Imperial Estates Meeting-2013
Meeting to be Conducted on December 14, 2013
I.	ROLL CALL
	A.	Members of the Board of Directors
1.	President: Adam Barnhizer 
2.	Vice President: Justin Aschcraft 
3.	Treasurer: Jon Green 
4.	Secretary: Stacy Diegel 
5.	Sergeant of Arms: 
	B.	Members of the Imperial Estates
1.	Kingdom of Galandor: HRM Sir Kheldar 
2.	Kingdom of Vega: Lady Dame Megana Vite 
3.	Imperial Peer: Dame Emlyn Vigamor Enke Ulfgud 
4.	Imperial Peer: Dame Ginevra della Cascata 
5.	Imperial Peer: Contessa Dame Chimera 
6.	Imperial Peer: Baroness Dame Kyrie Mc Kay 
7.	Imperial Peer: Earl Sir Vladimir Tolos 
8.	Imperial Peer: Baron Sir Otto de Bear 
8.	Imperial Peer: Al-Amir al-Faris Mikha'il Ibn 'Abdullah al-Nur al-Din 
9.	Imperial Peer: Baron Sir Paul de Marseilles 
10.	Imperial Peer: Baroness Dame Isabeau Needlemeyer 
11.	Imperial Peer: Lord Sir Richard "Rabbit" Kirk
12.	Imperial Peer: Baron Sir Dae Nadel von Wermacht 
13.	Imperial Peer: Contessa Dame Valdis Hertogafru 
14.	Imperial Peer: Earl Sir Ian Michael Pact 
15.	Imperial Peer: Lord Sir Adon von Hesser 
16.	Imperial Peer: Duke Sir Lassidor Vandolini 
C.	Quorum
		Quorum was met for this Imperial Estates Meeting.
II.	OFFICER’S REPORTS
III.	OLD BUSINESS
	There was no old business.
IV.	NEW BUSINESS
	A. Create the role of Peerage Secretary. Change clause VII.A.5. Create Section VII.B.1.c, Create Section VII.K

5. The Sovereign(s) will notify the appropriate Peerage secretary in that tier Combat, Arts, or Ministry, and rank 1st, 2nd or 3rd who shall contact the member and inform them that they are qualified to have a peer circle called to consider them for advancement as stated in section VII subsection B.

c. The responsibilities of the Peerage Secretary shall be:
i. To schedule or coordinate Ministry Project or Masterwork pre-approvals for fitness of the project as the appropriate quality hurdle to the peerage
ii. To coordinate judge selection for judging Ministry Projects and Masterworks, and coordinate selection of a knight combatant for a trial by combat
iii. To notify the members of the peerage of petitioners to the peerage
iv. To schedule and coordinate meetings of the peerage in person, print, or electronically – whatever is deemed appropriate by the Peers. Peer circles must be held within 45 days of notification of a qualified and approved petitioner. Barring any objections to the perspective’s advancement by the Peer Circle, the prospective shall receive notification of approval after 30 days of uniform receipt (after all Peers receive the Perspective’s case) but no later than 60 days.
v. To notify the petitioner and sovereign of the decision of the peerage

K. PEERAGE SECRETARY
1. All Kingdom Peerages shall have a Peerage Secretary who will have the responsibility of the smooth functioning of the Peer Circle for business purposes. Specific duties are outlined above in section VII.B.1.c. Peerage Secretaries who are not upholding these duties may be replaced by the Sovereign. Replacement must be upheld at the next Kingdom Estates meeting.
2. The Peerage Secretary shall be elected by the members of the peerage and shall serve for a term of one year. This election shall coincide with the selection of the new Kingdom Sovereign. There is no restriction on the number of terms a Secretary may serve as long as he or she has the approval of the peerage. In the event that no Peer volunteers, the Sovereign shall appoint a member of the Peerage.
3. This is not a Kingdom office. However, it may be awarded ministry points and considered for a Ministry Project following rules outlined elsewhere in this document as deemed appropriate by the Sovereign(s).

SECTION VII: ADVANCEMENT & KNIGHTHOOD
A. Knighthood in the Empire of Chivalry and Steel is an Earned Privilege based on merit and proper demeanor. Knighthood is offered, not requested, and as such it is the duty of the Crown to offer Knighthood to all qualified individuals.
1. Knighthoods of the First and Second Level are Kingdom-Level awards. Third level Knighthood is an imperial level award.
2. Prior to accepting the title of Knight, members must have their personal device submitted to the territorial Sovereign of Arms. 
3. The Prospective Peer maintains the right to construct a unique ceremony. While the prospective Peer may choose any knight to present to them the buffet and regalia of Knighthood, the Sovereign Crown remains the bestower of knighthood.
4. The Minister of Rolls shall keep records of every member and notify the Kingdom Sovereign(s) when a member is eligible for advancement. 
5. The Sovereign(s) will notify the appropriate Peerage secretary in that tier Combat, Arts, or Ministry, and rank 1st, 2nd or 3rd who shall contact the member and inform them that they are qualified to have a peer circle called to consider them for advancement as stated in section VII subsection B.
B. Kingdom and Imperial Peer Circles 
1. In the case of advancement to any of the Ranks of Knighthood, the appropriate Peerage of that Tier and Rank shall hold a Peer Circle.  
a. For the first and second ranks of Knighthood, the Peers of the Kingdom where the petitioner resides shall sit in Circle to determine the petitioner’s eligibility for advancement. The petitioner shall have the right to present their case for advancement to this Peer Circle, this can be done in person, print, or electronically - whatever is deemed appropriate by the Peers. Any approval of a candidate must be made by 2/3 majority of the Peers in attendance either in person, by phone, or by proxy. The votes of all Peers not in attendance shall be considered as abstentions. Abstentions are not valid votes, Abstentions do not affect the outcome. In the case of advancement to third level, the Prospective must write a letter and pass it on to a current third level Knight. This will be disseminated to the Imperial Peers. Barring any objections to the Perspective’s advancement by the Peer Circle, the prospective shall receive notification of approval after 30 days of uniform receipt (after all Peers receive the Perspective’s case), but no later than 60 days. Any objections will lead to a Peer Circle discussion, in some format, after 30 days of receipt of the Perspective’s argument, but before 60 days as well.
b. For the third rank of Knighthood (Imperial Knight: Knight Champion, Knight Doctor, Knight Premier), the current Imperial Peers (of all tiers) shall sit in Circle to determine the petitioner’s eligibility. This Grand Peer Circle shall be held in accordance with Section VII.B
c. The responsibilities of the Peerage Secretary shall be:
i. To schedule or coordinate Ministry Project or Masterwork pre-approvals for fitness of the project as the appropriate quality hurdle to the peerage
ii. To notify the members of the peerage of petitioners to the peerage
iii. To schedule and coordinate meetings of the peerage in person, print, or electronically – whatever is deemed appropriate by the Peers. Peer circles must be held within 45 days of notification of a qualified and approved petitioner. Barring any objections to the perspective’s advancement by the Peer Circle, the prospective shall receive notification of approval after 30 days of uniform receipt (after all Peers receive the Perspective’s case) but no later than 60 days.
iv. To notify the petitioner and sovereign of the decision of the peerage
d. Decisions of a Peer Circle can be appealed in the following manner:
i. Decisions of the Kingdom Peerage; to
ii. Decisions of the Imperial Peerage; to
iii. Imperial Estates

D. STANDARD AND GUIDELINES OF CHIVALRY TO BE USED BY ALL PEERS OF THE 
EMPIRE OF CHIVALRY AND STEEL
1. All Peers shall be courteous to all persons regardless of rank or station during general event attendance. 
2. The Peerage shall be the Champions of the Populace, protecting their interests and upholding the rules and laws of the Empire to the best of their ability in all matters;
3. The Peerage shall support, uphold and defend the decisions of the Officers, which are officiating at an event. 
a. If a Peer believes the Officer to be incorrect, they have the responsibility to take the issue to the Sovereign Crown and ask for their support to correct the Officer. 
4. Peers shall maintain and present a good example to the Populace and Spectators of appropriate courtly grace, language (no swearing in the presence of children) and control of public display of abusive emotions. 
5. During combat Tournaments, all members of the Combatant Peerage will give Chivalry, or a warning that they do not, to all combatants.
6. During Melee Combat, Combatant Peers may choose to exhibit Chivalry as noted above but are not required to. 
7. All other items under General Event Attendance apply to Combatants even while on the Field.

