Seattle AAW Woodturners Board
Minutes –February 2016
Meeting called to order: February 2, 2016 at 7:00 PMAdjourned:9:04PM
Location:Madison House
122215 128th Street
Kirkland, WA
Attendees:
ELECTED
*A J Mearns–President
*Steve Gary – Treasurer
*Jim Steck – Director of Programs
*Greg Raab – Secretary
*Dan Robbins– Director of Communications
*Jim Jaskovsky – Member at Large
*Vern Tator– Member at Large, Wood Rats
*Jim Kief –Inventory Control/ Community Outreach
VOLUNTEER/ APPOINTED
*Biz Jaskovsky – Library
*George Hart – New Members
*George McNeil-- Photogragher
Lawrence Brown – Sound
*Mike Hughes –Community Outreach
*AJ Mearns – Sawdust Sessions
Steve Sergev – Sealer
Jim Hogg – Trailer Transport
Oliver Raab – Raffle Tickets
*George Baskett – Prospective Librarian
(* Present at Meeting)
AJ began the meeting asking about the minutes to last month’s board meeting. Jim Jaskovsky proposed that we waive the reading of the minutes. It was seconded and approved.
- Treasurers Report – Steve Gary:
-So far, this year, we are positive $51.28. This is after paying the first three months of rent.
-We have 170 members, with 24 remaining non-renewals. Steve is considering making calls to some of those folks, but was looking for feedback from the club in this regard. Comments were made about a few of those members and about the need for a delicate approach in contacting folks via telephone.
- President’s Corner – AJ Mearns:
-AJ commented on the success of the recent NW Woodturners Alliance meeting and how interesting it was to gain insight into other clubs’ operations. There were about 20 attendees and he came away with some ideas of things to incorporate into our club. Jim Steck said it was nice to see people from other local clubs and interesting to discover that they have many of the same issues that our club does: event participation, social media, etc. There were perhaps eight clubs represented from Portland to Vancouver.
- Secretary – Greg Raab: nothing
- Programs – Jim Steck:
-This month will feature Tom Johanson demonstrating “Turning Magic”. He will be making magic wands.
-Stephen Hatcher is scheduled for March. The All-day session is full, actually with one extra person on the roster. Jim sent an email to Stephen Hatcher regarding his upcoming demonstration and workshop to obtain material for the newsletter and to inquire about the maximum capacity of the workshop. AJ asked about the cost of the workshop. Jim said that the fee is $120 per person and his charge is $750 plus materials (roughly $25 per person). This is the workshop fee. There is also the cost of his Thursday evening demo of $320. Dan Robbins asked about the use of Paypal for collecting workshop fees. Jim responded that it is not currently set up for that, but could be if we decided to do so.
-April will be “Ask the Mentors” and possibly a tool swap. This is a panel format that is currently open-ended, but may become theme-oriented.
-The month of May will feature Liam O’Neil, who will be visiting many area clubs around that time and is consistent with our 30th year campaign. There is also an all-day demo with Liam scheduled for that Saturday.
-July will be a mini symposium.
-Jim will be working with other area club program directors to learn and share info about talent that is visiting the area. Along with that he would like to compile a list of our club’s members that are interested in demonstrating at other local clubs.
-Jim made a motion to thank club members who demonstrate at our monthly meetings with a gift certificate. This motion was seconded and approved.
- Community Outreach – Mike Hughes, Jim Kief:
-Mike said that they got the flywheel trued up and centered. AJ got it running at 900 RPMs. They calculated that with a two-inch wheel that would equal a spindle speed of 10,200.
-Mike and Jim went to Dusty Strings to get a little wood. They have also negotiated an arrangement to go before the general public to get some wood each month. Jim commented about what a fascinating operation they have there as it was his first time. He noted the variety of wood and sizes that are available as well as the low cost.
-Mike and Jim went to Crosscut Hardwoods and brought a top as a gift. They were able to procure some wood there at a discount. AJ will prepare that wood for distribution to club members as top material.
-The treadle lathe is coming along. They have a rough framework in place, a flywheel that is true and round with a shaft in it, and a lot of pretty wood. The project is coming along nicely, although it is shaping up to be quite hefty.
- Director of Communications – Dan Robbins:
-Dan met with Les regarding changes to the newsletter. They discussed want ads and putting some rules in place to consolidate those by limiting size and run time. They will also begin to tease certain items in the newsletter and have more detailed information on the website.
-Dan met with Scott Larkin who had set up a Facebook site for the club, but is unable to continue in this capacity. Dan has to go through some process to gain control of that site as the new administrator. He will be working toward integrating Facebook with our website, which will hopefully cut down on the amount of email correspondence with club members. Dan is also working on creating more consistency in the look of various components among various communication outlets.
- Newsletter – Les Dawson: nothing to add
- New Members – George Hart:
-We are about ready to roll out our new member mentor program as he is contacting the mentors to discuss how this will be approached. The mentors will be contacting the new members to discuss their needs and to coordinate schedules to get them involved in club activities as well as to provide them with some amount of instruction, information, and resources.
- Members at Large – Jim Jaskovsky:
-Jim has gracefully resigned as Member at Large due to some personal mobility issues. His service was appreciated!
-Jim Kief mentioned the concept of changing the bylaws to create a Director of Membership rather than replacing this position. This discussion was tabled until the renovation of our bylaws occurs over the next couple months.
