Celebrating OPCAAW's 25th Anniversary!!

[Jamie Straw]

(Grrrrr, was supposed to be OPCAAW!! Can Admin change?) The Olympic Peninsula chapter of AAW celebrated it's 25th Anniversary at last night's meeting, and it was quite the bash. Upwards of 100 people attended, with several honored guests from the early days: Bonnie Klein, David Schweitzer and his wife, and Dan Ackerman -- the last surviving member of the original founding group! Wally Dickerson, 94-year-old legend, joined us via Skype (click here to see a slide show, and scroll way down for more, amazing!). Russell Nyman, chapter president, conducted a very insightful chat session with Wally while the Skype video feed played on two big flat-screen TVs. The back wall was lined with fabulous turnings from a variety of members (sorry, couldn't get good pictures of them). And all by itself on a right-side table was the cutest little 1915 lathe you could imagine. Great cakes, too! A couple more pictures in next post. Thanks go out to all the people who worked so hard to put this together.

 

[hockenbery]

A fun celebration, Thanks for sharing,
Al

 

[Jamie Straw]

1914 lathe

Here's the little 1914 Goodell-Pratt lathe, and Halloween treat-tray. OK, shop's warm now, going to get back to it!

 

[Bill Boehme]

Looks like great fun. The spiders are cute. Title fixed.

 

[Brian McInturff]

I'm jealous!!! The closest club for me is over 100 miles away. Wouldn't even make it in time if I tried. Sad thing is I live in a retirement/vacation area Myrtle Beach and I've yet to meet any woodturners other than 1 or 2 and they live about as far away from me as the club.
So for now, I live through everyone else's club experiences...
Thanks Jamie, love the little lathe!!

 

[Jamie Straw]

Isolation

I'm jealous!!! The closest club for me is over 100 miles away. Wouldn't even make it in time if I tried. Sad thing is I live in a retirement/vacation area Myrtle Beach and I've yet to meet any woodturners other than 1 or 2 and they live about as far away from me as the club.
So for now, I live through everyone else's club experiences...
Thanks Jamie, love the little lathe!!

That's really a bummer, Brian. Given that the average age of woodturners (at least in clubs) is at least 55+, you'd think there'd be a few in Myrtle Beach. Hope they come out of the woodwork (so to speak) at some point so you can meet them! One of the things the way-back members discussed last night is how things have changed since the chapter got so big. When they first started getting together, they'd go to each other's shops and turn and talk. Very tight group. I think Bonnie had several lathes, could have great group sessions there. Our club has a couple sawdust sessions per year, from what I understand, that helps. Thank heavens for YouTube, really helps those of us who aren't surrounded by mentors.

Wally's still turning at the age of 94. What a guy!

 

[John Torchick]

Happy anniversary. Sounds like a rousing success! Thanks for the story and photos. Let's see- wonder if my lathe will still be working in 101 years? I know I won't!

 

[Charlie Knighton]

Wally Dickerson, 94-year-old legend, joined us via Skype

thanks for sharing......that is the first time I have seen a meeting/symposium use Skype........at national symposium unless you are on the first rows you watch the screen.........the national symposium could use Skype and have overseas turners without travel expenses//////even have an question/answer session with the use of Skype.....

even better yet we could stay home and use Skype to see rotations at the symposium.......assuming we would have to contribute to the symposium but it would bring cost down for attending

sort of like the difference of seeing the game on tv and watching it live from the 50 yard line

wonder if we will ever see that///the symposium probably would not need as large a place

just thinking out loud

thanks for the glimpse of way back and different dimension

 

[Jamie Straw]

thanks for sharing......that is the first time I have seen a meeting/symposium use Skype........at national symposium unless you are on the first rows you watch the screen.........the national symposium could use Skype and have overseas turners without travel expenses//////even have an question/answer session with the use of Skype.....

