Correspondence Archives - Creative Administration

Updates to the Society Org Chart

At the April meeting of the Board of Directors, following a good deal of members feedback, a proposal was ratified to promote the office of the Chatelaine from a deputy to a full Society officer, and to add a new Society officer for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB).

As part of this update, the previous Corporate office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging office was named the Office of Inclusive Programs.

I assume the Society’s Governing Documents will be updated soon to reflect these changes.

I’ve updated my org chart to reflect these developments, as well as two corrections to the version I assembled in December:

Although some documents show the Communications and Social Media offices as distinct, for the last year they have been combined and held by a single individual, as part of an ongoing reorganization of that office.
Although some older documents show the Information Technology office reporting directly to the Board, this practice appears to have changed a few years ago, perhaps at the same time the office’s title changed from “Vice President” to “Manager,” circa 2018.

[Update, April 24:] A few people asked about sharing this document, which folks are welcome to do — I’ve updated the chart to add a Creative Commons notice to help make this clear.

While I was at it, I shifted a couple of things around for greater clarity and added a row of boxes for local branch offices. The chart still doesn’t include all kingdom or branch offices, but these vary widely from region to region so it seems impossible to show all of the possibilities.

[Update, April 26:] Email from the SCA President suggests this chart is “damned accurate.” Correspondence attached below.

From: Mathghamhain Ua Ruadháin To: SCA President, SCA Executive Assistant, SCA Communications Office Date: 26 April 2024

In the absence of an up-to-date Society-provided org chart, some people are sharing the unofficial one I created.

I tried to accurately incorporate the information you provided last year, as well as the changes made in this month’s Board meeting, but if I’ve misunderstood anything or left out any important details I would love to hear about it to ensure I’m not misleading anyone.

And John — thank you for your many years of service, and best of luck in your future endeavors.

— Mathghamhain

From: John Fulton - SCA President To: Mathghamhain Ua Ruadháin Cc: SCA President Elect, SCA Executive Assistant, SCA Communications Office Date: 26 April 2024

Hi Mathghamhain,

We are using your org chart and the passed org chart from 2019 along with the EA going through the Minutes since 2019 to get a new one ready to be passed.

I think your chart seems damned accurate.

It has been a pleasure to hear from you and as I head into retirement perhaps we can touch base in the future on some stuff.

Bao will do a great job.

Thanks,

John

In Support of the Omnibus Peerage

I was tardy in writing to the Board in support of the proposed Omnibus Peerage, but did manage to get my letter in just under the wire.

The process of implementing this change has taken much longer than it should; the proposal has repeatedly been workshopped, brought forward for consideration and then sent back for refinement, over and over again for years.

I hope that this time it’s finally going to get across the finish line.

Recent Board Minutes Posted

The minutes from the first two quarterly meetings of the SCA Board of Directors for 2023 have now been posted to their website in the usual location, along with the minutes from the first four conference calls of the year:
https://sca.app.neoncrm.com/np/clients/sca/neonPage.jsp?pageId=10

Correspondence follows, for those curious.

SCA To End Emailing of Credit Card Numbers

The SCA will soon stop asking local event organizers to pay for venue insurance certificates by sending their personal credit card number to the corporate office via email, as it had been doing for the last two decades.

Instead, event organizers will be asked to process those credit card payments on the new membership portal operated by NeonOne, as hinted when the new higher costs for certificates were announced in April.

This change will be well received by Internet security enthusiasts among the membership, who have complained for many years about the practice of sending credit card numbers by email.

Procedures for Reporting IT Vulnerabilities

The SCA does not have an established procedure for reporting or addressing technology security vulnerabilities.

In correspondence with the Society IT Manager, they suggested sending vulnerability notifications by email, either to them, or to the relevant kingdom officers, or both.

Update: SCA Disclaims Copyright to Heraldic Officers’ Work

Earlier this year I learned that the SCA has long relied on an unwritten interpretation of copyright law that does not seem to be well supported.

I’ve encouraged Society leadership to reconsider this approach, motivated in part by the fact that this would have implications for my work on the Book of Traceable Heraldic Art, but it’s been difficult to make much headway and now a month has passed since my last email without any reply.

While I am not a lawyer, I am profoundly skeptical that the Society’s interpretation holds any water, and so I have decided to move forwards without giving it any credence, as laid out in the letter below.

[Update:] I’m very happy to report that the Society Seneschal has responded, stating that they are not claiming copyright to the armorial depictions produced by heraldic and scribal officers.

It remains unclear to me on what grounds they claim copyright for some creative works created by volunteers but renounce it for others — however, as a first step in the right direction, I am pleased by this declaration.