Promised Post
Following is what turns out to be the full length version of the Presidents' Page. The version I promised, the Readers Digest version, will apper in the Journal.
Thanx
Angelo
April 17, 2007
There is an excellent thread that has been started on the website. Since some of our members do not have access to the web, I’d like to take this opportunity to recapitulate.
Feedback
From experience, I can say, with certainty, that the entire Board is keen to have more member participation. The website forum is a good vehicle to do that.
However, you should be aware, that any member is able to directly contact any Board member by using the e mail addresses or phone numbers posted on this web page:
http://www.woodturner.org/org/staff_dirs.cfm
The same information is available in the Resource Directory.
Currently, as a Board, we are working Board. What does that mean? Well as a working Board, if a Board Member has any program ideas, it usually meant that, the same Board member was responsible for the work required to put that plan into action. As well as reporting progress of the project to the rest of the Board. This usually was enough to stifle some creativity.
Additionally, in the past all of the Board Members were, and still are, on the Conference Committee. What that means to each Board Member is that each member is responsible to make a different piece of the of the symposium come together to make the whole experience. Yes, in the past we were the people that were responsible to set up and breakdown of the demo rooms. We pushed the lathes around, set up the cameras, emptied the trash and were generally running around frantically for three days. (All this with the help of the local clubs who bore the brunt of much of the work.) Happily, under the new organization, that is no longer the case. Board members will be required to schmooze and the heavy work will be left to the pros. In reality it makes a great deal of sense. Take a look at the Board members, I bet you don’t see one young, strong whipper snapper!
Since much of the physical burden hat has been shouldered by the Board and the local club volunteers, the AAW made a practice of not returning to any one city because of the burden on the locals. This is changing. Since we will be hiring people to do the work of the Board and the local volunteers, it has become possible to return to aâ€Âfavorite city.†As I see the discussion happening within the Board they would prefer 6 cities (one in each of the geographical areas noted) that we could return to year after year. It is a discussion that, I suspect, will go on long after I’m off the Board.
Since there has been a movement on the Board to become “more professional†in the presentation of the Symposium, and in our day to day service of our membership, This has resulted in the AAW bringing on Board a professional Conference Coordinator as well as an Executive Director. The Conference Coordinator is now responsible to make the facility ready for the Symposium. The Executive Director is responsible for the day to day business of the front office. The E.D. is also responsible to carry out the “vision of the Board.†Without the input from the rank and file members to help shape that vision, more often than not we are left to our won resources to figure out what is best for the membership. Naturally, we never make the “correct†decision.
Benefits to members:
When we are asked about the benefits of the AAW most members can speak easily about the Journal, the Symposium and the Insurance Policy.
What is not immediately apparent is the fact that there is a local chapter of the AAW at all! That is where the “rubber meets the roadâ€Â. In my view, everyone that attends a local chapter meeting is taking part of one the biggest and best benefits of the AAW, its chapter meeting. Members and non Members alike take part in the camaraderie, the shared knowledge and just the plain fun of making shavings.
With membership topping 13,000 this year, it is impossible to please all of the people all of the time. We depend on the local clubs to present the face of the AAW.
The question in the mind of some Board members is that when Special Programs are offered, thru the local clubs, are they offered to the entire club membership (AAW members & non members alike) or are these special programs offered to only Club Members who are AAW members? If this is true, then there is no reason for a local club member to join the AAW. The comment I have is, who is getting the better deal?â€Â
I see from the previous posts that one of the biggest benefits to membership is that of the Local Club meeting. Each “club†that is sanctioned by the AAW is also eligible for the liability insurance policy. There have been several articles about the coverage and we would be happy to send any AAW member a copy.
If you read the mission statement (Article II – Purposes on page 30 of the resource directory) You will see a concise description of our purpose. We take this statement very seriously. We constantly measure our programs (and our performance) against the yardstick of the mission statement.
The mission statement does not say anything about procuring discounts from various vendors or manufacturers. Therefore we do not make such efforts.
