From '92 to '08 I was a member of the Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc., more commonly known as the SCA. The SCA is a nonprofit educational organization devoted to research and education in the field of pre-17th-Century Western Culture. As a living history group, the SCA provides an environment in which members can recreate various aspects of the culture and technology of the period, as well as doing more traditional historical research. They sponsor events such as tournaments and feasts where members dress in clothing styles worn in the Middle Ages and Renaissance, and participate in activities based on the civil and martial skills of the period. These activities recreate aspects of the life and culture of the landed nobility in Europe prior to 1600 CE. The dress, pastimes, and above all the chivalric ideals of the period serve to unify SCA events and activities.
I attended my first event, my older brother's wedding, on March 14, 1981 in Goose Creek, SC. In '84/'85 I attended a few more events while I lived in Hawaii and then tried again in '88 when I first moved to Norfolk, VA.
I finally started actively playing with the SCA in the summer of '91 and became a member in late '92 shortly after my divorce from my first wife. My SCA home was the Barony of Marinus which covers most of southside Hampton Roads and is part of the Kingdom of Atlantia.
I served as Marinus' Chronicler (newsletter editor) for a short time and ended up passing the office to another so that I could assume the duties of Atlantia's Kingdom Chronicler ('96 - '99). Shortly into my third year as Kingdom Chronicler I became the Deputy to the Society Chronicler. I ended up serving as the acting Society Chronicler for six months when my boss was forced to step back due to a difficult pregnancy.
When the Society Chronicler's office was reorganized I applied for and was selected to be the first (and only) Vice President for Communications for the Society ('99 - '02). Late in my tenure the board of directors decided to reorganize the department again and the office was discontinued at the end of my term.
After stepping down from the corporate office I served the Barony as her Exchequer (treasurer), as a Deputy Herald and Deputy Webminister (Baronial Order of Precedence Clerk), and as a Deputy Chronicler (Baronial Directory Editor). The baronial directory won the Society's William Blackfox Award for Best Special Edition of a Newsletter in 2000.
I left the society to pursue musical interests elsewhere, but still maintain ties to many of the citizens of the Barony and the Kingdom.