20 August 2004

Report: Monthly to Kingdom

Greetings unto THL Roland O’Rourke, Outlands Seneschal, and to all others who come by these letters, from Lady Sorcha MacLeod, White Stag Principal Herald!

This report may be summarized. Any questions should be directed to whitestag@outlands.org. I have received word from Laurel that my warrant has been received, and she will be signing it and returning a copy. When that is received, I will mail copies to the Crown and the Kingdom Seneschal.

Specific issues:

• Communications with the Kingdom Exchequer remain shaky, but appear to be improving somewhat. Rampart is now sending detailed reports of submissions and income and expenses to the Kingdom Exchequer, and she is copying those to the White Stag files.
• There has not yet been an official changeover of the Scalene office in Dragonsspine. Lady Halla is Acting Scalene, and is doing an admirable job.
• I await feedback on suggested updates to the pertinent sections of Kingdom Policy to the Crown and Kingdom Seneschal for review, and to the Kingdom Exchequer for review of the financial policy, sent 14 July 2004.
• Vacancies in kingdom staff: Palmer Herald (permanent), Trefoil Herald - candidate declined official appointment, preferring to gain more experience at the kingdom level - her attempt is appreciated, as is her wisdom in realizing she needed more preparation, Stag’s Attire Herald (title currently not in use). Upcoming vacancies: Rampart Herald (01 January 2005).
• In June, I stated, “Rampart is significantly behind on paper notification of registrations and returns, but that information has been distributed electronically.” I am pleased to inform you that all the notification letters have been written, and distribution of electronic letters has begun. For those clients who cannot be reached by e-mail, paper letters will be generated and sent. The office is still in great need of a secretary or secretaries to assist with things like data entry and addressing envelopes for clients who cannot receive an electronic notification of their submissions status.

Current activities:

• I attended StagsCon in Saint Golias on 10 July, and was pleased to see four current office holders, two incoming officers and near half a dozen new heralds in the meetings, which lasted all morning. The consultation table in the afternoon generated several new submissions and provided an excellent opportunity to teach new heralds and submitters alike about the submissions process. In the meetings, we discussed money handling, reporting, the organization of the Outlands College of Heralds, and some of the new exciting projects under way at the CoA level, and how that was going to affect the CoH. I was gratified to have the branch heralds interested in how they could assist, before it had ever occurred to me that some of these projects might have tasks easier for a local herald with two or three submissions to handle. Logistics are still being worked out, but I am very pleased by the supportive reaction by those heralds present.
• In discussions with the CoH, I discovered that there were a number of conflicting opinions on which Kingdom Staff offices were ranked at Herald and which at Pursuivant. I received reports that some offices had been "elevated" to Herald, though they were still registered as Pursuivant, and I could find no notation in the files indicating such an elevation, though I have no doubts that such elevations had been made verbally or noted in files now lost. I requested discussion on the prospect of officially raising all Kingdom Staff positions to Herald that were not already so ranked. All discussion received was in favor of elevating the offices, and I have made the official change. Additionally, after discussion with Shauna, Laurel Queen of Arms, I have asked Rampart to include text on the August Letter of Intent requesting that Laurel instruct Morsulus Herald to make these changes in the SCA Armorial, to prevent future confusion. The official printed notification should appear in the September 2004 Outlandish Herald, and the following offices were elevated to Herald on 25 July 2004: Fretty, Gimlet, Palmer, Plover, Weel, Wharrow, and Wimble. This should prevent any future confusion.
• I am building an MS Access database for the roster, to aid in updates and in pulling information for various purposes, such as a listing that may be published on-line, or printing mailing labels. The data is in a table, and queries and reports are being written.
• Requiring Kingdom Staff positions to find emergency deputies for their positions. Goal: Backups named for most positions by 31 August.
  6 of 8 filled positions have backups. Palmer and Blue Iris are exempt from this requirement, and are not counted in the above filled positions total.
• Updating Kingdom Policy pertaining to heralds. Goal: 15 July.
  Updates submitted for review 14 July. Awaiting feedback.
• Informational/Educational articles for Outlandish Herald. Goal: Each month.
  Meeting goal.
• Informational/Educational posts to Outlands-heralds list. Goal: Each week minimum.
  Exceeding goal.
• Regarding the submissions tracking project, Alia Marie reports, "Rampart's new, database-driven tracking website is in final testing for version 1.0 and population of the database is expected to start soon. In version 2.0, it will generate notification letters for any stage of the submissions process. It will email the local herald and Rampart, and either email the client directly or display a letter suitable for printing and mailing to the client." Late update: Version 1.0 is ready for population, which has begun under the efforts of Viscountess Katya Wanderer, Mistress Galiana fitz William, and Lady Halla inn heppna Knorsdottir, along with Rampart and myself.
• Transfer of files is not yet complete. Certain parties have agreed to haul the filing cabinets from al-Barran at Crown, and will deliver them to my house. I will attempt to make similar arrangements for the rest of the files from Dragonsspine.

