The Business Meeting for the Debatable Lands will be TONIGHT Wednesday, 6 February 20202 at the Allegheny Unitarian Universalist Church (416 W North Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15212 – map. From 8p until 10p.
The Business Meeting for the Debatable Lands will be this Wednesday, 6 February 20202 at the Allegheny Unitarian Universalist Church (416 W North Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15212 – map. From 8p until 10p.
It’s the end of the year and the end of the decade and the usual thing to do is to write about the things that have happened in the last year. This is a view on the positives, negatives, and everything in between.
This is not going to be comprehensive and if I missed anyone, it is completely accidental.
Changes
The Baronial Position of Steward was held by Michelina for 16 years (2003-2019) and this year she chose to hand off the responsibility of storing/maintaining/etc. the Baronial Larder and Master Alaric MacConnell was selected to take on that role.
The Baronial Sewing Guild was generously hosted by Ts’vee’a for many years and was handed off to Hara, who has already been doing a wonderful job of filling some very difficult to fill shoes.
We created a new Newcomer’s Guild to help our new members find their way in the Barony and get more information about what it is that we do. Lord Ronan, Lady Svava, and THL Libby have been doing a great job running the meetings and getting things rolling. I can’t wait to see how this grows in 2020.
Elss of Augsburg stepped down as A&S Minister to focus more time on the Culinary Guild, which has been wonderfully active and a true pleasure to watch bloom over the last year.
Baroness Isabel Fleuritan became our new A&S Minister, her first time ever serving as an Officer of our Barony.
Lord Ronan took on the Archery Marshal position from THL Kathryn Tantzel after many years of service from her to the Barony in that job.
The Agincourt Event was passed on to me by Baroness Constance and Baron Liam. There are some awesome things in store for the 2020 event and I am humbled by their trust in me to carry this event forward.
Baronial Twelfth Night passed from the capable hands of THL Elss to THL Kathryn. Elss was the autocrat for this event for about five years.
Celebrations
We were in THREE parades this year, the most notable of which was the WPXI Thanksgiving Parade. We were invited because of our presence at the St. Patrick’s Day Parade and Heritage Days in Lawrenceville. People loved seeing us and it was a heck of a lot of fun. We were even on television! Lord Yingurz and Lord Ronan were the masterminds behind making the parades as successful as they are.
Speaking of parades, Lady Kat Fixis, known as Vixxie, who has been instrumental with coordinating things on the back end with Yingurz is expecting a child!
The Woodworker’s Guild was activated by Master Ishiyama and has been a fantastic addition to the activities in our Barony.
The fencing community now has a monthly practice with the folks at Broken Plow. The ability to share knowledge between combat organizations only makes the martial community stronger.
Thanks to a robust training program built by Mistress Anna and Baroness Soteria, there were more MoLs trained in 2019 than previously. It’s always a pleasure to see more people finding something that makes them happy and feel like part of the Barony.
Good-Byes We lost some good people this year:
Alan and Fran Lefkowitz
Richard Berlin.
Thank yous
Thank you to the officers of the Barony, who donate their time and energy to helping make the Barony run as smoothly as possible: Baron Brandubh, Baroness Hilda, Maighster Kieran, THL Robert , Lady Arthes, Skjoldrbjorn, Baroness Isabel, Baroness Anna, THL Libby, Don Joundr, Lord Ronan, Lord Kuma, Lady Jasmine, Lady Gesa, and Baron Kameshima. Also, thank you to all of our Deputies who make our lives easier and ensure that we don’t have to learn the skill of cloning or bi-location. Your time and energy is deeply appreciated by all of us.
Happy New Year, Debatable Lands!
On a personal note: Thank you to Maighster Kieran, Lady Alethea, Baron Liam, Baroness Constance, Baroness Anna, Baroness Hilda, THL Murigheal, Lord Eamonn, Mistress Ts’vee’a, and my household Huis Witschoof for all of your support, love, advice, and guidance for the last four years while I have been Seneschal. I literally could not have done it without you.
I want to thank everyone that considered sending in a letter and sent in a letter. The deadline passed yesterday 28 December 2019. The official vote for our new seneschal will take place at the 5 February 2020 business meeting.
I don’t have the words to truly express what an honor and a privilege it has been to serve the Barony as its Seneschal for the last four years. Thank you to everyone that made my job a true pleasure and I look forward to seeing how my successor will serve you.
After nearly four years serving this fine Barony, it is time for me to step down as your Seneschal. I am officially calling for letters and requesting that letters be sent to me (seneschal at debatablelands.org) and the Baron (baron at debatablelands.org) and Baroness (baroness at debatablelands.org) by 28 December 2019.
