July Council Minutes
July 27n 2009 / A.S. XLIII
Sizzler
1010 Postal Way, Springfield

His Excellency Tadhg stated that it was good to see everyone! Unlike the sweltering temperatures outside, it was very cool in the meeting room. Morrghan had needed an emergency root canal, and was therefore at home recuperating tonight. She wanted to pass on her thanks to everyone who assisted in doing inventory at the storage unit. TRM had asked a boon of Their Excellencies and the Barony: to provide 18 identical items for largesse. Which led into the word of the month! Largesse basically stands for generosity; money or gifts given generously. For a medieval noble, it was considered very important to be thought of as generous (and, by extension, rich). It was a means of increasing one's reputation and fame. Gifts need not necessarily be material, however; they can also consist of generosity with one's time, such as volunteering at events. As all of us are noble in the SCA, His Excellency encouraged us to continue being generous, as well. The word for August will be: Prowess.

Ceridwen hoped that everyone could stay cool this week! Things are going well. An Tir has a new Seneschal, but the email that we use to communicate with that Officer should still be the same.

Old Business:

Maeve presented an update on the Revel to be held on September 12th in Creswell. She needs checks for the site fee and biffy (the biffy will cost $99 plus $15 for delivery). She will speak to Katerine tomorrow for more details. Ceridwen reminded her that Crier copy needed to be sent off by July 28th.

Tadhg announded that Terra Pomaria is hosting September Crown, and is asking to borrow our Gold Key items – the wardrobe, not the pavilion – as well as our heralds' boards. Forrest reminded us that at least one of the boards needs to be repaired. Ceridwen wanted to discuss the boards with Alysaundre before making a decision. Tadhg thought that it would be fine to allow Terra Pomaria to borrow Gold Key's items with the condition that they wash all the clothes before returning them. He also wanted to make sure that Terra Pomaria has a designated person to run Gold Key. Elizabeth stated that Terra Pomaria does have a Gold Key officer...just not a whole lot of stuff. Johanna wondered what Alys thought about this. Ceridwen had not had the opportunity to speak with her, but wants to see how she feels, as well as asking Terra Pomaria what their procedures will be to run Gold Key.

Ceridwen had been provided with a bid for Midwinter's by Angharad. Angharad wants to redo the Artisans' Social and keep an organic format, with no real class schedule – if people feel like teaching or holding demos, they will be welcome to. The Masonic Lodge is trying to sell its site, and we will not know if we will be able to hold an event there until at least September. Angharad has looked into St. Paul's School as an alternate site but does not have any numbers for it. She estimates a $1000 site fee, $100 for site tokens, printing costs, and other incidentals, and $500 for the feast, for a total budget of $1600. We would need to collect a $10 site fee from 100 people, who would then need to all stay and pay $5 for the feast, in order to break even. Angharad wants to charge $7 for youth and $5 for children 5-12. She would like to offer a light lunch free of charge. Ceridwen is skeptical that 100 people will attend a feast, but admitted that she does not have numbers from last Midwinter's feast. Tadhg noted that even if 150 people show up and don't eat, it would have the same effect of breaking even, and he feels that it is also more likely. Johanna wondered if we could make the event a demo and open it to the public. Ceridwen pondered the feasibility of asking the public to attend and then charging them to be fed; Johanna stated that this had been done at a demo that she had attended. Ceridwen said that it would ultimately be up to Angharad. There followed a lot of discussion as to whether Council should table the bid for a month, since Angharad was not present and did not have a lot of the data that would flesh out the bid, or whether we should give her conditional approval to autocrat the event so that she could potentially make contacts with people at Pennsic. Elizabeth pointed out that Angharad did have a phone and laptop with her and could still make calls while she was out of town, as well as some online research here and there, so that preparations would not necessarily have to be stalled until she arrived back in town. Finngall asked Council what would make everyone less uneasy – tabling the discussion, or going ahead with the bid? Rose suggested that we approve Angharad and allow her to continue making plans, with the condition that she provide concrete numbers at next month's Council. This suggestion was unanimously approved.