– Vern Tator: nothing
- Head Wood Rat – Vern Tator:
-We have a large Ash tree that was 30-36 inches and snapped at the base. The wood was cut into rounds, which was a huge help, but may have sacrificed some of the prominent features in the wood. This will be an event for this Saturday the 6th.
-A non-member who has Hawaiian hardwoods for sale contacted Vern. Vern offered an approach of allowing this type of sale at the meeting with the club receiving a portion of the proceeds (perhaps 25%). Some discussion took place around how to handle this. The board ultimately decided to allow Vern to use his discretion in his correspondence with this person.
- Sawdust Sessions – AJ Mearns:
-AJ compiled the results of the handouts regarding future topics at Sawdust Sessions. He noted that it has changed from past feedback. He noted that lidded boxes and tool sharpening were at the top of the list. Other topics he mentioned were platters, peppermills, bowls, Christmas ornaments, deep hollowing, tops, coring, and machine maintenance.
-This coming session will be platters and bowls as a combined focus in preparation for Stephen Hatcher and for the Empty Bowls collection. AJ has cored many bowl blanks for this purpose. AJ also thanked Vern for his demo and causing him to change his approach to coring bowls.
- Club Photogragher – George McNeil:
-George took some photos of some of the mentors for that program and will plan to begin taking photos of board members this month.
-George also brought a photo to show another approach to beads of courage boxes- using PVC pipe and a wood bottom and top. This will go in the newsletter.
- Safety—Jack Wayne:
-AJ mentioned that Jack Wayne has resigned from the board and we will need a new VP and Safety Coordinator. We have some safety resources that David Lutrick obtained from the AAW with permission to repost it in our newsletter.
- Library – Biz Jaskovsky:
-Biz is retiring from the Library position and may have George Baskett taking over. George introduced himself and confirmed his interest in this role. Biz gave a brief synopsis of the tasks of the librarian. They will transfer the materials at this months’ meeting. The board thanked George for stepping up in this capacity. Biz was thanked for her great service to the club!
- Inventory Control – Jim Kief:
-Jim has completed a spreadsheet for Inventory, but still has to actually take inventory of what is physically in the trailer.
- Video –Dan Robbins, Ryan Petersen, Bob Holzgraf:
-Dan will get together with Ryan next week before the meeting. Ryan has been extremely busy with work.
-Dan mentioned the moisture issue in the trailer as it pertains to the video equipment. This will need to be sorted out as it could potentially be an expensive practice to store this equipment in the trailer.
- Sound – Lawrence Brown: absent
- Hospitality –Jim Remington: absent
- Sealer – Steve Sergev:absent
- Trailer Transport – Jim Hogg:absent
- Shop Tours -- Rick Terney: absent
- Wood Raffle – Oliver Raab: absent
Old Business:
Human Powered Lathe: covered
Our 30th Year in AAW: Peter prepared some information about the club that he has been researching. He found the earliest member list from 1988. AJ and Dan also discussed some history of the club. Les Dawson is one of the founding members. The club was started in the spring of 1986 and was formalized in 1987. Peter has found this project quite interesting and will continue to do research moving forward. Jim Steckmade a motion to create a committee to plan the celebration of our 30th year in February of 2017. The motion passes and a few people stepped up to participate.
New Business:
Organizational Chart: Steve Gary and Jim Kief prepared a proposed chart of our board responsibilities and how communication may flow. The idea is to streamline communication and make our meetings more efficient. Several issues were raised and discussed. AJ suggested that we create a committee to handle this. Dan Robbins proposed that a committee be created to work on the organizational chart to deal with the volunteer positions and the flow of information in our club. This motion passed. The committee was created with Steve Gary, Dan Robbins, and Jim Kief on the committee.
Donations for Specific Goals: Steve had suggested that we ask for donations to obtain something specific, but has since reconsidered as we are already asking for numerous miscellaneous donations (refreshments, sawdust sessions, etc). Others agreed and this has been tabled. Vern thought we had funds for tools already and thought we should get a grinding jig as we have the other components for tool grinding. The board agreed and AJ will take care of this.
Mentoring Program: AJ brought up the concept of voting new members into the club. Jim Steck suggested that we roll this discussion into the new members program.
New Format for General Membership Meeting: AJ proposed that we alter the program schedule of our membership meeting to allow for a break while running the wood raffle and have refreshments simultaneously. This will be attempted this month. Biz will read raffle numbers at the back table while Oliver draws the numbers. Vern will run the Show-n-Tell in an attempt to make it shorter, while maintaining its integrity and purpose. The idea will be to talk about one piece from each person that brings something.
Hatcher Hands-on Day: covered
Empty Bowls: (Vern) We currently have nothing and need many.
Demonstrator for Madison House: Mike Hughes and Jim Kief stepped up to hold a demonstration at the Madison House.
New VP: Jim Kief will be our new Vice President
Paid Advertisements in Newsletter: This topic was discussed as to how we approach various advertisers. We have some organizationssuch as Rockler and Woodcraft that provide the club with various benefits. We also have the option to seek other advertisers who may be willing to pay for advertising. This issue and the various facets were discussed.
Donations: The issue of how to move forward in taking donations was raised, as this could be beneficial to the club to make members aware of this option. We are a 501c3 organization and can serve in a better capacity in this regard. Some issues surrounding this concept were discussed. Jim Steck proposed that Steve Gary take over this area. The motion passes.
Club Vision Workshop: The need for a long-term vision for the club was raised. The issue was discussed and Jim Kief proposed that the board meet outside the official meeting to create a sense of direction moving forward. This motion passed.
Areas that Need Help (Backups): skipped