Please Return Your Viceregal Polling Ballots

Please return your Viceregal Polling Ballots A.S.A.P. Reminder: All ballots must be received by the EK polling deputy by March 15, 2022.

If you are a registered SCA member living in the Crown Province of Ostgardr (including its Cantons) and you have not received your ballot, please email the Provincial Seneschal immediately.

More information about the Viceregal Polling and the candidates may be found here.

Read the Viceregal Candidates’ Letters of Intent

In case you missed them on the SCA NYC: Crown Province of Østgarðr Facebook Group, here are the letters of intent for all the candidate slates for the Viceregal polling in progress:

Additionally, two Meet the Candidates Nights were held online in January. Recordings of those sessions are being posted to Youtube and may be accessed at the links below.

Complete information about the current Viceregal Polling process may be found on the Østgarðr website here.

The Viceregal Polling is Underway

In the coming months, Their Highnesses of the East will be selecting successors to Suuder and Lada, the current Viceregents of Østgarðr. To advise Their Highnesses East on this weighty decision, a polling of the populace of Østgarðr is being held. The polling officially begins on Feb. 8, 2022 and lasts until Mar. 15, 2022.

The pairs of candidates who have stepped forward are (by Order of Precedence)…

  • Maestra Sofya Gianetta di Trieste & Lady Angelica di Nova Lipa
  • Hlafdige Alienor Salton & Boaire Mathghamhain Ua Ruadháin
  • Lord Ragnarr Blaskegg & Lord Albrecht Anker

Over the following week or two, all registered members of the SCA living in Østgarðr, will be receiving the Viceregal Polling in the mail. On this polling they may indicate their preference for which candidate pair they wish to succeed Suuder and Lada.

Instructions for completion and return will be included with the ballot, along with a postage-paid return envelope. Completed ballots must be received by Mar. 15, 2022 in order to be counted.

It is imperative that you return any ballot you receive, even if you have no preference, as at least 50% of the paid SCA members living in Østgarðr must return their ballots for the polling to be valid.

If you do not receive your ballot by Feb. 21, 2022 or if you have any questions regarding the polling process, please contact the Provincial Seneschal, Lord Nagashima Ichiro Ujimichi by email at seneschal@ostgardr.eastkingdom.org.

Below you can find some answer to common questions:

What are the rules governing this polling?
The rules governing the polling come from East Kingdom Law (sections VII.C and VII.G) and the Østgarðr Charter (section IV.D).

When will the results of the polling be released?
The results of the polling will not be released publicly. The results of the polling will be reported to the Crown and Kingdom Seneschal within three weeks of the closing date of the polling. Their Highnesses East will consider the results of the polling when making their selection.

When will we know who the next Viceregents will be?
By East Kingdom Law, results of the polling must be tallied and transmitted to the Kingdom Seneschal and the Crown within three weeks of the end date of the polling. The Crown must announce their selection for the new Viceregents within four weeks of receiving the results of the polling. This means the successors to the Viceregency will be known by May 3, 2022.

What if I don’t receive a ballot?
If you are a registered SCA member living in the Crown Province of Østgarðr, and you have not received your ballot by February 21, 2022, please contact the Provincial Seneschal, Lord Nagashima Ichiro Ujimichi by email at seneschal@ostgardr.eastkingdom.org.

I have children who are SCA members. Do they get a say in this polling?
By East Kingdom Law (section VII.C.e.i&ii) ballots from members less than 14 years old count toward establishing the validity of the polling, but not count towards the preference tally that is transmitted to the Crown and the Kingdom Seneschal. Ballots from members 14 years and older are counted in the preference tally.

Where can I learn more about the Viceregal Candidates
The Letters of intent for the Viceregal Candidate slates may be found here.

Additionally, all of the Viceregal candidate pairs have posted their letters of intent on the SCA NYC: Crown Province of Østgarðr Facebook Group. These letters will be posted to the Ostgardr website shortly.

Meet the Candidates Night #1
Meet the Candidates Night #2

Upcoming in Østgarðr: Jan 17th – 30th

This week is full of commons and other virtual gatherings…

Wed. 1/197 p.m. –
9:30 p.m.
Østgarðr Provincial Commons
Crown Province of Østgarðr
(online)
Details Link
Sun. 1/2311 a.m. –
1 p.m.
Brokenbridge Virtual Commons and Arts & Sciences class
Canton of Brokenbridge
(online)
Details Link
Sun. 1/23 6 p.m. – 8 p.m.Meet the Østgarðr Viceregal Candidates #1
Crown Province of Østgarðr
(online)
Details Link

And next week…

Thu.
1/27
7 p.m. – 9 p.m.Meet the Østgarðr Viceregal Candidates #2
Crown Province of Østgarðr
(online)
Details
Link
Sat.
1/29
6 p.m. – 11 p.m.Event: Deck the Halls of Valhalla
Canton of Brokenbridge
(online)
Details
Link

Meet the Viceregal Candidates

Greetings to Our beloved Populace,

With the new year here, we are heading full swing into the Viceregal succession polling. We are excited and proud to see three slates of candidates who have stepped forward with desire to be the next Viceregents of .

