Broadside of a Board Vol II No. 4

["Flieg Hollander" <flieg@garnet.berkeley.edu>]

This issue of Broadside of a Board (Volume II No. 4)
has been posted to rec.org.sca and to mailing lists
west, east, middle, calontir, antir, caid, atlantia, ansteorra.
Permission to cross-post to other venues is speficically granted.
Permission to print hardcopy and distribute it freely is specifically
granted.  Discussion and feedback are welcomed.
----------------------------------
Broadside of a Board Vol. II - No. 4
Beltane Coronation Special Edition

Board Meeting Results
         The Board of Directors meeting was held April 8
in Seattle. All directors were present.  The meeting was
scheduled for 9:00 and finally started about 10:00.  There
were about 60 non-Board people in attendance.
         This reports from the Board Meeting are compiled
from reports by those who were there. This reporter was
unable to attend.

West Kingdom "buy-out" accepted.
         As noted in the last Broadside, the West Kingdom
proposed to pay the Board Tax (also known as the "non-
member surcharge") in quarterly lump sums from the
Kingdom Treasury rather than by intrusive collections at
each and every event.  After some negotiation at the
meeting by Valgard Stonecleaver, Jarl, who had been
empowered by His Majesty Fabian to act on his behalf, the
Board accepted the plan. Mistress Sedalia, the Society
Seneschale, notes in her report of the meeting that the
West Kingdom is currently paid through June 30.
         In the report on the non-member surcharge, low
rates of compliance in some Kingdoms were noted.
Broadside of a Board says, "Hooray". We also note from
Sedalia's report that the West Kingdom is supposed to
report the number of non-members who attend events.
Broadside of a Board says, "Pfui" and asks, "Why?"
         Broadside of a Board wishes to remind everyone,
including Mistress Sedalia, that events at which the cost of
attending is a "suggested donation" are NOT subject to the
Board Tax, by the Board's own ruling.

Transitions
         Eilis O'Boirne (Lee Forgue) and Erik of Telemark
(Ed Kreyling) were confirmed as Directors following their
probationary period. Randall the Dark (Randal Tatro)
retired from the Board effective at the end of the meeting.
John Bearkillier (John Fulton) was elected as the new
Chairman of the Board. 
         Information after the meeting was that Melisande
de Belvoir, from Atlantia, was elected to replace Randall
and has accepted the appointment. Melisande's first
meeting will be the July meeting of the Board in Pitts-
burgh, PA. In addition, the various terms of the Directors
were defined, labeled and regularized.

Board Minutes Published Again!
         Board Minutes will once again be available by
subscription in July, the price will be announced, but will
be on the order of $10 per year.  A back issue for the
Minutes of the last year will be available.  Details to come;
there will be new membership forms published soon with
a space to order the Minutes.
!Grand Council members Approved -- with a delay.
     At the Board meeting a list of additional members
for the Grand Council was presented to the Board.  The
Board did not at that time approve the list, saying that
they wanted more information, not just a list of names.
     (Information from other sources indicates that A.J.
Riviezzo had not understood the fact that the list had been
a committee action, but thought that one person on the
Grand Council, Tibor of Rock Valley, was the only person
processing the nominations.  This was cleared up to the
satisfaction of both parties.)
     In a phone meeting on 24 April, having received
additional information on the nominees, the Board
approved the additional members of the Grand Council as
presented by the committee, with no changes.

Upcoming Meetings
     July 22,1995 -- Deadline for comments is 30 June. 
Location to be decided at the April Meeting.
     Further down the road, meetings are scheduled for
October 21, 1995 and  January 20, 1996.

NEW WAIVER TEXT!
     A new waiver text was presented by the Waiver
Committee and has been sent out to Kingdom Seneschales
and Royalty for comment. Broadside of a Board has gotten
access to the complete text and copies of the new waiver
and the accompanying report are available at the B.C.
Information Table. (Those who read this on the nets,
copies are being posted to rec.org.sca on 1 May.) Other-
wise, ask for a copy from the Kingdom Seneschal.
     The Committee did not attempt to create a
universal waiver, but rather one that could be used in the
U.S.A. Parts of Kingdoms which exist in other countries,
especially Europe and Australia, will have to develop their
own waiver texts.
     Broadside of a Board has looked at the new text
and we are greatly reassured. The wording emphasizes the
voluntary nature of the activities and the assumption of
personal risk.  The dread word "indemnify" appears only
once. The committee did not adress the question of why
indemnification was a necessary part of the waiver. You
might want to write and ask them.
     The fact that the Board sent the wording out for
further commentary rather than just enacting it is also
encouraging, as it shows an openness to commentary
(albeit only a little) which has long been absent.
     Broadside of a Board encourages you to get a copy
of the waiver text and show it to your health insurer and
ask for an opinion on it. If the opinion is negative, get it
in writing and send it to the Board and the Committee.
The Committee wants sustantive commentary.
!Branch Fiscal Policy Enacted
         The new Branch Fiscal Policy was enacted by the
Board and will go fully into effect in January 1996. Local
branches should contact the Kingdom Exchequer about
compliance and possible waivers. As written it is possible
to get waivers for almost any provision of the policy as
long as fiscal responsibilty is maintained.
         However, the Board did not establish any fiscal
policies for itself.  It should be encouraged to do so.

