November Meeting
November 14, 2006
7:00 P.M.
Fairborn Senior Center
325 N. Third Street
Fairborn
878-4141
Visitors Welcome
Notice: Meetings will be cancelled if Fairborn City Schools are not in session.
Shop ‘Till You Drop at the In-House Shop Hop
Our November program is a Vendor’s Fair with most of our local quilt shops coming directly to us. It’s a shop hop at our regular meeting place. Our vendors include Bernina on Main St., Linda’s Sew ‘n Go, Blackberry Patchworks, Unique Stitches, Chris Landis, Janet Miller’s City Stitcher, Mindy Marik’s Quilters Crib, and Stitches N Such.
Each shop will offer a discount or other special for the evening just for our guild.
This is a great opportunity to look for supplies for your next project, Christmas gifts or supplies for Christmas gifts. Fabrics and quilt books make great gift ideas for your quilting family or friends.
You can check out what’s new. It is also a great opportunity to show our support for the local shops and for members new to the area to learn about the location and products carried by each shop.
So, remember to bring some extra spending money, your supply list and Christmas lists.
Susan Hill
Vice President
426-4740
A Note from the President
Little did I know that my daughter’s government assignment would come in handy today. The printer was queued up with legal cases and is pretty interesting reading. While reading through the legal decisions of the Supreme Court, I came upon some quotes by former Presidents of our country and one does an excellent job of describing what I intend by this letter.
On March 5, 1917, President Woodrow Wilson said: “…I pray God I may be given the wisdom and the prudence to do my duty in the spirit of this great people.”
Please take the next few minutes to at least hear me out.
I am not anyone with power. I get one vote just like everyone else. When I decided that for whatever reason that I would swat at a hornet’s nest, I knew my IQ had dropped to zero. Yep, I’ve turned into a starving pit bull with a bone, and boy is the hole that dog is digging deep. I might not be able to climb out. Even I know that there is a screw loose!
It has been my goal all along to ask for a vote of the guild and to let us decide as a whole. I’m not, nor have I ever wanted to be a dictator, a queen bee, or a general pain in the rump. The guild operates as a small Democracy with lots of checks and balances. The thoughts I have on this subject are just that, my thoughts. It has taken months just to work up the courage to stand up in the boat. I never said I was Dale Carnegie, but I did say that I would only play the game by the rules, as I understand them to be.
I’ve not been underhanded. I’ve driven all who would speak to me about the subject to distraction. I’ve worked very hard at hearing both sides (and I have heard BOTH sides.) You’ve all been very gracious in talking with me whatever your opinion on the subject. Thank You. Many of you have expressed concern over the effects of this discussion and had hoped that I would consider other methods. Thank you again for caring.
In case the guild grapevine hasn’t already brought you up to speed:
I wanted to discuss something that occurred at our last retreat, and the one prior, at our October meeting. Since Martha’s (Miller) family was present, their grief was still pretty evident and I didn’t want to embarrass them, I chose to postpone discussing the topic. It was in my printed agenda. There is never going to be a good time when I can bring this up. Putting off the subject will not help us (me) to resolve the issue. I may not be happy with the final decision, but whatever the outcome, I will let it drop and not mention it again. It will have been a group decision.
I was told I was making a mountain out of a molehill. Could be. However, the molehill has been known to break a few ankles in its day. Talking about saving seats in a wholesale fashion and barging in before the appointed hour isn’t. Nor will discussing how our actions affect the guild.
I now consider myself an old-timer, a long-standing, relatively proactive member of this guild. My problem stems from last year’s retreat, but really is one that I feel is of a much bigger origin. I could not believe that what I saw was happening in such a terrific group as ours. I didn’t think it was possible to feel like I was back in the high school lunchroom at the age of 45.
As a collective whole, our group has been thinking only about their smaller subgroups and themselves, to the exclusion of anyone else. When I, plus a few others, walked into the room at 9:30 a.m. Friday morning and saw EVERY seat clearly marked with a name in the main hall (and many of these people had not even arrived,) and the Bartlett room almost full, I positively spit nails. My first reaction was “How rude!” and I was not alone in this reaction, maybe just in intensity. As I spoke to others, I realized quickly that some of our first time participants were shut out and that is unconscionable.
Many of you, in fact probably most of us, see retreat as your time to do what you want, with whomever you wish to do it with. Partly, this is true. However, retreat is supposed to be a friendly gathering for everyone. Our newer members were confused and some who were not so new were disappointed by the “only my group” counts attitude. Personally, I would rather never have another retreat than to see a continuance of what has occurred the last two years, especially last year. I don’t want to believe that anyone wished to exclude or to hurt someone else, but it did. Paying for your place at retreat doesn’t entitle you to save another, just your own. Working on the retreat committee doesn’t make it okay for you to do it either. As a committee member, you have the same privileges as the rest except you come one night earlier and work a heck of a lot harder. For all this work the rest of us are very grateful.
I really don’t care who you sit with, what room you sit in or why you choose to sit with or without anyone else or what you and your friends choose to discuss. I like sitting with certain people also and I’ve even saved them a seat, just not by walking in early and putting down placeholders at every available seat in a room. Nor, have I worked on a committee just to have the opportunity. In my humble opinion, none of us owns a table or a room, we merely prefer that things remain the way we like them.