We will hold 2 virtual meet the candidates nights:
Sunday 1/23 @ 6pm to 8pm
Thursday 1/27 @ 7pm to 9pm

These will be held via Google Meet at https://meet.google.com/ezo-fdtg-ivh

We are going to do our best to get these recorded and shared with the populace so anyone who may not be able to attend can view them later. We will post details to virtual meetings shortly.

At the virtual meet the candidates nights the populace will have an opportunity to ask the candidates questions directly or they can submit questions to Suuder and myself ahead of time at viceregents@ostgardr.eastkingdom.org We will keep all questions submitted ahead of time anonymous.

Everyone is welcome to attend and quiz the candidates on all things from their views on various SCA topics to what their favorite ice cream flavor is.

Look forward to seeing as many of you there as possible.

In service,
Lada and Suuder

Seneschal election for 2022-2023 term

Alec MacLachlan and Nagashima Ichiro Ujimichi are our candidates for seneschal. Their letters of intent, included below, were read into the minutes at the October Commons.

Alec MacLachlan

Hi,

I would like to be considered as a candidate for Seneschal of Ostgardr.

In addition to being the Acting Seneschal for the Province, I was also the Seneschal of An Dubhaigeainn and for Hawkes Reache for several years.

Please let me know if you would like a more formal and detailed letter outlining my experience and commitment to this position.

Thank you.

In Service,

Alexander MacLachlan

Nagashima Ichiro Ujimichi, known as Uji

Greetings Officers of the Crown Province of Østgarðr,

It is my intent to offer myself, Nagashima Ichiro Ujimichi, as candidate for Seneschal of our beloved Østgarðr. I have served as seneschal of Lions End since 7/20/2018. I have been a feastocrat on a few occasions, run cooking and brewing workshops, and successfully stewarded a demo in Farmingdale.

In mundane life, I worked in a gaming store, and run many gaming tournaments, the largest one had 85 participants. In college, I was president of several clubs. I can grab the attention of a crowd and keep a meeting focused.

As Østgarðr Seneschal, I will keep the ship sailing smoothly. My intent is to continue the excellence of the office that my predecessor, Hlæfdige Alienor Salton accomplished. I also intend to ramp up promotion of the SCA and get more younger members to join our ranks.

To see a list of all my activities in the SCA, please visit https://wiki.eastkingdom.org/index.php?title=Nagashima_Ichiro_Ujimichi. Thank you and best of luck to all the candidates.

In Service to the Dream,

Nagashima Ichiro Ujimichi
長島 一路 宇治道
Lions End Seneschal

Q&A session

At the November Commons, an extended question and answer session was held, covering topics such as how will you run the commons meetings, whether to continue meeting virtually or move to a hybrid format, how to avoid dropping the balls on items discussed at the meetings, and so on. To ask them any questions you have thought of after the meeting, please email Alec at 53751@members.eastkingdom.org and Uji at seneschal@lionsend.eastkingdom.org

Meeting opened to both candidates for statements.

Alec: I think at this time we need an experienced seneschal. Especially with events including royal progress, and Covid on top. People might be interested in reviving Northpass. The possibility of Whyt Whey going dormant if nobody else steps up as seneschal. I was seneschal of Hawks Reach for about eight years. I’ve been involved in the province for a long time.

Held positions of chatelaine and chronicler.

Recruitment is something we have to look at going forward. Caitlin has been doing a great job.

Uji: For those who don’t know me that well, I started in the SCA twenty six years ago, came in interested in brewing and archery, have pursued cooking and brewing. A few years ago, Lions End was in danger of going dormant and I thought that would be a step back that might be hard to recover from. I was deputy seneschal for a week and tapped to step up into the position. Lions End is relatively quiet and unassuming, we typically have two events a year, one schola and one demo. We’ve had great success with both of them, and boosted our bank account balance. I’m strongly in favor of promotion of the SCA and getting new people in; promotion, marketing, and recruitment has a negative connotation but it’s important . I’ve had success as seneschal, I’ve managed kitchens, I’ve run meetings for clubs outside the SCA. I look forward to getting to know people better.

Friderich: if you’re not selected as seneschal, would you serve as emergency deputy for the other?

Uji: yes

Alec: Yes.

Albrecht: are you willing to embrace the digital and hybrid format that we’re using?

Uji: Yes, i’m a big fan of electronic communication, and whatever it takes to get the word out about who we are. I’ve been encouraging people to get their EK Wiki pages together and have been assisting people with that.

Alec: Yes, we should explore everything. I’m not the most tech-savvy person but I’ll depend on the technical people to make sure that things are running smoothly.

Lada: How would you describe your management style, especially regarding running meetings?

Uji: I tend to be organized, I’ll tend to set an agenda, starting with old business before new business. I’ve used Robert’s Rules of Order to great benefit. I try to make sure we have an orderly meeting. Joking is good, but we need to get business done.

Alec: you saw how I ran things when I was acting seneschal a couple of years ago. I like the way Piglet sends out officer reports in advance. I like to have a clear idea of the progress and will grill people as needed.

