From Their Excellencies
We are fantastically grateful Dreda and her staff for the great event, Carolingia Castellum Est. We particularly loved having kids in thick of things and the dayboard and dinner were phenomenal. Thank you to all who helped put it together!
There will be a good Carolingian presence at 50 Year, and we’re planning on holding Baronial court at EK 50 and at Pennsic. There will be dessert & social time after court.
Officer Announcements
- Seneschal: Aurelia Rufinia
Polls are due Thursday – if you have a poll, send it tomorrow! We’re also looking for a new Golden Gryphon herald. Now that polling is done, bylaw amendments are coming up! Discussion of proposed by-laws will be on May 7th, the deadline for final submissions will be June 4th. Due to the holiday, voting will be at July council, which will be moving to July 9th. Proxy votes will be allowed.
- Historian: Eowyn Eilonwy
With assistance from Aaradyn, I have sent in the Carolingia page for the EK50 program; the deadline was Friday. People have been suggesting/volunteering things for the booth, and I’m still compiling names for the memory garden. I’m also in the process of inventorying all of the historical archive records.
- Chronicler: Eadgyth
Is there an interest in seeing an advance copy of the collaborative piece Eowyn sent in for 50 Year? It was decided to wait to publish it in the Miniscule until after 50 Year.
Also if you are e-mailing things to the Secretary for announcements, please make sure to cc the Chronicler so that both can be updated.
- Order of the Perseus: Kazimierz
I am stepping down as Principal, Aiden will be the new Principal.
- Order of the Moon: Gundormr
The mailing list has been migrated, so we will be shutting down the old one soon.
- Order of the Daystar: Erica
The mailing list has been migrated, so we will be shutting down the old one soon.
- Webminister: Symon of Barnesdale
All the mailing lists needs to be migrated over to the new system. Please get in touch with me to facilitate the move.
Please also remember that all guild and officer heads as well as autocrats can add things to the website calendar for the Barony!
- Thrown Weapons: Symon of Barnesdale
Mother Nature pushed back, but the ranges will be opening after Coronation.
- Canton of Aschehyrst: Raziya bint Rusa
Aschehyrst will be hosting a regional fencing practice at the Framingham practice site on Sunday, May 6th, and a regional heavy list practice on Sunday, May 20th.
Guild Announcements
- Dance: Justin du Coeur (for Mara)
Dance practices will be on Thursdays from 7:30 – 9:30 at the Presentation School.
- Cooks: Zohane
There will be a meeting on April 22nd focusing on sotelties, or illusion foods, at Zohane & Kassandra’s house in Lynn.
- Jongleurs (Quire): Orlando dei Medici
There will be a focus on Spanish songs and rounds for practice, Mondays at 7pm.
- Jongleurs (Waytes): Ysabel da Costa
We are meeting every week on Mondays except this Thursday because we will be playing at dance practice. We are also working up to War of the Roses; thank you to the Chatelaine for the livery workshop idea!
- Calligraphers: Aurelia (for Aaradyn)
The next meeting will be Wednesday, April 4th at the Presentation School.
- Embroidery: Fiore
We’re resurrecting an embroidery gathering. Our first gathering was on March 29th and we had 8 people attend. The next gathering will be on April 26th at 6:30pm. I’m also looking to organize a SCA tailgate for opening day.
Awkward Money Talk – Orlando dei Medici
When the Barony’s money goes down, so do the smiles of the populace. The current balance of the Baronial accounts is approximately $13,000. The most expenditures and gains we have are from events. We also have storage unit payments, the coronets, & fencer loaner gear. The loan for 5 Armies and the beneficium are also factors.
Generally we have fixed costs, but do not have income. One of the largest costs is the storage unit, which is about $1,500 per year. Other fixed costs include the $50 guild stipends. The reality is that we events to help generate revenue. Ideally, we need to clear at least $1000 per year to remain comfortable, but $500 per year is okay too. I am confident that Falling Leaves will be a solvent event, and the most recent event made $157.
One proposal is to store the historian’s archive with Aurelia while it gets reviewed, and the rest of the items will move into Kassandra & Zohane’s basement. While this would be a major change for time availability to access, they would just need advance notice for access. This is a past practice that has worked well for the Barony. The basement can be ready by May so we are only paying for one more month of storage fees. This proposal was agreed on and passed.
The $50 stipend for all guilds was also raised. This stipend contributes to valuable activities for the Barony and this is something we do not want to get rid of. Catrin noted that the original $50 amount was set about 20 years ago, and that the amount has not kept up with the changing times. Eadgyth noted that while that amount hasn’t changed, expenditures have significantly changed, and would be interested in seeing the historical figures from the Exchequer as to how many groups are capping out. After all, those costs were largely for postage, which is no longer the main expenditure. For example, Archery and Thrown Weapons spend all of their allotment and the Waytes have printing expenses for music. The stipend will not be changed at this time.
More events are needed on the calendar in order to keep funds running into the Barony. Advertising needs to be pushed more for events, as well as for new autocrats. While autocrats and sites can get burned out and there is more of a focus on planning for attendance versus 20 years ago, Catrin noted that canonical events, such as Falling Leaves, were originally dropped from the calendars due to timing issues, these recurrent events provide an event blueprint and have the clout of a legacy event concept. Wendy inquired about guidelines for how to determine an entrance fee based on expenses for the event and about T accessible events and donation only events. Eadgyth noted that donation events usually don’t lose money but also don’t make money. Site hunting can be one of the biggest hindrances, especially to those reliant on mass transit options. Justin mentioned moving towards more deputy autocratships and agreed that donation only is good for low expense events rather than high expense ones. Isabel noted that while we cannot always do online pre-registration, we could offer an additional donation option. Wendy offered to assemble and chair a task force to continue in person and online discussions about how to increase event participation in the barony. Kazimierz noted that the Autocrat’s Colloquium was very helpful and informative. Dreda noted that the other issue for autocrats is the invisible costs for events, such as photocopies, coffee for staff, and base materials. Dreda suggested the possibility of Patronages for events, or a similar concept of sponsorships, but is unsure whether it would be allowed in corpora. Gundormr suggested having a donation available to help backstop event costs.
Aurelia noted her two major goals for her remaining time as Seneschal is to get the Barony’s finances in order and develop Autocrat policies.
Events
- Carolingia Castellum Est: Dreda
I am very grateful to all who assisted with activities and made the event run smoothly. The hobbyhorses and foam swords were a particular favorite of the adults and children alike.
- Falling Leaves In Exile: Thomas of Effingham
I just got the copy of the insurance certificate, and will be mailing out that and the site payment once I have the check from the Exchequer.
Announcements:
Aurelia: I don’t know when we will get the results of polling. There is at least a 2 month turnaround time.
Symon of Barnesdale: There are several upcoming events at Brandeis of interest, including a performance of counter tenor, lutenist, etc., for famous Shakespeare sonnets and works
Isabelle de Montreuil sur Mer: The next Newcomer’s Night will be on April 23rd at 6:30 at our house in Watertown. The next Baronial Gathering will be on May 13th at the Goldfish Swim School in Brookline
Justin du Coeur: The next meeting of the Academia Della Danza will be on April 18th at 6:30 at my house in Somerville
There will be camps at EK 50 Year for Whiteshield as well as a Carolingia Baronial encampment. Make sure to write in when you pre-reg. Food plans are being contemplated but not decided yet.