The next item to be discussed was the Scribal turnover. Ariana had been the only person interested in the position, but she wasn't here to apply for it. Elizabeth stated that she could remain in office until August Council if she had to; she was encouraged to do so. No charters need to be designed, but they can be painted, whether or not she holds the office. Ceridwen encouraged her to facilitate the painting of scrolls.

On behalf of Aaron Duncan, Ceridwen announced that the Baronial Marshal is nearing the end of his term of service, and is in need of a successor. If  you are interested in the position of Marshal, please talk to either Aaron or Ceridwen, and be prepared to apply at a Council meeting!

New Business:

Johanna Trewpeny and Gabrielle D'arci then stepped forward to apply for the office of Chatelaine. Mundanely, Gabrielle is a sign language instructor and is fluent in Spanish as well. She is very avid about keeping up with the Yahoo group and other online information related to the Barony. Johanna is very passionate about the SCA and throws 110% of herself into her work. Both of them work at schools. And, on top of that, they're cousins! They have worked together in the past. They have been active in the SCA for 4 years, where one of their main interests is archery. They were approached by Finnafyr to be deputies for the Chatelaine, and have been researching the responsibilities thereof ever since. They have found SCA-approved posters and flyers to hand out, and Gabrielle is working on one to be custom-made for Adiantum. They have spoken with Eleanor about the Newcomers' website and are excited about the prospect of getting to work on that as well. They would like to start regular Newcomers' meetings again.

Tadhg inquired as to whether they are current members; both are. Ceridwen asked where they would like to hold the Newcomers' meetings. Johanna said that they had various locations in mind, including one of their homes.

Having milked them of every last drop of information we could think to wrest of them, Council booted the ladies from the room to wander lost and alone among the taco bars.

Overall, people were impressed with the organization and enthusiasm that the both showed. It was felt that they will put forth a friendly, family-oriented face on the office of Chatelaine. They are very approachable and obviously very eager to get started. It helps that they are relatively new, so they will still have the issues that often affect newcomers fresh in their minds. Their only limitation is that they are not available on Sunday mornings.

Having deliberated, Council voted unanimously to induct Johanna and Gabrielle into the office of Chatelaine. Hurray for our new volunteers!

Maeve then presented a bid for March Coronet. She is prepared to host it at the Lynx Hollow site, but is investigating the Lane County Fairgrounds and Mt. Pisgah as well. She is estimating a $720 site fee and $815 for biffies; she still needs the numbers for water and trash and the proof of insurance fee.  She plans to only use the front of the site and the meadow. Site prep would primarily be mowing. The meadow is actually not as soggy as the rest of the site is that time of year. She has been working with Her Excellency Katerine on the September Revel and is getting experience in putting events together that way. Ceridwen said that she is not ready to approve anything yet, as she would like more numbers at next Council. She also recommended Camp Lane as a site to look into. Rose suggested investigating private schools as well – Corvaria did that for their Crown event.

As a side note, Diel asked Maeve what the status is on the calendars. They are in the final planning stage, and she will be bringing a bunch of them to September Crown.

After this, it was time for Officer Reports!

Archery (Saethryth): She has hosted 4 members and 2 non-members at practice sessions. They are doing fewer royal rounds and more 'fun stuff'. Her term will be up in a couple of months and she needs a successor. She has been working with the Kingdom Archery Marshal to get web-based scoring up for royal rounds, and to re-organize the training manuals. The revisions are being reviewed by the Kingdom Earl Marshal. Her goal is to improve safety and remove nuisance rules. There aren't going to be any archery practices in August.

A & S (Alysaundre): He was not present, and did not send in a report this month, but did file his Quarterly report on time.

Chamberlain (Forrest): He did an inventory of most of the stuff in the storage unit. He wasn't able to get to the Pied Piper pavilion or to the various pavilion ropes, but did look at feast gear and other miscellaneous things. We are all set on tennis balls, 3 x 5 cards, and pie tins! All the pavilions that had been lent out for An Tir/West War came back intact. William Cristofore asked if we could match the ropes and stakes to the various pavilions; Forrest said that he was going to work on it.

