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.
Officer Candidate Statement:
Hi, I’m Alienor Salton, mundanely known as Piglet, and I have been playing in the SCA for over 35 years, 25 of those years in Østgarðr. In the last decade, I have taken on leadership roles within my canton of Whyt Whey, lured into service by being asked to take over the direction of SingThing, the choral group started by Lady Sarah Byrd, when she moved to Dragonship Haven. From there I went on to become our Minister of Arts & Science, our Webminister, and finally our Seneschal, when our previous seneschal, Subotai Cinoa, moved out of kingdom.
I have served as the Whyt Whey Seneschal since April of 2015, where I have worked to keep the canton running smoothly, with regular commons meetings (approximately quarterly) and transparent and well-publicized communications about cantonal & provincial activities. My goal has been to increase local participation, both from newcomers and from long-term members who have preferred to play elsewhere. During my tenure, we have gone from 3 officers to 8 officers plus 4 deputies, and from 3 regular attendees at our monthly social A&S gathering to more than a dozen, with an average of 8 attendees every month. Our long-standing Cloisters demo has been re-vitalized with new activities and a growing cast of volunteers. We put on our first event in almost a decade (since June 2009) and look forward to repeating our success next year.
My goal as provincial Seneschal will be to increase participation at all levels, by similarly 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.
The last 2.5 years have been very educational for me in terms of learning what the seneschal’s job is, and how best to support my fellow officers and members in their Service to the Dream. I am ready to step up to the larger job of provincial seneschal. I have local deputies standing by, ready to take on my cantonal jobs of seneschal and of webminister.
You may have noticed that I am also standing for the position of provincial webminister. In case you are wondering how I would manage both positions, I wish to say that I have been Whyt Whey’s webminister since February of 2015, before becoming its seneschal. I set up our website on the EK server, transitioned our officers to their new inboxes, and set up mailing lists for the canton. I have been serving as the Deputy Webminister for Østgarðr since the beginning of this summer, and as acting Webminister since the fall. I have streamlined the provincial website, and made the bulk of the changes that I intend to make to the site. I look forward to grooming both deputies for the webminister position and content providers for the website.
Thank you for considering me for this role. We have an excellent slate of candidates vying for the position, all of whom are more than fit to serve. I look forward to our December election results, because whoever wins, we all win.
Yours in service to the Dream,
—
Hlæfdige Alienor Salton, Seneschal Whyt Whey
mundanely known as Piglet
Greetings All,
I am one of the candidates for Seneschal of Ostgardr. I feel that what I bring to the table would be a different perspective on how things are currently. This is not because I come from a neighboring group, but because of the positions I have held both In An Dubhaigeainn and in Ostgardr. Most of my service in the Society has been in An Dubhaigeainn. I became an official member in the fall semester of 1989 during my last year at SUNY Stony Brook. A couple of years later I became the shire’s Deputy Chronicler, and within a year I became the Shire’s/Barony’s Chronicler, a post I held for 4 1/2 years. I was Deputy Seneschal for the Barony for a year and then Baronial Seneschal for 2 years. Later I was the Barony’s Deputy Chatelaine, and then Baronial Chatelaine for several years. When I moved into Hawke’s Reache, I became the Canton Seneschal, and held that post for 8 years. I was also the Deputy Marshal for Fencing for several years. Along with that I have autocrated several demoes and events, including the King’s and Queen’s Bardic Championship for Andreas’ and Isabella’s first reign. I moved into Lions End just over two years ago and have been the Provincial Deputy Fencing Marshal for about 1 1/2 years, but I have been active within the Province, in particular Lions End, for many years.
As someone who has seen the SCA from several different perspectives I have seen how all the different parts of the SCA have to work together. Not just the different activities the Province offers, but how the Cantons and Province work together, and how the province works with neighboring groups, and within the Kingdom. While we have a shared objective, people will see things differently depending on their circumstance. I have worked with officers and members at the Canton, Provincial/Baronial and Kingdom levels and can appreciate their views.
Being a Seneschal is not just being a cheer leader, it’s leading a management team. I want to encourage new activities within the Cantons and the Province, not just for the current members, but also to bring back old members and attract new ones. While activities are what we like to do, getting them up and running requires mashalling the resources we have on hand (people, financial and material). The province only has so many resources, and people can only offer so much time and effort before they start to burn out. Some things are very simple, and sometimes they require a lot of time and effort. To do this with a ‘business as usual’ approach may work for some things (like workshops and practices), but not for everything. The Seneschal’s job is to make sure things are moving, but to also ask questions that may have been overlooked and providing guidance when required, particularly with the running of events and demoes. Within a group as large (in area and populat ion) as Ostgardr, this becomes even more important.
I hope the officers and Their Excellencies will allow me to have this opportunity. I am available for questions on the Provincial Facebook Page, and at my private e-mail: captgoldman01@aol.com. I will also try to be at the Lion’s End meeting this coming Monday, (This will depend on my work schedule.
I am also running for a second position, Provincial Fencing Marshal. While Seneschal will be my primary position, I would still like to continue to see fencing grow within the province. In the past year and a half we have managed to have a steady fencing practice. We have several new and returning fencers. By changing the night and location of the practice from Tuesday night in Brooklyn to Wednesday night in Central park, we increased the number of people coming. There is also a dedicated Facebook page for the fencers. We are also starting to give an identity to the fencers, not just as individuals, but as part of a larger Provincial team. This was due in a large part to meeting fencers who were like minded, had good suggestions, and were willing to put forth the effort to get things done, along with being given some latitude from the current Fencing Marshal. (Basically how I dealt with the fencing community would be carried forward into my role as Seneschal.) Should a fencer come forward who is willing to carry this on, I would consider handing this off to him/her.
In Service,
Alexander MacLachlan
(m.k.a. Brett Kessler)
Ha ha, turns out I began serving as Whyt Whey’s webminister in Sept. 2014. Our move to the EK server at the start of 2015 obscured my earlier records of my service. I have now stepped down from that role to serve as Østgarðr webminister, and Whyt Whey deputy webminister at least during our transition to Google for non-Profits services. Commenting to keep the historical record straight.