Posted inCommons

Commons Minutes for October 2018

November 6, 2018

October 2018 Minutes • Østgarðr Commons

The October commons meeting was held October 19 in Whyt Whey at their Evening in the Solar location. Here are the minutes as recorded by Alienor Salton. The officers’ reports are attached at the end.

Attendance

Total of 19 attendees, including 5 via video conference.

  • Suuder Saran, Il-Khan
  • Lada Monguligin, Il-Khatun
  • Alienor Salton, Seneschal
  • Angelica di Nova Lipa, Exchequer (video)
  • Beatrice della Roca, Chatelaine
  • Alec MacLachlan, Fencing Marshal, Deputy Seneschal
  • Erich Guter Muth, Minister of Lists
  • Anne of Østgarðr, Webminister
  • Esnede O Murrin, Northpass Seneschal (video)
  • Nagashima Ichiro Ujimichi, Lions End Seneschal (video)
  • Vika Grigina z Prahy, Whyt Whey Seneschal (vide0)
  • Francisco de Braga, Deputy Exchequer
  • Mongu Chinua, Deputy Court Herald
  • Donnchadh, Deputy Herald Lions End
  • Rakkurai
  • Richard the Poor
  • Branimira of the Isles
  • Tom Terry
  • Jibril (video)

Absent Officers

  • Sofya Gianetta di Trieste, MoAS, Historian
  • Mathghamhain Ua Ruadháin, Herald, Youth Marshal, Deputy Webminister
  • Ervald LaCoudre, Armored Combat Marshal
  • Arnbiorg Helga Niálsdóttir, Archery Marshal
  • Rufina Cambrensis, Chronicler
  • Ian of Clan Mitchell, Chamberlain
  • Brandr Aronsson, Brokenbridge Seneschal
  • Seonàid inghean Mhic Aoidh, Deputy Chatelaine, Deputy Book Herald
  • Apollodora of Delphi, Deputy Chatelaine, Deputy MoAS
  • John Elys, Deputy Chronicler
  • Katherine Gilliesfleur, Deputy Chamberlain

Opening

  • Called to order at 8pm.
  • Seneschal: Congratulations to our Viceroy, newest member of the Order of the Silver Crescent!  Congratulations and many thanks also to Lady Caitlin, recently installed as MoAS of Brokenbridge!

Officer Report Items For Discussion

  • Reminder from our exchequer: the reimbursement form is downloadable from the Exchequer forms on the EK web site.
  • King & Queen’s A&S championship is March 30th at Mudthaw.
  • New officer recruiting is ongoing.  Please review the available positions and think of who you know who might do a good job with the responsibilities of each office.  Then express your confidence in their abilities to them, and ask them if they want to run. Be the wind beneath their wings. Of particular urgency are MoAS and Chatelaine.  We have a couple of people considering a run for Chronicler and one person thinking of running for MoL. Letters of intent are due by November (16th) Commons, where they will be read into the meeting.  Voting of the officers council will be conducted by email, concluding at midnight Eastern on December 21st.

    Question from the floor: do officers stepping down get a vote?  Answer: yes.

    [Question after the meeting: what does a letter of intent include? Answer: your name, the position for which you are running, and some indication of why you are interested in serving in this position — what research have you done into the job requirements, and how you are suited to performing it.]
  • Chatelaine business cards were very successful at Cloisters (Fort Tryon Park Medieval Festival) demo.  Will continue to use, consider adding flyers to supplement [suggestion from Whyt Whey commons].  Vika: specifically, flyers with upcoming events so people who are interested can see at a glance where they can participate.
  • Provincial storage: at least 3 parties are using some of their personal storage for provincial equipment.  Merits of a provincially funded storage space? Related: green & white is difficult and costly to transport.  Whyt Whey rented a van for Cloisters demo transport, which put them in the red.

