[Artemisia] NMS and Site Fees

Thu May 18 13:13:56 CDT 2006

Interesting views, I got lost on why it turned from NMS to extra fees charged for kids activities. Evolution of conversation?? LOL
  I do agree, as a parent and as someone considering the MOY for my barony, that costs for youth activities need to be clearly stated and kept low. I would only charge a "class fee" if a project used some very expensive materials. I don't find myself inclined to do so simply because expensive and a broad range of ages of children is generally not a good mix. <smile> 

  Syeira

BECKY LEISHMAN <leishman10 at msn.com> wrote:
  I have personally seen only one event that charged an additional fee on site for youth activities, when that has occurred, it is usually to help defray the cost of pricier kid supplies. Note at that event, whether or not you wanted your kids to participate in said activity that carried a price tag, was optional, think about any other any A&S type class that comes with an associated extra fee.... it's to help reimburse the provider of the activity for their added expense. I've also seen one maybe two where this kind of thing handled as a 'suggested donation' again, it's optional, not required. At the event that had an extra charge, they offered two sets of 'craft related' activities for kids... the set of activities they were charging for was to make some very very cool do dads that they got to take home, which by the way the kids really enjoyed making. The other set of activities was nice too, but no where near the same in 'coolness factor' and no where near as
 interesting to make. At the other one, they re-cooped whatever costs they could and basically ate the rest, however still allowed all the kids to participate in all of the same activities. 

I have also seen events where the youth discount is more than 1/2 of adult fee (as it usually is) again, for the same reason to help offset the cost of providing 'special' activities for the kids. 

I have never seen this type of thing passed off as NMS for kids... nor should it be. 

A suggestion: To avoid having extra onsite fees and/or misunderstandings as to what is and is not permitted at an event... the MOY and the autocrat should work closely together to insure that the cost of providing supplies for kid activities is incorporated into the expenses for the event. They should also work closely with the groups financial committee. The MOY should do everything in their power to keep their event costs down to a minimum and stay within their budget. 

Something to think about. 
Yes, the SCA is a 'family oriented' organization. However at the same time, parents please remember that, providing youth activities as with anything else comes with a price tag.. both in materials as well as time. Although the youth ministers enjoy working with kids... when you bring them to events, they are basically your 'hostage' for one to many days... sometimes as unwilling participants. For that reason, the MOY does what they can to initiate activities that not only occupy some of their time, but are also fun, creative and/or interesting to them (they also like to generate activities that involve something other than hitting each other with 'sticks' that are appropriate to the children's age and abilities). This helps to improve the SCA experience not only for the child, but also for the adults around them. It also makes your children look forward to their next event with a bit more enthusiasm. So how can you help? Donate money and/or materials to help support your
 local youth programs. Better yet, also donate your time. Offer to spend an hour or two of your event time working with the youth minister in the youth center. Offer to actually run an activity at an upcoming event your MOY would greatly appreciate it. 

I should note, that not only do they appreciate help and/or donations from parents, they will also gladly accept help from non-parents (with appropriate supervision... smile)

My ten pence

Bethoc
previous MOY

----- Original Message ----- 
From: Sandra Holladay 
To: Kingdom of Artemisia mailing list 
Cc: henglish at director.sca.org 
Sent: Wednesday, May 17, 2006 10:20 PM
Subject: [Artemisia] NMS and Site Fees

Greetings Lady Syeira of Schattentor,

This is an issue that has had a great deal of confusion from the very
beginning. To assist in clarification, the Kingdom Website added a link
some time ago to the BOD ruling as listed at
http://www.sca.org/BOD/announcements/nms.html. In the ruling are the
following statements: "How the NMS applies: (3) The NMS will not be
collected for minors for whom there is a discounted event fee." and "At the
SCA Board of Directors' meeting that was held in October 2002, the
non-member surcharge was further defined to include fee structures: For the
Kingdoms that reside in the United States, the NMS fee is $3 USD."

The BOD Meeting for the date the NMS went into effect is not on
http://www.sca.org/BOD/minutes/ which is the listing of BOD Minutes (there
is a lapse after October 1986 to October 2002); however, I did a quick
review of all documents in that page from October 2002 to the present. I
found some variances for certain Kingdoms (and for Pennsic), although they
did not state what those variances were.

As Lord John Gilson states below, Uprising is charging a NMS of $5 and
Estrella $10 (Pennsic $25 per week, War of the Lilies in Calontir $5 for a
nine day event, Glory War doesn't have their site information up yet). It
appears that when an event goes over the standard number of weekend days,
the NMS goes up, and I find that understandable, although, if legitimately
allowed, it should be written into the BOD ruling stating so.

I do not find anything in writing to support John's statement of "It should
be stated that a group however MAY charge more, or even add their own
additional NMS fees to minors if they choose to." When the BOD's written
statement says "The NMS will not be collected for minors for whom there is a
discounted event fee." To me, that means it will not be done. If exceptions
are to be allowed, then the BOD ruling should state so. If there is such a
statement from the BOD, and I missed it in skimming the minutes, I would
appreciate knowing so.

I agree with an earlier posting, if a NMS is being charged for minors for
whom there is a discounted event fee, discuss with them the ruling and why
they are charging the fee.

It seems that confusion is a continuing problem and the only way I can see
for this to be alleviated is for the BOD to clarify, in writing, what is and
is not allowed for the NMS. Or we go with what the BOD has already written,
which is no NMS for discounted event fees (minors mostly) and the NMS is
$3.00 in the USA.

The above are my findings, observations, and opinions. I hope it has been
of some help.

YIS
THL Marisa nic Griogar

-----Original Message-----
From: artemisia-bounces at lists.gallowglass.org
[mailto:artemisia-bounces at lists.gallowglass.org]On Behalf Of JD Gibson
Sent: Wednesday, May 17, 2006 2:15 PM
To: artemisia at lists.gallowglass.org
Subject: [Artemisia] FW: NMS and Site Fees

>I went through this when the NMS came out a few years ago, even going into
detail with the Society President and Exchecker. It SHOULD only be charged
on the standard 'Adult' rate (like both the Pre-Reg and At-Gate fee for
Adults (14+) at Uprising. On a Daypass fee for Adults at a larger event, it
is optional, and for other fee items (minors etc) there should be NO charge.
>The NMS is $3 which goes directly to Corporate for society expenses. It
should be stated that a group however MAY charge more, or even add their own
additional NMS fees to minors if they choose to temp increased membership.
(Example, the NMS for Uprising is $5 and Estrella is $10, I forget what
Pensic is.) 
>Lord John Gilson, HUH?
>autocrat uprising XX
>
>:-I have 2 questions on non-member fees. I am a member but my children are
not being only 6 and 11. 1. On the society FAQ page
(http://www.sca.org/docs/scafaq.pdf) under membership and questions about
NMS it states that a non-member fee is not charged on a discounted minor fee
for an event but at every event I have been to I am being charged this for
my 6 yr old. Is it due to a lack of acurate information given to people at
Troll or a misunderstanding of the policy? Why is the non-member fee
listed as $5.00 for Uprising when the society page says $3 is the fee?
Curious and budgeting for events
YIS,
Lady Syeira of Schattentor
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