The E-Horse

Transcribed by Maria Dedvukaj
Ostgardr Commons
April 17, 2015
(Attendance taken)

Reports

Northpass: Lots of activities happening (archery, rattan) and dancing has also started up. Event scheduled for May 9 & 10th: A Masquerade in Arden. Lord Wilhelm is stepping down as seneschal and will be working on a replacement.

Chatelaine: Many newcomers attended our Lions in Winter Schola. Gold key inventory taken and workshop is in the works to create more gold key with Jackie. $100 budget approved to buy more fabric for gold key. Fabric run scheduled for Saturday, April 25th.
Autocrating events class led by Master Phillip scheduled Friday, April 24th.
Magdelena, the Northpass chatelaine, has stepped down and a new chatelaine needs to be appointed. As seneschal, William will serve as acting chatelaine and complete reports until the position is filled.

Whyt Whey: Change of officers. Commons meeting held 3/22 and Subati has stepped down as Seneschal. Piglet is taking over as seneschal of WW. Godiva has stepped up as A&S minister and Angelica is Exchequer.
WW would like to host a small Slavic themed event. They are working out the details. They are also looking into picnic themed events as well. A&S gatherings are happening.

Web: EK webminister needs to be contacted and we should be moved to the Kingdom server. Lori would like to have this done immediately and our old webpage redirected to our new one.

Marshall: Tournament: Ostgardr Champion Event scheduled April 18th. Budget was expanded as per Brekke's dayboard need. No fighter practice in Bushwick. Next weekend fighter practice will be at Grant's Tomb. No Beau Geste tournament was held in December. Whyt Whey might have picnics same time as fighter practice. There is no active fencing marshall. Marion of York has agreed to accept this position and it was approved.

A&S: There are a lot of activities taking place in Ostgardr. Quarterly report was filed.

Archery: Archery practice began Sunday, April 19th in Staten Island. Everyone is preparing for a busy summer with lots of archery.

Brokenbridge: Continuing to have A&S, Cadfael, etc. There was an issue with the exchequer for BrokenBridge: there has not been one for two years. Sudder is working on correcting the issue and Richard the Poor is acting as Exchequer for BB until this is corrected.

Exchequer: Quarterly report has been submitted. The BrokenBridge exchequer issue will be addressed and corrected. At the last quarter of the year Richard will be stepping down in his position and is looking for a replacement.

Viceroy: Discussed dropping some of the commons meetings in order to reduce burnout and poor turnout. It was agreed to drop the December commons meeting. Term limits of the Viceroy and Vicereine was discussed and the Viceroy would like to proceed going forward to look into heirs. They will talk to Kingdom about the timeline.

Vicereine: brought up the idea of having a class taught on "courtesy in the SCA/SCA etiquette".

New Business

Musicians' Day: John & Rufina would like to run Musicians' Day again this year and would like to move ahead with the planning. Requested 2nd weekend in November (November 13th -15th) and it was approved.

Event at Prospect Park: Alec Story and Victoria Swann are proposing a pot-luck "picnic in the park" (Prospect Park) possibly June 27th. It was agreed and they will come back with more detailed information. A $25 park permit was approved.

Upcoming Meetings

Directions to June Commons

June Commons will be Friday, June 19, 2015, location TBD. Check June E-Horse for details.

The Viceregal Succession

From the Seneschal

It is with a heavy heart that we announce that their Excellencies, Vicereine Baroness Johanna i Visby and Viceroy Sir Gui avec Cheval will be stepping down within the next few months. As such, a polling of the populace will take place for a new Vicereine and Viceroy. Potential candidates must submit letters of intent to the Seneschal by June 19th, 2015. They may be emailed to eilionorasca@aol.com with Letter of Intent in the subject line or hardcopy to Lori Copland, Attn: SCA, 3655 Johnson Avenue, Bronx, NY 10463. Hardcopy letters must be postmarked by the aforementioned date.

Before sending letters of intent, I suggest potential candidates speak to the current Viceroy and/or Vicereine to discuss the duties, time and cost that this office incurs. I do not wish to keep anyone from seeking office, however, for full disclosure; it does take its toll which is why I feel a real in depth conversation should take place by any who chose to do so. While it does offer certain perks, it does also carry with it a special burden to represent the people of Ostgardr at many and varied events.

After the candidates list has been finalized, we will do our best to host an Ostgardr Candidates Forum in each of the Cantons. Of course, these will begin after everyone is home from Pennsic. Following this, a polling ballot will be sent out to all paid up members. Ballots of members 14 and up will be tallied toward the preference. Ballots received by those under 14 will be added to the count as at least 50% of the polled members must respond for the polling to be considered valid. A minimum of 30 days to the maximum of 45 days is given for return of the ballot.

After that, ballots will be tallied by the Branch Polling Deputy, a Regional Seneschal, and the Kingdom Seneschal (or designate). Talliers must not reside in the branch conducting the polling or have any other conflict of interest regarding the polling. Returned ballots may only be viewed by the talliers, the Kingdom Seneschal and/or the Kingdom Seneschal's designates, and The Crown. The outcome of the polling will be determined by a simple majority of valid returned ballots. If a polling fails to result in a simple majority, the disposition of the polling falls to The Crown.

I truly wish to give my most heartfelt thanks to their Excellencies for their guidance, service and dedication not only to Ostgardr but to the SCA as a whole. They are exemplary examples of that which is the heart of the SCA. A love of the world we chose to create, a place to enjoy others who have that same special love of history, art, glory and chivalry of that era which we call home. They have gone above and beyond and have set a standard that we only hope to reach for.

Relevant Law

The Bylaws of the Crown Province of Østgarðr, section II.C

Current East Kingdom Law, section VII.C.

The Governing Documents of the SCA, section V.A.1.

Note that EK Law calls for "a simple majority", while the Provincial Bylaws call for a ranked ballot that makes it almost impossible to achieve a "simple majority". In the past two Viceregal pollings, we requested and received a variance in procedures (according to EK Law VII.C.2.j) that allowed us to follow our Bylaws.

Østgarðr Events

From the Whyt Whey A&S Officer

A&S In the City ***Evening in the Solar***
Please join us on Thursday, June 11th from 7-10pm at Manhattan's A&S night....it's time to get ROLLIN' for Pennsic !!!
Godiva will be be showing all that are interested on how to ROLL a hem. Learn this nifty hem stitch that can be used to edge veils, garments & other accessories.
What to bring: Yourself...and any linen, silk or fabric scraps.
OR .... just come and hangout with (or without) your current A&S project.
Location: we will gather in the lobby of 255 West 105th Street at 7pm and then go up stairs.
Transportation: Take the #1 train to 103rd Street Station in Manhattan
Directions here.

East Kingdom Events