excellencies, Master Wistric and Mistress Sunneva
    • Her Excellency wants to get baronial beautification projects going for upcoming events – projects that will help spiff up the baronial campsite and the baronial (and that of its populace) presence at events.
    • Most of the new baronial silk banners have gone missing – it is most likely that they accidentally got packed in with something else and the person who has them doesn’t realize they have them.Their Excellencies have asked for everyone to go through their camping kits to see if anyone has them. They would love to get them back, please!
    • His Excellency mentioned that are a lot of jobs, in all categories, that need to get done in the barony throughout the year and at events we host; please consider volunteering for even an hour or two if you can. He also noted that it’s been a while since he’s heard Iazzie say “it’s embarrassing!” Find something you find interesting, that you are already participating in, and look into how you can help.
    • Adding on to what His Excellency said, Andreva pointed out that there are people who volunteer for an entire event and who need help covering for things/taking a short break, etc. Taking a few moments, even without “officially volunteering” to check in with those who have been working all day, is greatly appreciated. She said that, for herself, she “goes to ‘my’ events to work, [and] goes to other event to have fun.”

Upcoming Events

  • Red Tower (4-6 October, 2019)
    • Lady Justina and Isabella Parr presented a bid, with an event theme of Labyrinth (with history).
    • Hard Labor Creek State Park has already been booked for the event.
    • They do not yet have a feastcrat lined up yet, so the final costs may varya little depending on the feastcrat. However, feast pays for itself, so any variation should be minor.
    • Breakeven numbers compared to last year’s turnout are pretty close, but there is some wiggle room that would allow us to turn a small profit.
    • Motion to vote made, seconded and voted on with unanimous approval. Yay!
    • For details about the event bid, click here.
  • Castle Wars (21-24 November 2019)
    • Four bids by two parties (each party presented a bid for two different sites options)
      • The Al-Sihah Shriners site, where we’ve held several events over the past couple of years
      • Camp Benjamin Hawkins in Byron, where Coronation and Fools’ War were held this year
    • Andreva mentioned the Shriner site is $2900 (with deposit back), but we need to rent portapotties, ant killers, dumpsters, etc. and totals roughly $5K. People we talk to there are great, but the person who’s been onsite is difficult to work with. When we first started working with the site, it was pretty empty, but over the years they’ve expanded to allow short-term tenants living there (construction workers, etc), which has led to non-event attendees wandering into our campsites.
    • Camp Benjamin Hawkins has offered us a flat rate of $5,000, but portapotties and a lot of other things are included in the price. From what we’ve learned from Coronation and Fools’ War, we may need to rent additional portapotties (as well as reconsider their placement around the site). The site areas are more spread out than the Shriners’ site, and parking is more of an issue at Camp Benjamin Hawkins.
    • The populace was asked to narrow down the submitted bids based on site preference. Camp Benjamin Hawkins was selected by a clear preference.
    • Based on time constraints at the meeting, each event bid will be presented, but discussion will take place online and questions can be taken by email. A final vote on the Castle Wars bid will take place at the June business meeting.
    • Bid #1: Co-autocrats: Baronessa Isabetta de San Marco and Lady Angharat merch Morcant
      • Baronessa Isabetta has autocratted 2 coronations, 3 Meridian Challenge of Arms, and several other events
      • Event theme: The Battle of Agincourt
      • Breakeven numbers are 115 day trip, 200 weekend
      • Proposed feastcrat is Countess Thorkatla
        • Feast will be a traditional above and below the salt, sitdown feast for both
        • Feast will feature French and English dishes, reflecting the theme
        • 3 or 4 courses for each feast, and the menus will be complementary: similar dishes but with more extravagant ingredients for the above the salt feast
        • There will be two kitchen teams, each cooking one feast
      • For further details about the bid, click here
    • Bid #2: Co-autocrats: Baron Piers Simmons and THL Maire Dhocair Inghean Chiarain
      • Event theme: War at the End of Time (Dr. Who)
        • For the armored fighting, this will be represented as Rome vs. Gaul
        • For rapier fighting, this will be represented as France vs. England
        • There has been an offer of having siege engines at the proposed event, depending on approvals from site management
      • Proposed feastcrat is Mistress Marianna Cristina Tirado de Aragon
      • For further details about the bid, click here

Other SCA Business

  • Iazzie put on his hat as Deputy Seneschal for northern Meridies, and announced that there will be an open meeting with the SCA Board of Directors at Black Axe (7-9 June at Dalwhinnie Fields)
  • THL Juliane announced that she will be hosting monthly garb nights at her home on the second Thursday of each month; the first garb night will focus on viking aprons. For further information, please contact her directly.
  • Maire announced that this year’s Knowne World Costume and Fiber Arts Symposium will take place this June at the University of West Georgia. She is serving as class coordinator, and there are still spaces available to teach. Baronessa Isabetta is serving as troll coordinator, and they both encouraged anyone who could to volunteer.

Non-SCA Business

  • THL Andreva has a spring chamber music concert on 3 May in Decatur, 5 May at Northside Drive Baptist Church. The concert will feature music by women composers, and although the program is not entirely period, there will be several pieces by Hildegard of Bingen. Contact her if interested.
  • Master Mathias and Roís O’Shannon will hold their handfasting in 2020 – stay tuned!
  • This month will have a fifth Wednesday – that means, it’s time for another Baronial Fifth Wednesday Potluck! As always, it will be garb-encouraged, but not required. We’ll look into whether we can hold it here at the temporary meeting site.
  • This location will be our meeting site for all our meetings this month, because the Mayor outranks us 😀

 
Next business meeting will be held Wednesday, 5 June 2019, at the Doraville Civic Center.

Thanks!

–Raven

Events, Meeting Minutes

April Baronial Business Mini-Meeting Minutes

South Downs Baronial Business Mini-Meeting, Coronation Post-Mortem

10 April 2019, 7:30pm

Doraville Civic Center – 3744 Central Ave., Doraville GA

Notes submitted by Lady Raven Helmsplitter, South Downs Chronicler.

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

(Baroness Irina, Tir Briste’s Reeve, called in to listen on speakerphone)

