states, such as Alaska, Connecticut, Hawaii, Iowa or Montana while others cover cities such as the city of Toronto, counties or regions, the communities of Alameda County, California or the Greater Niagara Region. Most chapters are Imperial Courts and are also known as "Empires". A few chapters are called "ducal court" (infrequently called a "duchy") or "barony" (infrequently called a "baronial court"). The term ducal court is typically used in the rare situation when one chapter's area overlaps with the territory of an already established chapter, as is the case with the Grand Ducal Council of San Francisco and the Grand Ducal Council of Alameda. The term barony is typically used when a new chapter has yet to fully be elevated to the level of infrastructure and successful fundraising characteristic with those chapters deemed full-fledged Imperial Courts. Except for the titles used by the monarchs (i.e. baroness rather than empress, etc.) baronial and ducal chapters function in essentially the same way as those chapters headed by Emperors and Empresses. Indicative of the ICS's growth in the 1990s, three of North America's largest metropolitan areas -- Boston, Chicago, and Washington, DC, – established baronies which have since become prominent and successful Imperial Courts. As the oldest chapter in the organization, the Imperial Court of San Francisco is considered the "Mother Court" of the Imperial Court System. The term "Mother Court" is also used for a court chapter who grants the recognition and establishment a new court. For example, the Imperial Court of New York is the Mother Court of the Imperial Court of Rhode Island at Providence. Titles Each court holds an annual "coronation" (or "adornment" in the case of baronies and ducal courts) which is usually the chapter's largest fundraiser and is attended by both local people and members of other chapters from across North America. The evening culminates with the ceremony in which the new monarch or monarchs are crowned. The method by which monarchs are selected varies from chapter to chapter, ranging from election by vote among the active membership in closed session to election by open vote of the community region in which individuals are residents...held between one week to up to six months before the coronation to election by all in attendance on the night of the ceremony. The office of monarch is taken very seriously within the court system and requires a large commitment of