Category Archives: Midwinter A&S

Castle Wars, Meeting Minutes, Midwinter A&S

January Baronial Business Meeting

South Downs Baronial Business Meeting

04 January 2023, Time: 1930

Notes submitted by Baronessa Aelia Bassina, South Downs Chronicler.

Master Mathias called the January meeting to order. Our Seneschal, Lady Raven Helmsplitter, greeted the populace joining the Zoom meeting. Lady Raven read the Kingdom Anti-Bullying statement.

Officers’ Reports

Seneschal, (Lady Raven Helmsplitter)

  • In-person meeting space through the end of June 2023 has been set up at Doraville Civic Center.
    • 1/18
    • 2/22
    • 3/22, 3/29 (5th Wednesday!)
    • 4/19, 4/26
    • 5/3 (in-person business meeting with a test for streaming), 5/17, 5/31 (5th Wednesday!)
    • 6/21, 6/28
  • The Barony is expecting to submit a bid for RUM to fulfill our obligations to the kingdom; we will have a second business meeting (virtual) on 1/25 to discuss and vote on the bid. Bids for RUM are due by 1/31.
  • I’ve uploaded a PDF of the photos and notes I took during Ximon’s and my site visit to Indian Springs State Park (where Red Tower 2023 will be held) to the Barony’s FB group.

Herald (Lady Bú Feiyan)     

  • Nothing to report.

Knight Marshal (Lord Eirikr Palsson)

  • Heavy practices are back on.  
  • We didn’t have any the last 2 weeks due to Christmas and New Years’ day.  
  • Practice on the 15th will be covered by THL Margheraed so no loaner gear will be available as I will be at panhandle skirmishes.  
  • I will also be looking into a substitute marshal for the 29th so I can attend war college.
  • There will also be a Regional Figher Practice the weekend of Midwinter.

Rapier Marshal (Captain Brendan de Hay)

  • HAPPY NEW YEAR!  Seems like the holiday season took a bite out of our practice routine.  Probably a healthy thing…
  • Work is a bit more manageable for me right now, but I will continue to need help making sure that a marshal is present for practices.  Anxious to be getting back in the swing of things myself.  Thanks to all of our Barony’s rapier marshals for stepping in as needed.
  • Otherwise, practices proceedeth apace, weather permitting. 

Live Weapons (Master Mathias Blackett)

  • Current plan is to have our January practice this coming Sunday, 1/8.
  • Weather may be a factor. If we are rained out, I will push it to the next week.
  • Society has started coming down with score sheets for thrown weapons. They are still working out a couple of the kinks, but I will see if we can get some interkingdom challenges going at practice.
  • If you’re interested in sharp, metal things flying through the air, please come to practice.

Reeve (La Magnifica Justina di Silvestri)

  • Not much new this time! Our current bank account has $7,581.89, but considering checks pending deposit, the balance in our ledger is $7,010.02 as of the end of December. 
  • With the new year comes a new annual budget, which we discussed last meeting, so if you have any questions or if you are an officer that has approved expenditures, please reach out. SCA-rs is now officially retired, we are back to PayPal for pre-Registration, which will be available shortly for Midwinter.
  • The 2022 “Doomsday” report (Q4 fiscal year-end report) is due at the end of this month. If you have any outstanding business with SD, it will pool over into the 2023 report. 
  • Again, please let me know if you have any questions about this process.

Quartermaster (Mistress Isabetta de San Marco) 

  • We have stuff!
  • Will work out a time with Margavati to get things out for Midwinter.

Chatelaine (Lady Ogata Mitusko)

  • I want to draw attention to just one major item of interest – Atlanta Comic-Con is happening on the weekend of February 24th at the Georgia World Congress Center.
  • In between holiday madness, I’ve been talking to the organizer, Croix Provence. She is offering us an exhibition hall at 3.5k sq ft for demos and panels, as many tables and chairs as we need, a breakout room for our volunteers, and space on the con’s promotional material.
  • I cannot understate that she is VERY interested in drawing Scadians and making this as frictionless as possible.
  • This really feels like the holy grail of face-to-face interaction with engaged nerds in the metro Atlanta area
  • However, what sucks is that many of us in the fencing community will not be in town to help make that happen because that weekend is also MCA.
  • So, I’ve reached out to a couple of other officers in the barony as well as some of our neighbors in Tir Briste and Depedale to see who’s available to participate and, most importantly, who’s interested in leading a demo.
  • From where I’m sitting and what I’m looking at, Atlanta Comic-con is looking like a very large, very accessible, and very visible empty box that we can fill with any tournaments, classes, panels, and demonstrations that we want.
  • As far as I understand, Atlanta Comic-con draws a more local crowd than DragonCon. So the vibe seems to be like Conjuration Con or Anachro Con, both of which have been historically key demo opportunities for us. This would be on an even bigger scale.
  • If you are interested in taking the reins on this demo or otherwise helping out, please do reach out to me ASAP
  • Just as a reminder, Atlanta Comic-con is the weekend of February 24th.

