Difference between revisions of "Vision Proposals"

Revision as of 21:03, 16 April 2015

Martin Luther famously nailed 98 theses to the door of the cathedral. This Centennial Vision for The Augustan Society, Inc., does not contain quite that many proposals (yet), but here they are, consolidated for consideration en masse:

1. The Board of Directors of the Society, either directly or by delegation to the Order of the Augustan Eagle, should take responsibility for completing and maintaining this long-range vision for the Society's future.

Administration

2. The Society should consider linking the number of Directors to the size of the membership, with a maximum of fifteen, a target of 10% of the membership, and a minimum of five.
3. The Society should discontinue the use of the Executive Committee, and consider removing the option from the By-Laws.
4. The Society should pursue conversion of the administration from the present "shared power" arrangement to having a strong Board overseeing largely clerical staff.
5. The Society should consider how important it is that each department be represented on the Board by a dedicated Director, and if this is felt important steps should be taken to ensure that this is the case, possibly by amending the By-Laws.
6. The Society should create a Dean of Studies, appointed by and serving at the pleasure of the President, who will administer the Study Groups and name their Coordinators.

Staff

7. The Society should document all of the tasks and procedures employed to the degree that a reasonably competent person might be able to follow such procedures to good effect, notwithstanding that some tasks may require specialized knowledge or skills.
8. The Society should move to transfer all responsibilities presently held by Consuls that do not benefit from being performed at Headquarters to other volunteers.
9. The Society should remove the ban on the Consuls' organization of an Advisory Council to permit interested Officers and Members to debate matters of Society business with the end of developing improved processes and proposals for the Board.

Facilities

10. The Society must have a goal of obtaining (and retaining) a public Headquarters. To ensure that such a facility may be retained, we must create an Investment Fund sufficient that its revenue will cover the costs of rent, utilities, and taxes (if any).
11. The Society should adopt a policy that any Headquarters lease or rental be guaranteed for a term of not less than five years with maximum rent defined, and that funds sufficient to secure the facility for said term be identified before a lease or rent is authorized.
12. Should a patron offer shared space not far from the present Headquarters under suitable conditions of security and compatible use for a below-market price for at least a five-year term, the Society should move quickly to accept, even if long-term goals suggest a different (but currently unaffordable) location.
13. The Society must have a goal of obtaining (and retaining) a public Headquarters that is owned by the Society. To ensure that such a facility may be retained, we must create an Investment Fund sufficient that its revenue will cover both the initial capital cost of acquisition and modification to our purposes, and the ongoing costs of utilities, repairs, and taxes (if any).

Chivalry

14. The Society should maintain and publish the criteria by which the Society will judge Orders of Chivalry (and organizations of a chivalric nature) worthy of Society recognition.
15. The Society should maintain and publish a fully comprehensive and public List of Recognized Orders (of Chivalry and organizations of a chivalric nature) which the Society has judged worthy of recognition.
16. The Society should maintain and keep private a list of those Orders of Chivalry (and organizations of a chivalric nature) that we have examined and found unworthy, along with the disqualifying conditions, so as to speed reconsideration should those change, and so staff can answer either "yes", "no", or "we haven't yet considered them" as appropriate.
17. The Society should maintain and publish the standards by which they judge membership and rank in recognized Orders of Chivalry (and organizations of a chivalric nature) worthy of recognition.
18. The Society should maintain and publish a listing of those chivalric memberships recognized, both for present Augustans and for others.
19. The Society should maintain and publish a list of those Orders of Chivalry which the Society recognizes, and which the Society accepts as having fought in the Holy Lands during the Crusades.
20. The Society should maintain and publish a List of Postnominals used in Society publications, recognized by the Society at any time, granted by the Society, or likely to be of value to members. This list should include postnominals not presently recognized by the Society for historical purposes, and these should be so flagged.

Genealogy

21. The Society should articulate and publish the standards to be applied to the review and approval of lineages, including the question of when an in-depth survey might be needed.
22. The Society should articulate and publish the standards to be applied to the certification of lineages.
23. The Society should maintain and publish a Standard Format for Lineages, and oblige petitions for review to adhere to that format when written, or to GED format when submitted digitally.
24. The Society should publish in a suitable form those lineages that have been approved or certified. Such to redact most data more recent than the latest release of US Census data.

Heraldry

25. The Society should clearly identify the Committee responsible for consultation on arms design and matriculation. While the Heraldry and Arms Registration Committees are likely candidates, the inclusion of Vice-Justiciars for various jurisdictions suggests the latter would be more appropriate.
26. The Society should generate reviews of heraldic books, magazines, websites, and programs in consultation with the Librarian and Reviews Editor utilizing Heraldry Department staff.
27. The Society should publish additional volumes of The Augustan Society Roll of Arms in hardcover as registrations (including artwork and English blazons) are available.
28. The Society should reprint Volumes I through III of The Augustan Society Roll of Arms in color.

History

29. The Society should make serious efforts to staff this Department, as an historical organization with no history activities is something of an oxymoron.
30. The Society should promote the creation and activities of Study Groups, including both those that have existed in the Society's past and new Augustan topics.
31. The Society should convert the First Peoples Committee into a Study Group.

