Business Meeting this Wednesday

The next Business Meeting for the Barony-Marche of the Debatable Lands will be this Wednesday, 6 June 2018 from 8:00 p.m. until 10:00 p.m. at Allegheny Unitarian Universalist Church (416 W North Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15212 – map).

The Agenda will be:
1. Open Meeting
2. Approve minutes from previous meeting
3. Officer’s Reports
4. Close Meeting

Here are the previous Debatable Lands Meeting Minutes_20180404.

If you have any additional Agenda items please send them to Odriana at seneschal(at)debatablelands(dot)org.

The Officers of the Debatable Lands are elected by the membership and is made up of members of the populace, just like you. The Officers are responsible for ensuring that the policies of the Kingdom and Barony are followed and are accountable to the populace of the Debatable Lands. The Business meeting is open to everyone in the Barony and attendance by the populace is encouraged.

Have a thought you’d like to share with the Officers? Email seneschal@debatablelands.aethelmearc.org.

Business Meeting this Wednesday

The next Business Meeting for the Barony-Marche of the Debatable Lands will be this Wednesday, 4 April 2018 from 8:00 p.m. until 10:00 p.m. at Allegheny Unitarian Universalist Church (416 W North Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15212 – map).

This is the yearly budget meeting so there will be refreshments for all who attend.

The Agenda will be:
1. Open Meeting
2. Approve minutes from previous meeting
3. Officer’s Reports
4. Budget Meeting
5. Agincourt Event Bid
6. Close Meeting

Here are the previous Debatable Lands Meeting Minutes_20180207.

If you have any additional Agenda items please send them to Odriana at seneschal(at)debatablelands(dot)org. If you would like to add a Budget item, please send them to Arthes at exchequer(at)debatablelands(dot)org.

The Officers of the Debatable Lands are elected by the membership and is made up of members of the populace, just like you. The Officers are responsible for ensuring that the policies of the Kingdom and Barony are followed and are accountable to the populace of the Debatable Lands. The Business meeting is open to everyone in the Barony and attendance by the populace is encouraged.

Have a thought you’d like to share with the Officers? Email seneschal@debatablelands.aethelmearc.org.

Seneschal’s Spotlight – Business Meetings

The Seneschal’s Spotlight is a monthly feature that highlights an aspect of the Barony and/or its people.

This month’s Spotlight falls upon the Business Meeting. Every other month (Feb, Apr, Jun, Aug, Oct, Dec) on the first Wednesday of the month (except for August where we meet the first Wednesday after Pennsic) we hold a Business Meeting. While the Officers of the Barony are required to attend or to send a Proxy if they are unable to attend, the meeting is open to everyone in the Barony.

Every time I send out the reminder(s) for the Business Meeting, at the end is the following:

The Officers of the Debatable Lands are elected by the membership and is made up of members of the populace, just like you. The Officers are responsible for ensuring that the policies of the Kingdom and Barony are followed and are accountable to the populace of the Debatable Lands. The Business meeting is open to everyone in the Barony and attendance by the populace is encouraged.

This is an open invitation to everyone both within and outside of the Barony to attend and participate in the meeting.

What happens at the Business Meeting?

  • Officers Reports – Each Officer of the Barony gives an update of what has been going on in the area they oversee.
  • We review event bids for upcoming events.
  • Get updates on upcoming events and/or demos.
  • Review Letters of Intent for those interested in becoming an Officer when another Officer’s term expires.
  • Discuss concerns or recommendations we’ve received from the Populace of the Barony-Marche.
  • Once a year, in April, we have a Budget Meeting where we allocate the Barony’s Budget for the next year.
  • Once every year we review the Policies of the Barony.
  • Discuss any policies that have been recently changed or added from the Kingdom or Society Seneschal.

While the list isn’t exhaustive, they represent things that have been discussed at previous Business Meetings.

The Barony is all of us, not just the Officers, and your input and presence are very welcome. We want to know what is important to you and hear what you would like to see happening in the Barony. We hope to see you at the next Business Meeting (our Budget Meeting) on Wednesday, 4 April 2018 at 8:00 p.m. at Allegheny Unitarian Universalist Church on the North Side.

Business Meeting – TONIGHT

The rescheduled Business Meeting for the Barony-Marche of the Debatable Lands will be tonight Wednesday, 21 February 2018 from 8:00 p.m. until 10:00 p.m. at Allegheny Unitarian Universalist Church (416 W North Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15212 – map).

There was an addition to the meeting agenda since last published so it has changed slightly.