Demo Deputy (Lady Bú Feiyan)

  • Nothing to report.

Arts & Sciences (HE Rhiannon verch Madyn)

  • Our Midwinter A&S event is just around the corner. 
  • The Facebook Event page has been updated with a link to pre-register A&S entries. I highly encourage folks to do this as it will help with the setup of the room.
  • As usual we will have tokens, probably large beads, that will be available so the attendees can vote for their favorite entry.
  • There will be sheets/booklets available for each of the entries so that the populace can leave remarks. I’m really hoping that the attendees will take a moment to let the artisans know what they liked about each entry. Positive feedback can be so important for artisans who have put time and energy into a piece.

Provost (Seong Myeong Su Daesaseong)

  • I hope that everyone had a great and safe holiday!
  • Class this month will be a virtual Commedia class on January 25th with Master Mathias.
  • We’re looking to start filling the monthly classes for this year, so please reach out to me or Lord Ælfric if you’re interested in teaching.

Chronicler (Baronessa Aelia Bassina)

  • The newsletter, The Read Tower, will be published this month. I’m just waiting on one particular article.
  • That being said, if you have an idea for an article, please email it to the chronicler email address.
  • Tonight is my last night as your Baronial Chronicler. I have resigned to our wonderful seneschal. If you have an interest in what it takes to be the Chronicler, please reach out to Lady Raven. 

Social Media Minister (Lady Isabella Parr & Lady Agnes Halydaye) 

  • Nothing reported

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer (DEI), (Lily of South Downs)

  • I’d love to have suggestions for anything you guys would love to do. I’m a sponge for your suggestions.

Webminister (Lady Zhelana Vovkivna)

  • Created MWAS Webpage

Minister of Children (Lady Una Ulfrdottir)

  • Nothing to report.

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

  • Not a lot from our end. We are looking forward to Midwinter.
  • Wistric shared the Procedure for Succession of the Baronial Seat. The document is available on the baronial FB page.
    • Vote was approved to adopt. Forwarded to Kingdom Seneschal. 

SCA Business

  • Midwinter A&S status
    • Thank you to everyone for your patience. 
    • We’ve started taking class submissions for Midwinter, contact me or use the Google Form posted to the Barony’s FB page or the Midwinter Event page if you’d like to teach!
    • Justina is looking to get a Paypal link for pre-reg.
    • Piers has agreed to be our set up and tear down guy.
    • I have a bunch of positions already filled, thank you, everyone.
    • Rhi is running the faire. Please go sign up.
    • I’ll post positions that need to be filled on the FB page.
    • Please consider signing up for a troll shift.
    • So far we’ve got a track of Commedia classes with an Iron Commedia session with Master Mathias and a Leather Carving and Tooling class from our own Thedomir (TJ) but are looking for more!
    • There will be no food vendors on site due to restrictions. I have posted information on how to get food.
    • Schedules will be posted as soon as we finalize them. 
  • RUM Business
    • I’m currently working to put together a bid for RUM this year July 15th at the University of West Georgia, hoping to have a bid ready later this month to present to the Barony so that we can meet the bid submission deadline.
    • Please let me know if you’d be willing to help in any way for the event!
  • Post-mortem of Castle Wars
    • Thank you to everyone who helped with CW. We’ve heard so many people say it felt like we’ve finally gotten back to SCA wars.
    • All positions were filled. It was amazing. 
    • We did have one incident, it was an aggressive dog. The dog was removed by the owner. No one was harmed.
    • There was a snafu with the High Table silverware. We need to do a better job of keeping track of that. We need to do inventory. 
      • Who is responsible for setting up the High Table? Unknown who set it up. 
      • It was suggested that the royal liaison be responsible for taking things out of and putting things back into the totes.
      • An event quartermaster?
      • There is an inventory list on each tote when it’s taken out of storage.
    • Justina: One thing I strongly suggest is to have an info point near troll, but not at troll. When troll is busy, it can be too hectic if people are coming up and asking questions about things going on at the event.
      • Maybe have a board for posting updates near troll.
        • Brendan: There are also a lot of people who turn off their phones at events (If I weren’t marshaling, I’d be one of them).  Paper and voice heralds are still a thing.
      • Pocket Herald may be an option as long as there is signal at the event.
    • Myeong Su: If you took classes and want them registered for RUM, just let me know and I can check your entry and add it to the system!
    • This was the first time we used the Boy Scout camp. Their rates have increased from a flat rate to a per person/per day rate. We did not make as much money this time at CW because the cost for the site was about $1k more than it had been in the past.