What the Board didn't do.
         There was no official review of the Budget and the
Board Tax at the April meeting. We have received infor-
mation that this will be brought up at the July Board
Meeting.  Now is the time to write and make sure that the
Board Tax is temporary and does not become status quo.

A Matter of Balance
         In our last issue we reported on the West King-
dom buy-out on the Board Tax. We reported what had
been told to us by the King and Exchequer of the West
concerning the proposal and events at Estrella War with
respect to the negotiations. We discovered that Mr. A.J.
Riviezzo was upset at some of our commentary. In a brief
conversation with him we discovered that he had not
received papers from King Fabian at Estrella War. In a
follow-up call to His Majesty, this was confirmed. In fact
the papers were delivered at a later date, and acted on at
the Board Meeting as has been reported.
         During our conversation with A.J., he commented
that we ought to "double check our sources" as a reputable
newspaper. 
         It is clear that A.J. is confused on matters other
than those of the Budget.  He is under the impression that
Broadside of a Board is a newspaper. 
         Broadside of a Board is not, nor has it ever
pretended to be, a totally unbiased presenter of facts. The
editor and publisher do attempt to separate fact from
opinion, and to ascertain the facts where relevant. 
         We have looked over our writings in the March
Crown Broadside. The facts that we published therein were
precisely as we stated. We do not retract any of them.
Given what we knew at the time, we feel that our editorial
opinions, which were clearly marked, were moderate and
relevant. We have presented this editorial comment in the
interest of fairness but we do not apologize.

Editorial Opinion 
         The decision on the West Kingdom "buy-out"
clearly establishes that the Board Tax is just that, a tax on
the Kingdoms of the Known World. Now is the time to let
the Board know that using such a tax to "balance the
budget" (build up a surplus) is not acceptable.
         Broadside of a Board has been clear on its policy
on this matter. We feel that the SCA, Inc. has no right to
impose mandatory fees (Board Tax) on the populace or
the Kingdoms of the Known World. We also feel that
funding the subscription liability should be a priority for
the Board of Directors. We suggest you to write to the
Board, urging them to cut costs to the bone, urging them
to establish Board-level fiscal policies which will prevent
future problems, and urging them to repeal the Board Tax.

I can't do it alone.
     Several times in the last few months, people have
come up to me and said something like: "We're really glad
that you're out there taking care of this."
     I can't do it by myself, guys!  If you're reading this
and you agree with what I am saying, you have to do
something yourself. You have to sit down and write that
letter to the Board that you have been putting off for so
long. You have to get active and comment on the pro-
posed nominees for the Board (published in the newsletter
this last April). You have to talk to the autocrat and
encourage them to hold the event as "suggested donation"
so that it will not be subject to the Board Tax, you have to
talk to Kings and Princes and encourage them and support
them in defying the Board when it gets antsy. You have to
write your own commentary on the new waiver text. You
have to help.
     I will be out here shouting for as long as my voice
and energy last. I have a lot of both.  But one voice is one
voice and the Board can ignore it. Together we can be
powerful.

Budget matters
     Last Issue I published a list of questions about the
SCA, Inc. Budget.  None of them were addressed at the
April Meeting. I have been assured that the Budget will be
reviewed at the July meeting. I'm going to send a copy of
that column to the Board.  You should, too.

West Kingdom ombudsman
     The West Kingdom ombudsman is: L. Jane
Richards, 2925 South 7th St. West, Missoula, MT, 59801
(406) 721-9658.

Where to write: 
     SCA Office: SCA, Inc., P.O. Box 360789, Milpitas,
CA, 95036-0789. (If you are writing to the Board you can
send your letter here. If you write to individual Directors
or to the Waiver Committee, please send a copy to the
SCA Office with a clear indication of which Directors need
not be copied. This is also the address for the Stock
Clerk.)

Broadside of a Board is an occasional publication of news and 
opinions on matters concerning the Board of Directors of the SCA, Inc. 
and its various Kingdoms. All opinions contained herein are 
those of the authors. Unattributed commentary and news was
 written by the publisher. The publisher is Frederick of Holland, 
(Flieg Hollander), 3334 California Street, Berkeley, CA 94703. 
(510) 653-3652  e-address:flieg@garnet.berkeley.edu
This issue is Volume II, No. 4. The next issue is scheduled 
for June Crown Tourney.

   *   *   *    Frederick of Holland, MSCA, OP, etc.
  *** *** ***   flieg@garnet.berkeley.edu
  _|___|___|_
 |===========|
  (((Flieg Hollander, Chem. Dept., U.C. Berkeley)))
 ================== Old Used Duke  =================
        [All subjects of the Crown are equal under its protection
          and no Corporation is going to convince me otherwise.]