Ragnar: what are your thoughts about the current format for meetings?

Alec: I like the current format, especially with the cold weather. I’d like to eventually return to in-person meetings, but I’d like to incorporate virtual meetings. But I’ll hold off on that until people are comfortable gathering in person.

Uji: These Google Meet meetings have been excellent. But I miss in-person meetings. If and when we move to in-person meetings we’d do it as a hybrid meeting to allow online participation by people who can’t be there in person.

Friderich: Speaking as someone for whom the virtual meetings have been a boon, I’ve found that hybrid meetings are challenging as the folks who are online are excluded.

Alec: I’ve been thinking we need a moderator who keeps track of the chat, so that people who are online don’t get drowned out. It’s not going to be perfect, but it’s worth a try.

Uji: The social media officer might be a good choice to fill the moderator role for a hybrid meeting. We’d make an effort to give the floor to folks who are online.

Berakha: Attending in-person meetings is a challenge, so I’d like to add my voice to the folks who are concerned about virtual meetings. Sorry for beating a dead horse.

Uji: this isn’t a dead horse. It’s important that everyone in a meeting gets to have a voice.

Friderich: we might look into wide-angle web-cam and a cheap screen, so that the in-person people and the online people can see each other.

Kunigunde: As someone who lives in the north, any trip that involves going to the city limits is a big effort. And as a newcomer, this format has helped me get to know a lot of new people. For previous hybrid meetings, the folks who were online had trouble connecting to the people in-person. When my kids had the choice of in-person or hybrid school, the kids who were online were left out.

Sofya: In the past, under previous seneschals, we’ve had issues where ideas got brought up but then dropped. What strategies will you use to ensure that things that are brought up get kept though to the next meeting?

Uji: I had a good discussion with the current seneschal about what it takes to do her job and how much time it requires. I would continue the example she’s set.

Alec: I’d continue to keep collecting officers’ reports in person, and I take my own notes during the meeting. But we’re not such a big group that people can’t come up to me and raise issues to ensure they’re not dropped.

Jenna: While I like in-person meetings, given that we’re now meeting on Wednesday’s, logistically that’s a nightmare. Alternately, if we move to Friday nights we exclude a bunch of people on religious grounds.

Friderich: if the majority of people said they wanted to maintain an online format, would you consider that or is hybrid something you definitely want to pursue?

Alec: I’d like to try hybrid, but if it doesn’t work we’ll switch back. We’ll have to play it by ear. I know that traveling has a price in time and travel costs.

Uji: After hearing people’s concerns, perhaps the online format is the way to go if the majority wants to continue that. We could bring it to a vote if folks want to switch, but I’d stick to online for now.

Garrath: A possible option is to have a online business commons and a rotating site in-person social commons as seem to be the two sections of a typical commons.

Ragnarr: How is the voting going to work?

Alienor: there will be a google form open through Dec 14

Mathghamhain: or any option approved for officer communication, such as email or hand delivery of written ballots to the seneschal.

Lada: please remind the populace of who is eligible to vote.

“The Officers Council and those in the Membership who are at least fourteen years of age are eligible to vote…” — Charter V.I.3.

Voting form

Please select your choice for seneschal for the 2022-2023 term using this Google form https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1U_OuNgq8oxKriAZjy5s0suCdav2W2Otk26_fSz5-Qdw/viewform Voting closes at midnight on December 14th, 2021.

Volunteer opportunity: Social Media Officer

As you may have read in our recent Commons minutes, we have a new provincial officer position: Social Media Officer. Albrecht Anker has kindly taken up the new position. As with all our offices, his term ends at the end of this year. If you are interested in running for this office, please submit your letter of intent by the November provincial commons (Wednesday, Nov. 17th). If more than one person volunteers for the office, it will be included in our upcoming December elections.

The job of the social media officer is to ensure that our social media complies with the new Social Media Handbook from the Society. The social media team will continue managing their respective channels, and will be responsible for the content therein.

Our Chatelaine’s Call to Action

Hey everyone!

This is Catelin, your local newcomer’s officer. I wanted to announce that with the help of our populace our official TikTok account has reached over 1000 followers! I want to thank everyone that has participated in making this number happen.

I want to keep reaching out to the public using TikTok as one of our platforms, but I am in need of help! Specifically I am in need of people who are comfortable being in front of a camera and showcasing what we do best: being part of the SCA through short form video clips.

If you are interested in being part of the filming process, or would like to send ideas/scripts/feedback for our TikTok feed, please send an email! I can be reached by email at chatelaine@ostgardr.eastkingdom.org.

One of my goals as part of the outreach committee is to show just how welcoming, diverse, and colorful we are as a chapter of the Society for Creative Anachronism. One of the ways we can do that is by showcasing as many members of the populace as we can.

If you’re interested, please send me an email and I am happy to walk through with you on every step of the video creation process and show off the most Medieval-y version of you!

Yours in Service,

Catelin Straquhin
Ostgardr Chatelaine (Newcomer’s Officer)