The job of Seneschal is rewarding and unexpectedly difficult at times. It is a way to serve the fine populace of the Debatable Lands in a deep, meaningful way. Take time with your decision and ask many questions. There are quite a few former Seneschals in the Barony still participating (Baroness Hilda being one of them) that are your resources for the reality of the everyday job. If you are interested in becoming the Seneschal and want more information about what the job entails, please contact me directly and I will be happy to talk with you about what the needs are and how the Seneschal serves the Barony. There are also online resources such as the Seneschal’s Handbook (http://socsen.scaserver.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Seneschals-Handbook-January-2018.2.pdf) that you can use to inform yourself before making a decision.
I don’t have the words to truly express what an honor and a privilege it has been to serve the Barony as its Seneschal for the last several years.
My term is officially over in February, however, I want to ensure that there is enough time for people to make informed choices prior to submitting a letter. Again, remember that the deadline for letters is 28 December 2019. Thank you all for your time and for allowing me to be your Seneschal for the last four years.
After nearly four years serving this fine Barony, it is time for me to step down as your Seneschal. I am officially calling for letters and requesting that letters be sent to me (seneschal at debatablelands.org) and the Baron (baron at debatablelands.org) and Baroness (baroness at debatablelands.org) by 28 December 2019.
The job of Seneschal is rewarding and unexpectedly difficult at times. It is a way to serve the fine populace of the Debatable Lands in a deep, meaningful way. Take time with your decision and ask many questions. There are quite a few former Seneschals in the Barony still participating (Baroness Hilda being one of them) that are your resources for the reality of the everyday job. If you are interested in becoming the Seneschal and want more information about what the job entails, please contact me directly and I will be happy to talk with you about what the needs are and how the Seneschal serves the Barony. There are also online resources such as the Seneschal’s Handbook (http://socsen.scaserver.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Seneschals-Handbook-January-2018.2.pdf) that you can use to inform yourself before making a decision.
I don’t have the words to truly express what an honor and a privilege it has been to serve the Barony as its Seneschal for the last several years.
My term is officially over in February, however, I want to ensure that there is enough time for people to make informed choices prior to submitting a letter. Again, remember that the deadline for letters is 28 December 2019. Thank you all for your time and for allowing me to be your Seneschal for the last four years.
I wanted to cast a spotlight on our Business Meetings because there are some misconceptions as to their purpose and who is “allowed” to attend. In order to address some of this, I had started including the following paragraph at the end of the information about the next Business Meeting:
The Officers of the Debatable Lands are elected by the membership and is made up of members of the populace, just like you. The Officers are responsible for ensuring that the policies of the Kingdom and Barony are followed and are accountable to the populace of the Debatable Lands. The Business meeting is open to everyone in the Barony and attendance by the populace is encouraged. Have a thought you’d like to share with the Officers? Email seneschal@debatablelands.org.
This is absolutely true. Everyone is invited to attend Business Meetings and everyone is encouraged to do so. Attending gives you the opportunity to understand more about the non-profit business side of the organization and an opportunity for the populace to hold us accountable as Officers.
To give you an idea of what happens at an Officer’s Meeting, here is an annotated version of the general Agenda that we follow for each meeting:
Meeting opens at 8:00 p.m The Seneschal announces that we are going to get started. This is done as close to 8:00 p.m. as possible. Prior to the Seneschal starting the meeting, they will have already checked off who is in attendance and listed who else is attending the meeting. This is to create a record of which officers have attended, if there are any proxies (which I will explain in a moment), who those proxies are, and to ensure that the record of who attended the meeting is as accurate as possible.
Proxies are someone that is representing the officer for the purpose of the meeting. They would also carry the vote of that officer and cast it appropriately for any known business.
This is a copy of the attendance record for a recent Business Meeting. As you can see, we have run remote sessions in the past, but we have not done that for a while. Look for an announcement about that coming up soon.
Approve Minutes The Officers of the Barony are responsible for reading the minutes of the previous meeting prior to the next meeting. The minutes are made available prior to the following meeting, at least three days before the meeting. They are posted again the day of the meeting. Anyone attending the Business Meeting should also take the time to review the minutes. This will help give you a sense of context to some of the discussion and will also allow you the ability to ask any specific questions that you may have about what was done in the previous meeting.
