Meeting Minutes - June 2006

Present:  Gavin, Brilliana, Vittelio, Vettoria, Kudrun, Maewyn, Valgarth, Ahlwin, Ariella

Meeting "oyezed" to order at 2:57 pm.

Officer reports

Arts & Sciences

• Good turnout at last week's A&S night, including the folks from MacGregor, IA.
• Another general "bring something to work on" A&S night coming up this Thursday (June 22nd).
• We may do "theme" A&S moots once in awhile.

Chiurgeon

• Will be assisting with the Chiurgeonate at Warlords and Warriors next month.

Exchequer

• Checks written for shade canopies, misc. other Shire purchases, and receipts were handed in for other items.
• Vettoria asks that folks with receipts email her before the meeting so that she can print checks straight from the account, rather than doing things manually.
• Financial picture as follows:

Herald

• Helped Maweyn work on getting his name passable.
• Contacted the higher-ups regarding the passability of her own name and device, and things are looking pretty good on that front.

Marshal of Fence

• Practice will be held every other Sunday and Tuesday evenings at 5:30 Myrick Park.
• The list field is ready to go.

Thrown Weapons Marshal

• Practice last Thursday night went well. It did rain (per usual), but only during dinner. (Joke about outsmarting the weather.)
• Due to Warlords and Warriors event opening the same weekend as the first July TW practice, the next practice will be held on the fifth Thursday in June (the 29th).
• Their Majesties have decided to choose Their thrown weapons Champion at Warlords and Warriors (WW).
• Maewyn is running the thrown weapons event at WW. If anyone is interested, the next thrown weapons practice can be used to prep for that competition.
• Valgarth asked whether anyone knows of an archery practice site in the vicinity that doesn't charge admission. Trempeleau County Fairgrounds is an option, provided that no one else is using that section of the grounds at the time. (Joke about firing a few flaming arrows over their heads to convice them to leave the area to us.) Ahlwin's land is a possiblity. Ahlwin will talk to his sister (whose land is more suitable) and follow up offline.

Webminister

• Quarterly report (due July 1st) will be submitted in the next couple of days.

New business

Autumn Rose

• Ahlwin received an email from Drayson, who wants to blacksmith, provided that his demonstrations will not be overlapping with someone else's. This probably won't even be an issue, as we don't have confirmation from the blacksmith who often works at A.R.
• There was a long discussion of whether or not to authorize a donation to the Kingdom, which included some of the following points:
  • The Kingdom was reportedly in the red last year.
  • The initial amount proposed ($500) would be equal to that donated by baronies. This would look very good, and possibly encourage more donations.
  • The Shire does have fixed expenses (storage space, web hosting, P.O. Box, etc.) of around $400 annually. If we had a couple money-losing events in a row, it could make it difficult to fund an event without the funds that are usually due up front.
  • In addition to the possibility of money losing events, we need to keep in mind the possibility of unforseen cuts into our funds (e.g. the Trempeleau Fairgrounds increasing their rates, or the loss of the Taylor Community Center's availability for events.)
  • It might be a good idea to base donation on A.R. receipts. rather than to set an arbitrary donation now.
  • More discussion will follow at July and possibly August meetings.
• Their Highnesses will attend A.R.; Ahlwin will do double-duty as both Autocrat and Royalty Liason.
• Bronislava is contacting Lord Lyulf of Silfren Mere to ask him to Marshal heavy fighting; Alhwin is contacting Lord Janvier to ask him to do the same for rapier.
• Brilliana suggested that the A.R. site token be a square of leather on a leather thong. [insert evil chuckles all around, followed by "Not THAT kind of thong!!" from Brilliana.] Okay, they're officially called "lacings" from here on out... Stamped pattern on the square would be preferable to burned-in ones b/c burning leather smells awful. Beads and or ribbon could be used to distinguish site vs. feast. Brilliana was authorized to "research" further, presumably at Hobby Lobby.
• Gavin agreed to be the Toilet Paper Czar for the event, making sure that the bathrooms are adequately stocked.
• We need someone for garbage detail, particularly in the mornings and before and after Feast.
• Gavin reminded everyone that he is camping in the Chiurgeon's building as always. So we shouldn't have any excuse for not finding him for middle of the night emergencies.
• Vettoria volunteered to be Volunteer Coordinator.
• Radios will go to the Autocrats, Feastocrat, by the Equestrian area, to Security, Chiurgeon, and the Volunteer Coordinator.
• Ahlwin was fairly certain that Arnora has not contacted the Lions regarding renting their kitchen. Arnora and Vettoria need to square this away soon so that the Lions have their deposit on the building.
• Camping will be divided into "Early Bird" and "Night Owl" sections. Vittellio suggested the spray paint made for grass that would be useful for marking off other areas as well, and will wash out in the next rain. Signage will also be needed.
• Brilliana proposed the idea of a portable firepit for the ambiance of a Bardic Circle. Open flames prohibited under the rafters, but the seating of the sand pit might function just fine. Will check out the area for dangerous bits left over from the car derbies. Tiki torches might also be a good idea.
• Bronislava is contacting performers. T-Bones has not been lined up to provide lunch yet.
• The raffle license may still be valid, as it arrived late last year. Merchant donation will still be a raffle item. Shire members are encouraged to donate something besides books, as there was an overabundance of them last year.
• It is unknown at this point whether Amie and Dave are still planning to head up Security. Since Rhuadhan was good enough to take care of it for Tournament of Champions, the Autocrats will enquire as to whether he wishes to further hone his skills at A.R.
• Bronislava will be the merchant contact again this year, and will also run Troll.
• As yet, the manure-spreader for the Equestrian area has not been lined up. Ditto hay bales. We may be able to borrow a power-washer from Ahlwin's brother.
• Wed. night before the event is for site cleanup. Thursday night is for further cleanup. The site will be open to Shire members only during these times.

Other business

• Sunday, July 16th, doesn't work for the schedules of a number of Shire members. Also, the Trempeleau County Fair's last day is the 23rd. So by general consensus, meeting date was moved to the 23rd so that we can leaflet for Autumn Rose and patronize the milkshake stand. Meet at 1pm in garb under the tree in front of the blue building. Actual meeting to be held at Kudrun's house Bring something to throw on the grill and/or a dish to pass.
• Arnora was not present, but Ahlwin reported tht she has concluded that she cannot keep up with producing The White Birch, and would prefer to pass that on to someone else.
• It was pointed out that some members prefer a paper-based version of the newsletter.
• Ariella volunteered to take over the job, on the grounds that things like the meeting minutes and officers list were usually copied straight out of the online version anyhow. Those present voted to transition the office, with one nay vote.

Meeting was called to a close at 4:40 p.m.

Page last updated:  29 June 2006