What are your intentions for the long term of the barony? where do you see the barony going in the next 1yr, 3yr, 6yr?
Mark Gwenllian says: For the first year, we see the Barony getting used to new people wearing the coronets. We intend to make that transition as smooth as possible by asking for advice from the respected members of the Barony, Peers and former Baronage.
For future years, we would like to see the Barony continue to grow and thrive. We would like to see new people joining, taking offices, bringing more new people and helping run events. We would like to see increased participation from people in other areas of the Barony that are too far to make it to regular meetings by rotating meetings to other areas or trying to figure out a way to include them by way of technology. Ultimately, we would like to see the Barony be in a good position to host a Kingdom level event without burning out the same people who are always there running things.
We would like to see the practices grow and become places people out of Barony talk about and want to come to.
We would like to continue the current demos that lots of members really enjoy doing. We would also like to see some demos that include more diverse activities including fighting, fencing, archery, and all the other great things this Barony has to offer.
We also want to know where the members of the Barony want it to go. For that, we are willing to listen to suggestions and be advocates in meetings for good ideas.
Sisuile Rumhann says: In the year following this election, we anticipate the changes that new leadership will bring – having a new baron & baroness always shifts group dynamics. BBM is such a diverse barony, we look forward to seeing and working with all corners of the state. All the candidates likely have different interests and/or emphases than Dorian and Eloise, and that will probably shift the most visible representatives of the barony. Nonetheless, we hope to represent the Barony Beyond the Mountain here, within the East, and the Known World. It will be a busy year, as we will hold three events in three months (and four in six next year), and we hope the barony avoids burnout of our membership by having people other than the usual suspects step up to run aspects of events.
In three years, we would like to see;
1) A more noticeable effort to work on our recruitment with a younger demographic. Many organizations lately are using online venues as their main recruitment focus. However, Societal recruitment is not just about social media and the new world – it is also about making connections in real time, in real places, which people then follow up with online. To this effect, we hope to be tracking and helping the chronicler publish the public lectures and colloquia from UConn, EConn, UHart, & CCSU on relevant subjects, and having a presence at as many as we can. We would also like to have public gatherings and practices at parks in garb, where people can see us and interact with us when it’s not necessarily a demo. We would like to raise our general visibility level – it will take careful management, but it can be done.
2) We would like to see more baronial events, and that seems to be happening! Yule and Maifest/Summer Solstice Shoot not seem to be enough for a barony of our weight and precedence. Artifacts of a Life adds leavening, but only biannually. However, with the additions of Hrim Schola and Golden Seamstress, we may be at both capacity and weight. Occasionally, when the schedules align, we would like to see BBM host kingdom events such as Crown, Coronation, and/or Royal Championships. But to maintain this, we need to step it up, both in finding event sites, and in people running things. So we also need:
3) An organized effort to engage our membership to train people in running events and aspects of events. There are a number of marshals in the barony, several of whom could run tournaments if they were asked and/or if someone walked them through it once. There are folks who can run gate, or a dayboard, or set up, or clean up, as long as they also are a) asked & b) have someone they can work with the first time. We believe that there is a responsibility to pass along our knowledge so that the group as a whole benefits, and to encourage those who may be shy, or who feel they can’t just jump in.
In six years, we will be ramping up to do this process again. Hopefully, it will be with a thriving, active barony, pulling its weight in the kingdom, and with the membership engaged and having fun. We hope there will again be several sets of people who step up to lead BBM and that they are persons of honor, integrity, and foresight to continue leading BBM as one of the foremost Baronies of the East.
In order to see where we are going, we must first have a plan on how to get there. In order to succeed we need to understand what the barony needs. To achieve that we must have growth and the happiness of the populace. The growth can be accomplished by assuring that the needs of the populace in all corners of BBM are heard and are met within the means of what the society can accomplish.
Some things that we have heard from different people from the populace are;
*Having meetings and events throughout the barony, and not just in the center
*Having more activities throughout the barony that meet the interests of the populace. (ie. monthly A&S workshops, martial practices, etc.)
*Using the potential of social media to advertise local events to the non-SCA populace to come and discover us.
*We would like to establish a Youth Order in the barony in a way that encourages our youth to try different things of the SCA and experience all the aspects of what the SCA has to offer. Whether it is A&S, Service, or Martial.
