[MR] A growing problem

[Andrea Davis]

Greetings from the Kingdom Seneschal, Fiona MacLeod!
It has come to my attention, by way of a variety of complaints, that we are
having some issues with people not responding to questions about the sca.
Whether it is an email from someone looking to get involved or a phone call
from a place looking for a demo, please respond when someone asks you a
question. If you don't know the answer, hook them up with someone who does.
Each and every one of us represents the SCA, as an entire group, when we
interact with people who are not involved in our organization.
When we do not respond to someone, or give a "I don't know" answer without
any options for them to follow up on, we make the entire organization look
unfriendly.
I know that each and everyone of you is a busy, multi-tasking, and otherwise
engaged person living their own lives. I  also know that some of you are
saying to yourselves, "I am not a chatelaine',  but like it or not, everyone
is a chatelaine to a certain degree. Though each group has (or should have)
a warranted chatelaine to deal with new people, that does not get any of us
off the hook. We must point people to the chatelaines, and encourage them to
become involved. Please encourage everyone in  your local area to follow up
with people who make contact, and welcome them in.
Remember when you first came to the SCA? Most of us who stayed did because
we felt welcomed, and felt people were happy to see us.
Please do your best to pass on that feeling to people now. The person you
speak to could be a future King or Queen of Atlantia, a future Peer, or a
future good friend that you can spend time with at events, if you help them
get involved.
I will make an effort to improve, since I know that I get distracted easily
(as those who know me can attest to), but I ask that each one of you make an
effort as well. Let's make everyone feel welcome, and help anyone who is
interested get involved in the great Kingdom of Atlantia. We have such
an excellent group, with really cool people, let's share it with others.
Thank you!
Fiona