    Discussion: Chinua: storage can run $3-500 per month.  Suuder: ours is <$200, which is still a major expense at $2400 / year.  24-hour ones have ridiculous prices. Alec: do we want to consolidate everything into one storage unit?  Lada: we should explore transport — which of us have vehicles that can move the green & white (8’ long poles).  Maybe our location should be in the Bronx, as that is central to the province? Richard: map where it’s used and pick centrally based on that?  Beatrice: can we also store the Gold Key there; otherwise the chatelaine needs to have room for it and transport capability, which limits who will stand for the office.  Donnchadh: let’s make a list of all the gear we currently store.  Francisco: locate near our transport volunteers?  Chinua: what about a storage trailer?  $6000 for a 6×12, and then we only need a volunteer with a driveway, and transport volunteers with hitches.
  • Feast gear: Friderich reports that Northpass has been acquiring their own canton feast gear, and no longer uses ours, as theirs is newer.  Suuder and Lada volunteered to retrieve and store it.
  • Picnic in the Ruins needs an event steward.  Please let the previous stewards (Thorfinn & Vika) know if you are interested.  Lada: this is a good starter event for volunteers with no previous event steward experience.
  • An Dubh/ Østgarðr Challenge: we accept the hosting challenge!  Chinua will serve as event steward.

Committees and Projects

  • Bylaws Committee [reported by Mathghamhain]: There’s been another flurry of activity in the Bylaws Committee this month.

    There are a number of issues that we’re still working through, but the outlines of the new document seem to be settling down.

    I’ve begun soliciting input from the officers of each canton and others throughout the province; if there is some provision in the current bylaws that has always bugged you, or something missing that you think we need to address, please drop me a line.

    Suuder: speak up now!  While it is being drafted.  Uji: where can we see the current bylaws?  Answer: on our website, in the Documents Library.  https://ostgardr.eastkingdom.org/wordpress/bylaws-of-the-crown-province-of-ostgardr/

    I continue to hope that the committee can complete a draft proposal in the next month or two which would then be circulated to the populace for feedback, in hopes that we can get this revised and ratified somewhere around the start of the new year.
  • Coronet Committee [reported by Sofya]:  The Coronet committee is excited with all the coronet designs submitted. We have some really creative people in Ostgardr! The committee is in the process of reviewing designs and will probably extend our decision deadline. We plan to meet in person before finalizing a coronet design.
  • Regalia proposal [from Mathghamhain]:  invest in badges as officers’ regalia.  

    CombatMedallions.com makes enamel over metal badges for all of our standard officers’ positions: exchequer, herald, chatelaine, arts and sciences, knight marshal, chronicler, lists, fencing, archery, and webminister for $25 each.  They also made the EK50 site tokens, which are much admired.
    http://stores.combatmedallions.com/officers-marshals/

    There are no standard badges for the offices of chamberlain or historian, but perhaps we could brainstorm local substitutes for those two.  We have volunteers in the province who would be willing to make chains if we reimburse them for the materials. Propose we issue them to new officers whose terms begin in January, and then do the same for new officers who are seated the following year.

    Total cost to outfit all of the officers would be spread out over the next few years and would be somewhere in the ballpark of $300, depending on shipping costs and how fancy we got with the chains.

    Angelica: we have an Exchequer badge.  Beatrice:  we have Chatelaine regalia (badge and keys).  Erich: is there heraldry for the non-standard offices?

    [Post-meeting response from Mathghamhain: There is no society-wide heraldry for the offices of Chamberlain or Historian.

    There are some kingdom-level registrations, but I do not know whether, for example, the EK Chamberlain’s badge is used by all chamberlains throughout the kingdom or is reserved specifically for that kingdom-level officer.

    I would be glad to do more research on this.]
  • Nordenfjordr Sponsorship: shire is doing splendidly! Vote held at their last commons approved name and device change.  Paperwork is being submitted. They had a very successful demo at a local farmer’s market. See their Facebook page for photos.  

    Alec: how big is the shire?  Answer: about 2 dozen members.
  • Financial committee: there is an outstanding vote on cost overruns for printing of photo books & annals for EK50.  Please remember to email your vote to Angelica. [Post-meeting followup: vote passed, check disbursed, received & deposited.]

