It is up to YOU to recommend people for awards in the SCA. The
Crown relies on each one of you to ferret out talent and bring it
to Their attention. You do not have to have any awards at all!
Anyone can do this... and YOU should. You may wish to check to
see if they have the award already... far too often, though,
someone has been doing a great job for such a long time that
everyone thinks that they already have the award, but they don't.
It is far better to recommend someone for an award they already
have than to not recommend them at all!
Here are the steps: 1. Write the recommendation letter. 2. Send
the letter to the right people. 3. Repeat as necessary.
I'll go through them again, with details: 1. Write the
recommendation letter. Write ONE letter per person per award!
(You can include multiple letters in a single envelope, to save
on postage, but the letters should be on separate sheets of paper
so that they may be filed appropriately.) Type or neatly write
the letter (no calligraphy, please). Here is a sample:
Unto Their (Royal Majesties or Stellar Highnesses) (King or
Prince's name) and (Queen or Princess' name), does (your name),
send greetings.
This letter is to bring to your attention someone I believe is
deserving of (name of award sought).
(His/Her) SCA name is (SCA name) and (his/her) mundane name is
(Mundane name). (He/She) lives in (shire name).
(Description, in detail, of why this person deserves the award
you are recommending them for. Be as specific as you can be,
naming names, and being clear on dates and places.) (For A&S
awards, try to include such information as degree of skill,
whether they teach their art, whether they have been published
and any A&S competitions they have done well in.)
(Information for the scribe on the candidate's persona and/or
interesting things the scribe might want to know about for the
scroll, particularly for an AOA. Also, if you know it, say
whether or not the person has a name and device registered with
the College of Heralds.)(If possible, give ways that the scribe
can contact friends of the candidate for further information,
should it be needed. Include SCA names, mundane names and phone
number/e-mail)
(Royal progress events the candidate will most likely be
attending in the upcoming reign.)
In service to the dream, I am
Mundane name
Address
phone number
e-mail address
SCA name
Shire
2. Send the letter to the right people. Look up the names and
addresses for the current King & Queen and Prince &
Princess. Send a copy of the letter to BOTH sets of Royalty! 3.
Repeat as necessary. If the person has not received the award by
the time Crown Tourney is fought, update the letter to include
their most recent accomplishments and send it, again, to the King
& Queen as well as the Prince & Princess. Helpful
hints:
· If you have a calligrapher/illuminator lined up, mention
that. I hear some royalty really like that. If you can say "My
Laurel and I would be happy to do the scroll for so worthy a
gentle", then do so.
· Certain awards are made all or in part on the basis of
the character of the recipient. These include: the Queen's Order
of Courtesy; Court Barony; the peerages (Knight, Laurel,
Pelican); the "naked" Grant of Arms; and the Award of Arms. When
writing to recommend someone for these honors, make a point of
writing about the achievements of character which pertain.
Mention specific traits and virtues, and those deeds and
practices of theirs which illustrate such. (For instance, you
might comment on a teacher's patience or generosity; an
organizer's cheerfulness or industry; an administrator's
integrity or helpfulness; a warrior's sense of duty or fairness.
These are just a very few examples.) Describing the recommended
recipient this way will help bring this person to life in the
minds of the Royalty who might never have met this deserving
gentle.
· If it's not terribly, blindingly, unquestionably clear
from the names of the candidate, indicate their gender, so that
the right pronouns are used on the scroll. This is especially
crucial in cases of cross-dressed personae.