Coronation Post-Mortem

  • Since Tir Briste has Fools’ War coming up in 2 weeks, it is important that we get feedback from Coronation to help make Fools’ War run smoothly
  • Parking issues
    • We underestimated how much parking we needed and set up
    • We should try to set up handicapped parking near the feast hall to accommodate anyone who needs access
    • There were problems with people insisting on parking illegally, especially near the feast hall; this was dangerous because the cars blocked the one main road around the site
      • HRM Sebastiannos has volunteered to strong arm obstinate parkers
      • Rude people need to be escalated to the local seneschal – this is not acceptable.
  • Signage Issues
    • Definitely need more signage, more ropes, directions
    • We underestimated how dark the site got at night, especially roads and paths; it was difficult to get around and find things
    • We should reconsider using the interior road/not roads, since they weren’t marked on the map – either don’t use them or really mark them well
    • Signage should be reflective – reflective tape on signs?
    • It was suggested that we could get inexpensive/dollar store solar lights to add to the posts along the road? There were concerns about how long they would last, but definitely something needs to be done to make the roads/paths more visible at nightJuliane – parking was a big problem and was compounded by the fact that it was a new site so we didn’t know how to expect overage. There are also mobility issues for the site.
    • A large sign “STOP – GO TO TROLL” would be helpful
    • Quantity and quality of signage needs to be reconsidered – many more, larger. Bu Feiyan offered to host a sign session over at the maker space (not on Wednesday)
    • Lady Emelina also offered to print signs at her studio – and we can then get them laminated?
    • Can we mark parking spaces to make the space more efficient? Hard to do, but what really is needed is help guide cars into parking. How to do this with the resources we have
    • Logs around site (to sit on?) in camping/parking areas are impossible to see at night – someone ran their car up on one and it took 3 hours to get the car off.
  • Troll Issues
    • Having designated people at troll to direct people to parking would be really helpful
    • Troll location was fantastic but once the parking lot was full, we couldn’t see the pavilion. We should set up a few temporary parking spots near troll (like at Gulf Wars) – if the spots are full, you wait. This would help encourage people to troll in, since there will be nearby spots open (or opening up quickly) near troll
    • There are significant liability issues if attendees don’t troll in and then something happens – we have no way of knowing if or where you are onsite
    • THL Lucien added to the trolling issue – we realized we didn’t do this after the fact, but we need to have index cards with contact info for all the cars, in case a car has to be moved etc.
    • Duchess Gwynhwyfar asked if there could be an entrance less easily accessible that would help manage traffic. Given the layout of the site, this would not help
    • It was also suggested that if you don’t like to wait at troll, preregister and you move through troll much more quickly!
  • Ranger John was AWESOME!
    • He gave Lord Brendan the keys to the ranger truck to haul garbage
    • The rangers really appreciated how reasonable we were as a group; he had never been complimented so much by a group
    • Pine cones – really need to rake before event
    • The way the contract is setup currently, it will be hard to make a sufficient profit (price per head, no limit). Ranger John mentioned that if we could help rake pine cones and mow the field, we could get a discount. Everyone was enthusiastic about following up with this idea for the future
    • Even though staff sprayed for ants, there was still an ant issue. However, Ranger John has supplies and is more than happy to continue spraying ant hills that we let him know we find.
    • THL Mark is writing a letter to Ranger John’s boss – letting him know how great he was for our event
    • Mark let Baroness Irina know that this Saturday (13 April), we’ll be bringing 8 of the castle walls down to the site (with Ranger John’s blessing). They are allowing us to store things on site leading up to Fools’ War, which will make their setup and our post-event cleanup so much easier.
    • Maybe we can get permission to get a storage box on site for our gear (like we had planned to do at one time at the Shrine)?
    • We really want to try to keep this site, so whatever we can do to encourage that is good
    • Mark said that Ranger John would love to see us do some demos for the Boy Scouts there; there was also much enthusiasm for this idea, both from our group and (as commented by Baroness Irina, the populace of Tir Briste)
    • Tir Briste has been doing work along those lines (as they’re much nearer), and we want to help with that
  • Volunteering Issues
    • Mistress Margavati asked if we could subsidize registration for those who are willing to volunteer to manage parking, outside of the event budget; this, however, would be difficult if not impossible to do
    • We seem to always have problems coming up with volunteers at events – it’s hard to justify paying to attend then not enjoying the event
    • How to encourage volunteers? raffles? discounts? subsidized feast?
    • Bu Feiyan mentioned that when she volunteers with cons, the volunteers get a doohickey that recognizes them as volunteers. People like having extra bling.
    • How do we account for all the unofficial volunteers?
  • We need to approach these large events like the large events they are
  • HRM – Sharing sites with other groups (Tir Briste/Fools War, etc) makes things go much more smoothly, since both groups become really familiar with the site.
  • Irina will be addressing the parking issues (see what can be done); they’ll be putting up reflective tape throughout site to help make things easier to see. Possibly move equestrian elsewhere to add parking
  • They’ll have a popup tent at the top of the troll parking for preregistered attendees to help move things along
  • Duchess Gwynhwyfar keeps an “oh shit” book for every event she goes to, where she marks down anything she thinks “oh shit – that shouldn’t have happened”
  • Need to control limited bathroom access in the hall and the kitchen – a lot of people didn’t know the kitchen space had a bathroom, but enough people at the event knew and made a rather crowded kitchen (during feast prep) more crowded
  • Kitchen space was fairly large, but not well arranged – actual work space was really small.
  • Pietro asked – was there anything else good to share?
    • The ranger
    • The site space was great and fairly compact

Next business meeting will be held Wednesday, 1 May 2019, at the Doraville Civic Center.

Thanks!

–Raven

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

March 2019 Baronial Business Meeting minutes

South Downs Baronial Business Meeting

6 March 2019, 7:30pm

Doraville Civic Center – 3744 Central Ave., Doraville GA

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!”

Officer Reports

  • Live Weapons Marshal (Mistress Mara Palmer, reported by THL Mark)
    • We have practices and have been going well – people are successfully shooting targets and not each other! Yay!
    • Practices for the next several months have been scheduled and are posted on the South Downs and Owl’s Nest Live Weapons Facebook group. Current averages for Royal Rounds and tassels can also be found here.
    • Mara needs specs for the live weapons field for Coronation
    • Mara will be asking Bryn Madoc for help with setting up the field again (and will remind them to save their receipts this time)
    • Members of the Barony of South Downs received 5 tassels at Midwinter A&S; four-year-old Liam is the youngest to earn a white tassel (yay!)
    • She also has requested for volunteers to help make tassels for the archers. Instructions are available on the Facebook Live Weapons group; if interested in helping, please contact her directly.
  • Arts & Sciences (Lady Alisandre de la Chapelle)
    • We have A&S in the Barony, and it is good! Yay!
    • Lady Alisandre thanked everyone who taught classes at Midwinter A&S
    • This month’s class, “Who Was King Arthur, Anyway?”, will be taught by Cellach Ingen Oengusa, followed by THL Madelena da Firenze’s class on making bysockets in April.
    • 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.
  • Herald (THL Lucien d’Artois)
    • Awards at Gulf Wars:
      • Isabetta de San Marco – Sovereign’s Pleasure
      • Quintus Valerius Gracchus – Legion of the Bear
      • Bram Halfdannarson – Meridian Majesty
      • Maire Dhocair Inghean Chiarain – Meridian Majesty
      • Piers Simmons – Court Barony
  • Reeve (THL Andreva Rigaldi)
    • We have money! yay!
    • We made a profit of $XXX at Midwinter A&S
    • Current balance in the baronial bank account is approximately $9,700
    • February report will be submitted to Kingdom after tonight’s meeting
    • The names for the new signatories (see February meeting minutes) have been submitted
  • Chatelaine (Lady Justina di Silvestri)
    • Lady Justina thanked everyone who came out to help at Anachrocon
      • We had 10 people sign up to receive emails
      • Had several conversations with attendees who were somewhat familiar with the SCA
    • Justina announced that the shire of Owls Nest will be hosting monthly newcomers’ picnics
    • Owls Nest will be hosting a demo at Kennesaw State on 15 March. His Excellency has asked the Gold Key Deputy to help out.
  • Rapier Marshal (Lord Brendan de Hay)
    • We are still holding practices when the weather allows.
  • Quartermaster (THL Lucien d’Artois)
    • We have stuff!
    • We are continuing the hunt for a new storage site – stay tuned!
  • Webminister (Lord Pietro di Conti)
    • We have a website!
    • Zhelana has volunteered to serve as deputy webminister; she has been set up with a deputy-webminister login and webminister documentation
    • Announced the investiture of Their Excellencies, Wistric and Sunneva
    • Midwinter A&S web page:
      • Added directions
    • Spring Coronation web page:
      • Updated event text
    • Updated the Baron & Baroness officer page and email forwarder (Wistric and Sunneva)
    • Updated the Seneschal officer page and email forwarder (Mark and Juliane)
    • Updated A&S officer page and email forwarder (Alisandre)
    • Updated Webminister officer page and email forwarder (new deputy: Zhelana)
    • Changed equestrian email forwarder from Lorenzo to Pietro (please let Pietro know if there’s someone more appropriate)
    • Updated awards for:
      • Mistress Adela Scrijver van Brugge
      • Lady Alisandre Ysabeau de la Chapelle
      • Lord Bram Halfdannarson
      • Master Lorenzo Petrucci
      • Mistress Sunneva di Cleia
      • THL Veronica de Luna
      • Master Wistric Oftun
    • Zhelana added new pages for:
      • Lady Agnes Halydaye
      • Cellach Ingen Oengusa
      • Lady Annelise Wulf
    • Added link to “An Unofficial Guide for Newcomers to the SCA” by Avelyn Dale
    • Added “Baronial Likes and Dislikes” page
    • Added link to “RUM Class: Basic Heraldry” YouTube video to Wenyeva’s page
    • Updated live weapons practice dates on fighter practice page.
  • Minister of Children (Lady Myndee of South Downs, THL Mark de Wytteney reporting)
    • Lady Myndee won’t be able to make meetings in March, due to real-life responsibilities
    • Myndee will be running children’s activities at Fools’ War
  • Chronicler (Lady Raven Helmsplitter)
    • Nothing to report
  • Seneschal (THL Mark de Wytteney)
    • Got seneschal’s warrant turned in
    • Thanks Juliane for filling in over the past month
    • We are still meeting here in Doraville, but we’re still looking for a new site to better fit our budget
    • If we can keep this space for a flat $220/month, we can stay here – it’s close enough to being on budget
  • Their Excellencies
    • Sunneva apologizes for missing the mtg
    • Midwinter A&S and their Investiture were awesome and they were humbled by the awesomeness of the populace
    • Lots of banner making – down to a science! Their Excellencies encourage everyone to consider making personal banners

Upcoming Events

  • Gulf Wars (9-17 March 2019)
    • Their Excellencies wont be able to attend, but they encourage everyone who goes to wear lots of black and white garb
    • A reminder to the populace: if you volunteer at Gulf Wars, make sure you fill out a form identifying you as a member of South Downs so our Barony get credit/money for your work as a member of South Downs. There is a great form on Kingdom website that you can fill out in advance.
    • There’s all sorts of volunteer positions available, some you didn’t even think were volunteer opportunities (dog walking! calligraphy!)
    • Sir Iastreb (Iazzie) commented it is also important that Meridies maintains our level of volunteering to make sure we get income as a Kingdom from Gulf Wars
    • Ca’ d’ Oro will be hosting a fashion show; there will be a social after the fashion show and they need volunteers
    • Courtesan/newcomers ball on Tuesday
    • Courtesans’ Meridian charter will be signed at Gulf Wars and they will be an official Kingdom Guild
  • Spring Coronation for TRH Sebastiannos and Morgan (5-7 April, 2019, co-Autocrat THL Juliane de Vivonne reporting)
    • It’s going to happen!
    • Site deposit and insurance have been done
    • 3 elevations – Nikoslav Mikolaevich, Mykael Halfdan, and Kerstyn Gartenerin
    • Baron Cormac Mor, OP, Wreath Sovereign of Arms, will be attending Coronation and holding classes all day as well as a roundtable lunch. He needs a whiteboard. Iazzie has three he can loan, but will need a reminder to bring them.
    • Clark and Fynlo walked the site to map everything out. They’ll get it done tonight, and the event site will be updated.
    • We need signage for site! Project night? How many signs? Put a list together and we can address it at project night
    • Feast – have to pre-register for feast!
    • Needs volunteers
      • Merchant liaison!
      • Pottycrat
      • Saturday breakfast
      • Sunday GTFO breakfast
      • Friday travelers fare
      • Scribal point
      • Rapier and armored MiC
    • Mariana is SafeServ certified

New SCA Business

  • There are rumors of a conflict in the making with our cousins to the north, the Barony of Nottinghill Coill of the Kingdom of Atlantia. Hmmm…
  • Iazzie mentioned that our baronial financial policy states that an event Marshal in Charge (MiC) is comped, and asked if this is still the case? If so, does this extend to all the MiC for each martial discipline (armored, rapier, live weapons)? Is this something we want to extend to kingdom-level events?
      It was decided this issue will be tabled until the next business or financial committee meeting

 
Next business meeting will be held Wednesday, 3 April 2019, at the Doraville Civic Center.

Thanks!

–Raven

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

February 2019 Baronial Business Meeting Minutes

South Downs Baronial Business Meeting

6 February 2019, 7:30pm

Doraville Civic Center – 3744 Central Ave., Doraville GA

Notes submitted by Lady Raven Helmsplitter, South Downs Chronicler.

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

Officer Reports

  • Herald (THL Lucien d’Artois)
    • Awards – Menhir
      • Mistress Mara Palmer – Split Arrow
      • THL Piers Simmons – Order of the Bough
      • THL Marianna Cristina Tirado de Aragón – Order of the Laurel
  • Armored and Youth Marshal (Lady Mairghread)
    • Armored
      • Lots of discussion lately about warranted marshals; essentially, the kingdom’s marshallate has not been functioning consistent with Society’s rules about establishing marshals. In response, the kingdom Earl Marshal has asked all local groups to provide him with a list of their armored, rapier, and live weapons marshals.
        • Lady Mairghread, as our local Knight Marshal, is collecting all the information for South Downs – if you are a marshal, please give her your contact info as soon as possible.
        • Only warranted marshals can run an event, with the clarification that *any* warranted marshal can run an event, they don’t have to be the local group marshal.
        • Further clarification, per THL Juliane’s question: the person running the tournaments does not have to be a warranted marshal, but the marshal with the responsibility for the event has to be warranted.
        • Rules for the Society and kingdom marshallate and potential changes were discussed – there will be changes coming down the pike, so stay tuned!
    • Youth
      • Nothing to report
  • Rapier Marshal (Lord Brendan de Hay)
    • We are still holding practices when the weather allows.
    • There will be a regional fighter practice at Brook Run/Levetan Park this Sunday, following Midwinter A&S (weather permitting) – come on out!
  • Chatelaine (Lady Justina di Silvestri)
    • We’ve had some awesome new people who have recently joined the Barony – welcome!
    • After Midwinter A&S and the Gold Key streamlining/purge, Justina will update the Gold Key spreadsheet
    • Countess Ysmay is requesting write-ups about the SCA for newcomers
    • Will host a salon and newcomers’ Q&A
    • Anachrocon will take place over Presidents’ Day weekend!
      • There’s a Facebook group for Anachrocon, for the latest info
      • Rapier fighters have volunteered to host a demo – will there be any armored fighters going?
      • Signup sheets for volunteering are online
      • Anachrocon is coming in February! Please stay tuned for updates, but in the meantime, teachers are needed to teach at Anachrocon, if interested, please contact Justina.
    • Upcoming demo
      • OwlCon at Kennesaw University on 16 March. His Excellency has asked the Gold Key Deputy to help out.
  • Arts & Sciences (Lady Alisandre de la Chapelle)
    • We have A&S in the Barony, and it is good! Yay! Now that Mistress Sunneva has stepped up as Baroness South Downs, her deputy Lady Alisandre has stepped up as Minister of Arts & Sciences
    • Thanks to the response from the populace, Baronial Arts & Sciences classes are nearly completely scheduled for 2019, only three class slots still available “because y’all are amazing!” 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.
    • Midwinter will rock – we will be offering lots of great classes!
    • Our next A&S class will take place on 27 February, when Lady Justina will teach “Taking a Bite Out of History: Your Ancestors Were Cannibals!”
    • In March, Cellach Ingen Oengusa will teach a class “Who Was King Arthur, Anyway?”, followed by THL Madalena’s class on making bysockets in April.
  • Reeve (THL Andreva Rigaldi)
    • We’ve had some unexpected expenses come in (exploding coffee pots!), which is why it’s important we are careful with our expenses
    • There was a vote on having the following officers removed from the baronial bank account, since they are no longer relevant officers for the bank:
      • Laura Thomason
      • Owen Townes
      • Joseph Coffee
    • There was then a vote to confirm the following offers to be added to the baronial bank account, as they are now relevant officers for the bank:
      • Erin Garrard
      • Christee Cartee
      • Mark Baron
      • Meghan Vaughan
    • Andreva is also head troll and reservationist for Coronation; please get your reservations in, and please consider volunteering for troll.
  • Quartermaster (THL Lucien d’Artois)
    • We have stuff!
    • We’ve begun looking at alternate storage spaces nearby; we are currently paying +$300 per month for our storage space. Some things that may make a difference in costs:
      • Do we need the space to be climate-controlled?
        • Textiles? We have three bins
        • Paper goods – we discussed options to help keep textiles and paper goods dry (silica packets, baking soda)
      • Finding a non-climate-controlled site could save us significant money. At our current storage site, the non-climate-controlled spaces are $150 per month, less than half of what we are paying now. Other sites have larger (non-climate-controlled) spaces for just a little bit more, that would allow us to store the castle walls at the storage site as well
        • 20’x20′ at Extra Space: $207 per month
        • 20’x20′ at Public Storage: $170 per month
    • Do these facilities offer 24×7 access?
    • If we move, when would we move? We are paid through the end of February at the current storage facility. It would be great if we could move out before Fools War, to simplify moving the castle walls.
    • We could perhaps move on 24 February, after MCA?
    • Would we get a discount at the new site if we pay for a full year in advance?
    • What are the insurance requirements at new storage facilities? We are currently required to have it.
    • A supplies list will be needed for Midwinter; Alisandre and Justina will provide a list
  • Webminister (Lord Pietro di Conti)
    • We have a website!
    • Updated the Officers page to bring Quartermaster and Minister of Children listings current
    • Updated awards for:
      • Wistric Oftun
      • Sunneva de Cleia
      • Andreva Rigaldi
      • Stella di Silvestri
      • Rhiannon verch Madyn
      • Marianna Cristina Tirado de Aragón
    • Updated devices for:
      • Margavati Bai
      • Marianna Cristina Tirado de Aragón
    • Updated pages for:
      • “History of Chess” class notes to Iastreb’s profile page
    • Submitted Y2019 Q1 report to Kingdom Webminister
    • Updated legal disclaimer for Y2019
    • Posted polling results
    • WordPress user adjustments:
      • Renamed admin user form from “sd-admin” to “webminister”
      • Created a deputy webminister userid (Pietro took a moment to mention that is is looking for a deputy, so if anyone is interested, please contact him directly)
      • Added “lorenzo” login (“baron” login is still Lorenzo for now)
      • Downgraded “artsci” user from administrator privileges to author
    • Midwinter A&S web page updates:
      • Posted event schedule
      • Posted class schedule
      • Link to the regional fighter practice
      • Link to Sari Safari
      • Link to sign up Midwinter A&S Faire
      • Added Baroness Sibella’s note about no live weapons on the University of West Georgia site
      • Added Alisandre’s notes about not being able to have merchants on site, and about the research library
      • Updated staff list
      • Added admission cost
    • Created event page for “Coronation of Morgan and Sebastiannos” 5-7 April, 2019
      • Posted Pop Chivalry flyer
    • Updated 2019 class schedule on main A& page
  • Minister of Children (Lady Myndee of South Downs, THL Mark de Wytteney reporting)
    • HRM Gwenwhyfar has been working on getting deputies approved for background checks – YAY!
  • Chronicler (Lady Raven Helmsplitter)
    • Nothing to report
  • Their Excellencies
    • Master Lorenzo sez “I QUIT!” Motion seconded, voted on, and approved 😀
    • HRM thanked Lorenzo for everything he’s done in the Society, beyond being Baron South Downs