It closing, we would like the populace within the barony to feel more enthusiasm in playing with their barony which is there home and family.
We are listening and we do hear you.
In order to see where we are going, we must first have a plan on how to get there. In order to succeed we need to understand what the barony needs. To achieve that we must have growth and the happiness of the populace. The growth can be accomplished by assuring that the needs of the populace in all corners of BBM are heard and are met within the means of what the society can accomplish.
Some things that we have heard from different people from the populace are;
*Having meetings and events throughout the barony, and not just in the center
*Having more activities throughout the barony that meet the interests of the populace. (ie. monthly A&S workshops, martial practices, etc.)
*Using the potential of social media to advertise local events to the non-SCA populace to come and discover us.
*We would like to establish a Youth Order in the barony in a way that encourages our youth to try different things of the SCA and experience all the aspects of what the SCA has to offer. Whether it is A&S, Service, or Martial.
It closing, we would like the populace within the barony to feel more enthusiasm in playing with their barony which is there home and family.
We are listening and we do hear you.
In the year following this election, we anticipate the changes that new leadership will bring – having a new baron & baroness always shifts group dynamics. BBM is such a diverse barony, we look forward to seeing and working with all corners of the state. All the candidates likely have different interests and/or emphases than Dorian and Eloise, and that will probably shift the most visible representatives of the barony. Nonetheless, we hope to represent the Barony Beyond the Mountain here, within the East, and the Known World. It will be a busy year, as we will hold three events in three months (and four in six next year), and we hope the barony avoids burnout of our membership by having people other than the usual suspects step up to run aspects of events.
In three years, we would like to see;
1) A more noticeable effort to work on our recruitment with a younger demographic. Many organizations lately are using online venues as their main recruitment focus. However, Societal recruitment is not just about social media and the new world – it is also about making connections in real time, in real places, which people then follow up with online. To this effect, we hope to be tracking and helping the chronicler publish the public lectures and colloquia from UConn, EConn, UHart, & CCSU on relevant subjects, and having a presence at as many as we can. We would also like to have public gatherings and practices at parks in garb, where people can see us and interact with us when it’s not necessarily a demo. We would like to raise our general visibility level – it will take careful management, but it can be done.
2) We would like to see more baronial events, and that seems to be happening! Yule and Maifest/Summer Solstice Shoot not seem to be enough for a barony of our weight and precedence. Artifacts of a Life adds leavening, but only biannually. However, with the additions of Hrim Schola and Golden Seamstress, we may be at both capacity and weight. Occasionally, when the schedules align, we would like to see BBM host kingdom events such as Crown, Coronation, and/or Royal Championships. But to maintain this, we need to step it up, both in finding event sites, and in people running things. So we also need:
3) An organized effort to engage our membership to train people in running events and aspects of events. There are a number of marshals in the barony, several of whom could run tournaments if they were asked and/or if someone walked them through it once. There are folks who can run gate, or a dayboard, or set up, or clean up, as long as they also are a) asked & b) have someone they can work with the first time. We believe that there is a responsibility to pass along our knowledge so that the group as a whole benefits, and to encourage those who may be shy, or who feel they can’t just jump in.
In six years, we will be ramping up to do this process again. Hopefully, it will be with a thriving, active barony, pulling its weight in the kingdom, and with the membership engaged and having fun. We hope there will again be several sets of people who step up to lead BBM and that they are persons of honor, integrity, and foresight to continue leading BBM as one of the foremost Baronies of the East.
For the first year, we see the Barony getting used to new people wearing the coronets. We intend to make that transition as smooth as possible by asking for advice from the respected members of the Barony, Peers and former Baronage.
For future years, we would like to see the Barony continue to grow and thrive. We would like to see new people joining, taking offices, bringing more new people and helping run events. We would like to see increased participation from people in other areas of the Barony that are too far to make it to regular meetings by rotating meetings to other areas or trying to figure out a way to include them by way of technology. Ultimately, we would like to see the Barony be in a good position to host a Kingdom level event without burning out the same people who are always there running things.
We would like to see the practices grow and become places people out of Barony talk about and want to come to.
We would like to continue the current demos that lots of members really enjoy doing. We would also like to see some demos that include more diverse activities including fighting, fencing, archery, and all the other great things this Barony has to offer.
We also want to know where the members of the Barony want it to go. For that, we are willing to listen to suggestions and be advocates in meetings for good ideas.