Award-Recomend-art

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Award-Recomend-art - 11/24/17

"It Was Long Overdue" by Meister Konrad Mailander.

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NOTICE -

This article was added to this set of files, called Stefan's Florilegium, with the permission of the author.

These files are available on the Internet at: http://www.florilegium.org

While the author will likely give permission for this work to be reprinted in SCA type publications, please check with the author first or check for any permissions granted at the end of this file.

Thank you,

Mark S. Harris...AKA:..Stefan li Rous

stefan at florilegium.org

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Note that this article was originally written with the Middle Kingdom in mind and some things may vary in your own kingdom.

It Was Long Overdue

By Meister Konrad Mailander

"It was long overdue," "The Crown has finally recognized...", "It's about time," or similar words are spoken after almost every Kingdom Court in every Kingdom in the Society. Many members of the populace speak these statements after Courts and the implication is often that it was the (previous) Crowns' fault that this person did not get recognized in a timely fashion. It is not. It is yours and mine. If you think that someone deserves an award or honor and have not written a recommendation to the Crown, during this reign, then you are part of the problem.

The Crown does not see all and know all (and we are glad for that). They need the input of the populace when deciding to give the great majority of awards during their reign. It is the responsibility of all to inform the Crown of the good works of other members of the Society.

How our system of awards works is the Crown makes the decision of who gets an award but they look to input from their people in making these decisions. This is especially true for areas far from where they live and the lower level awards. A King and Queen who live in Western Pentamere do not personally know everyone if any who deserves Awards of Arms in the Barony of the Flame for example. If deserving people from the Flame get overlooked when the Crown comes to their event, it is probably that they did not receive recommendations, or receive them in time.

So how do I make an award recommendation? It is very easy to make a recommendation. You just have to fill out an online form on the Midrealm Website that guides you through making the recommendation. At the very least you need to know the person's SCA name, the award you are recommending them for, a description of why you think they deserve the award, and what events they are likely to attend. The events should be ones that the Crown is going to have a Court at. If the Crown is not going to be at the event then awards are not going to be given there. The easiest way for the Crown to search the database is by event and they tend to choose the events they are going to. It helps to have the other information asked. I also include notes after writing the support. If the person being recommended has a specific persona, registered arms, are part of a household, there is someone who would like to make their scroll, etc. then I include that information at the end of the recommendation.

When should I make a recommendation? Anytime. Recommendations should be made at least a month in advance of an event to have a good chance of being given at that event. The online form will only show events over a month out from the current date for this reason. The Crown has to plan their Court list then send it to the signets in time for scroll assignments to be made and finished. If you have less time before the event do not let that stop you from writing the recommendation, just be aware that there is a chance that you got it in too late for that specific event. It is really best to write recommendations as you think of them. You can always update them later when you find out what events they are going to.

What if you don't know what award to recommend them for? First check the Order of Precedence for the Barony and Kingdom to see what if anything they already have. The online form gives a brief description for each award when it is chosen so you can just select each you might be considering and see what it says. Your local herald and seneschal are good people to ask about awards as well as local Peers or Territorial Baron and Baroness. Also people who you know that already have an award are often a good source of information on the requirements for the award or order.

But I'm not a member of the Order of the Widget; I can't recommend someone for it, can I? Anyone can recommend someone for any award. Let me repeat that; ANYONE can recommend someone for ANY award. You do not need to have the award in question or even an AoA to make a recommendation. Now if you are brand new and recommend someone for an award don't be surprised if they don't get it at next month's event. If the Crown gets numerous award recommendations for the person yours will add weight to their decisions or they may go to the members of the Order and ask their opinion on the person recommended. (I have seen this happen a few times with the Red Company where the Crown brings to the Order the names recommended from people outside Order and asks their opinion.) If you know someone who already has the award you are thinking about ask them what they think.

They are in my household (or real family) should I recommend them? Yes, if they deserve it. The big problem with the SCA's award structure is the people who know that a person deserves an award do not write recommendations. Who knows a person better than their close friends and family? When I write a recommendation for someone that I have a relationship with I do note it so the Crown is aware of my potential bias and can get another opinion if they want.

Should I share my recommendations? This is a matter of personal preference. It often helps if there is more than one award recommendation for a person for an award, especially as the awards increase in precedence or prestige. The Baron and Baroness are good people to share your award recommendations with; it is their job to advise the Crown after all. People who already have the award or a similar award again are good resources. It is part of a Peers responsibility to advise the Crown so local Peers are another option as is anyone else that knows the person being recommended and you trust. If you do share your recommendations make sure to give the people you share them with enough time to write their own before an upcoming event. The one person you should not share it with is the person you are recommending. If they do not get the award when have come to expect one it may cause hard feelings on their part, and their enjoyment of the SCA is diminished.

They did not get the award at the event I recommended them for what do I do now?

You can always go back into the award recommendation and update it, improve your support with the new things they have done and add more events they are going to. There are a lot of reasons that it may not have been given. Each Crown will have their own personal requirements they are looking for with each award, it may not have gotten in on time, and they may have had to make decisions to keep the Court to a reasonable length.

It is every member's responsibility to make recommendations to the Crown. It is the Crown's right and duty to reward those they find worthy. If they do not know of the deeds of a worthy gentle it is not their fault that they do not recognize these deeds, it is the fault of those that knew and did not write recommendations. If you finding yourself saying or thinking, "It was long overdue," it should be a reminder that you have not been doing your part in the system lately.

Midrealm Award Recommendations:

http://www.midrealm.org/op/recommend/

Middle Kingdom Order of Precedence:

http://www.midrealm.org/op/

Awards of the Middle Kingdom:

http://www.midrealm.org/heraldry/awards.php

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Copyright 2017 by Dale Niederhauser. <konrad at midrealm.org>. Permission is granted for republication in SCA-related publications, provided the author is credited. Addresses change, but a reasonable attempt should be made to ensure that the author is notified of the publication and if possible receives a copy.

If this article is reprinted in a publication, please place a notice in the publication that you found this article in the Florilegium. I would also appreciate an email to myself, so that I can track which articles are being reprinted. Thanks. -Stefan.