Other SCA Business

  • Midwinter Arts & Sciences (9 February 2019)
      • We’re having an event this weekend!
      • Need setup crew for 7:00am; site opens at 8:00am, classes start at 9:00am
      • Also need cleanup crew; it was suggested that someone should go and take photos of each room before setup begins, so we know how each room needs to be restored at the end of the day
      • Need a social media person to respond to Facebook comments (especially thoes comments about having problems finding the site)
      • Evening court will be held in the ballroom but we have zero chance of getting in there before 3:00pm, and we will need someone to help direct attendees to the ballroom
      • Margavati mentioned Sari Safari will take place on Sunday, for anyone who won’t be going to the regional practice. Please join the FB group for the event (or contact Margavati) for details
      • There will be a garage sale at Sunday’s regional practice – BYOT (Bring Your Own Table)
  • Spring Coronation for TRH Sebastiannos and Morgan (5-7 April, 2019)
    • We have a site (Camp Benjamin Hawkins), we have insurance in process, we have the flyer posted in Pop Chivalry!
    • The event is being branded as “TRH are throwing a party!”
    • Juliane will be doing memes of TRH and TRM
    • We need staff/volunteers, especially someone to work on parking logistics
    • Sebastiannos has volunteers from the Order of the Bear lined up
    • Feast will be held during court
    • Marianna has plans for feast
    • The muses will make an appearance
    • Site tokens are being taken care of by Sebastiannos
    • Feast tokens will be place cards – as above-the-salt feast will be pre-registration only, place cards will work.
    • Feast will be all finger foods and open bar; when you come into feast, food will already be on the table
    • Kebab marshal! Everyone sign a release! 😀
    • Queen’s yeoman tourney is definite for coronation
    • Pre-reg is open!
  • Gulf Wars (9-17 March, 2019)
    • Justina invited everyone to come visit the Ca’ d’Oro at Gulf Wars, and they’ll be hosting both a salon and a ball
  • Artsy Crown (24-27 May, 2019)
    • The seneschal for Owl’s Nest is looking for volunteers for Artsy Crown – if interested, please contact THL Charles de Joscelynne

Non-SCA Business

  • Margavati brought fabric that needs a new home

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

Thanks!

–Raven

Announcements, Castle Wars, Dragoncon, Fighter Practices, Meeting Minutes, Midwinter A&S, Red Tower, Society ANNOUNCEMENTS

January 2019 Baronial Business Meeting Minutes

South Downs Baronial Business Meeting

2 January 2019, 7:30pm

Doraville Civic Center – 3744 Central Ave., Doraville GA

Notes submitted by Lady Raven Helmsplitter, South Downs Chronicler.

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

Baronial Polling Results
HRM Gwenhwyfar announced that after a great turnout with votes and comments from the populace, the new Baron and Baroness South Downs will be Master Wistric Oftun and Mistress Sunneva de Cleia! Huzzah!

Officer Reports

  • Herald (THL Lucien d’Artois)
    • Awards – Magna Faire
      • Lady Stella di Silvestri – Order of the Velvet Owl
    • Submissions
      • THL Andreva Rigaldi – device and name change registered Margot de Saint Denis
  • Armored and Youth Marshal (Lady Mairghread)
    • Armored
      • Lord Bram has offered to step up as deputy armored marshal
      • Lady Mairghread will discuss with their new Excellencies how they would like to handle choosing their new rapier and armored Baronial champions
    • Youth
      • Completed reports for the youth program
      • Is working on rewriting the rules for youth rapier
  • Rapier Marshal (Lord Brendan de Hay)
    • We are still holding practices when the weather allows.
    • We are looking for a new site for Tuesday evening practices, given the ongoing problems with lighting at both Blackburn and Brook Run parks.
  • Live Weapons Marshal (Mistress Mara Palmer)
    • December’s practice was rained out
    • Practices through May 2019 have been scheduled and are posted on the South Downs and Owl’s Nest Live Weapons Facebook group
    • Mistress Mara needs to get in touch with anyone who’s earned a tassel, so she can arrange to have the tassels presented in court
    • She also has requested for volunteers to help make tassels for the archers. Instructions are available on the Facebook Live Weapons group; if interested in helping, please contact her directly.
  • Chatelaine (Lady Justina di Silvestri)
    • We’ve had some awesome new people who have recently joined the Barony – welcome!
    • Anachrocon is coming in February! Please stay tuned for updates, but in the meantime, teachers are needed to teach at Anachrocon, if interested, please contact Justina.
  • Arts & Sciences (Mistress Sunneva de Cleia)
    • We have A+S in the Barony, and it is good! Yay!
    • Thanks to the response from the populace, Baronial Arts + Sciences classes have been scheduled through July 2019 “because y’all are amazing!” But there’s still opportunities to share you knowledge! If you are interested in teaching a class, please fill out the form or contact Mistress Sunneva directly.
    • Our next A+S class will take place on January 23, when Sir Iastreb will teach the History of Chess; Iazzie described it as more of a survey of the evolution of chess from its earliest historical versions to modern chess as we know it today.
    • Lady Justina will teach February’s class, “Taking a Bite Out of History: Your Ancestors Were Cannibals!” followed by Cellach Ingen Oengusa’s class “Who Was King Arthur, Anyway?” in March, and THL Madalena’s class on making bysockets in April.
  • Reeve (THL Andreva Rigaldi)
    • We have some money! Huzzah! We don’t have specifics yet, as the report just arrived today, so she hasn’t yet had a chance to analyze it.
    • Andreva pointed out that the profits the Barony makes on our big events goes toward paying for the storage unit and meeting site rental fees, and not much more than that. So please consider hosting fundraiser lunches at events, as those profits go towards any other needs and requests for Baronial supplies
    • Gulf Wars is coming! Make sure you designate the Barony of South Downs as your local group when you volunteer – local groups will receive funds based on the number of volunteer hours logged by their members.
  • Quartermaster (THL Lucien d’Artois)
    • We have stuff!
    • Lucien thanked everyone who came out on project night to help mark new baronial kitchen supplies, etc.
    • Inventory weekend coming to a weekend near you! Please stay tuned and come and help out!
  • Webminister (Lord Pietro di Conti)
    • We have a website!
    • Worked on disk cleanup
    • Midwinter A+S site updates:
      • Class signup link
      • Fighter practice page – updated live weapons schedule for early 2019
      • Live Weapons marshal page – added links to Meridies archery scores and How to Make Tassels instructions
  • Minister of Children (Lady Myndee of South Downs, THL Mark de Wytteney reporting)
    • Not much has happened in the past month, but Myndee and her deputy have volunteered to run children’s activities at Fools’ War
  • Seneschal (Master Wistric Oftun)
    • Wistric thanked everyone who helped with the Baronial polling
    • We need to find a new meeting site, as the rental rate has been raised from $50/week to $70/week beginning in March 2019. Perhaps we can go to St. Philip’s in Buckhead? But we’re definitely open to new site options.
  • Their Excellencies
    • His Excellency also thanked everyone who helped with the Baronial polling, and is looking forward to the new Baron and Baroness South Downs
    • He then asked if anyone was going to Magna Faire, and what activities they were planning on taking part in – A+S? Fencing? Anything else?