Meeting Agenda

  • Open Meeting
  • Approve minutes from previous meeting
  • Officer’s Reports
  • Known World Heralds and Scribes Event Update
  • Seneschal – Letters of Intent (none received)
  • Close Meeting

The Officers of the Debatable Lands are elected by the membership and is made up of members of the populace, just like you. The Officers are responsible for ensuring that the policies of the Kingdom and Barony are followed and are accountable to the populace of the Debatable Lands. The Business meeting is open to everyone in the Barony and attendance by the populace is encouraged.

Have a thought you’d like to share with the Officers? Email seneschal@debatablelands.aethelmearc.org.

Minutes from the October Business Meeting

These are the minutes from the October Business Meeting held on 4 October 2017.

Debatable Lands Meeting Minutes_20171004

The Officers of the Debatable Lands are elected by the membership and is made up of members of the populace, just like you. The Officers are responsible for ensuring that the policies of the Kingdom and Barony are followed and are accountable to the populace of the Debatable Lands. The Business meeting is open to everyone in the Barony and attendance by the populace is encouraged.

Have a thought you’d like to share with the Officers? Email seneschal@debatablelands.aethelmearc.org.

Minutes from the October Business Meeting

These are the minutes from the October Business Meeting held on 4 October 2017.

Debatable Lands Meeting Minutes_20171004

The Officers of the Debatable Lands are elected by the membership and is made up of members of the populace, just like you. The Officers are responsible for ensuring that the policies of the Kingdom and Barony are followed and are accountable to the populace of the Debatable Lands. The Business meeting is open to everyone in the Barony and attendance by the populace is encouraged.

Have a thought you’d like to share with the Officers? Email seneschal@debatablelands.aethelmearc.org.

Meeting Minutes – Officer’s Meeting on 7 June 2017

These are the meeting minutes from the June Officer’s meeting.

There are a couple of things I wished to point out from that meeting:
1. It was suggested at the meeting that we change the name of those meetings to “Business Meeting” going forward. We will be doing so starting with the August meeting.

2. There was a change in policy proposed and that will be officially posted some time this evening.

Debatable Lands Meeting Minutes_20170710

Officers Meeting Minutes

Starting with the June 2016 Meeting, the minutes for Officer’s Meeting will be made available here on the Blog by the end of the month of that Officer’s Meeting. If you have any questions, please contact the Seneschal, Odriana vander Brugghe.

Bayeux Tapestry - Comet

Meeting Date: 17 August 2016
Minutes Recorded by: Odriana vander Brugghe

Officers in attendance: Brandubh, Hilderun, Odriana, Jorundr, Isenwulf, Elss, Hara, Anna, Ishiyama.

Others in attendance: Elizabeth, Bataar, Kieran, Lijsbet (visiting from Delftwood), Liam

The meeting was opened and the previous meeting’s minutes were approved by the Officers.

Officer Reports:

Baron and Baroness
We hope everyone had a wonderful Pennsic. We certainly did, and many folks from our Most Excellent Barony. We’d specifically like to thank Mistress Arianna for land-o-cratting, Master Emrys (Broom) for acting as our camp Reeve, and Master Antonio and THL Renata as his assistants, who did much of the set up. Also, Lady Rivka, our head retainer, was incredible and there for us, arranging retainers and whatever else we needed, every step of the way, and joining Her Excellency in the ice towel adventures! Also, THL Muirgheal, who helped Rivka significantly. Also Baron William and Mistress Irene, who supported the camp and us in every way. And the folks at their first Pennsic who were ready to jump in wherever they were needed, for Court set-up, retaining, opening ceremonies, feeding us, and more: Lady Katerra, Eleanora, Ronan, and Dorothea. Special shout out to Lady Elizabeth of the Debatable Lands, who help muchly with tear down and stayed to the very end.

Thank you also to Master Liam for putting on a wonderful Baronial Party on Sunday, along with his staff, Baroness Constance, Lady Arthes, Lord Alistair, Lady Katheryn, Lord Yoshi, and I’m sure more I’m forgetting (with apologies).

We’d also like to call out the Kingdom Officers in this Most Excellent Barony who worked hard for the Kingdom and the War. Their Majesties Byron and Ariella (Being Royal at War is no small service), Duke Christopher as Seneschal, Baron Tofi as Exchequer, and Baroness Gwendolyn as Jewel Herald, as well as Master Janos as War Chamberlain, Duchess Tessa as Earl Marshal, and Kameshima-kyo as Silver Buccle Herald. And all of their staff, a good deal of whom were Debatable Landers. Also to Lady Anaya, who served on Land Staff.

We will send more thank yous to the lists – there were so many who contributed so much.

