Positions

From the Viceregents:

Greetings to the populace of Ostgardr,

The votes for new officers have been tallied and the results are in. Out of the two officers positions that had more than one candidate are as follows and will take their office as of January 1st:

• Provincial Seneschal: Alienor Salton
• Provincial Herald: Drasma Dragomira

Results of the other offices that only had one candidate have been posted by our acting seneschal [ed. note: see below]. Welcome one and all officers, we look forward to working with all our them in the coming year.

Thanks to all who raised their hands to offer themselves up and to all who are staying, without you guys this wouldn’t work. We love you all. Also thank you to our outgoing officers, we really appreciate the service and work you’ve done.

Happy holidays and a Happy New Year to all!!

In Service,
Suuder and Lada

From the Acting Seneschal:

Greetings All,

As I’ve mentioned, there was an on-line vote held among the officers for those positions for which there was only one candidate. These being:

• Fencing Marshal: Alexander MacLachlan
• Historian: Mistress Sofya Gianetta di Trieste
• Minister of Arts and Sciences: Thorfinn Hrothgeirsson
• Minister of Lists: Marion of York
• Webminister: Anne of Ostgardr

This vote ended this past Saturday night, and all of these people have been approved by the officers.

Three of these people were running for re-election, and two were running for the first time. Mistress Sofya, Anne, and I will continue in our roles (listed above). Thorfinn and Marion are scheduled to assume their positions as of this coming January 1st. As the position of MOL is currently vacant, I have asked Marion to take on the role immediately as an appointment for the remainder of the year.

I would like to thank all of these people for their past and continuing service. Everyone looks forward to working with them.

In Service,

Alexander MacLachlan
Acting Seneschal

Thank you to the folks who have stepped up to fill the upcoming terms of the officer positions listed below.

For Seneschal — Three Candidates

Alexander MacLachlan

I am submitting myself as a candidate for Seneschal of Ostgardr.

I have been in the Society for 30 years. I have served in several officer posts: Baronial and Canton Seneschal, Chatelaine, Chronicler, Acting Knight Marshal, and Fencing Marshal. I have autocrated several events, including King’s and Queen’s Bardic Championship. I feel that I can use this experience to help support and guide the Province in its future endeavors.

I have served in the Province for almost the last two years as the Provincial Deputy Seneschal and am currently the Acting Seneschal. In that capacity I have tried to be an additional means for members of the populace to communicate with the officer corps, and provide whatever support I can throughout the Province. I feel I have demonstrated an ability to work with people who have varied interests to get things done.

With these in mind, some things that I want to do include:

-Develop new demos and workshops where we show our best skills and manners, not just to fulfill our mandate to educate the public, but also to attract new members.

-Foster new events and develop new venues to generate interest and get current members to participate more in the Province. Likewise, we can not afford to commit our time and effort in major projects that yield little results (such as an event that has extremely low attendance). We always have to look at events to see how we can make them better.

-Support the Provincial officers in their endeavors.

-Help Northpass become a group that will prosper, has it had in the past.

These, along with the general administration of the Province, require not just being a leader, but also working with everyone from the Viceregals and Provincial officers to the populace.

Alienor Salton

I submit myself as a candidate for the position of seneschal of Østgarðr. I believe by now you all know me and what I am prepared to do for the province.

From my letter of intent when I ran for my first term as seneschal:

“My goal as provincial Seneschal will be to increase participation at all levels, by […] facilitating communication, supporting provincial officers in doing their jobs, and making local activities more transparent & accessible and welcoming to new & old members alike. I will also work to encourage participation out-of-province, seeking out nearby & further events relevant to our local members’ interest, and publicizing and facilitating group excursions thereto.”

To accomplish these goals in my first term, I streamlined our commons meetings and recruited new talent to invigorate our officer corps. I brought transparency and efficiency to our provincial communications by introducing pre-Commons written officer reports, published along with full minutes after each meeting. I expanded our event listing, also published after each meeting, to highlight out-of-province events of interest to our populace.

I also urged on the work of the bylaws committee, which concluded with a successful ratification of our new provincial bylaws — a milestone in provincial history.