I think you would find that most Board Members would agree that the proper place for price negotiations is at the club level. I think, too, that once the “Members Only†area is operational on the web site, this, too, would be a good place to post vendor discount information.
Imagine the position the AAW would be placed, if it agreed to negotiate prices. We would also have to open a full time complaint department to handle all the problems, complaints poor service and faulty merchandise... I simply don’t see it in the cards.
Resource Directory
Please follow this link for an explanation of the shipping date of the Directory:
http://www.woodturner.org/
Website:
On 4/19/06 Ed Davidson stepped up as the new webmaster. Since then he has untangled many of the glitches that were embedded in our old software. He, and the new software company, has made remarkable progress in a short time. The new on-line registration is not active now. It has been designed. Ed Davidson targets the middle of May for it to become active.
What would the Board like to see from the membership?
The journal is a member driven periodical. It is created from the articles that you, the membership, submit. If you do not see the article that interests you most why not try your hand at writing one. If you are intimidated by writing a whole article by your self, team up with other turners that share your passion and share the work load.
A special note (We, the board members avoid calling “American Woodturner†a magazine. Its purpose is to document the journey of woodturning through time, thus we refer to it as the Journal.)
Chapter Spotlight: This idea could be web based or, for the really good ones, an article in the Journal. Has someone in your club made a really neat jig or tool? How about sharing that information with the web based “Chapters Best Practices†or Tool Tips in the Journal
Member Spotlights: have an old timer, or even a young timer, in your club that is a mentor to many? We would like to hear about them!
The Professional Outreach Program was created as a forum for self proclaimed professional woodturners to gather and to discuss things of importance to their particular niche in woodturning. This has resulted in a number of special meetings at the Portland Symposium for the Special Interest Groups. These meetings will be held on Friday evening. We see this new feature as a developing event. Have a special interest like box making? How about a demo room to meet for the evening?
The Symposium: There is a new idea of an “Artist in Residence†program to be incorporated into each symposium. This idea comes from the POP Group. This would make a space for a Professional Turner to create a signature piece during the symposium. The Turner would be given the space, the tools and the time to, hopefully creating a piece from start to finish.
There is also a “track†being created for the Professional woodturner within the framework of the Symposium. Its intent is to focus on the matters most important to the professional woodturner. No matter what the topic no matter what the length of time it needs we aim to accommodate the request.
Current ideas:
The Board envisions a 25th Anniversary Book. We feel that this book should be a landmark publication and not contain a “lotta fluffâ€Â. We feel it should embrace the “studio woodturner†but also give equal attention to the “practical woodturnerâ€Â. It should chronicle the AAW’s history thru a number of critical essays. It should become a benefit to members. It should be delicious to look at and savory to read.
AAW Spindle Center Finder: research is being conducted to access the feasibility of providing our members a small tool as a benefit of membership
Growth of the AAW-Submitted by Bill Haskell
Your AAW continues to grow in a way you can be proud of, no doubt surpassing the vision the AAW founders had when they started in 1986. Last year, membership growth was the largest ever, with 1,082 added to our roles. The financial report on page 3 (of the Journal you don’t have yet) reflects, last year was also a financial high-water mark.
The growth of the organization continues in a steady upward trend, with membership and our operating funds more than doubling over the past ten years. It is clear to the Board of Directors that the programs that are in place have been successful at reaching more and turners and woodworkers, in general. Therefore if we use growth as a measure of success, then we have been very successful.
The problem we see is how to make our programs reach all of the special interest groups within the AAW membership.
It takes a great deal of effort and membership involvement to make all this happen we offer a hearty note of appreciation to all who have and continue to help in this enterprise. We also offer an open invitation for those that can envision change to drop any or all of your Board Members a line (either a phone call of an email). Then watch us grow!
In short the AAW is the largest craft organization of its’ kind in the world! There is nothing out there like us to use as a model. Therefore, what ideas we cannot appropriate, we make it up as we go. Wanna change things? Then let’s hear from you.
Angelo