Upcoming Events

  • Goat’s Tavern: this weekend; go forth & enjoy.
  • Musician’s Day, Nov. 16-18: due to an Attack of Life, Magistra Rufina has bowed out as co-Steward of the event and been replaced by Mistress Deonna von Aachen (who has attended every Musicians Day to date).  Master John Elys remains as co-Steward. Lord Wilhelm is taking reservations and will also be the chef for the weekend. We have filled most of the scheduled class slots, but still have one or two openings.
  • Holiday Revel, Dec. 15: Whyt Whey, hosted by  Mathghamhain and Alienor in the usual Solar location.  6-10pm.
  • Deck the Halls of Valhalla, Jan. 12: event steward Ragnarr is looking for volunteers.
  • Fight for a Cause: negotiating with site, awaiting response from rector.
  • Queer History Schola, March 9: not yet on the EK calendar.
  • Lions Awaken: progress?  Planning document needs event steward, site, confirmed date: April 6 or May 1?  Uji: still tentative; expecting more information from Arnbiorg and Duggmore next month.
  • Day of the Decameron, April 27: garb workshops have begun.  PayPal has been approved; link will be up Nov. 1st.
  • Siege of Al-Andalus: new site Glen Head American Legion, sourced by Jenna ChildSlayer; looks great.  Budget being finalized; date negotiations in progress. Jibril: A&S competition, armored combat tournament, rapier tournament, Silk Road barter area. Everything fitting the theme.

    [Jibril post meeting: Name is now Siege of Granada, as it fits the theme better.]
  • “Workshops” Schola proposed by Pia.  Possible hotel site identified.  Nordenfjord would like to co-sponsor with us.  Erich: have we considered martial A&S classes?  Lada: how much space do those require?  Erich: about the same as a classroom.  We are rich with local talent to teach martial A&S classes.

Upcoming Commons Meetings

November 16

  • To be held in Lions End, at Greenvale Diner.

December 21

  • Canceled for holidays; officer elections by email will conclude at midnight on this day.

January 18

  • To be held in Northpass, at a library or possibly a restaurant? Consulting with Esnede on location.

Closing

  • Meeting closed at 8:34pm.

Post meeting activity was turnip carving, in the spirit of the season.  See Facebook (Østgarðr page) for photos. https://www.facebook.com/1497903263671497/posts/1728512667277221/

October 2018 Reports • Østgarðr Commons

Viceregals • Suuder Saran & Lada Monguligin


Coronation: We have a new King and Queen, Wilhelm and Vienna. We delivered some largess to them at Coronation. It was very well received. A big thing to know is they start their courts on time. The Viceroy was inducted into the Order of the Silver Crescent at Coronation.
Award recommendations:  Please consider recommending folks for local and kingdom awards. On the local level, if you think someone deserves recognition we want to know about it. If you are not sure which award they qualify for, we still want to know about it. We will figure a way to recognize them.
An Dubh/ Østgarðr Challenge: It is our turn to host in the upcoming year. Do we want to do it? Does anyone want to volunteer to run it? We can reach out the St. Margaret’s Church in Plainview, Long Island. We can also look at other sites. This does not have to be held in Nassau County.
Fight for a Cause: spoke with site contact, Kermit. He passed our info on to the rector. The rector should be in touch with me today. May have an update by the time the meeting rolls around.

Seneschal • Alienor Salton

Conferred with officers whose terms are ending about whether they wish to run again.  Began recruiting for new officers.  

Consulted with the provincial exchequer on assorted financial matters.  Received checks from new account at TD Bank.  Submitted mysterious banking forms as requested.

Excited to report we have new events upcoming: Fight for a Cause, Queer History Schola, Siege of Al-Andalus, “Workshops” Schola, and of course our Day of the Decameron.

Have been out of town for all of October, so missed out on attending canton commonses in person, except for Nordenfjord.  Attended Lions End Commons remotely.

Exchequer • Angelica di Nova Lipa

Money and banking
-Østgarðr’s financial solvency continues.
-We continue to hold funds on behalf of Brokenbridge and Nordenfjord.
-TD Bank has received the additional signed documentation (Beneficial Owner status: None) that they requested.     

Reimbursements
-Expense reimbursements to individuals and entities for authorized expenditures have been made with the exception of those who require additional documentation.  
-A nagging reminder to our populace that the reimbursement form is downloadable from the Exchequer forms on the EK web site.  Yes, the form can be confusing.. ask for help if you need it.
-Particularly relevant is the phrase “Reimbursement may be withheld until proper receipts are submitted.”  A proper receipt shows what was purchased, when, has the vendor name, and shows that the item was paid for.  This falls under the heading of ‘trust, but verify’.