I would like to carry on this work in a second term with the following four initiatives:

1. Continue to diversify the officer corps by recruiting new talent so we have the breadth and depth to share the labor across officer volunteers.
2. Encourage activity within and beyond the province so our new & old members alike are more involved at home and “abroad” and better connected with each other and our neighbors. Facilitate more casual, regular, social cross-interest gatherings (like the Whyt Whey solars, the Brokenbridge Commons, the Northpass A&S/gaming days, and the bardic/fencing evening) to enhance provincial community. Arrange road trips to events further afield to connect with our neighbors and fellow citizens of the East.
3. Sort out a less ad-hoc provincial storage solution, easing the burden of storing, maintaining and deploying our gold key, kitchen gear, loaner armor (iron key), etc. (pavilions, list ropes, banners…).
4. Encourage new & different events, with more immersion and other thematic activities, broadening the pool of successful event stewards, and finishing a provincial event steward handbook and an event site database.

From me, the job of provincial seneschal has included attending canton commons, preparing for & following up on provincial commons, communicating with kingdom officers, supporting local officers, and making things run smoothly for the populace. Over the last two years as your provincial seneschal, I have spent 40-60 hours a month in your service. I am committed to doing so again for the next 2 years, if you will have me.

Brandr Aronsson

I officially submit my name for the office of Ostgardr Seneschal.

I am Brandr Aronsson and I am running for Seneschal of Ostgardr. I have been active member of Ostgardr for over twenty years. I have seen this province prosper and I have seen it diminish. I believe we are on an upswing right now and it’s important that Ostgardr have a strong leader to push us forward in the coming years.

One of my goals as Seneschal would be to take steps to bring in more new people. I know we always say that but I think we can find more opportunities for outreach and demos. There has been a decrease of demos in recent years though it was an effective recruiting tool. There is still a “Cool” factor that we can draw on, we just need to find some venues where that will be appealing. For instance, I would like us to seek outmore living history venues and try to arrange demos, like the one we do at the Cloisters, where we show off the best of what we do. There is a built in audience of potential members at these places.

Another goal of mine is to increase the new people stepping up as volunteers. You don’t have to have any skills to serve. The SCA is built on service and that is where you also learn what the SCA is really about.

Additionally, I would want us to take steps to bring more Ostgardians to Pennsic. I know it is only two weeks, but it is a time when all get to share each other’s company away from Mundania.

I have served as the BrokenBridge Seneschal since 2016, Ostgardr Camp Master for twelve years, and Ostgardr Knight Marshall from 2002- 2003. I believe my many years in Ostgardr and the SCA, as well as my years as Broken Bridge Seneschal, have equipped me to look at the future of Ostgardr and help move us forward.

In 2016, I was asked to take over Broken Bridge as Seneschal, by our Viceroy. The Canton had lapsed into inactivity and was on the verge of going away for the second time during my time here in Ostgardr. At our first commons in September of 2016, there were three people in attendance. Now, we regularly have 20+ attendees at our Commons meetings.

We worked on updating the bylaws, making a financial policy and reaching out to local members to get involved again. We streamlined our Commons meetings and paired them with A&S classes to increase attendance. We have several new active members of the populace whose first SCA event was a Broken Bridge Commons meeting and A&S day. We identified several event gaps unique to our area – such as were easily accessible by public transportation and a lack of winter events, and established a regular local event, Deck the Halls of Valhalla, which is about to run its 4th year. It has been a great draw for newcomers within the BrokenBridge and Ostgardr populace due, in large part, to its ease of access via public transportation. It has been so well attended, that we actually reached site capacity for one of the years.

I am proud of how active Broken Bridge has become and I believe that is partly due to my encouraging our new people to step up into leadership roles they may have never envisioned themselves in or even thought about taking on. This has brought new energy and new ideas into the Canton which has, in turn, brought more new people and more new people stepping up and getting involved. And I believe that I can have similar results for the Crown Province of Ostgardr.

[Update: At the Provincial Commons meeting on November 15, Brandr withdrew his candidacy for Seneschal.]

For Herald — Two Candidates

Drasma Dragomira

I, Drasma Dragomira, wish to declare my intent to be considered for the office of Seahorse Herald of the Crown Province of Østgarðr.