Other SCA Business

  • Midwinter Arts + Sciences (9 February 2019)
    • We’re having an event next month!
    • Classes are coming along
    • Many volunteer positions have been filled, but volunteers are still needed – please contact Lady Alisandre if interested
    • Still looking for a group to host the fundraiser lunch
    • Evening court will be held in the ballroom but we have zero chance of getting in there before 3:00pm, so morning court will take place in the lecture hall
    • We are going to try to have evening court start at 4:30pm because there is a lot that will happen at court and we have a hard out of the site at 6:30pm
    • Now that we know who is being invested as Baron and Baroness South Downs, we can move forward full force with planning the investiture
    • Please pre-register for Midwinter A+S, it will make troll go a lot easier and more quickly
    • Speaking of troll, volunteers are still needed for troll shifts, especially first thing in the morning
    • Regional Fighter Practice – it’s happening (weather permitting)! Will be held Sunday, 10 February 2019, at Brook Run Park (usual practice location and time) We will have signage advertising the Regional at the Midwinter site
    • Inquiries have been made about crash space for Midwinter – Mara will be coordinating, so if you can offer crash space (or know someone who needs it), please contact her directly
    • There is interest in holding a Baronial yard sale, since the Barony has a good amount of stuff we no longer need, and there’s also people who want to donate. We’ll hold it perhaps at Midwinter, the Regional practice, or Fool’s War. There were a lot of ideas offered for the yard sale, and a volunteer to serve as point person was requested. Since Owl’s Nets has expressed interest in helping (as they have stuff to donate as well), it was suggested that Adaire be contacted to organize the yard sale.
    • The Courtesan’s track is still seeking volunteers to teach any of the Courtly Arts, social aspects of court, etc. Family-friendly classes are welcome.
  • Spring Coronation for TRH Sebastiannos and Morgan (5-7 April, 2019)
    • Juliane is going to look at the site this week. The new site, which is also where Fools’ War will be held, sounds really promising. HRH Sebastiannos is really excited about the site.
    • Discreet cigarette smoking is allowed – please religiously police your cigarette butts
    • Dogs are welcome on site (with all required paperwork) – if you bring your dog, please religiously police their butts 😉
    • A lot has already been negotiated with the site, thanks to Fynlo and the Fools’ War team, and the Boy Scouts (who own the site) are really excited about having us (the SCA) use their site in the future
    • Juliane has put a bid together already, and is working through requests from Sebastiannos for feast arrangements. She will discuss these requests with the finance committee to get them implemented.
    • Stunt Bards! (for feast?)
  • Red Tower (4-6 October, 2019)
    • Lady Veronica has volunteered to put together a bid
  • Castle Wars (21-24 November, 2019)
    • THL Piers is interested in autocratting, but has concerns about some issues with the site, including pricing and SERV-Safe certification for kitchen workers.
    • The event site will be the same Boy Scout camp site as Coronation and Fools’ War
  • Anachrocon (15-18 February, 2019)
    • Takes place over Presidents’ Weekend; it does conflict with several events, but we’re looking for volunteers
    • These are our people we just have to draw them in
    • We are seeking teachers for classes – please contact Lady Justina if interested
  • JordanCon (26-28 April, 2019)
    • Fantasy literature convention, in honor of author Robert Jordan
    • Will be held at the Crowne Plaza Atlanta Perimeter at Ravinia
    • Tiff Frankin is point person for Meridies
  • Questions from HRM Gwynhwyfar
    • She wanted, first of all, to let everyone know that HRM Adhemar would have liked to have been at the meeting for the Baronial announcement and thank everyone personally
    • After the meeting, representatives for Meridies will need to come to a final decision about kingdom-wide fundraising for the Knowne Worlde party at Gulf Wars
      • Party theme – Hogwarts! HRM will be Fleur Delacour
      • There will be a fundraiser raffle, and items are being requested for the raffle
      • HRM wants to have an army of dementors, and mentioned something about thousands of glowsticks?

Other SCA Business

  • Mistress Allesandra mentioned that while Midwinter A+S is going on, the populace is welcome to enter the A+S competitions, and “we have like 400 laurels who would love to help you!”
  • Lady Stella is still looking for someone to take over organizing the baronial activity at DragonCon, as she won’t be able to be there for registering our group. Justina reminded us that we’ve been invited by the alternate history track to provide some classes

Non-SCA Business

  • His Excellency, Master Lorenzo, said that a couple of lovely chairs had been left behind at the baronial holiday party. If you left one, please come get it!
  • Dinner – Shaking Crawfish!

Next business meeting will be held Wednesday, 6 February 2019, at the Doraville Civic Center. Happy holidays and a happy new year!

Thanks!

–Raven

Meeting Minutes, Society ANNOUNCEMENTS

November Baronial Business Meeting (and Candidate Q+A) Minutes

South Downs Baronial Business Meeting

7 November 2018, 7:30pm

Doraville Civic Center – 3744 Central Ave., Doraville GA

Notes submitted by Lady Raven Helmsplitter, South Downs Chronicler.

THL Mark de Wytteney called the meeting to order. Master Wistric sez “Welcome! If you did not sign in, please sign in!”

Baronial Candidates Q+A

With the announcement of Their Excellencies Lorenzo and Adela’s intent to step down in the near future, three sets of candidates were nominated to serve as the next Baron and Baroness South Downs:

  • Master Wistric Oftun and Mistress Sunneva de Cleia
  • THL Lucien d’Artois and THL Juliane de Vivonne
  • Sir Iastreb Desislavich and THL Marianna Cristina Tirado de Aragon

The meeting began with a question and answer session with all the candidates, documented here (and on the baronial FB group) with this video:

Video of baronial candidate question and answer session

Baronial officers submitted their reports to be posted separately.

Officer Reports

  • Herald (THL Lucien d’Artois)
    • Awards – Red Tower
      • Lord Brendan de Hay – Order of the Red Raven
      • Lady Raven Helmsplitter – Order of the Red Raven
    • Submissions
      • No new submissions, no change in status to existing submissions
  • Armored and Youth Marshal (Lady Mairghread)
    • Armored
      • Nothing to report
    • Youth
      • Nothing to report
  • Rapier Marshal (Lord Brendan de Hay)
    • Nothing to report
  • Chatelaine (Lady Justina di Silvestri)
    • Nothing to report
  • Arts & Sciences (Mistress Sunneva de Cleia)
    • Nothing to report
  • Reeve (THL Andreva Rigaldi)
    • Nothing to report
  • Quartermaster (THL Lucien d’Artois)
    • Nothing to report
  • Webminister (Lord Pietro di Conti)
    • We have a website!
    • Added signup sheet for 2019 A+S classes
    • Updates to Red Tower website:
      • Schedule
      • Sitemap
      • Gods & Quests
    • Updates to Castle Wars website:
      • Land map
      • Merchant list
      • Rapier schedule
      • Courtesan salon
      • Meridies Pride link
      • Notice of cancellation of equestrian activities
      • Notice of closing of PayPal registration
    • Updates to Midwinter A+S website:
      • Added Midwinter 2019 to top level “Events” dropdown menu
    • Updated info for other upcoming events:
      • Fall Crown List
      • Magna Faire
    • Updated awards:
      • Lord Brendan de Hay – Order of the Red Raven
      • Lady Raven Helmsplitter – Order of the Red Raven
      • Master Wistric Oftun – Argent Comet
      • Lord Davio de la Rouge – Argent Comet
  • Chronicler (Lady Raven Helmsplitter)
    • Nothing to report
  • Seneschal (Master Wistric Oftun)
    • Nothing to report
  • Their Excellencies
    • Nothing to report

Thanks to THL Mark de Wytteney and Lord Nikon Dawidowicz for their help in coordinating and recording the Q+A session this evening.

