SCA in Eastern Canada - How to Recommend Someone for an SCA Award

SCA

in Eastern Canada
Crown Principality of "Northern Shores"

How to recommend someone for an SCA award

It is up to YOU to recommend people for awards in the SCA. The Crown relies on each one of you to ferret out talent and bring it to Their attention. You do not have to have any awards at all! Anyone can do this... and YOU should.

You may wish to check to see if they have the award already... far too often, though, someone has been doing a great job for such a long time that everyone thinks that they already have the award, but they don't. It is far better to recommend someone for an award they already have than to not recommend them at all!

Here are the steps:

Write the recommendation letter,
Send the letter to the right people, and
Repeat as necessary.

I'll go through them again, with details:

1. Write the recommendation letter

Write ONE letter per person per award! (You can include multiple letters in a single envelope, to save on postage, but the letters should be on seperate sheets of paper so that they may be filed appropriately.)

Type or neatly write the letter (no calligraphy, please).

Here is a sample:

Unto Their Royal Majesties (King's name) and (Queen's name), does (your name), send greetings. This letter is to bring to your attention someone I believe is deserving of (name of award sought). (His/Her) SCA name is (SCA name) and (his/her) mundane name is (Mundane name). (He/She) lives in (branch name). (Description, in detail, of why this person deserves the award you are recommending them for. Be as specific as you can be, naming names, and being clear on dates and places.) (For A&S awards, try to include such information as degree of skill, whether they teach their art, whether they have been published and any A&S competitions they have done well in.) (Information for the scribe on the candidate's persona and/or interesting things the scribe might want to know about for the scroll, particularly for an AOA. Also, if you know it, say whether or not the person has a name and device registered with the College of Heralds.) (If possible, give ways that the scribe can contact friends of the candidate for further information, should it be needed. Include SCA names, mundane names and phone number/e-mail) (Royal progress events the candidate will most likely be attending in the upcoming reign.) (Signature) Mundane name address phone number e-mail address SCA name Branch

2. Send the letter to the right people

Look up the names and addresses for the current King & Queen and Prince & Princess. Send a copy of the letter to BOTH sets of Royalty!

3. Repeat as necessary

If the person has not received the award by the time Crown Tourney is fought, update the letter to include their most recent accomplishments and send it, again, to the King & Queen as well as the Prince & Princess.

Helpful hints:

If you have a calligrapher/illuminator lined up, mention that. I hear some royalty really like that. If you can say "My Laurel and I would be happy to do the scroll for so worthy a gentle", then do so.
Certain awards are made all or in part on the basis of the character of the recipient. These include: the Queen's Order of Courtesy; Court Baroncy; the peerages (Knight, Laurel, Pelican); the "naked" Grant of Arms; and the Award of Arms. When writing to recommend someone for these honors, make a point of writing about the acheivements of character which pertain. Mention specific traits and virtues, and those deeds and practices of theirs which illustrate such. (For instance, you might comment on a teacher's patience or generosity; an organizer's cheerfulness or industry; an administrator's integrity or helpfulness; a warrior's sense of duty or fairness. These are just a very few examples.) Describing the recommended recipient this way will help bring this person to life in the minds of the Royalty who might never have met this deserving gentle.
If it's not terribly, blindingly, unquestionably clear from the names of the candidate, indicate their gender, so that the right pronouns are used on the scroll. This is expecially crucial in cases of cross-dressed personae.

Note: this is just opinion... it is *not* a sanctioned official way to do things. If you wish to tell me your opinion, write to me (Master Henry MacQueen) at henry_mac

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in Eastern CanadaCrown Principality of "Northern Shores"

How to recommend someone for an SCA award

Helpful hints:

in Eastern Canada
Crown Principality of "Northern Shores"