[MR] Kingdom Rights/Isolationism/The BoD (long post)

[e.georges at att.net]

Like many, I have tried to stay out of this discussion.  
But it is an important topic.

Yes, the BoD is very powerful.  Because of the way 
corporations law works, it has very few checks on it 
short of (a) electing new BoD members who espouse the 
reform you wish, or (b) suing in a mundane court.  But 
the BoD is a requirement of a corporate identity. The 
only alternative is to have the SCA owned outright by a 
single person or persons, which would be one big tangent 
we don't need to get off on.

And the BoD, much as we love to hate them, serve an 
important function that allows all of us to play this 
game with the sophistication we currently do.  Because 
they are the BoD, their asses (along with the Society 
Officers')are personally on the line if something goes 
wrong and the SCA or one of its branches or members gets 
into trouble with mundane law or fails to fulfill its 
responsibilities as a 501(c)(3) corporation.  They can 
even be criminally prosecuted in extreme cases.

Imagine if there were no BoD, no corporate identity.  
Imagine trying to run a kingdom the size of Atlantia if 
all the funds had to be held in someone's personal 
account.  Imagine if you as King (or even as baron) were 
sued because someone injured themselves at an event your 
group hosted, and thre were no SCA, Inc. to defend or 
indemnify you. 

I've only been to one crown tourney, so I don't know 
whether it is good or bad to have individual combatants 
or a "war tourney."  I don't know Aveloc.  I don't know 
if the BoD needs to be reformed or not. But it would be 
exceptionally difficult to have an SCA as large or as 
interesting as it is without the protection afforded by 
a corporation and a BoD.  Those of you who 
espouse "Kingdom Rights," are you prepared to accept the 
legal and financial responsibility that comes with the 
ability to be the absolute authority on your own 
destiny?  Are you prepared to make sure that the Kingdom 
pays any taxes due (or maintains its non-profit status), 
hire and supervise legal counsel when the Kingdom is 
sued, etc?  Are you prepared to be held personally (and 
potentially financially) accountable if you fail?  If 
not, then you need to make peace with the fact that 
there is a BoD and figure out what the proper balance is 
between BoD and Kingdom, with the understanding that to 
a certain degree, the BoD does (indeed MUST) trump the 
kingdom.  

It sounds like people on this list are struggling with 
exactly that: What is the proper balance between Kingdom 
and BoD? And it is a good question to be asking.  As to 
the particular matter at hand (crown tourney format) I 
will leave it to wiser minds (both here and elsewhere) 
to ponder.  I Like watching single combat, but I like 
watching melees too.  Both afford opportunities to 
demonstrate the ideals of honor and chivalry (and also 
opportunity to dishonorably "game the system").  Both 
would have as much a chance of selecting a "good" king 
as a "bad" one.  

In the end, a Crown tourney is merely how a man gets a 
crown on his head. What manner of King he is will be 
decided by how he wears it thereafter.

In Service,

Lady Lucia Antony de Venise