K. PEERAGE SECRETARY
1. All Peerages shall have a Peerage Secretary who will have the responsibility of the smooth functioning of the Peer Circle for business purposes. Specific duties are outlined above in section VII.B.1.c. Peerage Secretaries who are not upholding these duties may be replaced by the Sovereign. Replacement must be upheld at the next Kingdom Estates meeting.
2. The Peerage Secretary shall be elected by the members of the peerage and shall serve for a term of one year. There is no restriction on the number of terms a Secretary may serve as long as he or she has the approval of the peerage. In the event that no Peer volunteers, the Sovereign shall appoint a member of the Peerage.

L. NON-RANKING TITLES 
1. The title of Page may be accorded to any person under the age of 10 by any Noble or 
Knight. The duties of a Page are defined in their Oath of Service. 
2. The title of Squire may be accorded to any member at least 10 years of age by any 
Knight. The Squire will serve the Knight as defined in their Oath of Fealty. 
a. The Knight's minimum responsibility is to train the Squire in the Knight's 
areas of expertise. 
b. A Squire is entitled to wear a red belt, mantle, or baldric as determined by the
Knight and Squire.
3. The rank of Apprentice defines a non-binding student-teacher relationship
Between any two members of the Empire that does not rise to the level of Page or 
Squire. As such, an apprentice may be such to a multiple number of teachers

B. Change section 2 b as follows: 
B.   DUE DATE FOR MEMBERSHIP DUES
		The date for payment of all memberships will be no later the March 31.  Any individual membership received after that month will be pro-rated in the following manner: $3.00 + $3.00 * # of months remaining until March  $3.00 x # of months remaining until March = total prorated amount due.  (At no time will an individual be charged more than $30.00 per year).  Family Memberships will be prorated in the following manner $2.50 + $2.50* # on months remaining until March ($3.00 + $1.25/family member) x # of months remaining until March = total pro-rated amount due. (At no time will a family member be charged more than $25.00 per year) 
Ammend the imperial membership form and online payment system to reflect the change.

Reasoning: 
 Currently the membership forms don’t reflect the prorate formula as currently written. The forms prorate ate $3.75 a month for participating members and $2.00 a month for family members. This has the effect of starting the prorate formula for participating members after the grace period while extending it out for family members through the grace period. IE it is cheaper to pay a family membership on april 1st as opposed to march 31st. Also, the current writing of the section would only charge $18 for a family member instead of the $25 listed in the prior section.

Submitted Jon Green BOD Treasurer
C. Change L. I. section VII. E. 1.
a.  Yeoman- A yeoman is a fighter who is not eligible to participate in official 
     Shinai combat due to age (13 11 or under) but may engage in the training of 
     Shinai at official practices supervised by a warranted marshal, with a 
     completed parental consent form.
b.  Man at Arms (1 0 to 49 points) is a fighter qualified by a Marshall who is  
     entitled to participate in all shinai combat  and Rapier combat as per the Imperial Manual of Combat.
c.  Guardsman (50 to 124 points) is an experienced fighter entitled to be 
     qualified in Rapier combat as per the Imperial Manual of Combat. Steel combat as per the Imperial Manual of Combat.
	d.  Sergeant (125 to 299 points) is a seasoned Combatant entitled to: 
	i. be qualified in Steel combat as per the Imperial Manual of Combat;
	ii. cannot participate in Shinai tournaments; and. 
				iii. wear a black baldric to denote their rank.

Change IMoC Section 1.
D) Age Limitation
i) The minimum age for a fighter shall be 13 12 years of age. They must have turned into the Lists
Officer or Crown Marshal a signed and NOTARIZED form of consent from their parents of
legal guardians until the age of majority (18 years of age) has been reached.
ii) No underage fighter shall be allowed to advance to Rapier until the age of 16 14 years has been
reached.
iii) No underage fighter shall be allowed to advance to Armoured Combat until the age of 18
16 years has been reached.