Next business meeting will be held Wednesday, 5 December 2018, at the Doraville Civic Center. Please note that the first non-resident polling will take place at the December business meeting.

Thanks!

–Raven

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

July 2018 Baronial Business Meeting Minutes

South Downs Baronial Business Meeting

11 July 2018, 7:30pm

Little Tree Studios

Notes submitted by Lady Raven Helmsplitter, South Downs Chronicler.

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

Officer Reports

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

Upcoming Events

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

Other SCA Business

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

Non-SCA Business

  • None

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

–Raven

Society ANNOUNCEMENTS

March 2018 Baronial Business Meeting Minutes

South Downs Baronial Business Meeting

7 March 2018, 7:30pm

Little Tree Studios

Notes submitted by Lady Raven Helmsplitter (mka Helena Bretherton Hay), South Downs Chronicler.

Herald (Lord Lucien d’Artois) called the meeting to order.

Officer Reports

  • Herald (Lord Lucien d’Artois)
    • Events – Midwinter A+S
      • Lady Mairghread Wilson – Kestral’s Talon
      • Lady Emmelina le Norreys – Baronial A+S Champion
      • Lady Alisandre de la Chapelle – Swan’s Grace
      • THL Sibella Denton – Sable Keep
      • Lady Raven Helmsplitter – Falcon’s Faith
      • Lord Konrad Windhorn – Phoenix’ Spark
      • Lord Mark de Wytteney – Falcon’s Faith
      • Lady Melusine LaPucelle Dix LaFayette – Falcon’s Faith
      • Lord Lucien d’Artois – Red Raven
      • Lady Juliane de Vivonne – Red Raven
      • Lord Brendan de Hay – Chivalry Award
      • Lady Maire Dhocair inghean Chiarain – Order of the Bough
    • Submissions
      • Lady Juliane de Vivonne – new badge
      • THL Mathias Blackett – new household name and badge
      • Mistress Mara Palmer – new household name and badge
      • Lady Ruqayah al-Zarqa – device change
  • Armored and Youth Marshal (Lady Mairghread)
    • Armored
      • Armored practice has resumed now that the weather is cooperating (fingers crossed!)
      • Lady Mairghread will not be at practice this coming week (Sunday, March 11 and Tuesday, March 13) because she will be at Gulf Wars – would like to have another marshal volunteer to lead practice
      • Lord Mark de Wytteney is our newest authorized armored fighter (yay!)
    • Youth
      • Will be teaching a youth armored fighting class at Owl’s Nest’s Newcomer’s Collegium on April 28. Mathias and Sir Iazzie will be also be teaching an alternative weapons class at Newcomer’s, and Mark also volunteered he is teaching a class.
  • Live Weapons Marshal (Mistress Mara Palmer – THL Mathias reporting)
  • Rapier Marshal (Lord Brendan de Hay)
    • Practices. We are still having them, Sunday afternoons, concurrent with armored. Tuesday evening practices at 7pm, temporarily moved to Blackburn Park due to the lighting situation at Liane Levetan. We’re averaging 2-12 people. For updates regarding rapier practices, go to the Atlanta SCA Fighting Facebook group.
    • Thanked everyone who came out to this year’s Meridian College of Arms, hosted by the Shire of Arenal! Everyone who went had a great time, and the Barony fielded three fencers, and several event support staff.
    • Mairghread mentioned that the Kingdom Youth Rapier Marshal, Master Ysabel de Sancte Croix, is looking for a Youth deputy. Please contact Master Ysabel directly if interested.
  • Chatelaine (Master Wistric reporting for Lady Justina di Silvestri)
    • Demo at Anachrocon (2/17-18) went really well and had a fair number of people already interested in history showed further interest in SCA, with at least 2-4 people get more detailed information on the upcoming events of Fools War and Newcomers Collegium, and a few new people joined the fighter practice group. Everyone who showed up was fantastic and engaging to attendees- was a great experience.
    • Demo for the Knights Templar at the Atlanta Masonic Temple (2/24)- Lord Mark and Jarec did a brief demonstration and lecture on the history of the Templars and the kit and fighting style. The audience was engaged and came up to us with questions after. They have reached out to offer a donation to the barony as thanks.
    • Gold Key: I am going to itemize and input info of the gold key into a google doc so that we can keep a running record of what we have. I hope in the upcoming months to have a shirt/chemise drive… if anyone has any ideas or tips getting more underclothes to gold key, I am very open to suggestions 🙂
    • April SCA swap/giveaway/yard sale: April 11 is a project night, and it looked like my post in the South Downs Facebook group was well received, so let’s have an SCA swap meet! Bring garb you no longer wear, craft items, feast gear, camp gear, fabric, etc. This is a great opportunity for newcomers and people who need SCA gear to be more comfortable at events, to try a new craft, and for more seasoned members to declutter their homes.
  • Arts & Sciences (Mistress Sunneva de Cleia)
    • Our February A+S class topic was Building a Collapsible Banner Pole, taught by Master Ximon Martillo de Cordoba. Everyone enjoyed the class (and the double entendres).
      Ximon thanked Mark and Meulsine in particular for their assistance.
    • This month’s class, “How to Run a List Field,” will be taught by Juliane.
    • Reminder: Caterina will be teaching a Paypal class for the Barony in July,
      as well as at Newcomer’s Collegium. THL Andreva encouraged everyone to consider taking the class, because the more people who are approved to handle the new Paypal registration/payment system, the easier it will be for those running troll at events.
    • Artsy Crown – Mistress Sunneva will touch base with Lord Piers to get A+S class registration going
    • Sunneva and Emmelina will be spearheading a baronial (encampment) beautification effort, starting soon – stay tuned!
    • Sunneva has made a schedule for all of 2018 as a Google Docs spreadsheet so you (yes, you! you know it’s one of your new year’s resolutions) can sign up to teach a class at one of our monthly A+S nights. She is pleased to report we have classes scheduled through August.
  • Reeve (THL Andreva Rigaldi)
    • Andreva reported that we have money! $9,234.73 is in our new bank account.
      The old Bank of America account will be closed shortly.
    • She reported that we had 220 people at Midwinter A+S, including 13 children and 28 paid non-members (including the cast of the local production of Spamalot).
      Profit from the event totaled $983.37 (yay!)
    • Andreva will run troll for Artsy Crown, as she has taken the Paypal class. She encourages everyone – especially if you are interested in volunteering at Troll – to take the class, so you can help with reservations and taking credit card payments onsite. At future events, the Head Troll will likely need to have taken the Paypal class before the event.
    • Lisa – who has been running Paypal for our events – is looking for a Paypal deputy. Please contact her directly if interested.
    • Andreva is also looking for a deputy – if you’re interested, please contact her directly. If you can use Excel, you can do this job!
  • Webminister (Lord Pietro di Conti)
    • We have a website!
    • Updated:
      • Meeting site address to 2838 Franklin
      • Justina as Chatelaine
      • Emmelina as Baronial Arts Champion
      • Sunneva as A&S Minister
      • Ximon’s device
      • Red Raven list to include Mistress Margavati, Ximon, Lord Sebastianos, and Mistress Serafina. Still need to confirm some award dates, though likely sometime 2009-2013. Lorenzo already was listed
      • Linked to “demo suggestion” form on Chatelaine page
      • Posted A&S class list
      • Events: Artsy Crown (new page), Festival of Vices and Virtues, Newcomers, Golden Lily, Fools War, Dreamstone
    • Sent webminister writeup to Chronicler for newsletter
  • Chronicler (Lady Raven Helmsplitter)
    • Still need articles for the Winter 2018 issue of The Read Tower, due Saturday, March 10, before the clock springs forward for Daylight Savings Time; goal of the newsletter is to inform, particularly newcomers, about what we do, why we enjoy what we do in the SCA, and why a newcomer would want to take part. Examples:
      • Officers’ column: each Baronial officer has a column where they can describe what they do, what’s cool about what you do as that officer, and anything (events, practices, etc) you want to publicize. Roughly 500 words (a page or so?). Officer columns due March 7 before midnight.
      • Guild reps: again, you have a space where you can let the populace know what you do, why you find it cool, and what your Guild has going on. And again, roughly 500 words would be great
      • Articles I’d like to have written, 500-750 words (ish); if you’d like to write an article, please let me know and we’ll chat:
        • Reveling at Castle Wars: one of the things that makes Castle Wars special, the camping and reveling; article and photos  STILL NEED
        • Presentation (?) Herald at Crown: what it’s like to process with a combatant at Crown and announce them at the beginning of the tournament? STILL NEED
        • Rapier activity beyond the world of the SCA (SERFO/HEMA) (thanks, Brendan de Hay!)
        • A+S Competitions at Midwinter A+S (Thanks, Sunneva!)
        • Class handouts, recipes, etc. – please include images (I can scan if necessary), and a writeup introducing the material (ongoing)
        • Artwork and photos – again, I can scan artwork if necessary (thanks, Andreva, for the 40 Year photos!)
        • Would love an article for the *next* issue on something about Gulf Wars (suggestion: the Al-Mahala salon, or Ca’ d’Oro). And please submit pictures! Thanks!
  • Seneschal (Master Wistric Oftun)
    • No report…
    • But wait! We have a new person at the meeting! Wistric asked everyone to introduce themselves, so we did 🙂
    • The shire of Tir Briste has set up a fire ant management plan in coordination with the management at Al-Sihah Shrine (where Fool’s War, Artsy Crown, and other large events will be held), and has given us permission to come out to the shrine several times before events to destroy ants. Tir Briste (and the Fools War autocrat) will need help, so when the treatment dates are announced, please consider helping if you can, especially since we will need to do the same in advance of our own event, Artsy Crown
    • Mark had talked to people in Tir Briste about who handles the mowing and if there are better options; the site is large and high grass contributes to problems with the ants and other critters.
  • Their Excellencies
    • Gulf Wars
      • Who’s going?
      • If you’re planning on going to Gulf Wars and plan to be on site by Tuesday morning of War Week, please let Her Excellency know – she would love to have members of the Barony take part in the procession and carry the Baronial banner, looking fab and badass 🙂
      • If you plan on camping with the Barony for Fool’s War, please make sure Her Excellency know you are doing so – we need to make sure we have enough in our group for the space allotment we’re looking for.
    • If you have any additional comments about Midwinter A+S, please let Lady Alisandre know.

