Highlights of the January Board of Directors Meeting

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Reposted from The East Kingdom Gazette:

These updates have been gleaned from Kelly Magill’s updates posted on the Society Seneschal’s web page. You can view the originals by starting with this link: January 2016 Board Meeting Updates

These are not official minutes of the meeting, and should be treated as unofficial until any changes involved are announced from more formal sources.

Highlights, selected for relevance to the East:

  • Mr. Richard Sherman from Hawaii is our new Director Elect. Mr. Sherman is known in the Society as THL William Walworth de Durham, from the Kingdom of Caid. You can view his full biography here: Board Member Biographies
  • The Board of Directors is still seeking applicants for the position of President of SCA, Inc. Details on the position can be found here: SCA President Job Posting
  • Several Marshal Handbooks have been updated. Updates should be posted on-line by the relevant officers in due course. [Editor’s note: it’s not clear if these are the handbooks mentioned later, or in addition to those.]
  •  A communications proposal was submitted by the Society Publications Director. After discussion, the Board has decided to table it “for more work and for more strategic planning for the future of communications.”

Director Chele Martines, the Board Ombudsman for Publications,  offered the following statement: “We would like to thank Gloria and her team for their work on the communication proposal. Gloria’s vision for moving SCA communications into the 21st-century is inspiring. We are currently evaluating SCA.org and how we can improve the site and incorporate many of the items listed in Gloria’s proposal. We look forward to working with her and her team on this endeavor.”

  • The Board has decided to allow electronic newsletter access for people with family memberships as well as the primary member.
  • Event Module – “We are close to do the final stages of testing. Request will go out for testing pool help via the Kingdoms Seneschals shortly. It’s hopeful that it will be up and running in early spring.” [Editor’s note: we believe this refers to a plan discussed at the Q4 2015 Board meeting to create a system for pre-registering via the SCA’s own web site. See Director Andrew Coleman’s comments, quoted in this report on that meeting, under the Paypal Acceptance discussion: Aethelmearc Gazette reports on the Oct. 2015 Board Meeting]
  • The Board has identified a Canadian company to handle Canadian Background checks. Final vetting is expected to be completed with the next 15 business days, after which more details will be announced.
  • A new Seige Engines handbook was presented and has been approved.
  • A revision to the Youth Combat Handbook was presents and approved by the Board.
  • Potential Rate Change Proposal – “With the increasing costs of services, IT infrastructure and insurance for SCA Inc  to run, a proposal has been put forth.  Discussions are happening as to how to implement. No decision has been made and the topic has been remanded for further discussion and further research. Further communications will be forthcoming as new information is available.”
  • The list of Board Meet and Greet sessions has been updated. Upcoming in 2016 are one at Gulf Wars, one at the 50 Year Celebration, and an initial event still to be determined. One will also be held at Market Day at Birka in Stonemarche in 2017. [Editor’s note: Typically these do not involve the entire Board attending. It is more likely to be two or three representatives, giving the populace a chance to ask questions and raise concerns in an informal setting.]
  • The Board continues to seek additional nominees for Board positions, and commentary up those already under consideration.  The list of nominees is available here: Current Board Nominees
  • future board meeting dates:
    • April 23, 2016 – Milpitas, CA
    • July 16, 2016 – Milpitas, CA
    • October 22, 2016 – Milpitas, CA