 

Nordenfjord          
-A distribution of $27 has been made to EK (paperwork request) at the request of the incipient Shire of Nordenfjord who wish to rename the shire to avoid confusion with their near northern neighbors of Nordenhal. This reduction is noted in the Østgarðr ledger, and will be seen in the fourth quarter financial report to EK.     

Blood & Axes 2
-The event report for the Blood & Axes 2 event held on 7/7/18 was submitted to EK on October 3rd.

Decameron
The PayPal request for the Decameron event has been approved and will go live (be listed in the EK Event Decameron listing) on November 1st.  

My return to Østgarðr is planned for early November.  

Chatelaine • Beatrice della Rocca

Gold Key:
Present and accounted for. Gold key is being taken up to Goat’s Tavern by Frank.

Quarterly Report:
I sent in my quarterly report to Kingdom

Cloisters:
We had a great demo at Cloisters this year. We tried something new by having folks give out business cards, and we have already had some people getting in touch with us.

Other business:
My term as Chatelaine is coming to an end and I will not be running again. I encourage all those who are thinking of running to message me with questions and concerns. I’m happy to sit with anyone and discuss how I see the role.

I recommend that whoever takes the position next should have room for Gold Key and the means by which to transport it.

I have one other thing I would like to get done before stepping down and that is to set up a Newcomer’s Weekend kit for whoever takes the position next. If anyone is interested in that, please let me know.

Diversity Deputy • Apollodora Alethes of Delphi

The main thing I have to report is that our office of inclusion has become a kingdom level office starting in November!!!!!! Super exciting!!

Arts & Sciences • Sofya Gianetta di Trieste

I will be stepping down as Østgarðr’s Minister of Arts & Science this January 2019 when my term is over. It has been an honor and a pleasure representing Østgarðr in this position. Thank you for allowing me to serve. If you are interested in this position and have questions, please feel free to contact me.

 

  • Østgarðr has been very active with activities and classes taking place throughout the Province. Check the calendar for scheduled events and don’t lose out on the many classes and events in our area.
    • Our Queen is in need of favors!  We had a number completed for Coronation where they were presented as part of Østgarðr’s gift to the Royals. The gifts were well received.
    • Don’t forget: King & Queens A&S Champion will be selected at Mudthaw-March 30th. If you plan on entering please visit the Minister of Arts & Science website to find detailed information on how to enter, documentation, rubric and more: moas.eastkingdom.org. If you have questions please contact me.
    • Our Decameron workshop held Saturday, October 13th was a success! We had six people draped and patterned. It was a busy day! Thank you Baroness Jacqueline for hosting and leading the team in creating patterns.
    •  Below are the next Decameron sewing workshops with Baroness Jacqueline:

o   December 2nd: location: Maestra Sofya’s place
o   January 20th: location TBD
o   February 25th : location TBD

o   All dates fall on Sunday
o   Time: 12 to 6PM
o   Appetizers and beverages will be provided but donations are always welcome.
o   For the first two dates we will drape patterns and cut fabric. If you’re done with your pattern, you can help someone else create theirs.
o   Don’t forget: all attendees should bring the following:

  •  Pins
    §  Scissors
    §  Muslin (3 yards)-woven fabric with no stretch
    §  Pencil/pen

Herald • Mathghamhain Ua Ruadháin

The court report for Barleycorn has been filed. Her excellency held court at Cloisters.

Nordenfjordr is submitting the heraldic registrations for their new name, device, and populace badge; thanks to Lilie, who handled the paperwork, using my armory illustrations.

I’ve done a bit more planning for a heraldic symposium to be held in Lions End later this year, and will try to finalize the detailed before the end of the month.

Folks who are interested in registering a name and/or armory are encouraged to contact me at their leisure to begin the process.

Armored Combat • Ervald LaCoudre

No report submitted.

Fencing • Alec MacLachlan

We have fencing going on at Central Park on Wednesday nights.  We have had 2-6 people come by and have had some practices canceled due to rain (or threat of).   We have moved our practice location in the park to a spot that is closer to the Columbus Circle Entrance.  It has better light.

 

We have been invited to go to a Church that another club (Historic Arms) uses as a possible in-door site for the winter.  It’s up on 205th St. in Manhattan.  There seems to be some interest in this.

 

The practices in Northpass have not resumed since Pennsic for various reasons.  There hasn’t been any discussion about this for a couple of weeks.