Non-SCA Business

The business meeting was closed @ 2058.

The next business meeting will be held on 01 February 2023, 1930, via Zoom Meeting.

Castle Wars, Meeting Minutes, Midwinter A&S, Red Tower

September Baronial Business Meeting

South Downs Baronial Business Meeting

07 September2022, Time: 1931

Notes submitted by Baronessa Aelia Bassina, South Downs Chronicler.

Master Mathias Blackett called the September meeting to order. Our Seneschal, Lady Raven Helmsplitter, greeted the populace joining the Zoom meeting. Raven read the Kingdom Anti-Bullying statement.

Officers Reports

Seneschal, (Lady Raven Helmsplitter)

  • Nikoslav has received the refunded deposit for our meeting site and is working on getting the check to Justina to deposit into the baronial account
  • I am still working on getting info about the art space site as a potential alternate A&S or project night site
  • The September meeting schedule has been posted to our FB group:
    • Tonight – Baronial Business meeting (virtual)
    • 9/14 – Project night (virtual)
    • 9/21 – A&S night Building scrolls (virtual)
    • 9/28 – Dance night (in person – yay!)
  • We are looking for bids for Midwinter A&S (Saturday, 2/4/2023). Please contact Their Excellencies or the seneschal if interested or if you have questions
  • As a Barony, we are required to submit a bid for one KLE each year. As of now, the following 2023 KLEs have not had any bids submitted:
    • War College (1/27-29/2023)
    • MCA (2/24-26/2023)
    • Spring Coronation (3/31 – 4/2/2023)
    • Artsy Crown (5/26-29/2023 – Memorial Day weekend)

Herald (Lady Bú Feiyan)     

  • Nothing to report.

Knight Marshal (Lord Erikr Palsson)

  • We won’t be having practice the weekend of Red Tower.
    • Not planning on bringing loaner gear, but I will be bringing authorization paperwork.
  • I will be looking to see if there is interest in a substitute marshal the weekend of MGT, I know our 2 regular knights aren’t attending so one of them may fill in for me.

Rapier Marshal (Captain Brendan de Hay)

  • Red Tower!  Thanks to Baron Piers for taking on the Rapier Marshal position for RT, and thanks to Master Ximon for helping him out (I understand they are collaborating so both can participate.).
  • Castle Wars!  Plans are underway for a Friday night fundraiser tourney as well as Saturday melee activities.  WooHoo!
  • Practices continue, Sunday afternoons and Tuesday evenings, which leads to…
    • My work is increasing again for the fall season.  I’ll need help making sure that practices have adequate marshaling and gear management.  Please contact me if you would like to help cover when my slack butt can’t be there.

Live Weapons (Master Mathias Blackett)

  • August practice changed locations due to the site hosts needing to prep for Dragon*con.
  • We held practice at my house in Lawrenceville; we held 2 archery classes, practiced with an atlatl, and recorded 2 TWICs.
  • Additionally, Roís O’Shannon completed the Reaper Challenge, shooting 100 arrows every day for 100 days.
  • Archery at Red Tower is looking like it’s a go.
  • Practice for this month may not happen, stay tuned!

Reeve (La Magnifica Justina di Silvestri)

  • Our bank account as of Sept is $6,761.64
  • Storage has been paid for September but they are raising the price again so next month it is a $583 payment, which is $117 more than last month, making our cost difference from the beginning of the year up by $234 per month.
  • We now have a PO Box:
    • P.O. Box 681863
    • Marietta, GA 30068
  • So moving forward, mailed-in reservations or necessary public addresses can go through there. I’ll be checking it on Fridays

Quartermaster (Mistress Isabetta de San Marco) 

  • Nothing to report.

Chatelaine (Lord Ogata Tarō Hiroyuki)

  • I would like to give a shout-out to our lovely scribes and calligraphers who helped make the August scribal night happen. I’m sorry I couldn’t be there in person, but I’m really happy that our newcomers had a chance to deepen their connection to the scribal arts
  • So, thank you immensely to…Sunneva, Aelia, Myeong Su Daegam, Lorenzo, and Emelina
  • Y’all rock!

Demo Deputy (Lady Bú Feiyan)

  • Nothing new currently.  
  • Waiting on a response from AWA to confirm our table still.

Arts & Sciences (HE Rhiannon verch Madyn)

  • Not much to report this month. 
  • I wanted to thank everyone for filling in the Baronial A&S tracking spreadsheet or sending me the info when the sheet does not behave. 
  • We’re finishing up the details for the first Baroness’s Challenge to be announced at Red Tower and run for the first time at Castle Wars. After it’s announced in Court, I’ll post all the details to the FB page.

