Member Spotlight: Margaret “Mags” Fielding
Treasurer, Order of the Great Fifth Sea
Background
Margaret Fielding, better known simply as “Mags,” was raised in Manitowoc, WI and built her career in cooperative finance, spending nearly twenty years in credit union management before turning her attention to community stewardship. Her professional background is rooted in numbers and accountability, yet her curiosity for the shoreline heritage of Lake Michigan led her to the Order, where she found an outlet equal parts practical and poetic.
Role in the Order
Since 2019, Mags has served as Treasurer of the Order of the Great Fifth Sea. She is responsible for ensuring that the fellowship’s ambitions remain on sound financial footing, introducing the dual-ledger system that separates essential expenditures such as archival supplies, venue rentals, and restoration projects from nonsense tolerated such as bells, semaphore flags, and other eccentric acquisitions. This pragmatic framework allows the Order to pursue discovery without losing sight of sustainability.
Notable Traits
Though modest in manner, Mags has acquired a reputation for balancing skepticism with generosity. She keeps a jar of smooth stones from Neshotah Beach on her desk as “balance tokens,” favors a brass pocket calculator from the 1970s, and maintains what she insists is an “objective” archive of Green Bay Packers statistics. When discussions drift into extravagance, she is known to conclude matters with a single refrain: “Fine. But it comes out of nonsense.”
Recent Contributions
In recent years, Mags has guided several key initiatives that reflect both her financial acumen and her commitment to the Order’s mission:
The Aligned Ledger Project – Oversaw the funding and documentation process for updating the Order’s ceremonial accounts, ensuring transparency and archival preservation.
Rawley Point Retreat – Coordinated resources for the 2023 assembly at Rawley Point Lighthouse, securing permits, rental agreements, and contingency funds without derailing the fellowship’s more imaginative pursuits.
The “Little Concord” Submersible Repairs – Quietly financed and organized the restoration budget for the Order’s mini-submersible, ensuring its safe return to service after a mishap off Two Rivers.
Dispatches of the Fifth Sea – Provided editorial support and logistical coordination for the launch of the Order’s public-facing blog, confirming that subscriptions and hosting costs aligned with sustainable growth.
Significance
Mags embodies the quiet resilience of the Order, a presence at once grounding and steadfast. Her interventions often resolve disputes before they spiral, and her quiet generosity has preserved the solvency of the fellowship on more than one occasion. In ceremonies, she speaks sparingly, but when she does, her words carry the authority of a ledger closing. The Order recognizes her not only as Treasurer, but as a custodian of equilibrium, proof that discovery and fellowship require both imagination and discipline.
