[MR] Unevent

[Neca Johnson]

Lady Margaret,

I don't believe you've upset anyone, but this is one of those topics that 
some folks feel pretty passionate about - me included!

There are a couple of reasons why I think having one annual meeting for the 
entire kingdom is necessary:

1.  Rules that are new or different are shared.  There are new exchequer 
forms out, and there are still some bugs.  And there are some pretty drastic 
changes to the heavy combat rules this year.  It is important that this 
information gets communicated consistently across the kingdom.  Even if 
there are regional deputies, its tough for them to get together too!  Having 
1 meeting plus office hours helps to ensure that standards are applied 
correctly and consistenly kingdom wide.

2.  Best practices are shared.  Youth combat is still pretty new in this 
kingdom and we have made some pretty significant changes to the rules since 
its inception.  A lot of this is the result of marshals getting together and 
sharing what is (or isn't) working at their fighter practices and events.  
This exchange of information was and continues to be critical to the success 
of the discipline.  An e-group is nice, but sitting down in a room and 
having a free flowing discussion is the gold standard.

If money and/or time constraints force me to choose between Unevent and a 
regular event, I'll go to Unevent.  I find it that important.  And when I 
took the office, I agreed to go.  Sure things come up, but I feel like its 
part of my responsibility as an office holder to attend.  At the very least, 
I make sure I have a proxy so I can get good notes about what happened.

If you can, carpool.  It's fun to ride with friends!  We're doing more of 
this because of gas prices and I bet we aren't the only ones.  And you can 
encourage your local canton or barony to put in a bid for the next one.

If you haven't attended an Unevent before, I bet you will be pleasantly 
surprised by how helpful you find it.

Makai

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