4/20/06 Thescorre Business meeting

Matilda, acting interim seneschal
22 Thescorreans present
Cedric & Peregrine’s home

1. Officer Reports
• Chatelaine: Dubheasa mentioned the two recent demos. She thanked those who have donated items to the demo box and asked for more donations.
• Exchequer: We have $1,108.68 in savings and $4,306.86 in checking, Alina reported. (“What do we owe in taxes?” Cedric quipped. “We don’t do that – Corporate handles that,” she replied.) She added that she still needs a deputy, and she is currently working on the quarterly report.
• Archery: Practice will resume in two weeks at RIT, Cedric announced.

• Youth Fighting: We’ve had three practices in the past month, and I know of at least three youth fighters who plan to compete in the champions tourney at Coronation, Mairghread said.
• Chronicler: Mairghread plans to talk more with Steffan about requesting a copy of Microsoft Publisher for the Fewmet. She noted that there was a paperwork issue, and that she had not been officially the chronicler until recently when she resent a copy of her membership card to the kingdom. She is seeking youth artwork for a fall issue of the Fewmet.
• Web: Donal asked to be reimbursed for the cost of switching over the Barony’s webhost to GoDaddy. He said that the transfer was done and he thought it was faster than the old webhost. He has not heard any complaints about the new service; please let him know if anyone notices a problem. Sorcha noted that Carlo has taken over support of the Threadworkers Guild webpage, and she’s very grateful for the help! Carlo described the webpage, noting that it has a “weave us a message” function (thanks to Donal’s help), a schedule of upcoming meetings, and links. There is much more to come, he added.

<Additions/Corrections from Carlo: “I've asked Matilda to go back and look for meeting notes that have been posted to the list in the past for inclusion in our "Gatherings and Loose Ends" page. So far, we have notes from the most recent meeting only, which she wrote upon my request. We also hope to start adding pictures of our meetings at some point in the future. The page for cross-stitch patterns and the one for period clothing patterns don't have any patterns yet. Sorcha is still converting cross-stitch patterns, and I haven't started making an electronic version of my braies pattern yet. I plan to. Because we're still working on getting those things together, the pages are up but "under construction". We don't have a sewing tips page at all yet, though I eventually hope to have one. We do, however, have the links page that was mentioned, and I will be adding more links to it over time. We also do have the mentioned schedule page up and running, which will be routinely updated as info becomes available. Also, for those who haven't heard (I never said anything during my report), if you stop by the Threadworkers site, scroll down to the bottom of the main page and point your cursor at each of the three ravens flying above the shield. ;-) >

• Chirurgeon: Phillipe is inventorying the first aid kit, and expects to request some funds soon for supplies. He is considering ordering flexible ice packs in bulk from a certain website for $20, since tends to use those the most of all the supplies. Donations for the first aid kit are welcome.
• Heavy Weapons: We’ve had up to 14 people at practice, Spyke said, since the youth fighting brings in parents as well. There have not been any major injuries; “Things have been going great!” He apologized and offered a receipt for the last of the armor request, which is a few months late.
• Herald: No news, reported Matilda. She is going to Coronation to announce Their Excellencies in their second-to-last time in Court as Baron & Baroness of Thescorre.
• Threadworkers: The guild will meet the first Sunday in May at 3 p.m. at Orianna’s for a workday. There will be lots of room for tables and machines, and people to help with hemming, pinning, etc., so come out and bring your projects!
• Dance: Western dance will be next Wednesday at the Adams Street Center, Peregrine announced. Drum & Dance will be tomorrow at Dubheasa’s, since Adams Street is closed this week. We picked up a new drummer from the Morris Dancers, Carlo noted. He and Juliana have been drumming for the Morris Dancers on Monday nights at the Center, so they got one of the dancers interested in drumming for us!
• Scribal: Nothing new is going on, Collette said. We meet on the first Wednesday at Pleasance’s and the fourth Tuesday at Adam Street.
• Cauldron Bleu: Nothing new, didn’t meet this month, will meet next month. (Katja)
• Thrown Weapons: Practice will officially go off hiatus this Sunday at Alison and Timothy’s at 2:30 pm.
• Baron & Baroness: Nothing to report, from either the current ones (“Not dead yet!” said Cedric) or the imminent ones. Actually, Peregrine noted, she’s collecting items for the gift baskets for Coronation.

1. Pax 30/Baronial Investiture Bid

Orianna and Alison fell in love with a great site: Genesee Country Campground in Caledonia. It’s hosted reenactment and historical group events before, and the owners are very nice and enthusiastic. Orianna cautioned folks NOT to follow the directions on the campground’s website “or you WILL get lost. Follow the directions we give you.” Some of the details are:

• Date of the event: July 7 to 9
• Site cost is $700 for the whole weekend, which includes the field, the large wooden pavilion all day, and 2 porta-privies on the field for our use. Orianna estimates a $400 profit from the event if we get 100 adults and 30 children. We would need 50 adult campers and 50 adult daytrippers to break even.

<Update from Orianna: I was caught at the meeting without this information to hand. Minimally, we need 140 day trippers to break even, or some combination of day trippers and campers.>

• There is no lunch planned, but there would be dinner; Orianna and Alison are talking to potential cooks now.

<Update: Cadifor & Ruairidhi have agreed to cook the feast!>

• Site fees are $5 for adults, half-price for kids aged six to 16, free for children aged five and under.
• Feast fees are also $5 for adults, half price for six to 16, free to those five and younger.
• The site has a huge field for our event that is mostly flat and accessible to the handicapped. We would ring the field with our tents, so campers wouldn’t have far to walk to and from the activities.
• New bathrooms with showers and toilets!
• Separate entrance to the field so that we don’t have to enter/leave through the rest of the campground, which would be open to modern folk.
• There is a huge wooden pavilion structure with a raised dais for our Courts, including a large open area for Court seating, and a kitchen area with a large griddle. There are 60’s diner-style table/booths with benches.
• There is also a game room, and a camp store, and a golf course is part of the campground. The Museum is within easy driving distance.
• There are no standing bodies of water nearby, so there shouldn’t be a lot of flies…
• Very quiet site; no highway noise!
• The campground offers a Sunday breakfast at $4 per adult, $2 per child.
• The bid passed with a 22-moo vote (22-0-0). [Yes, Matilda resurrected the moos/meows method of voting! <grin>

1. Miscellaneous
• Orianna is still collecting donations for Cedric & Peregrine’s coronets fund.
• Everyone needs to think about April 2007, she added. Yes, April 2007. That’s when Spamalot will come to the Auditorium Theater, and she thinks the Barony to go to it in force in period clothing!
• Katja gleefully explained why a Beanie Baby raven was being passed around to each officer as he or she gave reports. The stuffed animal was the “talking bird” she used for meetings when she was seneschale, and Matilda was the first one in a long time to resurrect the practice