 

Marion of York was the Marshal in Charge at Queen’s Farm.  We had 3 fencers there for Saturday.  (I don’t know about Sunday.)

 

Erich (the Provincial MOL) was the MIC at the Cloisters Demo.  He also became a Marshal just before the demo.  He ran 2 tournaments, with 7/8 fencers in one and 6 in the other.  Master Alaric and Targai each won a tournament.

Archery • Arnbiorg Helga Niálsdóttir

Archery practice in Lions End has ended for the year and will pick up again in the warmer weather.

Youth Combat • Mathghamhain Ua Ruadháin

Youth combat at Cloisters went well, with three Div III fighters, four new Div I fighters, and over a hundred young members of the public getting in some pell practice.

There are two parents of youth fighters in Østgarðr who have started the process to be registered as youth marshals in training; I look forward to working with them over the coming year so they can get more field experience.

I’ve rebuilt or repaired most of the youth loaner weapons with new foam and tape as they were wearing out from prior use; I’ll aim to patch up the remainder over the coming months and do some work on the loaner armor, like adding aventails to a couple of helmets that Jenna Childslayer donated.

Unfortunately, I will not be able to attend commons this week, or offer youth combat at Goat’s Tavern this weekend, as I’ll be in the Middle Kingdom for work.

Minister of Lists • Erich Guter Muth

No report submitted.

Webminister • Anne of Østgarðr

– Set up some email aliases (for viceregents@ostgardr and reports@ostgardr)
– Looked into website tracking post-Cloisters with chatelaine. Might make additional updates to our tracking, if social media officer and chatelaine think it’s important – if you see this and think it is, message me off-list 🙂
– Renewed domain for ostgardr.org (expense report in progress)
– IMPORTANT: domain for lionsend.org is up for renewal. I don’t think it’s in use, because it forwarded to a broken link when I found it (I fixed this). I sent email with the renewal notice to Lions End seneschal but I don’t think I know them personally – would appreciate an introduction, or advice on how to proceed.  [Uji has said they do not use the domain, and are choosing not to renew it. — A.S.]

Social Media Deputy • Apollodora Alethes of Delphi

We had lots of activities on the Facebook and Instagram.

Chronicler • Rufina Cambrensis

No report submitted.

Chamberlain • Ian of Clan Mitchell

No report submitted.

Historian • Sofya Gianetta di Trieste

Annals from July to present are in the process of being finalized. I am missing a few events but will leave a place maker until I receive information to add. Once completed, I will post the report to the officer list for review and corrections then post on-line for the populace.  This report will be finalized by October 30th.

Northpass • Esnede O Murrin

Northpass has nothing to report. Things are all tugging along.

Lions End • Nagashima Ichiro Ujimichi

No report submitted.

Whyt Whey • Vika Grigina z Prahy

– Cloisters demo was pretty successful.  Thanks to all who represented!  

— We are considering whether to use the Green & White in future, just because of the complications of getting it transported.  Renting a van put us into the red on this event.
— Recommend a general conversation into a provincially funded storage space, since there are at least three parties that we know of that are finding themselves using part of their personal storage to store provincial stuff–?

– Upcoming Solars: Brick stitch in Nov, hiatus in Dec, beaded veils in Jan
– Holiday Revel, Dec. 15th, chez Solar!  Updates to follow.
– Þórfinnr and your humble correspondent will not be able to run the Picnic in the Ruins this spring.  If anyone else is interested in taking it on, let us know; we will happily share our notes.  

Brokenbridge • Brandr Aronsson

This past month was an interesting one. Our last commons meeting we installed a new MOAS – Lady Caitlin who has already begun her term by teaching a very informative and very well attended class on how to keep your garb in one piece from event to event.

Next month our most respected Østgarðr Seneschal and overall fantastic SCAdian Lady Alienor will be teaching a Lucet class on Sunday Nov 11.

Planning for the winter’s return and our return to Valhalla on Saturday January 12,  is going well. Classes are being organized and feast being prepared. Lord Ragnar bláskegg our Event Steward is looking for help and volunteers. You may reach out to him at 212278@members.eastkingdom.org if you would like to help.

 

Future Commons A & S days will include Bread Making, Sausage making and Blacksmithing.