What do you feel the Barony needs to improve upon, and, as Baron, what steps would you take toward that improvement?

In the SCA, Carolingia is a big city -- the equivalent of London or Paris to our medieval predecessors. It's difficult to be a new person here. It's hard to meet people, to learn the 'language', to find the right clothes, and sometimes even to find out what all there is to do and where to do it. If we neglect newcomers to our barony, we'll lose them. We feel it's very important to encourage all Carolingians, but especially those who run activities, guilds, and practices, to encourage, assist, and welcome those newcomers who are interested in the SCA.

Speaking for myself (Aleksandr), I'd like to see Carolingia's martial prowess continue to increase. Not just in our traditionally strong areas (fencing and archery), but in tournament fighting, and the recent additions like equestrian, hound coursing, thrown weapons, and even hurley.

There are always ways we can improve, but they are mostly matters of tweaking, and generally require a measure of conscious vigilance. For example, integrating new folks into the Barony is always a trick -- trying to help them understand the local culture without overwhelming or intimidating them. I don't think we have a perfect formula for that (nor do I expect we're going to find one), but it's something to continue experimenting with, to see how to make things work better.

Mostly, I think it's all about tweaking details and experimenting. The situation is always changing, and issues arise from time to time. For example, I've been noticing lately a fair amount of subtle nervousness around issues of religious tolerance, both in the Barony and in the Society at large; that seems something that we need to pay some attention to, to make sure it doesn't become An Issue. But that isn't a matter of Big Changes; it's about paying attention, and constant tuning.

(And it should be borne in mind that the Baron and/or Baroness lead mostly be example and suggestion -- they don't have much actual power, so much as a bully pulpit for suasion. So their job is to keep an eye on what's going on, listen to ideas for improvement, decide what makes sense to them, and then try to influence things in a healthy direction...)

A decline or an absence of participation in an area can be due to either a lack of interest, or a lack of support. If there is a genuine lack of interest, then it is best to let it fade away in grace. If there is a lack of support, this is where the role of Baron can be fruitful. It seems kind of odd to promise to do what everyone else isn't doing, but I do see that as a role of the titular head: to bring the focus of attention to areas that would benefit from it.

I think we can improve on the interest and pageantry of our courts. This is one of the things the Baronial coronet does have under its control. Court is important to both Kali and me. We desire interesting but reasonably efficient courts that have suitable amounts of pomp and circumstance and a certain theatrical element. I know this is somewhat vague, but we don't have a full plan ready to plug in. But we are willing to experiment.

There are a few things I would like to see improve that are partially or could be partially under the baronial coronet's control. These include a more regular or frequent meeting schedule for the baronial orders, an encouragement or return of some baronial social activities such as baronial pot lucks, baronial coronet at homes, etc. and a reexamination of the Champions/guards issue. (See the next question below.)

I can see some things already that the Coronet could do about it, that Gwendolyn and I would consider doing: regularly visiting all different groups, guild meetings, and practices - not just dropping in, but getting to know the people and the activity, and actively giving the participants a feeling of their context within the goings-on of the whole barony. Encouraging special events that get several different groups working together, like the ballet de cour at the February event. Encouraging guilds to hold "open houses," or some sort of function bigger and more open than a regular meeting / practice, but different from an in-persona baronial Event. Providing public recognition of activity through more means than the existing baronial Orders, especially in court. In general, using the position and prominence of the Coronet to promote synergy in many and different ways.

All of our guilds and activities have cycles. They grow when there is a core of enthusiastic individuals willing to teach others, they shrink when there aren't as many. I don't know to what extent the baron can directly influence this, but I believe one of the most important roles of a baron is encouragement -- being open to people with ideas and encouraging them to act on them.

I would like to encourage more opportunities for people to share knowledge that doesn't fall into a specific guild role. The History Seminars are a step in that direction, and some of the good ideas people have come up with recently for a series of garb workshops.

I also like to encourage authenticity, but I believe that this is something that is best done by example and not by lecture. Carolingia has a reputation as a land of A&S snobs, and I would work hard at trying to dispel that. One of the ways to do that is to show people that authenticity can be fun :), and by not forgetting the basic rules of courtesy that we all should live by. Courtesy does not include judging others and discouraging their efforts. And "authenticity" covers a huge amount of ground, in terms of time, space, culture, and range of studies. It doesn't come as a complete package (e.g. "now I am a completely authentic 9th c. Viking,"), but in very little things where we can show a slightly more historical thing that is fun and ends up raising people's expectations and standards. For example, the Coeur du Flamme has done a great job of making a more authentic style of tournament combat more fun for everyone, and thereby increasing efforts in heraldry, banner-making, and just all-around style. We've had an increase in interest in period table serving, too, which adds to our feast experience. I recently had a request from someone in Bridge to train squires to serve at Twelfth Night -- a sign of a trend spreading beyond our borders.

One of the things I think we could address is how our neighbors in the East Kingdom perceive us. I think we're actually very welcoming to people, but outsiders think we are cold and stuffy and don't like to travel. I think that attitude has softened a lot under Johanna and Aquel, who are excellent ambassadors for Carolingia. But I would still want to keep working on our image and diplomacy. One of the ways a baron can help (besides being gracious and welcoming to anyone who visits us), is to visit them. We have a rich baronial schedule, but visits to our neighbors for more of their events might help to dispel some of the Carolingian stereotype.

To encourage the various martial arts, I would like to see a little more flash for the Baronial champions and guards as well as for the Baronial fighters. The recent fighting tabards and blue and gold shirts worn by the fighters are serving tabards and LARP garb that I made around the time of my entry to the Barony. They sat in storage, for a while but still they are almost a decade old and were never designed for that activity.

I would like to bring back some of the flash of the CRC, but spread across all of the martial activites.

I would like to make the Baronial court and processions a bit more colorful with more banners, better costumes and a bit more dramatic air. Well, I am a costume Laurel, what did you expect. :) While I want things to be more impressive, I would like to keep the approachable air that Johanna and Aquel maintained.

We also think that even though the Barony is large, people can lessen the relative size. It would be very welcoming for people to get to know a bit more about each other, so we would encourage people to introduce themselves to people they don't know, or to introduce people who haven't met yet. Everyone has a bit of shyness, but it can sometimes keep people who have much in common from starting to share information.

It's true that the Baronial positions are largely ceremonial; the seneschal actually does the administrative work. Still, we see the role of the Baron and Baroness as examples and positive role models. The Baron and Baroness should set the pace in terms of encouraging and assisting people, either actively or passively according to their desire, in order to help them have the best experience possible in Carolingia and the Society.