Thank you to everyone for your patience. Below are the letters for the candidates for elections. Please be sure to attend the Business meeting on Sunday Feb. 21 at 5:00pm at Days of Knights in Newark, or send in an absentee ballot by Saturday, Feb. 20 as indicated.
-Lady Shoshana Gryffyth, Seneschal

From Baron Adolphus Benner, interested in taking over the position of Seneschal.

I am running for the position of Seneschal because I am interested in working, spreading our hobby to others.

I have worked in many different areas in the SCA.

I have worked with Royal Households, held the local office of Seneschal, Chatelaine (2) and Chancellor Minor.

I was also Deputy Chancellor Minor in charge of children with challenges, a position I held for three years.

I do have plans for the Shire:

1) I’d like us to have at least four events per year, they don’t have to be huge events but something.

2) Along the line of events, I want to start fostering relations with our neighbors and to that end, Co events. We are lucky enough to have event sights available in the Shire that are relatively inexpensive. Other groups have people and the money, we have the spaces.

3) Regular monthly A&S items gatherings in both the North and Central parts of the state.

4) I want to send out a “mailer” to members of the SCA in Delaware to see what they want the Shire to do. This hopefully will get more people interested in what is going on in the Shire and plan classes that they might want.

5) Create more of an online presence. I want the Shire’s webpage to contain more about the people that make up the Shire and encourage people to build their Wiki Page.

6) Recruitment and in this I would like to be “seen” more. It used to be we did more demos and etc, I want to look into doing more of that.

7) My big wish is that we could “build” a Cooking Guild in the Shire.

8) There has been talk about getting Kingdom Crusades going again with the Kingdom of Atlantia. I would like to get the event “re-started” sometime in 2017. My hope is, the Shire could be the home for the event.

These are my ideas I have for the Shire and would welcome other ideas and help with them.

Thanks for you support in these matters.

Baron Adolphus Benner

From Lady Laurena Mouchot, interested in taking over the position of Chatelaine.

Greetings to all,

I would like to say that I love the office of Chatelaine…it is a position that really can change a person’s initial experiences in profound ways and really help individuals by being the first welcoming link to a whole new world or helping people who may have been in that world, but in other kingdoms, where rules and policies, as well as local shire customs, may be different than what they are accustomed to. A Chatelaine has the ability, through their service, to ease this transition and aid the newcomers and old timers alike in finding a place to belong within the established group. I have found that these initial experiences can really make a lasting difference in a new member’s perception of a group and can seriously impact their decision to stay. The bigger a group gets, the richer the diversity of skills and ideas are that become available to the entire group. While it can be challenging to manage and may result in growing pains at times, new growth is so worth it.

I would welcome the opportunity to serve the Shire of Caer Adamant in all the ways a Chatelaine can. By assisting with organizing demos and activities, making sure new members have garb for their first event, encouraging new people to participate in A&S, games, and dance nights, as well as, fighter practices and meetings whenever possible. Checking in on people who have been out of touch for a bit to see if there is any way they might need support to come out and play again. I like people, even ornery, hard to get along with people. I love hearing their stories and sharing my own with them. I love showing them why I find the SCA to be such a magical pastime and how it is possible to make fun in even the roughest spots by finding your talents and sharing them with others. I love those magical times when you experience the “time slip” and you drift into another world for just a little while and sharing those moments with people really makes me happy. I hope that you will consider my bid for the Office of Chatelaine.

Yours In Service,

Lady Laurena Mouchot

From Lady Mairi Crawford, interested in taking over the position of A&S Mistress.

I would like to submit my letter of intent to be the Shire mistress of Arts and Science. I try to attend all A&S nights and have been attending A&S nights offered out of the shire. Due to working retail I will not be able to attend all Shire meetings but will try to make at least once a quarter at the least.

In service,

Lady Mairi Crawford

From Lady Dionise O’Towie, interested in taking over the position of Chatelaine.

When I went to my first event in the summer of 2014, I really did not know what to expect. Earlier that year three different people mentioned the SCA to me and told me I should check it out, so I contact the Chatelaine, Marietta Messina, through the website. I had lunch with Mari, and we made plans to attend the upcoming Southern Region War Camp. I quickly sewed up a dress, threw some stuff in a bag and off I went to New Jersey. That day I wandered around the event, chatting with the people Mari introduced me to and had the wide-eyed tourist look on my face and a huge smile. At one point, I was standing by myself watching the fighters on the field, the families gathered around it, people in all sorts of garb shopping the vendors or just sitting talking with a project in their lap and I thought “Why haven’t I been doing this for the past twenty years?”

If we fast forward a year to the same event, you’d find me wandering around talking to people again. But things had changed a lot in that past year. At my first event, I followed Mari the Chatelaine around like a new puppy, bouncing from person to thing, desperate to soak up every little detail. This time, I was following around a Queen as one of her retainers. Last time I didn’t know to bring my own chair and drinking vessel but this time I had my own stuff. Last time I was newbie from Delaware, but this time I was the Webminister of the Shire of Caer Adamant, deeply involved in the local group, planning to attend Pennsic and receiving my Award of Arms. I’d grown into my little spot in the SCA because some people encouraged me with a kind word, a bit of advice, a hint of direction and my own determination to fix the Shire’s website. It snowballed into an entire hobby, which I love.

It is easy for the people who have been in the SCA for a while to talk about their hobby and forget that they were once the wide-eyed newcomer. Eventually your friends are SCAdians, too, and you acclimate to the distinct culture of the SCA. But it’s not easy for a new person to navigate the SCA world and not everyone can jump in and hit the ground running or has a friend to hold their hand in encouragement. The job of Chatelaine appears simple on the surface: it is the newcomer liaison. But the real job of the Chatelaine is to smile and try to help all the people feel good about the SCA; she’s the PR gal, in charge of recruitment and retention. It’s a full time position, since people don’t often schedule appointments to start a new hobby or only need attention at big events.

When at any Shire function, I will be the one who approaches an unfamiliar face and strikes up a conversation. When someone contacts me through the website or Facebook, it will be not only my job, but my pleasure, to respond as quickly as possible and make that person feel special and welcomed. If you bring a friend to a meeting or activity, I will want to be introduced. Expect me to pop up at Fighter practice and chat up the crowd and try to get them to tag us in any pictures the take; I will still your Webminister and I want the Shire to shine online. If a family relocates to our Shire from another part of the Known World, I will be there to help them transition to our culture. Are you Shire member who doesn’t play anymore with the Shire? I want to know why and what I can do to bring you back into the fold and experience Caer Adamant at its best; you can expect to hear from me soon. I will help outfit new members from the Gold Key, and will be working on getting that up to a level where the garb is not only an “attempt” but something people will want to wear.

Realistically, the Chatelaine won’t be able to be at every event, practice or activity, nor will every person want to be deeply involved in our game. But you can be assured that I love what the SCA does and feel passionate about helping Caer Adamant grow and enrich the lives of its populace. If I am your Chatelaine, I will be here for you, your friends and anyone else who comes along with a word of encouragement, a bit of advice, and a hint of direction on the SCA path.

In Service,

Lady Dionise O’Towie