February 2008 AAW Board LetterFrom Malcolm Tibbetts ... The board has just held its winter meeting at this year’s up-coming symposium site – Richmond, VA. After last fall’s election, membership on the board has changed as Tom Wirsing takes a seat and Corey Anderson has been appointed to complete Sean Troy’s term after Sean resigned for personal reasons. I wish Sean the very best and thank him for his service and I welcome Tom and Corey on board. Past board members Bill Haskell and I were re-elected; it continues to be an honor to serve. There are some exciting things happening in the AAW. Of course the up-coming symposium is at the top of the list. I won’t take space here to describe all the highlights of the symposium, but with over 91 different demonstration topics, I think it’s fair to say that there will be something for everyone. After touring the Richmond Convention Center facilities, I was impressed by the demonstration space, the trade show and instant gallery space, and even the food service offerings. It’s going to be an unbelievable experience for woodturners. I whole-heartedly encourage everyone to consider attending.
|
Our annual symposium has grown so much in recent years that not many facilities can accommodate us. One small restriction this year is the capacity of the banquet hall for our Saturday night dinner and auction. Tickets for this dinner are limited, so make sure you secure your tickets early; otherwise, you may be disappointed. Another exciting AAW project – we have started work on a 25th Anniversary book that we hope to have available in 2011 at the St. Paul symposium. It seems as if we just celebrated our 20th anniversary and here we are preparing for the 25th. There will be much more on this book project in the near future. In the meantime, if you have any interesting stories related to the history of the AAW, then start thinking about sharing them. As chair of the EOG (Education Opportunity Grants) committee, I am happy to report that almost 150 applications have been received for consideration. The committee members are busy evaluating the requests and we hope to award more than $80,000 this year in individual scholarships, chapter assistance, and to school woodturning programs. Have you visited your AAW website lately? Our webmaster, Ed Davidson has really done a wonderful job; the site is easy to navigate and is full of valuable information. With the hard work of board member Jean LeGwin and with Ed’s expertise, soon members will have access to hundreds of past journal articles. Bottom line: as we go into our 22nd year, the AAW continues to grow and continues to advance woodturning by providing more and more services to its members. The next time that you attend a club meeting, do your non-AAW friends a favor – convince them to join. I’m pretty sure that they will thank you. Malcolm Tibbetts
|