Provost (Seong Myeong Su Daesaseong)

  • Class this month will be virtual on September 21st at 8:00 PM. It will be Building Scrolls with Hlāford Bran Mydwynter from Atlantia. 
  • Class for October will be a Theodosia Colloquia (Ted Talk) hosted by La Magnifica Justina Di Silvestri. Come out and share your knowledge!
  • Red Tower Notes:
    • The overall schedule is being finalized and will be published soon. We’ve got a lot of great classes, so I hope everyone is excited! Thanks to Lord Aelfric for organizing the classes for Red Tower.
    • Still looking for some spots to fill for various jobs for Red Tower, so if you’re interested, please let me or Isabella know!

Chronicler (Baronessa Aelia Bassina)

  • May have a new deputy, woohoo!
  • Nothing else to report.

Social Media Minister (Lady Isabella Parr & Lady Agnes Halydaye) 

  • Business as usual with Social Media. We have social media, we gain a few friends and got some engagement on posts!
  • For those who love the numbers:
    • Facebook page reached 831 people and 503 engagements. 12 new followers
    • The Facebook group got 2 new members
    • Instagram gained 27 new followers. A lovely boost from our demo at the lag and shout-out on their IG.
    • Twitter remains the same.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer (DEI), (Vidushi Mewadi Margavati Bai & Lily of South Downs)

  • Nothing to report for this month except in that in a month or two when the kingdom office changes over, he will not be able to continue his role. I will be stepping into his role. This means that Lily will be stepping up as the Baronial DEI officer. We’ll make an official announcement when the change happens.
  • Will be looking into quiet space for Red Tower.
  • Lord Red is teaching a DEI class at Red Tower.

Webminister (Lady Zhelana Vovkivna)

  • Nothing to report.

Minister of Children (Lady Una Ulfrdottir)

  • The schedule for Red Tower 2022 has been decided. Myndee (Deputy MoC) and Lex (our guest teacher) are going to be helping me all day. 
  • The classes are going to be:
    • Morning: The Story of the Moon Festival and Intro to Chinese Characters and Basic Paper Lanterns – Pretty and Practical
    • Afternoon: Lion Dance Intro: The Magic of Luck, Lore, and Noise and Knot So Lucky – Intro to Chinese knots
  • We’ve already started purchasing supplies and will send receipts to Justina as soon as we have them all.

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

  • I don’t have a huge amount of stuff to report. We’ve been busy preparing for Red Tower.
  • Wistric will be joining later, he’s catching up on work.
  • The Order of the Swift’s Heart. Please fill out your ballot. Remember this is a work in progress. We appreciate the enthusiasm. 
    • The very first medallion is being worked, it will be very beautiful!
  • Veronica is our new Baronial Scroll Boss. YAY! I know she’s going to do an amazing job!
  • We are so excited about Red Tower. We’re working hard to keep up with all of you planning this. We need retainers, a link will go out soon. 
  • We might need a helping hand with Carver during court. We would be willing to pay for a camp sitter!
  • The person doing the class this class is my apprentice brother! The most recent scroll he created was a bronze age mirror for someone with that persona and a bass scroll. It was quite cool.
  • Keep on being awesome!

SCA Business

  • Master Mathias
    • For those who remember Wulfstan and Thorkatla’s reign, there were two scoundrels that acted up during their reign. We are looking for people. Please let me know if you are interested in helping out.
  • Lord Ogata Tarō Hiroyuki
    • Vices & Virtue
      • Mistress Veronica was inducted into the Order of the Bough.
      • Lola authorized for rapier
      • Captian Pietro won the Patience & Wrath sword and dagger tournament.
  • Red Tower Notes:
    • Daegam Soong Myeong-Su
      • The overall schedule is being finalized and will be published soon. We’ve got a lot of great classes, so I hope everyone is excited! Thanks to Lord Aelfric for organizing the classes for Red Tower.
      • Still looking for some spots to fill for various jobs for Red Tower, so if you’re interested, please let me or Isabella know!
      • Feastcrat is looking for servers
      • We are still looking for help with Royal Lunch.
      • We need help with setting up and tear down. 
      • I will talk to Margavati about the quiet space
      • If you pre-reg you get a cabin! It’s cabins only, no camping.
      • We have a port-a-potty company
      • Shout out to Mirghred for the traveler’s fare. Shout out to Ogata for the feast. Owl’s Nest will be doing a fundraiser lunch.
  • Castle Wars
    • Baron Piers Simmons
      • We need a pottycrat
      • Our pre-reg will be open soon
      • The roses have contacted me and they would like to do a fundraiser Friday Night Fight. It’s a single-elimination event. With your donation for Breast Cancer, you get a second life.
      • If you have questions, let me know.
    • Seong Myeong Su – Will there be encampments?
      • Yes. We are trying to use a similar map as we did last time.
  • Seong Myeong Su – I made Their Majesties Trimeris coronation garb.

