Conall an Doire – Running for Seneschal
John Carpentar – Running for Knights Marshall
Failbe Mac Neil – Running for Chronicler
Magnus-Surtsson – Running for Archery Captain
Hesychia of Ravensbridge – Running for Chatelain
Aloysius Sartore – Running For Seneschal
Sigrida Arnsdottir – Running for Senechal
Sigrida Arnsdottir – Running for Chatelain
Margaret Sevensterre – Running for Herald
Conall an Doire – For Seneschal
(Dave Thurston)
Greetings to all,
While nominations are still open, I find that for those who may not know me I am Conall an Doire and I am running for Ravensbridge Seneschal.
So, you may be wondering why am I running for Seneschal, and what sort of motives I have?
First of all, let me say that I believe that a Seneschal has to place the goodness of the Riding or any other group they are with above their own personal interests. For me any aspiring goals I may have will not be a factor while I am representing our Riding and will not see this as an ego boost to springboard me in the eyes of the anyone.I do believe in the “The needs of the many, outweigh the needs of the few, or the one”What do I mean by that? The group does the work together, the group shares the accolades together. Even if I get recognized for anything I may do, in my mind it is the Riding that does the work, I just help guide us in the right direction.
Several people have already reached out to me about how I would feel on certain topics, and while I do not wish to go over them all in detail, I do encourage the Riding members to reach out to me with their own questions, and I will answer honestly, and respectfully. And I also do encourage my running mates to do so as well. Unlike the modern world situations, we are in a situation right now where we are unable to demo, go to events, or really just get together. However, I do see many avenues for people to continue their paths and showcase their accomplishments.
I will say if I am to be your Seneschal, on Saturdays I will be having open office hours all day for anyone who wishes to chat with me about anything in the Riding, on or off the record.One point I will make clear is this. The Society has made it perfectly clear on its statement on harassment and bullying. I will say the first report I do receive in this regard I will speak to the individuals in private, hear both sides of the situation and come up with a way that we can resolve such issues in-house. However, if the trend continues, I will then reach out to my superiors such as Regional and Kingdom Seneschal, and start formal proceedings, as the SCA Board, and the Kingdom has made clear that there is no time for such things to continue.
So… What are my goals with the riding?
Survive the plague!
Work towards getting back to an event planning after the plague.Keep good relations between all our neighbors at our borders, and offer assistance as needed to see how we can fairly work to support each other. Remember my friends we are not determined by one primary household, nor are we a group of households competing against each other. We are a Riding that came up faster than some other smaller groups out there, we found our wings, and we are only going to grow together.
Thank you for your consideration
Conall an Doire
John Carpentar – For Knights Marshall
(John Osowiecki)
Greetings, Good Gentles. My name is John Carpentar, and I’m running for the office of Knight’s Marshall for the riding of Ravensbridge.
I have a very simple philosophy. Everyone should be able to do what they want to as long as they don’t hurt anyone else. That means everyone who wants to participate in martial activities should be encouraged to do so. When we were able to get together, I was running practices for Heavy List. I am not a great fighter, but I specialize in teaching the basics, which starts with Safety.
I am a warranted Heavy List, archery, and thrown weapons Marshall. I will be adding Combat Archery to the list as soon as we can hold events at which that can happen. I will also be adding Fencing and Youth because I currently don’t have enough Marshallates.
As Knight’s Marshall I will try to encourage people to share my love of two things. These are Martial activities in all their forms and variations, and keeping people safe while doing them. I will make Ravensbridge a place where everyone can fight if they want to, and hopefully increase the Marshallate within our borders so people know to turn to us for help when they want to run Martial activities at their events.
You don’t have to authorize (although I highly encourage it) to be a Marshall. You just have to know the rules and be interested in keeping people safe. You don’t have to fight on the field to come to practices. The various Martial activities can just be a way to get some exercise, build your confidence, and have some fun. And let’s face it, sometimes everyone just needs to hit something with a stick. Why not come learn how to do it safely, and help others to do the same?
I look forward to our mutual journey to kill our friends without ever hurting them.
Failbe Mac Neil – For Chronicler
(Nicholas Jackson)
Onto my beloved Riding of Ravenbridge do I, Failbe Mac Neil, Send warm greetings on these cold, dark days.
As even the rocks know at this point, a plague has taken upon our lands. It has driven us into our homes for the good of the kingdom and kin. An uneasy peace has descended on our battlefields as we unify to fight an invisible foe. However, with the fear of another 100-year war on our hands, we must still connect. For that, I will stay my blade and wet my quill for you instead.
As Chronicler I will seek out good gentles who have taken this unsteady peace to sharpen more than swords and axes. Using the magicks of mirrors, painting of pictures, and beauty of words (written and spoken) I will seek to bring our riding together while apart.
While writing a regular letter for our populace I would also seek lords, ladies, and good gentles all who would share their arts and crafts. To display the overwhelming blood, sweat, and tears that bring forth the beauty and ferocity of the East and of Ravensbridge.
These will include:
Regular Newsletters (and Blog post)
Painting (photography and project demos)
Magick mirror (videos and how-to’s)
A very loud herald (podcast and audio interviews)
And of course… All my love.
That being said, I am but one man. So as Chronicler I will need the best to be my second hand and deputy. Næmr Eriksson has graciously agreed to be my deputy if I am elected chronicler for our great riding.