Coming up, please do send us recommendation letters for Comets for Archers to the Wald, Agincourt, and 12th Night, all of which will have Baronial Courts. Additionally, we will be holding our Archery and Youth Archery Champs at Archers to the Wald, and Thrown Weapons and Youth Fighting Champs at Agincourt. We look forward to seeing the prowess of our archers, throwers and youth fighters, for the glory of our Barony!

Also, we hoped everyone is enjoying the Excellent Towels. If you didn’t get one, never fear, we will be making more!

As always, we are available to discuss anything Barony with anyone. We are available in person, by phone, by email, and on social media (Hilda on Facebook, Brandubh on G+)

–Additional – The Baronage wanted to highlight the service of the following gentles at Pennsic: Baroness Soteria with her work with Sylvan Army Support. Baroness Anna was at the inspection point on the Battlefield every day. Lady Adeliz was second in charge of DART (she was DART2).

Seneschal
The July Barony Meeting was very successful. Nearly everything that was offered in the garb exchange was taken and Sylvan Army Support raised $200 in the auction. We had a fantastic turnout and folks seemed to have a good time.

I am sure that Their Excellencies have an extensive list of folks that contributed at Pennsic and who were recognized for their skills, prowess, and service both at the Baronial and Kingdom level. The thing that I was proudest of was seeing folks from the BMDL pretty much everywhere doing basically everything. So very proud of us.

I communicated with Byron & Ariella about the November Harvest Revel Barony Meeting and they said that either Nov. 6th or 13th work. I was going to go with the 13th. To avoid conflict with King’s Crossing’s Birthday B(r)all event, this was agreed to by the officers.

Starting with September, I will be putting out a Seneschal’s letter on the first of the month on the BMDL Blog. The letter for the Althing will be delayed until after the quarterly publication to give them priority in publication months. I encourage everyone to consider doing the same to increase communication with the Barony.

Exchequer
There was an increase in the trailer storage costs at Cooper’s Lake so a new check needed to be written. As the increase was under $75, this was approved by the Seneschal and the Exchequer.

The Baronial Dinner was $100.87 under budget.

The Exchequer’s Quarterly report was submitted on time.

A&S Minister
The A&S Minister intends to have meetings at the Washington Blvd site and then they will move to the indoor site (The Environmental Charter School) when practices move indoors.

Herald
Three courts at Pennsic. Those court reports will go out later this week. The quarterly report is in on time. A call for Letters of Intent will be going out soon as Jorundr’s term is ending and he is seeking a replacement as Persuivant.

Chatelaine
— I’ve spoken to about 8-10 newcomers in the past 2 months and that I’m still considering ideas about newcomer tokens. Also, Ruffina has agreed to be my drop dead deputy. Ronan has agreed to also deputy (not drop dead) and spread the word to the younger people out there.

Webminister
The Quarterly Webminister’s report was submitted on time.

The Webminister is seeking contributions for the Debatable Blog — anything is welcome — anyone can submit an article to the webminister using his email address webminister@debatablelands.aethelmearc.org

Earlier on that day it was brought to the Webminister’s attention that Pharmacy ads were appearing in place of the website. The error was only occurring if you clicked a search engine link to get to the website. The website hosting company was contacted and the webminister sought other solutions until he found the source of the problem and corrected it. This still needs to be addressed from a security angle and the webminister is moving forward with that process.

Special mention was given to Ishiyama by the Seneschal for the speed of his response once he was aware of the depth of the problem. His response time from discovery to solution was within about an hour and a half. This kind of quick thinking and action ensured that we maintain 24×7 uptime for the website, which is crucial for the Barony.

Other Business
Event Bids
Event Bids for Iron Comet Challenge 2017 and Kingdom Twelfthnight 2017. Both bids were approved by the Officers and the Kingdom bid was submitted to the Kingdom after the meeting.

Revision to August Schedule
As the August Officer’s meeting always falls during Pennsic, the Officers agreed to move the August Officers Meeting to the first Wednesday after Pennsic from this point forward.

Baronial Policy Revisions
Proposed changes to Baronial Policy were distributed via email for discussion. Thank you to Pavel and Ceindrich for helping with the review.

20th Anniversary event + Fall Crown in 2017
An event bid is in the works in BMDL. Speaking with Herontir about co-hosting with them. Looking for input and co-conspirators. Want someone from every region on my staff. Financials will be running through the BMDL.

The meeting was adjourned.

June 2016 – Officer’s Meeting Minutes

Starting with the June 2016 Meeting, the minutes for Officer’s Meeting will be made available here on the Blog by the end of the month of that Officer’s Meeting. If you have any questions, please contact the Seneschal, Odriana vander Brugghe.