I have received reports this month from:

Baronies – 100%

Caerthe: I spoke with Aspen by phone, since her computer is not working. She is working on registering an award name and a revised charter for the Evan Mawr award. She has received the files and is reorganizing them, due to the sudden departure of both of her two immediate predecessors. Also, she is working on repairing her computer, so she has internet access once more.

al-Barran: Scorpion's report was thorough as always, listing the status of submissions, awards received by members of the barony, and includes a recommendation for advancement. Scorpion attended StagsCon on 10 July, and assisted with the consultation table.

Dragonsspine: Acting Scalene informs me that there has been no official change of office due to the changeover not having been published in the baronial newsletter. A new date has not been set, but either 11 September at Crown or 25 September at Dragonsspine A&S are possible dates. Her report is complete and detailed, including submissions statuses, a summary of court and field heraldry, and consultation activity, along with an accounting of regalia and the month's finances. Currently, Halla, Acting Scalene, and Katya, Deputy Scalene, are splitting consultation tasks with Halla handling armory and Katya handling names consultations.

Citadel of the Southern Pass: Rook reports a relative lack of activity, but plans a consultation meeting in August or early September, and is currently working on a compilation of an annotated resource list. He reports little interest among his barony's membership in pursuing heraldry, and has no deputy at present.

Unser Hafen: Due to a misunderstanding, the ceremonial change of office has not taken place yet in Unser Hafen, and attempts are being made to reconcile schedules to allow that to happen. Barbican has sent a report detailing her immediate plans for the office, including organizing the files and keeping reporting up to date. She hopes to recruit deputies to help with consultations and hold classes on heraldry at various events within the barony. Brigit is -not- Acting Barbican - the appointment has been made, only the ceremony is lacking, and she has full rights to the title Barbican Pursuivant and the responsibility for the office.

Caer Galen: The Rayon du Soliel office changed hands suddenly in July, and the new Pursuivant is Lady Regana. Her introductory letter has been received, and she has asked for any information or advice a new baronial pursuivant might need. That letter stands for her August report, since she had insufficient time to determine the state of the office. My thanks to Lady Jeanne-Marie for her service.

Fontaine dans Sable: Black Fountain reports new submissions and an accounting of finances and awards for the month, in addition to listing four other active heralds in the barony. He intends to concentrate on generating more detailed reports in the next month. Heraldry in the barony appears to be thriving.

Shires, Cantons, Colleges - 44% of 9 filled positions

Branch officers except for Baronial Pursuivants are required to report quarterly. This report covers the first month of the quarter. Reports received from: Dúthaich Beinne Áird, Hawk’s Hollow, Scorpion’s Hollow, and Windkeep. Reporting groups this quarter list standard heraldic tasks, and two mention some confusion over checks to kingdom needing reissued. Shires, Cantons, and Colleges are not required to have branch officers, and there are currently twelve vacant offices as a result.

Kingdom Staff-70% of 10 filled positions

Kingdom Staff are required to report quarterly, but are encouraged to report more frequently. This report covers the first month of the quarter.

Fretty [CoA Commenter] and Rampart [Submissions] – fulfill reporting requirement with LoIs and LoCs. Rampart now has an emergency deputy, Master Walter Kempe of Falconhold.

Gimlet [Protocol] - Gimlet has sent copies of the basic peerage ceremonies to the CoH Webminister for inclusion on the website. Gimlet has several backup individuals for her office.

Wharrow [On-line Roll of Arms] – is working on cleaning up some of the graphics and correcting a few errors in the Roll. Emergency deputy is Lady Halla inn heppna Knorsdottir.

Wimble [Precedence] – now has an emergency deputy, THLady Seuilla de Cordoba.

Palmer (Interim) [Emergency Replacement]– does not report currently under this title.

Kingdom Scribe – Mistress Bennet is efficient as always, and has sent a mid- reign update stating that 42 scribes have worked on about 135 scrolls so far during the reign of Giovanni and Cainnleach. Interaction between our offices is running smoothly and cheerfully. In addition to her duties as Kingdom Scribe, Bennet is learning the basics of heraldry, and she is currently doing names research in Bardsley. Emergency deputy is Mistress Averil du Bois d'Avignon.

Plover [Field Heraldry] Emergency deputy is Lord Aethewulf of Golias.

Blue Iris [Queen’s Herald/Royal Court]

Weel [Herald Education/Publications] - Master Balthazar accepted the appointment on 10 July, and has begun to be more active on the Outlands-heralds list.

In addition, Master Adam and Lord AEthelwulf are discussing the promotion of field heraldry within the kingdom, and I have received introductory letters from a few new heralds who have been added to the roster as Cornets-at-Large.

My emergency deputy is Maistre Louis-Phillipe Mitouard, Palmer Herald, whose contact information is on a previously enclosed roster.

In service and in duty,
Sorcha White Stag