Reasoning:
 This will make it easier for fighters to progress to the higher forms of combat and allow those fighters only interested in late period fencing to do so without “hack and slash” shinia form requirement. The lowering of the age requirements is necessary imho to compete with the other medieval combat groups like the SCA and Adrian empires that allow those forms at the earlier ages. 

Submitted by Duke Sir Lassidor, Knight Champion.

D.  QUALIFICATIONS FOR MEMBERSHIP
	4.  Former members may be reinstated upon application in a satisfactory form to the   
	     Territorial Estates where the member currently resides. 
	 
	iv.  If a former member fails to renew within the above time frame they loose all points and titles, which may be returned by a 2/3 or better majority vote by the kingdom estates save knighthood which has the additional requirement of passing all appropriate peer circles.
	b. 	These provisions do not apply to anyone who has voluntarily requested a refund of their membership dues.

New Proposal for iv:
If a former member fails to renew with the above time frame all points and titles will be automatically restored once memberships has been paid unless member was under orders from a Court of High Justice or banishment.  If so, the punishment will still be in place and resumed at time of renewal for points and titles are restored.  Knighthoods has the additional requirement of passing all appropriate peer circles.

Alternate Proposal for iv: If a former member fails to renew with the above time frame all points and titles and knighthoods will be automatically restored once membership has been paid unless member was under orders from a Court of High Justice or banishment.  If so, the punishment will still be in place and resumed at time of renewal for points and titles are restored.  

Reasoning:   I think this is an unnecessary step that renewing members must go through since I have never heard of a member not having their points/ranks, etc restored unless they left due to court punishment.  I think this will help encourage previous members to renew and would lessen the amount of work that the officers have to do.

In Service Baroness Dame Kyrie Mckay
Terra Norte 

E. letters of intent.

Greetings unto the Empire of Chivalry and Steel.
I, Earl Sir Ian Michael Pact AKA Michael Gilmore, wish to be considered for the office of President of the Board of Directors for the term of 2014 to 2016.
I have served this club in many different offices and believe that I will do a good job as President if elected.
In service,
His Grace,
Sir Ian Michael Pact
Chancellor of the Dominion of Puerto San Vladimir
Knight Premiere
Knight Banneret
Earl of the Court of Vega
Baron of the Court of Vega
Lord of the Court of Vega

I, Squire Sven Sørenson, do formally tender my candidacy for the position of Sergeant of Arms of the Imperial Estates. I am looking forward to this opportunity to serve the Empire.
Respectfully,
    Sq. Sven Sørenson

To Whom It May Concern,
I do hereby submit my letter of intent for the position of Imperial Mistress of Arts and Sciences.  While I have not previous served as an Imperial Officer, I have held many positions at the Kingdom level.  I served Galandor as the Sovereign of Arms on multiple occasions and received a Ministry Project accolade as a Mistress of Arts and Sciences.  Other positions I held within the Kingdom of Galandor include, Duchess of Altiora, Marchioness of Solaris, and Queen of Galandor.
One of the things I value most in this organization is the diversity of perspectives and insights held by its members.  This diversity enriches the tapestry that is life within the ECS but it can also lead to incongruities.  I wish to obtain this position in order to facilitate a continued discussion between the artisans of all areas of the empire and minimize these inconsistencies.  I will also strive towards establishing a way to highlight the wonderful works being created in the empire.  While the distances between territories may serve as an obstacle to appreciating the artistry of others we have technology that can help us close the gap and create a virtual showcase of arts.
Respectfully Submitted,
Baroness Anne of Brackley

I, Jon Green, would like to be considered for the position of BOD Treasurer/Imperial Exchequer. I have held the office for the last 4 years and would like to continue to do so. Also, If no one else wants the job, I would be willing to do the job of Imperial Rolls. 

In Service,

Jon Green
AKA Duke Sir Lassidor Vandolini, Knight Champion.

To whom it may concern,
     I would like to continue as Imperial Sovereign of Arms.  I know it is the year we vote on officers.  Please consider this letter.
In Service, Kim Quante

I Sir Vladimir Tolos.
Would like to continue as secretary  and Imperial minister of combat.
In Perpetual service.