Non-SCA Business

  • None

The business meeting was closed @ 2011

The next business meeting will be held on 05 October 2022, 1930, Zoom Meeting.

Castle Wars, Meeting Minutes, Midwinter A&S, Red Tower

August Baronial Business Meeting

South Downs Baronial Business Meeting

03 August 2022, Time: 19

Notes submitted by Baronessa Aelia Bassina, South Downs Chronicler.

Lady Bú called the August meeting to order. Our Seneschal, Lady Raven Helmsplitter, greeted the populace joining the Zoom meeting. Raven read the Kingdom Anti-Bullying statement.

Officers Reports

Seneschal, (Lady Raven Helmsplitter)

  • In-person meeting space has been secured through the end of November (available dates in December run up against the end-of-year holidays, so we didn’t reserve any dates in December (yet). Stay tuned as we announce the upcoming monthly schedules.
    • The original security deposit for our meeting space is being returned to Nik as he is no longer seneschal. We should have that back in the next 2-4 weeks. We paid a new security deposit when I set myself up as the new contact with Parks & Recreation.
    •  Looking into using the art space next door for potential project night or A&S classes, in addition to our regular meeting space
  • We are looking for bids for Midwinter A&S (Saturday, 4 February 2023). Note: kingdom calendar has the entire weekend reserved for Midwinter, in case a bid wanted to propose a weekend event.
  • Outstanding Kingdom Level Events in 2023 that need bids
    • War College (Jan 27 – 29)
    • MCA (Feb 24-26)
    • Spring Coronation (March 31 – April 2)
    • Artsy Crown (Memorial Day Weekend)

Herald (Lady Bú Feiyan)     

  • It’s that time to tell me any heraldry stuff you’ve been up to. May, June, and July are covered in this report! Thank you to everyone who has been in touch so far!

Knight Marshal (Lord Erikr Palsson)

  • There will be practice this weekend.

Rapier Marshal (Captain Brendan de Hay)

  • His Excellency & I have discussed making Tuesday evening practices “official” again starting in August. The website still shows it on the practice schedule, so all that would be left is to start posting about it and making sure that the appropriate marshals are on hand. We’re pretty much ramped up for it on the rapier side of things, and in unofficial get-togethers, we’ve learned some things and developed some questions.
    • The park added electrical service along the side of the field, and we’ve been able to put our own lighting in for safe visibility. Expanding the light kit is not difficult if we need a bigger space.
    • The park doesn’t simply close at 9 pm anymore (We always thought it did). We aren’t limited to a 2-hour block.
    • The plan is to begin (from the rapier side) on August 9 (I’ll be at Pennsic that week, but His Exc will marshal that evening)
    • Is there interest in a Tuesday evening practice on the armored side?  Do we have an available marshal?
  • Red Tower
    • Odds are that I will not be available for Red Tower.  Master Ximon will be our RMiC.  Currently seeking a MoL.
  • Castle Wars
    • I am planning to be the RMiC for CW.  Plans are underway to hold a Rose Tourney on Friday evening (Rapier & Heavy).  Further details to follow.

Live Weapons (Master Mathias Blackett)

  • Live weapons report (because I’m at Pennsic): practice was able to happen thanks to Ælfric and Roís. We had lots of people at practice. The next LW practice is scheduled for August 28th.
  • While wandering the merchants at Pennsic, I found a used atlatl set for a steal. So we will be able to add atlatl to Live Weapons practice!

Reeve (La Magnifica Justina di Silvestri)

  • Our bank account balance as of July 31, is $9,002.64
  • Expenses in July: $1,503.43
    • Printing for RUM $37.43
    • Deposit for Castle Wars $250
    • Meeting space August-November $750
    • August storage $466.00
  • RUM
    • 101 Preregistrations (not counting 9 comped)
    • 87 at the door
    • 197 total (including comped)
    • We still need to do the final paperwork with expenses, but my math is we have a total income of $1,874.84, and our share is $937.42
  • Requesting motion to baronial vote on a PO Box maintained by the exchequer for the Barony: est  cost $212/yr
    • Passed
  • Red Tower:
    • Online reservation is in the works
    • To secure a weekend spot, an online reservation is strongly encouraged

Quartermaster (Mistress Isabetta de San Marco) 

  • Nothing to report.

