Custodian of Insignia
The Custodian of Insignia for The Augustan Society, Inc., is the officer responsible for obtaining, storing, and distributing all insignia of the Society and its Sub-Groups. He is appointed by and serves at the pleasure of the Secretary.
The Custodian is not authorized to create insignia designs. Those must be approved by the Heraldry Committee. It is, however, expected that the Custodian will work with the Heraldry Committee and any Sub-Group to ensure the design approved can be manufactured practically and economically.
The Custodian will obtain quotes from vendors for each insignia ordered, and pass those to Headquarters where the Assistant Treasurer will confirm that the order is supported by the appropriate budget and then place the order.
While it may be convenient for the insignia to be stored at Headquarters, this will almost require that the Custodian be located nearby. It should be more common for the insignia to be stored by the Custodian in his home or office. It may be reasonable to ship only a fraction of the inventory to the Custodian, representing perhaps five years of use, with the balance stored at Headquarters. This can reduce the cost of shipping larger inventories from one Custodian to the next.
The Secretary (or Assistant Secretary) should stay in regular communication with the Custodian and reassign the job if the Custodian appears to be in failing health or finances, thus to avoid a significant loss of insignia should he resign or fall ill without adequate arrangements having been made.
The Custodian will ship the insignia, along with a suitable letter of transmission, as directed by Headquarters, and for no other reason. The Custodian will thus not accept payments or provide refunds, that being done solely by Headquarters. The letter of transmission may be a form letter, but it must at least include the identity and address of the recipient and the insignia being sent. A copy of all such letters (or a summary including inventory adjustments) must be sent for each month in which any insignia is shipped.
Like all other officers, the Custodian is to make an annual report to the Board via the Assistant Secretary each July.
The Custodian is advised that sending insignia outside the country normally requires a Customs Declaration be attached to the package. This is important to avoid delay or tax to the recipient.
For the above reason, it may be appropriate to create Deputy Custodians of Insignia for various countries with significant membership. The definition of "significant" should probably be made subsidiary to the creation of a national (or regional) Vice-Presidency.