Chatelaine: As noted earlier in these minutes, the position was very happily filled.

Chiurgeon: This position is currently OPEN. If you are interested in filling it, please contact the Seneschal!

Chronicler (Aesa): I sent off electronic copies of the Bear to Kingdom and Principality Officers, Their Excellencies, the Adiantum Seneschal, and to prior subscribers on July 7. They were posted to the Adiantum webpage on July 11. As of Council, I had still not made print copies. I made print copies the next day. I filed for a year's extension on my office, and this was granted; I now need to send the original to Kingdom and send a copy to Ceridwen. Rose has volunteered to be my deputy and will be transcribing and editing the Minutes for me.

Exchequer (Rachel): She was not present, but sent a report. We have $8,207 in the bank. She is still waiting for our deposit from the parks department.

Gold Key (Alys): She was not present, but posted a report. She would like to rent the Gold Key pavilion for use at the Shrewesbury Rennaissance Festival, where she will sell tokens and yard sale items on behalf of the Barony as well as her own goods. She can pick it up, transport it, and set it up. Council voted to rent the pavilion to her for $25, but the first $25 worth of Baronial inventory that she sells will be applied to that, as a rebate, basically. The Chamberlain's inventory yielded more items for Gold Key: a bunch of blue and blue-&-yellow tabards, bags, and sashes (formerly Waterbearer gear) and several pieces of nice grey corduroy.

Herald (Angharad): She was not present, but sent a report. While at Pennsic, she hopes to bolster her heraldic knowledge, among other things. She is interested in pursuing information about Order names. She will resume holding Heraldry Nights in the third week of August.

Library (Alysaundre): He didn't send in a report for this Office.

Marshal (Aaron): He wasn't present, but sent a report. Practices continue to happen on Wednesdays. He is training Taran. As noted earlier, his term of service will end soon and he will need a  successor.

Park Liason (Karis): She was not present, but sent a report.

Pied Piper: This position is currently OPEN. If you are interested in filling it, please contact the Seneschal.

Rapier Marshal: This position is currently OPEN, contact the Seneschal if you're interested in filling it.

Scribe (Elizabeth): She's done as soon as this Council convenes! Once a successor is appointed, she will get the box of Scribal stuff to them ASAP. She recommends that the Barony purchase Drogan's Calligraphy as a resource. Forrest offered to store the Scribal box in the storage unit;  however, Elizabeth did not think that would be a good idea due to the fragile seals that are inside the box.

Seneschal (Ceridwen): She needs a deputy. Some in the Barony are letting their memberships lapse, most likely because of the economy.

Thingmakers (Marian): She was not present, but sent a report. She helped with the Chamberlain's inventory and took some things home to launder and mend. Yseult has worked on 15 stained glass windows. Marian thanks Trudchen for her embroidery on the Champions' cloaks. Thingmakers' Night will be held on July 30th.

Webminister (Digr): No report.

Work Party (Ambrose): Karis needs to let him know what needs to be done with the picnic tables, once she gets that information from the parks department.

The following people were present:
Tadhg O' Murchadha the Wanderer (Tadhg Simmons) – Baron of Adiantum
Ceridwen ferch Morgan (Melissa Howerton) – Seneschal of Adiantum
Maeve Cunningham
Telisia Brutusdottir
Saethryth Seolferlocc
Johanna Trewpeny
Elizabeth Turner de Carlisle
Diel of Norwich
Rose Atherton
Finngall McKetterick
Rhys MacDumhail (James Perkins)
Gabrielle d”Arci
Forrest Woodward
Juan De Leon
William Cristofore of Devonshire
Aesa Sigtryggsdottir

The next Council meeting will be held August 24th at Sizzler.
These notes were taken, compiled and edited by Aesa Sigtryggsdottir.. If you feel there is an inconsistency between what you remember and what happened, you may contact me at silverwolfadiantum [AT] yahoo [DOT] com. Apologies in advance if I mis-spelled your name. Ximopinolti!