While my active participation in this great Province has just started, I have been a participant of the Society for 6 years and actively participating as a herald-at-large for one and a half years, both within the East Kingdom and at the Pennsic Herald’s Point. I have reviewed the requirements of the position and have spoken to Mathghamhain Ua Ruadháin, the current holder, and believe I can meet the requirements. I am willing to utilize and expand my knowledge of book heraldry as well as coordinate and participate in the court heraldry aspects as needed to serve the Province.

Thank you for your consideration of my letter. No matter the outcome, I commit to continuing my support for the heraldic needs of the Province, the East Kingdom, and the Society.

Ragnarr Bláskegg

I, Lord Ragnarr Bláskegg of Brokenbridge, wish to put forth my intent to run for Ostgardr Herald.  In my time as Brokenbridge herald, I found that I enjoyed the court aspects of heraldry and want to expand on my abilities as a court herald.  My intentions if elected would be focus on the court and voice aspects of heraldry since research for arms and names is not my forte.   If someone is willing to be a deputy for me to help with research, I would greatly appreciate it. 

Arts & Sciences — Þorfinnr Hróðgeirsson

It has come to my attention that there is a vacancy in the MoAS position.  I’d like to put myself forward for consideration if there is no other claimant for it.

I think I can do a reasonable job: I view the position as largely organizing A&S activities within the province, drumming up more interest and advancing the A&S skills of the populace.  I have a large network of local and regional A&S contacts, and can definitely bring them to teach locally.  I myself have taught a number of classes and can continue to do so.  I’ve been personally very successful with A&S and would be happy to share that knowledge with the province.

Webminister — Anne of Østgarðr

I have been the Østgarðr webminister since I was elected to the position in the July 2018 commons. Unfortunately, mundane work takes me away from the Province for the next commons meeting, so I am writing this note so that all in Østgarðr can have the opportunity to find out more about me in this role.

I took most of my first term (2018-2019) to get onboarded and in the rhythm of making updates, I plan to use my second term to continue smooth operation and look for small improvements.

The webministry role largely consists of managing our web presence. Some sample tasks for that would include: renewing our ostgardr.org web domain, creating new mailing lists for event staff for local events, and making posts of upcoming events to our website at ostgardr.eastkingdom.org.

Some of the things I’ve done in my first term are:

• Set up Google Analytics to measure traffic to our site around demos
• Switched to Trello to internally manage webministry tasks in progress
• Built personal ties with East Kingdom Webministry

If elected, I plan to continue this work.

The ethos informing many of my decisions as webminister is that I want to make maintainable and sustainable choices. In part, this means that everything I do should be able to be easily passed on to someone else when the time comes. As a software engineer, it’s easy to fall into the trap of looking at the next new and exciting thing to work with, and I try to consciously choose stable, low-maintenance tools, while also working with Kingdom Webministry as I’m able to ensure we all remain modern throughout the East.

Please feel free to reach out via email at 238825@members.eastkingdom.org for questions about my candidacy, and at webminister@ostgardr.eastkingdom.org for questions about the current role of the webministry.

Historian — Sofya Gianetta di Trieste

Be it known to all that I would like to continue as Ostgardr’s Historian and consider this my letter of intent.

Marshal of Fence — Alexander MacLachlan

I am also seeking re-election as the Provincial Fencing Marshal.

I have held this position for the past two years, and I was the deputy for this position for six months before being elected.

During this time I have held regular fencing practices, assembled loaner gear, attracted new fencers, encouraged fencers to be more active in Province (usually as officers), and have been part of giving the local fencing community a sense of unity.

I would like to continue with this, and expand on what we have.

We have received letters of intent for all our open Provincial offices whose incumbent is stepping down at the end of their term (or who has already stepped down), namely Chronicler, Chatelaine, Minister of Lists and Minister of Arts & Sciences.  Those 4 letters are presented herein for your perusal.

We have a number of officers whose terms are ending this coming December.  Some of them are opting to run for a 2nd term, while others are not.  Our most urgent needs are for MoAS, Chatelaine, MoL and Chronicler.

