How to recommend someone for an SCA award
by Mistress Jessa d'Avondale
It is up to each of us to recommend people for awards in the SCA. The Crown relies on all members of the kingdom to bring people to Their attention for recognition. You do not have to hold an award in order to recommend people for it, or even hold any awards at all!Start by looking up the requirements for the award you're recommending. Also check to see if the person you are recommending already has the award. (You can look them up in the on-line East Kingdom Order of Precedence, or check with your group's herald.) Far too often, though, someone has been doing a great job for so long that everyone assumes they already have the award, yet they don't. Better to recommend someone for an award they already have, than to not recommend them at all!
When you send in your recommendations, write one letter per person per award. You can include multiple letters in an envelope, but each person and award should be in a separate letter so that it can be filed appropriately. Multiple people or awards in one letter are more likely to become misfiled and not acted upon.
Your letter should be neatly typed, hand-written, or printed in an easy-to-read font. Avoid using calligraphy or printing with calligraphy-style fonts, which can be difficult to read. Don't be concerned with phrasing your letter in a medieval style -- you may write your letter using standard modern English.
Send your letter to the Prince and Princess, and to the King & Queen if it is early in their reign. All their names and addresses can be found in the kingdom newsletter, the Pikestaff. If a set of royalty resides at different addresses, you may wish to send out copies of the letters to each. For the current reign, you can write to Prince Andreas and Princess Isabella in care of: Andre Sinou, 47 South Gateway, Toms River, NJ 08753 Tonessa West-Crowe, 110 Nassau Avenue, Islip, NY 11751-3625. You can also send letters to them via e-mail, at king@eastkingdom.org, queen@eastkingdom.org, prince@eastkingdom.org and princess@eastkingdom.org.
Each letter of recommendation should include:
Details about the person you are recommending
- Their SCA name and modern name
- Their local group
- The award that you are recommending them for, why they are deserving of it, and where one might have seen their work. Include as many details as you know of, and be specific, for example: "Has run troll at all 20 events we have held in the past five years" instead of "always helps out at troll".
- The person they are squired or apprenticed to, if any. (This aids in identifying them, or in guiding people to talk to their knight/master/mistress.)
- Their gender, if it is not obviously apparent from their name.
- Upcoming events that the person you're recommending is likely to attend
- The SCA name of someone (such as a spouse) whom the royalty can contact if the award is to be given
- The contact person's modern name, address, phone number, and e-mail address (only if the person being recommended does not have access to that account)
- Your SCA name, modern name, address, phone number and e-mail address (if any), in case there are any questions.
Here is a sample letter:
Henry and Elenor
c/o John & Jane Doe
456 Main Street
Aquitaine, NJ 07234
I am writing to recommend that you consider inducting Frederick the Forgotten (MKA Fred Forbes) into your order of the Manche. Frederick is an extremely talented cook. He has planned menus and run the kitchen for a number of feasts held in your Barony of Settmour Swamp, including a Scottish feast at Highland Games, a French feast at Agincourt Revisited, and a Spanish feast at the King's and Queen's Rapier Championship.
Frederick researches all of his recipes and does his own redactions from period cookbooks. The results are both accurate and delicious. He is an active member of the baronial Cooks' Guild, and encourages others to attend meetings and try medieval cookery. He is a close associate of Master Chiquart Gastronomie, although not officially his apprentice. I'm sure Master Chiquart would be able to give you additional details of Frederick's work, and would appreciate knowing if Frederick is to be inducted into the order, so that he can be in attendance.
Frederick resides in the Barony of Settmour Swamp and is likely to attend any event held there. He also plans on attending the upcoming Southern Region War Camp and Pennsic War this summer. If you do decide to induct Frederick into the order of the Manche, please contact his lady, Briana mac Dubh (MKA Betty Forbes) so that she can insure he will be present. She can be reached at work during the day at (732) 555-1234, or at bforbes@corp.com.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely,
Jessa d'Avondale
Marla Lecin
456 Main Street
Mytown, NJ 08234
(732) 123-4567
mlecin@optonline.net