Unto the populace and heralds of Lochac, greetings.

In an effort to ensure the office of Crux remains responsive to the needs of the populace, I have instituted a few organisational changes. Most you will likely not notice, however I felt it prudent to acquaint you with them.

Email: All deputies to Crux now have dedicated email address (rather than alias that went to personal email accounts). This will provide the opportunity for better continuity of service as there will be a record of past correspondence from now on.

Website: Updates have been made to https://herald.lochac.sca.org/ to try and make it more user-friendly. Menus are arranged in (what I think is) a more logical fashion, and the commonly sought pages are linked at the bottom of the home page for faster redirection. News (such as this message) now also has a home outside the usual monthly message (which is CAMEL). Look for the News link on the menu.

Personnel: There has been a slight re-alignment of roles, although the tasks performed have not greatly changed:

Coffyn Herald is now officially the 2IC to Crux, in the event that Crux is unavailable. Coffyn still remains the role for special projects and continues to be held by Lady Amanda Martel.

Baryl Herald, which was the drop-dead deputy role, will now become the Australian equivalent of Astrolabe Herald. The concept for these roles pre-date the advent of social media and are to bring matters to the attention of Crux that might otherwise get missed. Baron Domhnall na Moicheirghe had been filling this office after stepping down as Crux and has been released from this duty with profuse thanks. No successor has, as yet, been chosen. The role of Astrolabe is also currently vacant. Both roles seem to be covered by social media at this time, and I can always be emailed directly. I would be pleased to hear from the Populace on whether or not to prioritise filling these two positions.

Rocket Herald is currently looking for a successor – if you have experience with the submissions process, please consider applying.

Canon Herald could always do with help. A deputy makes the load easier and as a former Canon Herald, I can say it’s a very interesting job.

A new position is being developed to assist Rocket Herald and Canon Herald with back-end data management. Currently operating as a deputy to Rocket Herald, this position is held by Lady Emelyn ffayrhome who finds data management a little too interesting.

All the other deputies remain as they are. Bombarde Herald, and her deputy Chaineshot Herald, would like to discuss with former Crowns and Their Heralds, who created alternative ceremonies, recording these on the College of Heralds website. Mortar Herald would like to know who might have the technical expertise to become his successor – more on that in another message.

Lochac Roll of Arms: until now the ‘unofficial pet project’ of Master William Castille, will become an official part of the College of Heralds website. This will involve making his role a Deputy position, along with seeking assistants, deputies and eventually successors. He has asked for expressions of interest already, so please contact him if your bent is to graphics and websites.

Roster of Heralds: This is a work in programs, but updates have been happening. There will (before the end of the SCA year) be a major census of rostered heralds, which will become an annual (required) survey, in order to keep the roster current and factual.

There will be more changes throughout the year, and this message is already long enough. If you are interesting in heralding, talk to a herald! Some groups have no-one filling the office and, while you don’t need to do all the work yourself, it makes it harder to ensure that heralding happens without the help of an officer. Consider taking on the role, or being deputy if your group has one.

Thank you for your attention. If you read this far, and are attending Festival, find me to claim a free hug (I want to see if this gets read).

In service to the Crown and College of Heralds in Lochac,

Sorle Crux