Nobility

32. The Society should maintain and publish the standards by which to judge fontes honorum to determine if they should be recognized by the Society.
33. The Society should maintain and publish a list of those fontes honorum that have been deliberately recognized by the Society.
34. The above task accomplished, the Society should maintain and publish a list of all current fontes honorum worthy of recognition by the Society.
35. The Society should maintain and publish the standards by which to judge if a claimed title of nobility is worthy of Society recognition, including such titles and postnominals as may attach thereunto.
36. The Society should maintain and publish a list of those individuals whose titles of nobility have been recognized by the Society.
37. The Society should maintain and publish the standards by which to judge if a claim to personal (untitled) nobility is worthy of Society recognition, including such postnominals as may attach thereunto.
38. The Society should maintain and publish a list of those individuals whose personal (untitled) nobility have been recognized by the Society.
39. The Society should maintain and publish the standards by which to judge if an individual possesses gentility worthy of Society recognition.
40. The Society should maintain and publish a list of those individuals whose gentility has been recognized by the Society.

Study Groups

41. The Society should organized interdisciplinary projects, and some discipline-specific projects, as Study Groups under the direction of the Dean of Studies, rather than as Committees attached to the various Departments.
42. The Society should permit Members to join such Study Groups as they wish without charge.
43. The Society should limit Coordinators of Study Groups to being in charge of only one such group at a time; membership in Study Groups would not be so constrained.
44. The Society should more clearly specify and publish the purpose and scope of the Descents from Antiquity project.
45. The Society should more clearly identify the individual lines that it attempts to prove or disprove with the Descents from Antiquity project.
46. The Society should produce reports on each of the lines studied by the Descents from Antiquity project on a regular basis until each is proven or disproven, with the final reports on each published in the Omnibus.
47. The Society should document and publish the process by which the Family of Augustans project is to be pursued.
48. The Society should place the combined lineages gathered for the Family of Augustans project online for use by members and possibly others. This should take the form of a useful web site, not just a collection of GED files.
49. The Society should oblige the First Peoples Study Group to create a statement of purpose.
50. The Society should work to identify the individuals and locations (and to the extent possible, the dates) of the prints in the Society's photo collection.
51. The Society should, on a rotating basis, advertise the potential of the inactive Study Groups to the membership in an effort to reactivate as many as may have support.
52. The Society should, through the office of Dean of Studies and guided by the Member Interest Survey, invite specific members to reactivate particular Study Groups, and to create more for new topics.

Communications

53. The Society should publish the members newsletter on a monthly schedule, presuming sufficient funding and material are available.
54. The Society should conduct a survey to test the level of interest in publishing the members newsletter electronically, and a decision made about the value of devoting the time needed to reformat (versus publishing as a PDF file).
55. The Society should continue to publish The Augustan Omnibus at not less than 36 pages/issue, and to increase the frequency to quarterly as submissions and staff may support.
56. The Society should create the office of Advertising Manager to promote and process both support ads and commercial advertising, the latter perhaps including fly sheets, and all to include both The Augustan Omnibus and Augustæum.
57. The Society should publish additional volumes of the Augustan Society Roll of Arms as registrations permit.
58. The Society should reprint the first three volumes of the Augustan Society Roll of Arms in color.
59. The Society should monitor and update the Main Website on an ongoing basis to ensure that it remains complete and correct.
60. The Society should monitor and update the Augustan Store website on an ongoing basis to ensure that the offerings are complete and correct; that they have full contents data; that the genealogical titles have surname lists; and that pricing reflects current costs.
61. The Society should establish an online forum in some suitable venue, possibly the Main Website, wherein conversations about the Society and Augustan topics are encouraged, as soon as a moderator and suitable rules may be established.
62. The Society should convert all former publications to electronic form; first as PDF files, then as text files with improved illustrations where possible.
63. The Society should obtain an email server that is tailored to the unique needs of the Society. This may be a commercial product, or a custom application running on a Society server.

Library

64. The Society should attach the Library Department to the Dean of Studies, who would appoint the Librarian and oversee operations.
65. The Society should obtain sufficient Library space to house the entire collection accessibly, with sufficient study and work space adjacent.
66. The Society should obtain sufficient Library furnishings to house the collection accessibly, with due regard to long-term preservation.
67. The Society should make the Library collection publicly accessible, preferably through a library facility open to the public on a regular schedule.
68. The Society should study if resumption of the mail loan program is feasible, and the fees appropriate to offset both expenses and losses.

Sub-Groups

69. The Society should oblige the Senior Sub-Groups to align their offices and define job descriptions for them.
70. The Order of the Augustan Eagle should repeal the provision of their Rule that permits proxies at meetings.
71. The Noble Company of the Rose should return to their former practice of Meeting in Chapter each year during the Annual Convention.
72. The Noble Company of the Rose should repeal the provision of their Rule that permits proxies at meetings.
73. The Society should name Deans for each of the Lineage Groups, and to encourage them to organize sufficiently that they may contribute to Society programs with more than their entry fees.
74. The Society should consider the creation of additional Lineage Groups in areas not presently served by another organization, and where there is sufficient member interest to suggest that the new group would be a productive part of the Society's programs. It may be prudent to hold off on this proposal until existing Lineage Groups have at least a Dean.

• back to Centennial Vision
• back to Administration
• back to Main Page