Upcoming Events

  • Artsy Crown (26-29 May 2018)
    • There will be two fundraiser lunches, one on Saturday and one on Sunday. If interested, please let Lord Piers know – he’s giving South Downs first dibs.
    • Other than that, everything is moving along well.
    • PayPal:
      • We are 85% set on PayPal for this event.
      • Do we have any PayPal readers? How many will we need? Does anyone have any?
      • Does the barony wish to invest in a couple of readers? We don’t know yet if Kingdom has decided to move forward with this PayPal experiment (although being able to pay online and take credit cards at the door is really helpful)
      • There were a couple of PayPal issues that have been cleared up – specifically, we had problems with tracking reservations for multiple feasts (Artsy Crown has two, one on Saturday and one on Sunday evening
    • Lady Emmelina offered to coordinate a fundraiser art sale at Artsy Crown, with proceeds going to the Castle Wars revel (yay!); need to figure out logistics/space between classes, lunch, etc., but everyone loved the idea
    • Lucien will serve as quartermaster for the event, since Ximon can’t attend
    • Piers will make arrangements for the trailer to be towed from the Base to and from the event site.
  • Red Tower (5-7 October 2018)
    • Will be held at Hard Labor Creek in Rutledge, GA
    • We have an autocrat! Lord Mark de Wytteney!
    • We have a theme – Gods Among Us (Greek!)! Every activity will have a Greek god or goddess sponsor
    • Some ideas were developed at dinner after 40 Year
    • Youth activities idea – have people volunteer greek gods in disguise, and the kids can spend the day trying to figure out who is a god
  • Castle Wars (15-18 November 2018)
    • Will be held at Al-Sihah Shrine in Macon, GA
    • We have an autocrat! Lady Juliane!
    • Theme: War of the Roses
    • She is busy putting together the bid, and needs staff in every department
      • Mairghread volunteered as MiC (or to help find one if she can’t make it)
      • Feast? Beast? Should talk to Sir Lochlann
      • Mark volunteered as Landcrat
      • Andreva will help with reservations
      • Ximon offered general assistance
      • Raven offered to do the flyer and site booklet

SCA Business

  • Emmelina still has the baronial court backdrop – it needs to get to GW, and is at her apartment in Smyrna. Arrangements were made
  • Andreva will be hoteling at Artsy Crown, and is looking for someone to share expenses
  • A discussion began about recognizing Caterina for all the work she has done for our Barony, even though she is not a member of South Downs
  • Andreva reminded everyone that *we* are hosting Artsy Crown – start writing recommendation letters to the Crown for worthy people!
  • Bekah thanked everyone in advance for all who will be helping at Newcomers.
    • She is looking for someone to do a protocol and precedence class – possibly Mathias?
    • She would also like to offer a fun hands-on class if possible. Wistric suggested that perhaps he could do an introduction to finger loop braiding class
  • A discussion about possible event sites started. The Masonic Temple on Peachtree was suggested as a possibly suitable Midwinter A+S-type site; also, the site where this past weekend’s con (in Gwinnett?) took place – perhaps they’d be interested in our doing a demo next year?

Non-SCA Business

  • Margavati’s Indian dance group will have a recital at the Georgia World Congress Center on March 25; tickets are available.
  • Sawyer has some extra moldable plastic if anyone wants it

Next South Downs business meeting will be held Wednesday, 4 April 2018, at Little Tree Art Studios.

–Raven

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

February Baronial Business Meeting Minutes

South Downs Baronial Business Meeting

7 February 2018, 7:30pm

Atlanta Friends Meeting House

Notes submitted by Lady Raven Helmsplitter (mka Helena Bretherton Hay), South Downs Chronicler.

Herald (Lord Lucien d’Artois) called the meeting to order.

