[note]The following is the October Chapter Newsletter from the AAW[/note]
Monthly Drawings/Grand Prize Drawing
We are continuing with our monthly drawings. Nothing is required to participate other than being a member of the AAW. We have great prizes each month and will have a grand prize drawing again at the end of 2011. Walter Meier Powermatic/JET has donated the same grand prize (3520B plus the local chapter choice of JET full-size or 5 minis).
Thank Our Sponsors
Please make sure that you thank all of our business members for their support of the AAW. These companies (and individuals) help make the organization great and offer many special benefits to our members. Let them know you appreciate them when you do business with them. We also thank those donors to the monthly and year end grand prize drawings. You can find a complete listing of those on the website. Board of Directors Elections Deadline
The election is underway for the three Board of Directors positions. These are 3 year terms. The balloting began on August 1st and will close on October 21st. You can vote online.
EOG/ERF Grants
The EOG applications for this year’s grants are now open online. The deadline is January 15. You must apply online. New this year with the EOG grants 10 AAW symposium registrations will be awarded. You may be aware of the ERF (emergency relief fund) which is available to AAW members. If you have suffered woodturning equipment losses due to a natural disaster, consider applying for ERFmonies to help you with replacement equipment.
Mid South Woodturners Guild Joan Kelly Memorial Fund Grants
The members of the Mid South Woodturners Guild have created a Joan Kelly Memorial Grant program. MSWG is offering, on a first come first serve basis, $100 Grants and simple “how to guidelines” to build your own protective shield. You can find more information here.
Best Practices – Safety
The best practices area of the website is used to share ideas, techniques, and methods among the membership and chapters. You can find everything from presentation skills to tax suggestions for chapters. We are soliciting input from the chapters and members to
help expand our safety content in the best practices area. In addition to hard copy documentation, we will open it to video materials as well. Send your ideas and contributions to Dan Luttrell for consideration.
Membership Drive
AAW is excited to kick off our membership drive. As we continue to grow, we look forward to welcoming new members and renewing friendships with returning members. This year we look forward to expanding our programs and implementing new ideas, and as always, sharing with you, this amazing time. Our membership drive is designed to work through and in support of the local chapters. For each 10 memberships (new or lapsed two years or more) the chapter will receive a complimentary symposium registration. The start date for the promotion is November 1st with an end date of December 31st. Click here to participate in the offer. We hope that you’ll choose to join and spread the word to your friends.
Woodturning Fundamentals
Woodturning Fundamentals is a new program at AAW whose goal is to provide a source for basic skills and techniques. We will be adding information on the website and sending emails in the months the American Woodturner journal is not published.
Our purpose is to:
- Encourage and assist members of the woodturning community in the development of their skills
- Provide a source for starting and developing woodturning skills
- Provide reference for equipment
- Promote oodturning safety
Watch for registration for the Woodturning Fundamentals when you renew your membership.
Kurt Hertzog
Chair Chapters and Membership