So let your voices be heard and ballots counted!
In service to the East, the Riding, and the Dream.
Failbe Mac Neill.
Magnus Surtsson – For Archery Captain
(Chris Roy)
As Archery Captain, I’ve trained archers and marshals, made hundreds of arrows and bolts, made dozens of targets, designed shoots and ran archery practices and events. I’d like to continue as Archery Captain to keep bringing archery to Ravensbridge
Hesychia of Ravensbridge – For Chatelain
(Amy Osborne)
Greetings fine populace of Ravensbridge. Over the past two years as chronicler I have had the opportunity to network with folks throughout the Kingdom of the East. Now i seek the seat of Chatelain so that i may greet newcomers, utilize the networking i have learned to get them connected to people who can help them on their path, and continue to grow with our Riding. I look forward to providing information and assistance where needed and cant wait for events to occur again in real life so that we can grow as a riding. I do plan for our Riding to hold an online schola this spring as we will most likely not be in a position to meet in person. Yours In Service –Hesychia of Ravensbridge
Aloysius Sartore – For Seneschal
(Stacy Morang)
Hi, I’m Aloysius, modernly known as Stacy, and I’m running for Senechal of the Riding. I’ve been working as a deputy for Morty for a few years now, and I want to continue moving us forward – both through the current pandemic, and onward. I think we have great opportunities to work with our neighbors all around – from our parent Malagentia, to the Shire of Hadchester, and even up to the Canton of Wyndriche. Between Hadchester, Wyndriche and ourselves, we cover a good bit of really nice territory, there’s got to be some opportunity there to collaborate on events and practices.
I’m thrilled we have a good slate of candidates for leadership, keeping a group going takes some work from all of us, and I’d like to include as many as we can, even those that don’t choose to be officers. Stay safe out there, so when it’s time to get back together in person we can all give good cheer and companionship, good competition and challenge, and enjoy our hobby.
Sigrida Arnsdottir – for Senechal
(Sara Roy)
Greetings Ravensbridge. My name is Sigrida Arnsdottir and I am running for Senechal. I am running for this office because I feel it is time to challenge myself again in a new leadership role. I have been a part of building Ravensbridge since the very beginning , when it was just an idea. I have a good sense of the direction Ravensbrige would like to go as a group and I think I am the person for the job. I am someone who listens, takes action, likes to be proactive and is very good at organizing and planning. In my previous experience as Chatelaine I created new events , the Great Falls Balloon Festival, Spring Schola and ran GNE. This experience I believe is the building blocks to making Ravensbridge all we want it to be.
Sigrida Arnsdottir – for Chatelaine
(Sara Roy)
Greetings Ravensbridge. My name is Sigrida Arnsdottir and I am running for Chatelaine. I have been Chatelaine for the last 4 years and have truly enjoyed the experience. I have been able to build successful events such as The Great Falls Balloon Festival and the Spring Schola. Both events have brought in new memberships and grown or populace. I am very pleased that these events have piqued the interest of the public in our group. I have enjoyed going to Pennsic and meeting other Chatelaines from across the country to gain their insights and ideas about how they do their jobs. I believe we can integrate some of their ideas to make this office better. In the future when we get up and running again I look forward to running the annual events again and creating new ways to bring in new people.
Margaret Sevensterre – For Herald
(Mara Osowiecki)
Greetings and well wishes to the Riding of Ravensbridge! I am Margaret Sevensterre, and I am seeking to run for the office of Herald. I recognize that the responsibilities of a landed Herald are twofold: to provide guidance on names and devices that are acceptable within period, and to provide voice to official announcements as representation of the Riding.
With regard to the first: Previously, I helped push for and assist in the creation of a Populace Badge, so that all our residents may display whence they hail. The badge itself is now official and may be worn by the populace as they choose. I have been fascinated with names for my entire life, and since I did not have the terrifying slew of babes that a wholly unspoilt much younger Margaret assumed she would, so that she might make use of the notebooks she had filled with names, I am eager to help others find their names. I admit to being rather fond of researching documentation; in fact, I recently submitted a personal device with a sloth, including documentation, and it was approved without issue. I have worked with many people as a Herald at Large for some time, and passed names, devices, and badges (personal and populace), in that time. I have experience with a variety of cultures and time periods, and enjoy the opportunities to learn more. I am currently working with a gentle on a name for their Mongol persona.
This plague that keeps us from engaging in other aspects is the perfect time for heraldry to be submitted, and the process has been swift and smooth.
As Herald, it is my aim to have a name, device, and badge registered for every member of our populace, as well as closely working with the rest of our officers and members to reserve badges for the future of Ravensbridge. I hope to share my excitement with regard to this subject with each of you.
With regard to the second: I have many years of experience in both live theatre and vocal music. In fact, my mastery of the art of projection was truly put to the test when singing whilst great with child. Much of my theatrical training was specifically classical and Shakespearean under the combined mentorship of guest faculty from the American Shakespeare Center with one of the top ten college theaters (Princeton Review). As such, I have great familiarity with the language used in our Society, and an ease of pronunciation and enunciation of the words.
It is my hope to bring both book heraldry and voice heraldry into greater prevalence now, during this time of separation, that we may be the stronger for it once we meet again.
In Service, Margaret Sevensterre