Bayeux Tapestry - Comet

Meeting Date: 1 June 2016
Minutes Recorded by: Odriana vander Brugghe, Seneschal

Attendance
Present-
Baron, Brandubh O’Donnghaile
Baroness, Hilderun Hugelman
Seneschal, Odriana vander Brugghe
Herald, Jorundr hinn rotin
Knight Marshal, Isenwulf Thorolfsson
Exchequer, Hara Kikumatsu
Mistress of the Lists, Elizabeth Arrowsmith
Webminister, Ishiyama Gen’tarou Yori’ie

Proxied-
Minister of Arts and Sciences
Chronicler

Other Attendees-
Keiran MacRae, Ceindrech verch Elidir, Cairdha Eilis, Elizabeth Arrowsmith, Alethea Cowle, Alister MacLeod, Arthes MacLeod, Elß of Augsburg, Pavel Dudoladov, Liam Mac an T’soir, and Angus (Noah Ternullo)

Officer Reports:
Baron and Baroness
We have declared this the year of the towel. Will be making more and will have them at practices and at the reception at Pennsic. Congratulations to Lord Robert and THL Kieran our new champions. Baroness Soteria and Lord Yoshi, Kingdom Champions (Thrown Weapons and Archery). On the fighting front, Count Isenwulf will be unit commander. THL Jorundr fencing commander. Deadline for Pennsic pre-reg is in 18 days, “Debatable Lands” is the group, will have a camp meeting at an upcoming Fight Practice. We will have the next Baronial Court at Pennsic, then Archers to the Wald, and Agincourt. Steltonwald is holding a “Bad Italian Wedding” event the same weekend as Coronation. Seven Pearls Event is August 20th, 3-day camping event, the weekend after Pennsic. We are encouraging all Champs and their Seconds to attend this event. All of the 7Pearls events will happen there.

Seneschal
Things are progressing smoothly, nothing major to report. Pennsic is upcoming and the cook for the BMDL dinner will be Maighstir Liam Mac an tSoir. The dinner is tentatively scheduled for Sunday, 7 August 2016 at 6p. Awaiting confirmation from the scheduler for the AE encampment.

Exchequer
Not much to report. But, we had one returned check from Harlech and got a new check and we are waiting for it to clear. Also, jut any expenses that come up that were already approved, get receipts and get them to Hara ASAP.

Knight Marshal
All martial stuff is happening, going smoothly. On the HW front, THL Keiran has expressed a desire to do some command stuff and will be doing that.

Minister of Arts and Sciences

DO A&S! Attend AEthelmearc Academy next weekend down in Ballachlagan! On top of the classes, there will be an A&S display of works in progress. Come on down and talk to others working in your areas, take some classes and learn something new!

Calling for Letters – As of June 1, I am looking for an individual interested in taking on the position of Baronial A&S minister. This individual is best served by having the following qualifications:

1- Paid member of the Society.
2 – Independently mobile, so as to be able to attend scheduled local, regional and Kingdom wide A&S functions.
3 – Highly self-motivated to pull together a very large group of disparate peoples into a cohesive program of classes and activities.
4 – Capable of taking on a two-year commitment to the Barony and the people therein. Your responsibilities will include setting up a local class schedule, working with the Baronial Guilds to get them active again, setting up periodic A&S displays at local and regional events, working with other local and regional A&S ministers to promote the arts and sciences throughout the Barony and the region.

Interested parties should declare their interest, with supporting information on why they think they would be good in this position to the A&S Minister by July 8th. Applications being taken by e-mail (ansminister@debatablelands.aethelmearc.org). Thank you in advance for your service.

Herald
We had a court at WP, the court report will be published shortly. Report sent in on time. More courts forthcoming.

Chronicler
Please ask everyone to submit articles.

Mistress of the Lists
We had Baronial Champions! We have a fencing and Heavy Weapons champions, reports already submitted.

Webminister
Still have a website. We’re not on the list of webministers who forgot to send their reports. The blog is still going, most of the posts are being made by Ishiyama – PLEASE SUBMIT CONTENT! If you need a login, get in touch with Ishiyama at webminister@debatablelands.aethelmearc.org.

Other Business
Baronial Policy
Realized a policy review would be A Good Idea when reviewing it to make some needed changes.
Asking for one volunteer, someone not in a position related to policy to help with policy review. We have one volunteer already, Ceindrech verch Elidir.and Pavel volunteered to help.

Mistress of the Lists
One Letter received, from Baroness Anna Eisenkopf. Baroness Anna selected to replace Baroness Elizabeth. THANK YOU to Baroness Elizabeth for her service.

Chatelaine
One Letter received, from Lady Elizabeth Parker. Lady Libby selected to replace Lady Edana. THANK YOU to Lady Edana for her service.