Officer Reports

  • Herald (Lord Lucien d’Artois)
    • Lucien announced that the heralds will have a consultation table set up at 40 Year, so come by with your questions.
    • Submissions
      • Five baronial badges were registered at Laurel
      • Mathias Blackett – household name and badge
      • Juliane de Vivone – badge resubmitted
      • Ruqayah al-Zarqa – device change
    • Duke John was asked about the history of the Kestrel – he said it was inspired by an award offered by the Shire of Sol Haven, which recognizes those who contribute to the local group but aren’t actually a member of the group
  • Armored and Youth Marshal (Lady Mairghread)
    • Armored
      • We’ve had a great turnout at practices, so much so that the new fighters have had to swap out loaner gear between them (yay!)
      • Several of the new fighters are ready to be authorized.
      • One fighter (Brady) is technically a member of Owl’s Nest, but he’s been training with Mairghread; still needs a gorget. Lord Mark has offered to build one for him this weekend
    • Youth
      • She has two fighters who want to authorize by Pennsic
      • One of the youth fighters asked if she (Mairgrhead) could run youth combat at Newcomers’ Collegium, but she hasn’t yet received her paperwork from Kingdom
  • Live Weapons Marshal (Mistress Mara Palmer – THL Mathias reporting)
    • Last practice got rained out
    • Our next series of practice have been posted to our FB group
  • Rapier Marshal (Lord Brendan de Hay)
    • Practices. We are still having them, Sunday afternoons, concurrent with armored. Tuesday evening practices at 7pm, temporarily moved to Blackburn Park due to the lighting situation at Liane Levetan. We’re averaging 2-12 people.
    • We are still waiting for updates from Liane Levetan Park about the lighting situation and work order
    • Thanks to all who’ve helped cover marshaling practices while Ben is working!
    • For updates regarding rapier practices, go to the Atlanta SCA Fighting Facebook group.
  • Chatelaine (Lady Stella di Silvestri)
    • After two years in the office, Lady Stella announced that she is stepping down as Chatelaine and that Lady Justina will be stepping up as our new Chatelaine. Thank you for all your hard work, Lady Stella!
  • Arts & Sciences (Mistress Sunneva de Cleia)
    • We had a great turnout at Midwinter A+S; 14 classes were offered.
    • Sunneva has made a schedule for all of 2018 as a Google Docs spreadsheet so you (yes, you! you know it’s one of your new year’s resolutions) can sign up to teach a class at one of our monthly A+S nights. She is pleased to report we have classes scheduled through July.
    • This month’s class on building a breakdown banner pole will be taught by Master Ximon. He points out that this is not a historically accurate banner pole, but it does pass the “10-ft rule”
    • Sunneva is looking for a deputy, and asked if you contacted her previously about this, to please reach out to her again.
  • Reeve (THL Andreva Rigaldi)
    • Andreva reported that we have (some)money! Approximately $10,000
    • We have a new account at Regions Bank, and are currently waiting on the new checks to arrive and to finish closing out the old Bank of America account. Because of this,
      she needs to have all receipts in by March 1
    • She reported that we had 220 people at Midwinter A+S, including 13 children and 28 paid non-members (including the cast of the local production of Spamalot)
    • Andreva is also looking for a deputy – if you’re interested, please contact her directly
  • Webminister (Lord Pietro di Conti)
    • We have a website!
    • Updated:
      • Class schedule
      • Live weapons practice schedule
      • Web pages for new baronial awards
      • Posted photos from 40-Year, cub scout demo, and Midwinter A+S
      • Class notes
      • Is adding members’ devices to their webpages
  • Chronicler (Lady Raven Helmsplitter)
    • Still need articles for the Winter 2018 issue of The Read Tower; goal of the newsletter is to inform, particularly newcomers, about what we do, why we enjoy what we do in the SCA, and why a newcomer would want to take part. Examples:
      • Officers’ column: each Baronial officer has a column where they can describe what they do, what’s cool about what you do as that officer, and anything (events, practices, etc) you want to publicize. Roughly 500 words (a page or so?)
      • Guild reps: again, you have a space where you can let the populace know what you do, why you find it cool, and what your Guild has going on. And again, roughly 500 words would be great
      • Articles I’d like to have written, 500-750 words (ish); if you’d like to write an article, please let me know and we’ll chat:
        • Reveling at Castle Wars: one of the things that makes Castle Wars special, the camping and reveling; article and photos  STILL NEED
        • Presentation (?) Herald at Crown: what it’s like to process with a combatant at Crown and announce them at the beginning of the tournament? STILL NEED
        • Rapier activity beyond the world of the SCA (SERFO/HEMA) (thanks, Brendan de Hay!)
        • A+S Competitions at Midwinter A+S (Thanks, Sunneva!)
        • Class handouts, recipes, etc. – please include images (I can scan if necessary), and a writeup introducing the material (ongoing)
        • Artwork and photos – again, I can scan artwork if necessary (thanks, Andreva, for the 40 Year photos!)
  • Seneschal (Master Wistric Oftun)
    • Anachrocon – if you have Viking garb, wear it! If you don’t, wear what you like.
      There was a problem with setting up classes, so we’ll just have fighting otuside and an inside table for recruiting. Wistric will update the Anachrocon schedule on the FB group page
  • Their Excellencies
    • Gulf Wars
      • Who’s going?
      • If you’re planning on going to Gulf Wars and plan to be on site by Tuesday morning of War Week, please let Her Excellency know – she would love to have members of the Barony take part in the procession and carry the Baronial banner, looking fab and badass 🙂

Event Report

  • Midwinter Arts + Sciences (2-4 February 2018)
    • Lady Alisandre sent in an event report as she was not able to attend the meeting
      • We need to find an alternate site instead of UWG – the way the University handles reservations makes it difficult to confirm the site until just a couple of weeks before the event. Suggestions from the populace:
        • Red Top Mountain (where Owls Nest will host Newcomers’ Collegium)
        • Sir Iazzie suggested Gwinnett County Fairgroungs – we could use one hall as a sleeping hall,
          and one divided up for classes. Lots of parking.
        • Cobb County Fairgrounds
    • Everyone agreed that Midwinter A+S was a great and successful event!
    • Lord Pietro was tasked with passing along cheers to Alisandre

Upcoming Events

  • Artsy Crown (26-29 May 2018)
    • Our bid has been submitted; we haven’t heard anything back yet but Iazzie feels confident that we will get the bid
    • Sir Lochlann will do the fighters’ feast Sunday night
    • Need someone to take care of Sunday breakfast – Lady Illy volunteered
    • Need someone to take care of Monday morning GTFO breakfast
    • Help with Royal lunches (Lady Justina will be the royal liaison, but will need help)
    • Still need to determine who will do the fundraiser lunch
    • Iazzie has reached out to the autocrat for Fools’ War (also held at the Shrine) – they will be treating the site for fire ants, so it should be in pretty good shape before our event
    • Lady Emmelina offered to coordinate a fundraiser art sale at Artsy Crown, with proceeds going to the Castle Wars revel (yay!); need to figure out logistics/space between classes,
      lunch, etc., but everyone loved the idea
  • Red Tower (5-7 October 2018)
    • Will be held a Hard Labor Creek in Rutledge, GA
    • We have an autocrat! Lord Mark de Wytteney!
    • We have a theme – Bacchanalia! Please send Mark any ideas you may have for the event
    • Some ideas were developed at dinner after 40 Year
    • Iazzie mentioned that he knows a couple of people who are interested in doing feast

SCA Business

  • Lady Justina got great feedback for Period Heroes at Midwinter (yay!) Contributions are always welcome! Period Heroes will make an appearance at Ca’ d’ Oro at Gulf Wars
  • Wistric mentioned the state of the storage unit; seems there’s a lot of materials for unfinished (unstarted?) projects
    • There’s a fair amount of leftover fleece from the Red Tower sheep – Illy suggested that it could be used for cows for Bryn Madoc (Danelaw?)
    • An entire bin of moving blankets which will be turned into storage bags for the thrones
    • Baronial regalia? A linen unfinished cloak or cassock with baronial arms – it may well be a cover or shade for the thrones for court (fits into a frame). The frame has been lost over the years, so it could become a project for something else. Wistric will bring the fabric to the next meeting.
    • A full bolt of canvas that was originally going to be a painted wall; perhaps it could become two smaller walls (easier to handle
    • Several unfinished banners that Baroness Rhiannon had worked on once upon a time; Ximon would like several volunteers to help with it
    • Several bolts of cotton duck (white, green, black) – perhaps can be used for loaner gear? Mark volunteered to help with this
    • Additional silk for banners – we definitely need more banners as a Barony! Also a frame and paint; could become a group project night, teaching how to make a painted silk banner
    • Lady Juliane would love to encourage South Downs to be more spiffy in 2018
    • Ximon suggested that we break down the banner project into easier manageable sessions: develop design, assess silk pieces, etc.
  • Mairghread mentioned that Thor’s Mountain baronial candidates are now down to 4 (one had had his membership lapse); the remaining had a Q+A event that was recorded and posted. The new Baron and/or Baroness will step up at May Faire. Her Excellency Thor’s Mountain has been ill, and the Vicar has stepped up recently to handle administrative issues.
  • Juliane mentioned that His Excellency is interested in restoring the Red Raven as a polling order; is there a gap in the OP that needs to be added/corrected?
  • Ximon thanked everyone who contributed to the MoB fundraiser lunch at Midwinter A+S

Non-SCA Business

  • Andreva’s chorale has a concert coming up, featuring folk songs in a lot of different languages. Concert is in May 18 and 20
  • Mairghread will be on active duty orders for the next couple of months, and it may impact her attendance at Gulf Wars. Sunday practice availability will also be spotty for the next couple of months, due to needed house repair
  • dilly dilly!

Next South Downs business meeting will be held Wednesday, 7 March 2018, at our new site, Little Tree Art Studios.

–Raven