Please take a moment to read the job descriptions, below, and review the links provided for more information on any jobs that interest you.  Also consider who you know who might be interested in serving the province in these roles, then reach out to them to encourage them to run.

We are accepting letters of intent for all of the below positions from now through the November Commons.  The letters of intent will be read at that Commons, and published along with the meeting minutes.  Candidates are urged to attend the meeting, to answer any questions people may have.

We will hold an online vote of the officers council on these positions, voting to end at midnight Eastern on the 3rd Friday of December (the usual night for our Commons, which will not meet that month).  If you are not a voting officer, and you have feedback on any candidates who are running, please provide that information to me and/or to the viceregents.

Here are the positions opening up:

Chamberlain: Baron Ian will be running again.  Our chamberlain keeps an inventory of provincially-owned stuff, and maintains a storage space containing it.  He also coordinates transporting said stuff to and from events and demos as needed.

Knight Marshal (https://marshal.eastkingdom.org/marshals.html): Lord Ervald will be running for a second term.  You don’t have to be a fighter to become authorized as a marshal, but it helps.  Armored combat marshals must know and understand the rules of the lists and the conventions of combat, so that they can inspect armor and weapons, authorize fighters, and oversee combat.

Youth Combat Marshal (https://youthfighters.eastkingdom.org/marshallate.html): Mathghamhain will be running again.  He would like to train a deputy for future replacement, as he is currently the only person in our province warranted to hold the position.  Youth marshal must know and understand the rules of youth combat, to inspect armor and weapons, authorize fighters, and oversee combat, as with armored combat.

Archery Marshal (https://archery.eastkingdom.org/): Arnbjorg is eagerly looking forward to running for a second term, and hopes to devote more time to the role in the coming 2 years.

Minister of Arts & Sciences (https://moas.eastkingdom.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/EK-MoAS-handbook.pdf): Mistress Sofya will not be running again.  The job of an MoAS is to encourage and promote Arts & Sciences within the group, and to submit quarterly reports on A&S activities engaged in by the group.  You do not have to be a skilled practitioner for this job, though those who are tend to be drawn to this position.  What matters is that you are interested in what other people are doing, and can encourage them to teach, to display, maybe even to compete.  Finding out who is doing what, and putting them together with other people who want to learn how to do what they are doing, is a core skill for this position.

Chatelaine (https://chatelaine.eastkingdom.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/EK-Chatelaine-Handbook.pdf): Lady Beatrice will not be running again.  To be a successful chatelaine, you have to like talking to people, both newcomers and people who have been playing for a while.  You are the bridge between the modern world and the SCA.  You tell people what we do, you find out what people are interested in, and you hook them up with other people who share their interests.  We have a large collection of Gold Key (loaner garb) in the province, which you are responsible for circulating and maintaining.  You also provide contact information suitable for distribution at demos.  Lady Beatrice’s latest innovation was business cards, which were highly successful at our most recent demo in Fort Tryon Park.  Chatelaines report quarterly on newcomer contacts and new members.  Being responsive to email is an important facet of this job.

Minister of Lists (https://mol.eastkingdom.org): Lord Erich will not be running for a second term.  The Minister of Lists supports combat by assisting marshals in running tournaments and keeping track of authorizations.  The primary skill of an MoL is dealing with paperwork.

Chronicler (https://chronicler.eastkingdom.org): Mistress Rufina would like to step down immediately. She is willing to stay on through December, if necessary.  The chronicler’s job is to produce a newsletter useful to the group on a regular schedule, at least quarterly.  The newsletter may be electronic, and may be emailed to a subscription list and/or published on the group website (our webminister can assist with the publication thereof).  Courtesy copies must be shared with the Kingdom Chronicler, current royalty, seneschal, historian and archivist.  A paper copy must be printed and kept with our provincial archives, retained by our historian.

If you have any questions about the responsibilities or time commitments for any of the above jobs, please ask me, the viceregents, the current officer, or the kingdom (or regional deputy) in charge of that office.

Thank you!

—
Hlæfdige Alienor Salton, known as Piglet
Canton of Whyt Whey, Province of Østgarðr, East Kingdom
Seneschal Østgarðr, seneschal@ostgardr.eastkingdom.org

The Crown Province of Østgarðr has several officer positions that are coming open, and for which we are seeking candidates.  All positions are open to residents of Østgarðr who are current members of the society. (Please double-check your membership to make sure it hasn’t expired.)