Officer’s Reports Each officer of the Barony then gives a report that is recorded into the minutes. Often when an officer is unable to attend, they will send a pre-written report that is then either read into the minutes or included in the minutes as a cut/paste of what was sent by the officer. This is where we talk about what we’re doing, what plans are coming up, events that have just happened or may be coming up. Anything that pertains to the officer’s area of responsibility.
What about Guilds? Guilds are defined in Corpora as: E. Unofficial Entities In many kingdoms, there are groups in which many people participate but which are not formally recognized by the Society. These can range from highly structured guilds to loosely associated camping groups. Entities that fall into this category can have many names, including but not limited to households, guilds, ships, and clans. Although these entities are not recognized by the Society in any formal way, some kingdoms have awards that can be given to these groups. Because they are not official Society groups, unofficial entities cannot sponsor Society events.
This does not mean that guilds are not important, because they are. This means that guilds are free to structure themselves in any way and are free to engage the populace in whatever way that they believe best serves the populace. It also means that guilds can dissolve or create themselves as needed without paperwork or any official intervention. People who are not members of a guild are in no way restricted from doing any art or science for which there may or may not be a guild for. It’s a learning opportunity like so many things in the SCA. We encourage guilds to report at the Business Meeting, but they must contact the Seneschal prior to the meeting to be placed on the Agenda.
What about Baronial Positions? These positions include Gold Key, Iron Key, Steward, Signet, Dark Pages Editor, Historian, and Minister of Youth. These are also unofficial positions, some of whom report into the Exchequer because they have Baronial property that must be accounted for and reported on yearly. We also encourage Baronial Positions to report at Business Meeting, but also must contact the Seneschal prior to the meeting to be placed on the Agenda
After Officer’s Reports a number of things may be on the Agenda: Reports from Guilds and/or Positions Event Reports – Income generated (or not generated) by any events held since the last Business Meeting. Given by the Exchequer.
Letters of Intent – We choose our Officers by vote. The way to get on the ballot is to send in a letter of intent to the Office you wish to volunteer for, copying the Seneschal. The Seneschal’s office requires a letter to the Seneschal with a copy sent to the Baronage. ANYONE may vote in an election for any position as long as an officer does not call for an Officers Only vote.
Event Bids – Any event bids that you have to bring before the Officers. It is preferred to have event bids at least two weeks prior to the Business meeting so everyone has time to review it and include a link to it in the published agenda. Only members of the Financial committee may vote on the final approval of funding for any event.
Budget Meeting – We hold our annual budget meeting in April of each year and everyone is invited to come and discuss how we are planning to spend money in the barony in the upcoming year. This is also a great place to discuss what kind of fundraisers can be done for the Barony prior to clearing it with the Kingdom Exchequer. Only members of the Financial committee may vote on the final passage (or not) of the budget. BUT everyone may put in a funding request and may engage in the discussion about how Baronial funds are to be spent to ensure that their opinions are heard.
How to know what to vote on? Our Baronial Policy states: Unless otherwise stated, decisions of the officers are by consensus of the people attending a scheduled officers meeting at which a majority of the Officers are present. An individual may cast only one vote. Officers may be represented by proxy. Only the members of the Financial Committee may vote on financial decisions. Any Officer may call for an Officer Only vote, in which case each Office gets one vote, with a simple majority of the votes cast deciding the issue.
Close Meeting To close the meeting, someone must move that we vote on closing the meeting, then second it. Then a vote of simple majority is taken and the meeting is adjourned if the majority agrees to it.
So, while this is very long and digs a lot into how we as an organization structure things down to the Baronial level, I hope that I have answered most questions that people may have about attending the Business Meeting. It is a completely open meeting that anyone may attend and you are encouraged to participate in this part of the organization just as you are welcome to participate in any other aspect of the organization.
If you have any questions, or need more information, please contact me, Odriana vander Brugghe at seneschal (at) debatablelands (dot) org.
After nearly four years serving this fine Barony, it is time for me to step down as your Seneschal. I am officially calling for letters and requesting that letters be sent to me (seneschal at debatablelands.org) and the Baron (baron at debatablelands.org) and Baroness (baroness at debatablelands.org) by 28 December 2019.
The job of Seneschal is rewarding and unexpectedly difficult at times. Take time with your decision and ask many questions. There are quite a few former Seneschals in the Barony still participating (Baroness Hilda being one of them) that are your resources for the reality of the everyday job. If you are interested in becoming the Seneschal and want more information about what the job entails, please contact me directly and I will be happy to talk with you about what the needs are and how the Seneschal serves the Barony. There are also online resources such as the Seneschal’s Handbook (http://socsen.scaserver.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Seneschals-Handbook-January-2018.2.pdf) that you can use to inform yourself before making a decision.
