My bid for Wreath Sovereign of Arms

Post date: Feb 11, 2011 2:20:30 AM

Herein follows the bid I sent in for the position of Wreath, minus my personal contact information and membership info. (You really don't want to see my driver's license picture, really you don't.)

Unto the esteemed members of the Board of Directors and to the heralds of the known world:

I am writing today to formally announce my interest in the position of Wreath Sovereign of Arms. Armory has long been an interest of mine, from my earliest days in the Society. While I believe myself far from an expert, and certainly not one of the “older” heralds, I do feel I have the necessary experience and critical thinking skills that will enable me to make clear and concise decisions regarding submitted armory.

I have served in all levels of herald offices within the Kingdom of Ansteorra. My first office was as the branch herald for the then Shire of Mooneschadowe, some ten years past, where I learned first-hand the importance of good customer service where submissions are concerned. From there I have served as Obelisk Herald, in charge of the publication of our internal newsletter; Asterisk Herald, internal submissions, responsible for making in-kingdom decisions as well as putting together the internal letter of intent; and Bordure Herald, external submissions, again making in-kingdom decisions as well as writing our Letter of Intent and overseeing Ansteorra’s transition to OSCAR. And finally, I am currently the Star Principal Herald of the Kingdom of Ansteorra; my tenure there ends in July, however I have made arrangements with Their Majesties to have my successor in place a month early should it be required.

I know how important it is that submitters be able to understand why a given decision was made, that the rules be as clear as possible to the untrained eye, and that timeliness is essential. I do understand that not every submitter will be satisfied, but believe that with good communication, understanding can generally be achieved.

Mundanely, I spent seven years working my way from front-line telephone technical support at a computer hardware company to Technical Manager over several small departments covering online technical support, technical writing, training, and website development. I still feel that customer service is my strongest skillset. Since 2000, I have been a stay-at-home mother, raising my two children and a variable number of dogs, thanks to the support of my husband.

In addition to time spent on the SCA, I also am an associate producer and director for an amateur audio podcast company. As well as directing one show myself, I manage the deadlines for the various actors and other directors, ensuring productions keep to a strict monthly release schedule.

I am grateful to Master Istvan for letting me be part of his Wreath decision meetings the past several months, and to Mistress Olwyn for adding me to the proofreading list for the LoARs. This has let me see more of the behind-the-scenes workings of the Laurel team, and given me a much better idea of the amount of work involved, organization, difficulty of decisions, and so forth. As of this writing I do not know who would comprise the rest of the Laurel team, aside from Dame Juliana if she stays as Pelican, but I feel I am capable of working well with practically anyone.

Please contact me with any questions or concerns you may have. 

Sincerely,

Jennifer Smith / Emma de Fetherstan

jds@randomgang.com / star@herald.ansteorra.org

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Awards:

Offices:

Resume:

Technical Writing Contractor:        Feb 2000-Apr 2000 

NFR Security, Inc.

Editor for update of manuals from v3 to v4 of main network security product. Tasks included researching and writing many sections from scratch.

Technical Manager:                      May 1992-Jan 2000 

Creative Labs, Inc. 

Many tasks, starting as phone support and promoted to manager in 1996 as department head over several groups, including Training, Technical Writing, Online Support, and Web Development groups. Created, ran, and directly supervised email and web-based technical support. With web development team, worked closely with colleagues and clients in California and Singapore, covering both design and technical aspects. Assisted with and consulted on technical infrastructure for worldwide web presence.