November Chapter Newsletter
Please feel free to pass this chapter newsletter on to your membership via chapter email distribution, club newsletter, or website. If you are having trouble reading this email, please click here to view on our website.
Year-End Reminders - The end of the year brings elections for many of our chapters. Remember to make the officer information updates to the Saint Paul office. Your chapter contact should be checked and corrected as well as your club information on the web. Local potential members rely on this information to find your group and view your meeting schedules, please update the location, meeting time and day. The contact person listed on the AAW website for your chapter is their first contact so it is key they get the correct person.
Insurance Paperwork - With the new year, the general insurance certificates will be generated and mailed to the chapters. They are issued and mailed to the contact person listed for your club, so make sure they get to the right place and that the information on the insured party and place is accurate. If you need additional certificates for other locations and/or events, let the Saint Paul office know. The state of Minnesota requires a written contract in order to request an additional insured certificate. Please review and provide the information to the Saint Paul office for these additional insured requests.
- Commercial General Liability Conditions - The state of Minnesota has implemented a new law regarding the issuing of insurance certificates. All certificates issued must follow the terms of our actual insurance policy. Please read the following requirements regarding requests for an additional insured certificate. As in the past, members are not added as additional insured because they are already included under the existing policy while conducting local chapter business. This does not change the local chapter certificates which are sent out yearly to the local chapter contact person.
- In order to add an additional insured, there must be a written contract or agreement between the Local Chapter and the party requesting to be named as additional insured. To request an additional insured certificate, you must provide AAW with a copy of this written contract or agreement. AAW has been advised we must keep these documents on file. If there is not a written contract or agreement, an additional insured certificate cannot be issued. After AAW receives the required documents, a certificate will be requested from the insurance provider.
25th Anniversary Symposium - The December journal will have the registration information for the Saint Paul Symposium and the online registration will be available January 1st. If you register before May 15th, the price is the same as last year, $250. for the three days. After May 15th the price is $300. After June 15th the price is $350. Register early (registration opens January 1st online) to insure you get into the host hotel and get tickets to the banquet. Last year's banquet was an award winner.
25th Anniversary Book - The 25th Anniversary Book will be a treasured history of woodturning and AAW. Order yours now at the discounted pre-order prices. You can order online at this link. If you order now, you will be able to bring it to Saint Paul and get autographs from some of the star studded cast of demonstrators.
Pen Display at Saint Paul - In past years the instant gallery has set aside a table for those who wish to display their turned pens. This year we will do the same but let's enlarge that to include the efforts of the chapters. Let's include the Freedom Pens and all of the other efforts that are done for the troops, scouts, charity fundraisers, and more. Bring some examples of the work and a small sign with the particulars. A poster board or stand up holder with an 8 1/2" by 11" maximum size can include the particulars. Take the opportunity to share your ideas and accomplishments with all of the other AAW members and chapters.
EOG Applications - The EOG program has had a couple of small changes to allow chapters to apply each year on par with schools and churches. It has also been put online. All applications will be taken through the website. We've made it pretty short and easy to complete. Once the application has been submitted, the applicant will receive acknowledgement of receipt. The deadline is still the same but with all of the applications being electronic, we hope to speed the consideration and decision process.
Return to the Community - The project this year is "Empty Bowls." Turn a bowl - feed the hungry! It's that simple. We would like to encourage each member that attends to donate a turned bowl for "Empty Bowls." Woodturners could make a huge impact towards feeding the hungry, for additional information please click here.
Renewal Reminder - The AAW membership runs from January 1 to December 31 so unless you've taken a multi-year membership, it is time to renew. In the last mailing, you should have received a hard-copy renewal application. Did you know you can renew online at this link? The page has all of the pertinent information regarding membership and links there take you to the appropriate electronic form.
Hard Copy Resource Directory - The decision was made to save a few trees for turning by reducing the unused resource directories printed. If you want a hard copy, we'll provide one. If you renew by 12/31, check the appropriate box and you'll receive one. If you don't renew (or join) by then, the mailing lists will have already been generated and you won't receive one. If you have already renewed before we modified the form or you are a multi-year member, don't worry as we've automatically signed you up to receive the hard copy resource directory. The resource directory information is always available on the website. The beauty of the website version is that it is as current as possible as opposed to a hard printed copy, and there is no waste. Every tree we save from unused paper versions is a tree available for woodturning.
The Quiet Stalwarts - Every chapter has a few. You know. The guy or gal who is the first to pitch in and the last to quit at the end of the task. It takes a lot of effort by a lot of people to make a chapter successful but usually there are one or more "quiet stalwarts." They are the backbone of most of the chapters. When nobody else will take on a task, they will. When everyone else has burned out, they keep on plugging. Not once but time after time , year after year. Always giving to share the joy of woodturning. We know how important they are to the chapters and we'd like to help the chapters recognize them. If you have one or two members like that, let us know. We'll send a Certificate of Appreciation that the chapter can personalize and award to that member. We'll also create an area on the website to honor these folks in an ongoing manner. A photo and short write-up will be posted and will help honor their service to the chapter. We'll put a link on the website for the chapter President or designee to place their recommendation.
Monthly Drawings/Year End Drawing - We've been very fortunate to have the generous support of many of our business members and been able to have monthly drawings for the membership. With four to seven prizes given away each month, winners received a great prize for no reason other than the fact that they were members of the AAW. Our year-end grand prize drawing will be held at the end of next month. It will be for a Powermatic 3520b lathe delivered stateside to the winner's home. Outside of the US, there is a $500 shipping allowance. Not only will the winner receive the lathe, but his or her club will win a full-sized Jet or 5 mini-Jets. Again, shipped to the winning club. The only requirement to be in the drawing is that you are a current AAW member in the membership database. We'll take the membership roster at the end of the year and draw the lucky winner, who will then be notified . If the drawing winner is a member of more than one chapter, the lucky person will have to figure out how to deal with it :-} Pick one chapter or the other or split things somehow. Get your membership in! We'll announce the winner(s) on the website early in January and follow up in the Journal as soon as printing lead times allow.
Best,
Kurt
Kurt Hertzog
Chair - Membership and Chapters
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