Chatelaine (Lord Ogata Tarō Hiroyuki)

  • New wardrobes in Gold Key courtesy of Ælfric Hort and Sabine de Seint Clear
    • Unisex medium Japanese
    • Girls’ small tunics
    • Women’s medium bodices
  • Our demo at the LAG in Underground Atlanta went beautifully! I can let Bu take point on her Demo Deputy report, and I want to drive home how much of an MVP she was through the whole thing

Demo Deputy (Lady Bú Feiyan)

  • We had a great demo at LAG ATL. Looking forward to future demos at their events. 
  • Currently looking for someone to take part in a demo at a school in January or February. More updates on upcoming demos soon!
    • May be during the week (school day)

Arts & Sciences (HE Rhiannon verch Madyn)

  • As always I want to remind everyone to please record A&S activities on our Baronial A&S Spreadsheet. You can find it by clicking the A&S tab (not the dropdowns, just the tab itself). This takes you to the A&S site for the Barony and has a couple of spots to click for the spreadsheet. I will be sending over an edit soon to the Webminister to update the page.
  • Now for the fun! Her Excellency and I are creating a new A&S competition to be held at Baronial events. It will be called “The Baroness’s Challenge”. We will be coming up with ideas for categories that tie into the theme of the event. I’m hoping it will spark some creative fun and of course, there will be prizes.  The official announcement for the competitions will be announced at Red Tower with the first competition to be held at Castle Wars. I’m looking forward to seeing the different kinds of A&S projects the populace of Meridies brings to the competition.
  • Link to Baronial A&S Spreadsheet

Provost (Seong Myeong Su Daesaseong)

  • Virtual class night on August 24 will be on Honor with Baron Wistric.
  • Next month, the class will also be virtual on Thursday, Sept. 22 – Building Scrolls by Hlāford Bran Mydwynter from Atlantia.
  • Also, we’re currently seeking classes for Red Tower this year and will soon put out a call for classes at Castle Wars too. Come teach us cool things!

Chronicler (Baronessa Aelia Bassina)

  • Still in need of a deputy. If you know anyone who may be interested, please direct them to me.

Social Media Minister (Lady Isabella Parr & Lady Agnes Halydaye) 

  • We have social media.
  • Created a couple of official events from our page: one for DEI meeting and one for the demo at the LAG.
  • We’ve gained 3 Instagram followers, and 7 new FB group members. We are started to inch our way to 1,000 in that group!

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer (DEI), (Vidushi Mewadi Margavati Bai & Lily of South Downs)

  • No DEI this month due to being booked up and Pennsic.
  • Next month will be about Feast accessibility or Middle Eastern Calligraphy

Webminister (Lady Zhelana Vovkivna)

  • Created Castle Wars Website

Minister of Children (Lady Una Ulfrdottir)

  • Nothing to report

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

  • Thank you to everybody who helped make RUM a huge success! We’re looking forward to Red Tower next month and if you can contribute with setup or takedown for the event or a troll shift, please do so.
  • Drix, of Calontir Trim, has designed some custom trim for South Downs and is soliciting pre-orders. It is verrrrrah nice. (see pictures)
    • He needs pre-orders of at least 300 yards to make it happen, and we are currently up to 225 yards of pre-orders. The price is $3/yd – or $2.50 if we get to 500 yards worth of pre-orders. 
    • There’s a post on the baronial Facebook group which I bumped (link is: https://www.facebook.com/groups/baronyofsouthdowns/posts/5114757841891368/ ) where you should go comment how many yards you’d like.
    • Her Excellency and I have pre-ordered some for use as favors and/or to mark loaner garb (including belts), but the barony may want to order some as well.
  • We’re in need of new business cards to hand out at demos, fighter practices, and wherever else we may encounter potential recruits. I posted the designs for the new cards in the baronial fb group. 
    • The idea is to print 1,000 of general use, and 500 for officers.
    • The current design is ready to go in VistaPrint, and will cost approximately $125 with shipping, handling, and taxes. I may be able to get the cards printed by Office Depot or Staples for as little as $80, I’m still looking into how good I can get them looking from those services. I’m requesting baronial approval to spend up to $130.
      • Passed
  • We have been gifted his collection of books from 30+ years. I will be bringing them to the in-person meeting on the 17th. They are free to a good home.
  • Swift’s Heart announcement: 

SCA Business

  • Red Tower – Isabella & Myeong Su
    • SCARs and Pre-reg should be up by the end of the week. If you want a cabin with your friends, everyone should pre-reg together so you can be grouped together.
      • No tent camping on site
    • We are still looking for people to do foodstuff: breakfast, travelers fare, and royal luncheon.
    • We need another List Master. If you are interested, please let me know.
    • We will also need a field steward.
    • We are still accepting prizes for the gift baskets. At court, you will have a chance to will cool prizes.
    • We will also be having a silent auction. Please donate so we can raise funds for the baronial storage unit.
    • We need more merchants for Red Tower.
  • Castle Wars – Piers
    • We have a couple of jobs open: Dep Merchantcrat (great opportunity to learn something new) and we also need a Pottycrat.
    • It will be called “Castle Wars: Battle Across Time”
    • No breakfast or traveler’s fare, only feast
  • Scroll Boss – Aelia
    • The baronial scroll cases are getting rather thin. If you would like to contribute, we would love to have you. If you have any questions, please let me know.
    • The in-person event for the barony on August 17th will be a scriptorium. So please come out and play with paints!