I can see this collective group slowly unraveling at the seams and I am frightened. I can think of a couple of alternatives to the immediate problem at hand, but not the bigger picture which is the “I’m the only one who counts,” issue. It is prevalent through out our guild activities big and small. We have many small stitching groups that only those involved know about. What a shame. The “My idea is better than your idea.” “I’m not going to help if so-and-so is there.” “I’m not going to participate because things aren’t set up just the way I would like them to be.” I hope you can understand what I want to say.
This is a large group with many varied and viable ideas and methods. It is a fact we need to remember. We have to work together in a fashion that gets the job done quickly and efficiently. We are such a large group that there are bound to be ruffled feathers occasionally. Hopefully we can compromise and see the entire picture, which is the health and well being of the entire guild and the events it operates. Running roughshod over the retreat committee and barging in ahead of time is in poor taste. Working on the committee to accomplish preseating is not cool. Arriving way too early to grab your preferred seating and to preseat only your buddies and not include anyone new (unless it suits your own purposes) or not so new whom frankly you would rather not be with, defeats the mission statement of our guild to join hands in friendship and to further the art of quilting through education and communication.
This viewpoint is not popular, but I won’t apologize. The Retreat Committee grew dramatically last night. Good! Hopefully, it was for the right reasons, not just to use as a back-door. The women, who do this job, work very hard to make it pleasant and enjoyable for us. Let’s remember to wait our turn which begins at 9 a.m. and let them accomplish their tasks without having people underfoot simply because we are impatient. Please go shopping, have breakfast, sit in your car if you’re early or if you really must, in the lobby.
So, I would like to vote on a policy change. Do we want to figure out a way to make seating equitable for everyone OR do we want to leave things as they have been in the past? Do you have a possible solution to share? Please attend as your vote counts, but only if you come and cast your ballot.
To do this, I must give everyone the opportunity to read about it and give you a month’s notice. If you have ideas please attend the board meeting November 6th at 6:00 p.m. You can also e-mail me or drop me a postcard (or anyone else on the board). My only request is that you put it in writing.
To sum up, I will use the words of President Lincoln from March of 1865,
“With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation’s wounds,…to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves (and with all nations).”
I’ve said my piece and set the table for your comments and solutions. I don’t feel all that much relief for talking about this, but hope that by clearing the air we can become a more friendly and cohesive guild. It has been my pleasure to serve you.
Sincerely,
Lynn Hunger
President, 937.969.8700
Welcome New Members
Ginny Bignell
406 Bridle Ln. S.
W. Carrollton, OH 45449-2173
866-7006
Louisa Jones
3231 Philadelphia Dr.
Dayton, OH, 4540
279-1486
Betty Wilder
6830 Lorien Woods Dr.
Dayton , OH 4545
439-1895
Please make the following change to your roster:
Sandy Gebele:
Membership 2007
The 2007 membership dues must be paid by the end of January to remain active on the mailing list. The fee is $20.00.
Dues can be mailed to:
Linda Netzel
1920 Jillane Dr.
Troy OH 45373
If you want to receive your card by mail, please include a self-addressed, stamped envelope. Please mark your check with “Dues for 2007.”
Sunshine News
If you hear of a member who could use our support, please call Lee Peterson at 439-7298.
No news is good news! If you hear of a member who could use our support, please give Lee a call.
2008 Raffle Quilt
Pat Emanuel is chairperson for our 2008 raffle quilt. If you would like to help with this project, please give her a call at 879-1339.
November Stitch-In
3rd Tuesday
Evening stitch-in held on the third Tuesday of the month at 7 p.m.
The 3rd Tuesday evening stitch-in will be held November 21st at Jan Delehanty’s home. The address is 109507 Wellbaum, Brookeville. Her telephone number is 884-7466.
Please call Jan for directions and to let her know you’ll be coming. Enjoy an evening with friends and get some of your quilting and piecing done!
PLEASE NOTE:
Tickets sold for the raffle quilt at the September meeting display the wrong dates. They are still good. The Mary elp of Christians’ tickets should read November 4-5, 200j6, instead of November 5-6.
2007 Bus Trip to Chicago Quilt Show
Plan a fun getaway weekend to the Chicago International Quilt Festival on April 13-15, 2007. Travel by chartered bus to this exciting event and enjoy an afternoon of shopping in Shipshewana, Indiana, on the way. Reservations will include round trip transportation from Dayton, two nights’ lodging, select meals, admission to the show and refreshments. Reservation information will be available soon.
Please contact Ann Clutter to request more details about the trip at 937-433-4354 or email:
Fons & Porter Fund Raiser
We are continuing with the Fons & Porter’s Love of Quilting magazine fund raiser through the January meeting. This would be a great birthday or Christmas gift and it is something that will be enjoyed all year.
The magazine subscription is $20 for 6 issues. The guild collects the $20 and keeps $5 of this for the treasury, then sends Fons and Porter the remaining $15. You can enjoy a good magazine and help the guild earn some money. Checks are made payable to the Miami Valley Quilters’ Guild. They will also offer renewals for this if you are already receiving this great magazine.