From: corun@access.digex.com (Corun MacAnndra)
Subject: Re: Pennsic Autocrat (was Re: Pennsic Land Allocation
Organization: Express Access Online Communications, Greenbelt, MD USA
Date: Wed, 9 Sep 1992 03:04:47 GMT

In article <BuA88J.Cx9@gpu.utcs.utoronto.ca> aryk@gpu.utcs.utoronto.ca (A.J.S. Nusbacher) writes:
>>>The War Autocrat always seems to be miserably overworked, and the job always
>>>seems to devolve on the same people.
>
>>I agree with the first half of that, but please clarify the rest of your
>>statment. Who are the "same people" you refer to?
>
>Oh, how 'bout the Lynn-Ellis family?  Or that nice lady from Saline, Michigan?
>Or Fast Eddie?

But if we had a workable plan that didn't need to be changed year after year,
don't you think we would get more people to take over form the Old Guard?
I think one reason people balk at the job (apart from it's magnitude) is that
they feel that nothing's worked so far and they have to come up with something
new, and they're just not willing to go that far out on a limb. Can't say as
I blame them, but something's got to be done.

And then Aryk said:

>>>In the end, I think that the Pennsic autocrat ought to be salaried.
>
>Corun replied:
>
>>Here we're going to have a major disagreement. I think definitely not. If
>>that happens we could be in big trouble. Where does the money come from?
>
>We pay for porta-johns.  We pay for toilet cleaning.  We can pay for
>management.

And up the fee for Pennsic that many think is too high already.

>>If from volunteers, then we open up the War to more graft than the federal
>>government. 
>
>Nope.  From the War's revenue side.

You place to much emphasis on a revenue that is just suffucuent to keep
the War going year after year. But perhaps I should ask you what you think 
a fair salary would be for such a person. It might be within the budget, but
I will doubt it until you give me a dollar figure.

>>Also, how does paying a member conflict with the Society's
>>non profit status with the IRA? I don't know the answer to that. 
>
>While getting involved with Marxist-Leninist terrorism in Ireland might
>be outside the purview of the SCA Inc., I think that if the SCA Inc. can
>pay its President, its Treasurer, and a clerical assistant, then it can
>pay the manager of one of its largest events.

That's the Internal Revenue Service, but then terrorism is terrorism. ;-)
Seriously though, you've hit on something I've been trying to drive home
for awhile now. Pennsic is no longer an East/Middle event, but a SCA wide
event. Are there any precedents where Corporate monies have gone to pay
for an event anywhere? Does anyone on the BoD have any comments on this?
Would we in essence be creating a Steward of the Pennsic War?

>Depends on what you want the security force to do.  I don't want Joe
>Scadian learning lessons on my dime, or with my vehicle, or my property.
>If you want to train people in security, your local community college
>probably has a good course.

The lesson I was referring to wasn't how to run security, but the bigger
lesson of giving of one's time, energy, and skills to the greater good
of the Society. But why, if you're so set against paying for Joe SCAdian
to learn about security at Pennsic, are you so in favour of paying for
a professional Autocrat. Sounds like the same thing to me. Besides, how
do your vehicle and personal property come into the issue of security?
Sounds like a non sequitur to me. Also, I know a bit about what Security
at Pennsic is for, and what it can legally do. The operative word the is
legally. I wonder if a professional security team would be under the same
legal restricions, and these guys are all licensed to carry firearms. Just
wait and see what happens the first time someone with a bit too much mead
in them pulls steel on a guy with a 9mm parabellum. These are some serious
things to think about.

In service,

Corun

-- 
===========================================================================
    Corun MacAnndra     |      But what if this hadn't been
  Dark Horde by birth   |        a rhetorical question?
    Moritu by choice    |                            C. Nelson
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca