The American Association of Woodturners (AAW) is an international, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to the advancement of woodturning.
Our mission is to provide education, information, and organization to those interested in turning wood.
Recent AAW News & Woodturning Related Info
"Support the AAW" website now fully operational (posted 7/28/10):
There has been a couple of start-up problems on this, but the "Support the AAW" special website is now fully operational, including the ability to grant your proxy to the AAW Board online. Click on this link to learn more.
Special Meeting of the AAW Membership (posted 7/26/10):
The Board of Directors of the American Association of Woodturners (AAW) hereby calls a Special Meeting of the members of AAW to be held at 9:00 AM on August 28th, 2010 at the AAW’s corporate offices in the Landmark Center, 75 5th Street West, St. Paul, MN 55102-7704.
The AAW is under attack. There is a small but vocal group of AAW members which calls itself the Membership Action Group (MAG). This group opposes the Board of Director’s decision to request the resignation of the AAW’s former Executive Director. The MAG has launched a campaign to throw out the present AAW Bylaws, rewrite them to suit their purposes, remove the duly elected Board of Directors and appoint their own board, reinstate the former Executive Director, and take whatever other actions they wish. As preposterous as this may seem, if the MAG can collect proxies from 5% of the AAW membership (approximately 682 members), they can have their way with the AAW. This move, by just 5% of the membership, disenfranchises the other 95% of the membership, and could destroy the AAW.
The AAW is therefore launching its own proxy drive. The AAW will soon establish a web site where all AAW members can vote by proxy to protect the AAW against an unwanted takeover by the MAG. We will announce the proxy web site in the coming days.
The AAW did not wish to engage in a divisive proxy battle. The MAG has forced the AAW into it. If the MAG would call off its proxy drive, the AAW would be more than happy to call off its drive. The AAW has no option but to protect the interests of its members by launching its own proxy drive to defeat the MAG. Otherwise the MAG will destroy the AAW as we know it today.
The AAW Bylaws need to be rewritten. They have grown up over the past twenty-five years, are outdated, do not comply with Minnesota law governing nonprofit associations, and contain many inconsistencies. The AAW is currently in discussions with the AAW membership to set up a committee which will rewrite the bylaws. The bylaws must be rewritten in a democratic manner, with input from all AAW members, and the new bylaws must be submitted to the entire membership for approval by vote. We cannot allow 5% of the AAW membership to rewrite the Bylaws to suit their purposes.
Please watch for further announcements in the coming days.
AAW Bylaws update available (7/23/10):
Two changes were made to AAW Bylaws, effective 7/22/10, via a teleconference meeting of the Board, as follows: adding to the end of Section 4.02: "The general membership must be notified 30 days in advance, of the time and place of any Special Meeting.", and in Section 4.03, in the last sentence - dropped "or notice" and added at the end: "in compliance with these bylaws and Minnesota law."
The purpose of the first change is to ensure that the general membership is provided with sufficient notice to be able to attend a Special Meeting. The membership has the right to know of the meeting so that they may attend and vote on issues brought before the meeting. The purpose of the second change is to ensure that any corporate action taken, complies with AAW Bylaws and the laws of the State of Minnesota. These changes to the Bylaws are not fundamental changes and are permitted under Section 14.01 of the Bylaws. The full text of the Bylaws may be found through this link.
2011 St Paul Symposium news (7/22/10):
All AAW Honorary Lifetime Members have been invited to demo or sit in on panel discussions at the 2011 symposium. To view a preliminary list of demonstrators, click here, and stay tuned for updates.
POP eNew for July (7/21/10):
This link will take you to the Professional Outreach Program (POP) main webpage, where the July eNews link can be found - upper left-hand corner of the page.
August AW finalized (7/16/10):
The August American Woodturner (Vol. 25 - No. 4) is at the printers and will begin mailing to the membership on 23 July. For a little inspiration and some good thoughts, have a sneak peek at the back cover.
AW Index updated (7/13/10):
The American Woodturner Journal's searchable online index has been updated, and now includes all issues through June 2010. Here's the direct link to the 251 page pdf.
Symposium Volunteers (7/08/10):
To view the list of valued volunteers who helped in a very big way to make the recent 2010 symposium a success, click on this link.
July message from the Board (7/06/10):
Click on this link to read Jean LeGwin's July message from the AAW Board
Forum issues resolved (7/06/10):
Normal AAW forum operations were interrupted for about two hours today, caused by a malware virus planted on the forum's server. Our quick working forum moderator, Steve Worcester, has fixed the problem and we're now back up and running. No forum posts have been deleted or corrupted as far as we can tell.
Photos from the 2010 Symposium (7/03/10):
With the help and support of several talented photographer volunteers, the Hartford symposium photo gallery archive is starting to come together. Click on this link to have a look around, and check back often for updates.
June prize winners announced (7/02/10):
Names of five lucky AAW members have been drawn from the hat, and will receive some really great prizes from our generous supporters - click here for details, and stay tuned for next month's drawing.
25th Anniversary Book: pre-order now (6/18/10):
The 25th AAW Anniversary book, "Woodturning Today - a Dramatic Evolution", may now be purchased at a 20% discount, with delivery taking place next spring. Click here to learn more and to pre-order your copy.
Call for 2011 Symposium Demonstrators (6/02/10):
The 25th anniversary AAW symposium in St Paul will be a tremendous event. If you would like to be considered for one of the demonstrator slots, click on this link to view the online application.
Turning 25 - A Celebration... call for entries now open (4/06/10):
One of the many 2011 symposium special events will be an exhibition of AAW chapter woodturnings. The goal is to have every AAW chapter represented. Click on this link to read about the call for entries.