Non-SCA Business

  • None

The business meeting was closed @ 2042

The next business meeting will be held on 08 September 2022, 1930, Zoom Meeting.

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

AUGUST 2020 Baronial Business Meeting Minutes

South Downs Baronial Business Meeting

05 August 2020, 1931

Notes submitted by Lady Aelia Bassina, South Downs Chronicler.

THL Lucien d’Artois called the August meeting to order. Our Seneschal, THL Juliane de Vivonne, greeted the populace joining the Zoom meeting. Juliane read the SCA Anti-Bullying statement and stated the meeting is being recorded.

Officers Reports

Herald (THL Lucien d’Artois)

  • We only had one award recipient this month, that would be Piers(Queen’s Rapier Champion).
  • We’ve had one name registrations.

Knight Marshal (Lady Mairghread Wilson)

  • Our Earl Marshal had put a notice on the kingdom page stating that there’s no in person events until the end of January 2021.
  • He also addressed unofficial fighter practice. Please be aware the SCA does not cover that so it would be on your own insurance.
  • Masks: just be prepared for when we come back together that we may have a mask mandate. It would be recommended to start practicing with a mask on.
  • New armored combat rules have been posted. No determinations have been made and probably will not be made for a while.

Rapier Marshal (Captain Brendan de Hay)

  • Nothing new to add.
  • Echo what the Knight marshal said.
  • There is a virtual fighter practice Facebook group. Virtual academy of the rapier is another Facebook group that is available.

Live Weapons (Mistress Mara Palmer)

  • No report.

Reeve (Mistress Alessandra Giovanna Fioravanti)

  • We have money, we spent it on the storage unit.
    • We spend about 287 a month on the storage unit, paid through October.
    • If Midwinter doesn’t happen, we may need to think about alternatives. If it doesn’t, we run into the situation where we don’t have money for events.
    • We are not at panic level yet.
    • Red Tower is completely paid for.
    • I need a deputy!

Lady Mairghread suggested that we have a budget to see where all the money needs to be spent.

Quartermaster (THL Lucien d’Artois)

  • Fortunately, we have stuff!
  • Nothing else to add

Chatelaine (Lord Nikon Dawidowicz)

  • There hasn’t been any movement as far as new members. I haven’t heard from anyone that someone approached them.

Demo Deputy (Lady Bú Feiyan)

  • No report

Arts & Sciences (THL Alisandre de la Chapelle)

  • We have A&S!
    • There is an A&S exchange that was suggested.
    • Kingdom A&S coming up this month.
    • We have a couple of classes coming up this month.
    • Think about ideas for largess, it will be a competition with a prize.

Chronicler (Lady Aelia Bassina)

  • First issue of the newsletter will be 1 October.
    • I am still looking for articles to be included. 

Social Media Minister (HE Emelina le Nourreys)

  • Our numbers are up.

Webminister (Captain Pietro di Conti) – (Includes work done by both Zhelana and Pietro)

  • Added pronouns for Piers, Mairghread, Alisandre, Aelia, Wistric, Iastreb, Lorenzo, Zhelana, Raven.  Note: we will only add pronouns for people who ask.
  • Updated the picture for Sunneva on the Baroness page and her personal page.
  • Updated Aelia to be official chronicler, gave her access to the chronicler login.  Set up a temp login for Raven to post old minutes.
  • Added device, title, link to blog to Aelia’s page
  • New pages created for Danielle de Lyon, Anna Felice Tavestoche, Michael Stagge, Sara Wandrownyczka
  • Added classes taught to Zhelana’s page
  • Updated Google form to add pronouns to the question list, and to forward email notifications to Zhelana
  • Established succession plans for the Webminister office to hand over the office to Zhelana (the current Deputy) at Midwinter A&S 2021.  Had several discussions on the succession plan with Baroness and Seneschal.
  • Prepared Westminster job description.
  • Added Mark to the order of the Red Raven.
  • Added Finnbarr as deputy chatelaine.
  • Updated device on Mairghread’s page
  • Added Queen’s Rapier Champion to Piers’ page.

Diversity Equity and Inclusion Officer (DEI), (Vidushi Mewadi Margavati Bai)

  • Class went really well last month. There were a bunch of conversations that happened after. WE are looking forward to the next class. I am trying to give people opportunities to talk as much as I can.
    • The Society DEI officer will be doing a Q&A, I will try to promote it in more places than just the barony. 
    • If you hear of things happening, please let me know.
    • Thank you to everyone that’s been so open and understanding.