If you are interested in any of the below positions (webminister, historian or exchequer), please submit a letter of intent to seneschal@ostgardr.eastkingdom.org by July 1st.  A letter of intent should include your Society name and membership number, the office in which you are interested, and any information you’d like to share with the voting officers about your qualifications or intentions for the office.  A vote or acclamation for each office will be held at the provincial commons meeting on July 20.

I. Østgarðr webminister

Although I have found it extremely convenient and personally rewarding to serve the province as both seneschal and webminister, those are major offices that should not be duplicated in a large, active, healthy group.  As such, I need to step down as webminister.

The webminister is responsible for keeping the provincial website up to date, posting minutes, meeting announcements and other relevant communications to the province.  Webminister also maintains the mailing lists that are hosted on the EK server.  Maintenance is minimal, as the website runs on a self-updating WordPress instance.  Technical skills involve being comfortable with web-based user interfaces for managing the content of the site and for interacting with the EK mail interfaces to Gmail and other google services.  The scope of the job can be greater for a candidate seeking additional opportunities to exercise their skills — the website is fully under their control.

The deputy webminister, Mathghamhain Ua Ruadháin, will continue to serve if desired, and is available for consultation, delegation and ongoing suport in this job.

If you have questions about what this job entails, you are encouraged to speak to me (webminister@ostgardr.eastkingdom.org), or to the viceregals (viceroy@ostgardr.eastkingdom.org, vicereine@ostgardr.eastkingdom.org).

II. Østgarðr historian

Master Richard the Poor has announced his intention to step down from his role as provincial historian at the end of June, after EK50.

The historian maintains a record of the major events in the life of the province.  You can view the past historical record on our website at https://ostgardr.eastkingdom.org/wordpress/category/annals/

If you have questions about what this job entails, you are encouraged to speak to Master Richard (historian@ostgardr.eastkingdom.org), to the provincial seneschal (seneschal@ostgardr.eastkingdom.org), or to the viceregals (viceroy@ostgardr.eastkingdom.org, vicereine@ostgardr.eastkingdom.org).

III. Østgarðr exchequer

Lady Angelica di Nova Lipa has been searching for some time for a candidate to take over the office of exchequer.  We are pleased to have heard from several individuals who are willing to take on this service.  If you have already volunteered, or if you would now like to submit your skills to the service of the province, please submit your letter of intent to seneschal@ostgardr.eastkingdom.org by July 1st.  Please indicate in your letter whether you are willing to serve as exchequer, as deputy exchequer, or as either.

The exchequer tracks our financial records, maintains the provincial bank account, and submits reports to the kingdom exchequerate.  We will provide training for this job before you are asked to take on the responsibility.  Being able to use a spreadsheet is a necessary component of this task.

If you have questions about what this job entails, you are encouraged to speak to Lady Angelica (exchequer@ostgardr.eastkingdom.org), to the provincial seneschal (seneschal@ostgardr.eastkingdom.org), or to the viceregals (viceroy@ostgardr.eastkingdom.org, vicereine@ostgardr.eastkingdom.org).

To the populace of the Crown Province of Østgarðr, on behalf of their Viceroy and Vicereine, does Mathghamhain Ua Ruadháin send his greetings.

Following this evening’s Commons meeting, the Provincial Officers Council gathered to review the candidates for those offices whose terms expire this month.

Herein are recorded the result of that session as I recall them.

Baronè Francesco Gaetano Grèco d’Edessa has stepped down as Seneschal. Please join me in thanking him for his service.

Hlæfdige Alienor Salton, called Piglet, has been selected as the new Provincial Seneschal by a vote of the Officers Council.

Alienor has also been appointed to be the province’s Webminister. The former occupant of that office, Lady Arnora Ketilsdottir, stepped down earlier this year to care for her newborn — our thanks and congratulations to her and her family.

Alienor is stepping down from her positions in the Canton of Whyt Whey, ceding those offices to her deputies; Lady Vika Grigina z Prahy will serve as the Seneschal of Whyt Whey, and Lady Anneke Valmarsdotter will become the Whyt Whey webminister.