I don’t have the words to truly express what an honor and a privilege it has been to serve the Barony as its Seneschal for the last several years. I am thankful and grateful that I was blessed with such a strong foundation of Seneschals throughout the history of the Barony and to have the support of my Deputies, THL Muirgheal and Maighster Liam. I have always believed in the exceptionalness of the Debatable Lands and still do. You are all amazing, talented, intelligent, and skilled people in your own ways and having a vantage point where I could best see so many of you was one of the great joys of my life.
My term is officially over in February, however, I want to ensure that there is enough time for people to make informed choices prior to submitting a letter. Again, remember that the deadline for letters is 28 December 2019. Thank you all for your time and for allowing me to be your Seneschal for the last four years.
The SCA “Code of Conduct” is mentioned in the new policy and I have had a few questions about what that is. It’s in the Sanctions Guide, section I.C. –
“C. CODE OF CONDUCT It is expected that participants in the SCA shall treat each other with respect and civility and this extends beyond SCA gatherings. Participants expressing themselves in any forum on an issue related to the SCA shall likewise maintain civility and courtesy. When considering sanctions in response to behavior, the sanctioning authority shall consider the extent of the public comment as well as the gravity of injury done to an individual local branch, Kingdom or the SCA. Behavior that is disruptive to the peace and well-being of the SCA is subject to sanction from an expulsion to Revocation of Membership and Denial of Participation (R&D) especially where there is a continuing course of conduct.”
The September letter is delayed to allow the Althing to publish the letter first. This will happen every month that coincides with the publication of the Althing. Otherwise, look for the letter from the Senschal during the first week of the month.
Greetings to the Most Excellent Barony-Marche of the Debatable Lands!
Pennsic has come and gone and the one thing that stayed strongest with me is seeing how many Barony people were not only enjoying the event but how many people donated their time to making Pennsic happen. Everywhere I looked there was someone from Our Barony making it possible for everyone to enjoy themselves. I extend my thanks and appreciation for your taking some time out of your vacation so that others may enjoy theirs.
If you weren’t able to volunteer this year, there are still so many opportunities for you to share what you learned at Pennsic now that it’s over.
If you attended a class at Pennsic, please consider sharing what you learned at one of the weekly A&S classes being held by our A&S Minister, Elss. She will be hosting a variety of classes at the Washington Blvd practice site on Sundays and is looking for teachers. If you would like to teach a class, please contact her via email at ansminister@debatablelands.org. If you’ve never taught a class before and would like to share what you’ve learned, Elss or I can guide you to some resources to help you do that.
If you aren’t comfortable teaching a class, consider submitting an article to either the Althing or the Debatable Blog. The Chronicler and Webminister are always looking for articles and can be reached at chronicler@debatablelands.org and webminister@debatablelands.org. The Althing is published quarterly and the Debatable Blog publishes on an as-needed basis, so you can work on your schedule and still be able to share your knowledge with the Barony. Articles are not restricted to the Arts and Sciences, if you have a martial bent, an article about how to get started in Heavy Weapons, Fencing, Thrown Weapons, Equestrian, Youth Fighting, and Archery would be very welcome, particularly by our new participants who may be curious about what the Arts Martial are all about. If you would like to share new techniques or information about your Martial Art, please share those as well.
That’s not all – on the 28th through the 30th of October, we have our yearly Agincourt event. It will be at Camp Bucoco and there will be a little something for everyone. Head over to the event page for details.
We are also very proud to unveil two new social media accounts for Official information from the Barony – An Official BMDL Facebook page and a BMDL Twitter feed. The facebook feed augments the already very active unofficial group and will be regularly updated with posts from the Debatable Blog, official news, and event announcements. There is no reason to unsubscribe from the unofficial group and it will continue to be a place for conversation and information. The Twitter feed will feature the same information and is provided for those who are on one platform but not the other.
To subscribe to the Official BMDL Social Media Accounts —
If you prefer to get this Official information via email, you can subscribe to the blog via email, just look for “Subscribe to the Blog via Email” on the right-hand side of the blog page. The Barony’s email list will continue to exist as there are still so many people that get their information that way. This is just another way to access information about things happening in and around the Barony.
There is so much going on and we are providing as many ways as possible to share this information in a way that people can access easily. We don’t want you to miss anything!
As always, if you have any ideas about how to improve anything in the Barony or have concerns, I am available via email (seneschal@debatablelands.org) or in person at events and meetings.