Her Excellency, Mistress Sunneva de Cleia

  • Tonight would be midnight madness at Pennsic. Just like with what happened at Gulf Wars, there are merchants that are out there and posted. If you have coin, they have wares.
  • Earlier this week was SCA Social Media Appreciation Day. I want to give thanks for both Emelina and Isabella. Thank you to everyone that has been keeping the SCA virtual. Your efforts have not gone unnoticed.
  • Award recommendations. Please send them. I would love to recognize people. There is an award recommendation page on our site. Sending in the recommendations really helps me and the scribes.
  • Discussion Point:
    • The Heart of South Downs and the Chivalry Awards. A couple of people have reached out to me regarding this. There will be a committee. If you would like to be on that committee, please let me or Wistric. All opinions are valid.
    • I like mailing stuff. If you need a care package or a friendly note, please PM me your address.
  • Remember to lean on your SCA family if you need to. Also, if you need to step back, it’s okay. We will see you when you get back. Keep the people impacted by this virus in your thoughts.

Minister of Children (Lady Una Ulfrdottir)

  • No report.

Seneschal, (THL Juliane de Vivonne)

  • We’ve lost two people recently. They passed very suddenly.
  • In the last two days, we have heard of 3 people that have tested positive for COVID, one being our King. Please wear masks and be safe.
  • I had announced at the last meeting that we were reinstating the Provost position. It’s basically organizing classes, making sure registration is sent to RUM. Lord Kal has been wonderful in doing that for us. I would love it if someone would reach out to me in their interest. It’s a great position for someone new to the Barony.
  • The BOD has canceled events until the 31st of January. That is for anything in person. If you do anything outside the SCA, you cannot post it on any official SCA page.
  • For Midwinter, it is close to when they allow in-person again. However, I do not believe that Midwinter will be allowed to happen. It wouldn’t fit with the rollout plan for the Kingdom/Society.
  • The Law Committee. They are accepting new members. It will be a rotating people. They are accepting nominations and self-nominations. One from each peerage and two from the populace. If that’s something that interests you or if you know someone that would do a really good job (get their permission first), please let them know. They have been meeting Tuesday nights. 
    • Iazzie stated that most Kingdom positions are for 2 years.

Recent Events

Upcoming Events

  • 10 August 2020 – LGBTQ+ 101 with Lykania and Cellach
  • 12 August 2020 – Project Night
  • 15 August 2020 – Virtual Meridies Kingdom A&S
  • 19 August 2020 – Intro to DEI with Society DEI Officer Q&A to follow
  • 22 August 2020 – Foxes 2020: Plague-Con
  • 26 August 2020 – Class Night – Maedeup: Korean Knots with Myeong Su

SCA Business

  • Margavati: I taught a class over the weekend for Pennsic for the Courtesans. It was neat because each kingdom has a day. It’s a great way to learn stuff. Justina hosted Meridies for the whole day. They are going all war week. Kal has been provosting. Yay, Barony of South Downs! We rock!
  • Jay: Do we have any more info on Castle Wars?
    • Juliane: Sunneva and I need to get together to sort things out. We will get that rolled out sometime soon.
  • Margavati: My husband had a big bucket of bone black. He has more. If you need bone black for pigment, please let him know.
  • Margavati: Countess Gwen is doing a project. It’s a grave finds recreation thing. It’s a glow up focus on grave finds. I only know what I need to know. If you’re interested, she’s doing that. Information is on the Kingdom page.

Business meeting was closed at 2021.

Next business meeting will be held 02 September 2020, 1900, Zoom Meeting.

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

February 2020 Mini-Business Meeting Minutes

19 February 2020, 7:30pm

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Business meeting is closed.

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

Thanks!

–Raven

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

February 2020 Baronial Business Meeting Minutes

South Downs Baronial Business Meeting

5 February 2020, 7:30pm

Notes submitted by Lady Raven Helmsplitter, South Downs Chronicler.

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

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

Officers Reports

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

SCA Business

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

Non-SCA Business

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

 
Business meeting is closed.

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

Thanks!

–Raven

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

January 2020 Baronial Business Meeting

South Downs Baronial Business Meeting

8 January 2020, 7:30pm

Notes submitted by Lady Raven Helmsplitter, South Downs Chronicler.

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

Officers Reports

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

Upcoming Events

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

Non-SCA Business

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

 
Business meeting is closed.

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

Thanks!

–Raven

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

December 2019 Baronial Business Meeting

South Downs Baronial Business Meeting

4 December 2019, 7:30pm

Notes submitted by Lady Raven Helmsplitter, South Downs Chronicler.

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

Officers Reports

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

Castle Wars Post-Mortem

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

Upcoming Events

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

Other SCA Business

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

Non-SCA Business

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

 
Business meeting is closed.

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

Thanks!

–Raven

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