Lord Mongu Chinua has stepped down as Herald. He has the province’s appreciation for his efforts in this office in recent years.

Your humble correspondent, Mathghamhain Ua Ruadháin, has been appointed to be the new provincial Herald. I have asked Chinua to stay on and assist me as deputy herald, for I shall have need of his knowledge.

I am stepping down from my position as Herald of Whyt Whey, and passing that office to my deputy, Lord Erich Guter Muth, who served in that position before me.

Lady Marion of York has stepped down as provincial Fencing Marshal. She has ably led the rapier corps, and we look forward to seeing her on the field again in the coming year.

Alexander MacLachlan has been appointed to serve as the Fencing Marshal. In recent months he has been actively working to energize the fencing program and we eagerly anticipate his continued success. Alienor has also asked him to assist her as deputy Seneschal, where his experience will be much appreciated.

Magistra Rufina Cambrensis has been re-appointed to her position as provincial Chronicler. Her reliable publication of our monthly newsletter, the E-Horse, is a valuable service to all members of the populace.

For the outgoing and incoming officers of the province — Hooray! Hooray! Hooray!

By my hand at Straus Park on the feast day of St. Florentius, I remain yours in service,

— Mathghamhain Ua Ruadháin
Seahorse Pursuivant

GREETINGS Østgarðr.

At the November commons meeting, our Vicereine announced the names of those who have volunteered to serve in the provincial offices whose terms expire at the end of the year.

For the office of Seneschal there are three candidates:
• Alexander MacLachlan; currently the Provincial Deputy Fencing Marshal.
• Alienor Salton; currently the Seneschal of Whyt Whey.
• Mongu Chinua; currently the Provincial Herald.

For the office of Herald, the sole candidate is Mathghamhain Ua Ruadháin, currently the Herald of Whyt Whey.

For the office of Fencing Marshal, the sole candidate is Alexander MacLachlan, currently the Deputy for that office.

For the office of Webminister, the sole candidate is Alienor Salton, currently the Deputy for that office.

For the office of Chronicler, the sole candidate is Mistress Rufina Cambrensis, the current holder of that office.

Any members of the populace who have feedback or concerns regarding these appointments are invited to address them to the Viceroy, Suuder Saran, [viceroy at ostgardr.eastkingdom.org], the Vicereine, Lada Monguligan, [vicereine at ostgardr.eastkingdom.org], or the Seneschal of Østgarðr, Baron Francesco, [seneschal at ostgardr.eastkingdom.org], prior to the December 15, 2017 Crown Provincial Commons meeting.

At that meeting, the appointments will be discussed by the Crown Provincial Officers Corps, which is comprised of the Viceregents, The current Crown Provincial Officers, (not including deputies), and the Seneschals of the Cantons. The new Officers will be confirmed in their positions as of the end of the meeting.

For the contested Office of Seneschal, votes will be cast by the Officer Corps to choose between the candidates. If you are a member of the Officer Corps, but will not be able to attend the December 2017 Commons, please either submit your vote in writing or send someone as your proxy with a written authorization to cast this vote on your behalf.

The candidates for Seneschal are invited to send a statement describing their intentions for the position to the officers mailing list, ostgardr-officers at ostgardr.eastkingdom.org, prior to the meeting.

The work of the Crown Provincial and Canton Officers and Deputies are an important part of making our society possible. If you are interested in serving in any Officer position, please speak with the current Officer about becoming a Deputy, which will give you a hands-on opportunity to learn more about the position and its responsibilities.

I pray that you Fare Well,

+ Baroné Francesco Gaetano Gréco d’Edessa, OS, OSC
• Seneschal, Crown Province of Østgärðr

Post Script:
~ I would like to thank Mathghamhain for drafting this letter, for me to send to you. If I weren’t stepping-down as Seneschal, I’d ask you to serve as Scribe to the Seneschal.

Please join us at the end of the upcoming commons meeting for a meet-and-greet with our Viceregal candidates. The meeting is at 7:30pm on Friday, November 20th.

Directions may be found here: http://www.panix.com/~piglet/solar-directions.html