even better yet we could stay home and use Skype to see rotations at the symposium.......assuming we would have to contribute to the symposium but it would bring cost down for attending

sort of like the difference of seeing the game on tv and watching it live from the 50 yard line

wonder if we will ever see that///the symposium probably would not need as large a place

just thinking out loud

thanks for the glimpse of way back and different dimension

Skype definitely adds options for conferences and far-away visitors. There are some challenges -- the sound needs to be researched and set up carefully if the audience is in a huge room, but certainly doable for interviews and Q&A sessions. Don't know if the sound could ever approach the quality of a "live" presentation -- don't know that much about Skype technology. I've never been to the symposium, so I don't know exactly what "the rotations" are, but am guessing they are demos of turning. There, you'd need a skilled person on the video camera, or cameras. At our monthly meetings, there are two cameras, one from above and one from the tailstock perspective (if memory serves!), these are remotely controlled for focus, and switched between. There's a feed to two large flat-screen TV's, which sit like wings on either end of the lathe. From what I understand, this is all a major upgrade to an earlier set-up, and has a few more steps to be finished. The fundraisers continue.

 

[Charlie Knighton]

we used go-to-meeting for state symposium meetings......there are other services......wonder what Al thinks??????????

 

[hockenbery]

Charlie,
Using the web has a lot of potential.

There were plans to do a web cast of a couple of demos from TAMPA during the 2014 Symposium.
Justt put them on the web for free with an email announcements and get feedback and learn.
Some problem with web connectivity made it unworkable. It didn't happen in Phoenix or Pittsburgh either.
Maybe Atlanta.

Last year Trent Bosch did a demo from his studio in Colorado for a club via Skype. I was told it worked well maybe someone who participated could comment.

Some Regional symposiums like SWAT and Florida video tape all the demos and give them to the libraries of participating clubs

We currently fund the symposium at about $350k by getting 1200-1800 people to pay $250-275 each to cover the cost.
I'm intrigued by the concept of getting 66,000 people to pay $5 or 33,000 to pay $10
Or some combination.

It is hard to touch things and smell things through the web, It would give folks who could never be able to attend a symposium in person a chance to see the turning world in a different way

Al

 

[hockenbery]

Forgot to add in Pittsburgh we had a panelist who could not travel due to a illness, participate via Skype and show slides on the projection screen answered questions from the Pittsburgh audience.
I was in the audience, in part because I wanted to see how it would work. the communication part worked well.
The skyped in panelist did everything the panelists in the room did.

Also used internet bidding in the auctions.


The web transmission Skype or the web can provide an interactive window into a demo room, a walk through if the instant gallery....
These are valuable for sure.

However much of the value of a symposium is derived by in person participation
Meeting people, Putting pieces in the instant gallery, visiting trade show booths, visiting the gallery exhibitions......,
When I walk through the trade show or galleries I often have a friend nearby and we discuss the tools and the artwork.
For me the Symposium is so much about the personal contact with people.

How to capture that though the web??

Al

 

[Jamie Straw]

However much of the value of a symposium is derived by in person participation
Meeting people, Putting pieces in the instant gallery, visiting trade show booths, visiting the gallery exhibitions......,
When I walk through the trade show or galleries I often have a friend nearby and we discuss the tools and the artwork.
For me the Symposium is so much about the personal contact with people.

How to capture that though the web??

Al

Difficult, not sure you'd want to. The fact that 1200 people will travel and pay to attend is a testament to the value. I'm inclined to think that having some features available via the Internet could help widen the demographics of AAW in general and perhaps, over time, the number of people who atttend the Big Dance.

 

[Charlie Knighton]

We currently fund the symposium at about $350k by getting 1200-1800 people to pay $250-275 each to cover the cost.
I'm intrigued by the concept of getting 66,000 people to pay $5 or 33,000 to pay $10
Or some combination.

It is hard to touch things and smell things through the web, It would give folks who could never be able to attend a symposium in person a chance to see the turning world in a different way

Al

$5 or $10 would be an unbelievable price.........even for individual rotations///////might have to do preorder of the rotations to see which would have enough interest to cover cost of setup for viewing online///////this would help of having 2 or more rotations at the same schedule time that you wanted to see/////16 to 20 rotations each 1 1/2 time would probably be impossible to offer

films of the instant gallery are super.......hope one day for the ability to stop and restart the feed so as to savor the offerings

the future is bright

 

[Gerald Lawrence]

Forgot to add in Pittsburgh we had a panelist who could not travel due to a illness, participate via Skype and show slides on the projection screen answered questions from the Pittsburgh audience.
I was in the audience, in part because I wanted to see how it would work. the communication part worked well.
The skyped in panelist did everything the panelists in the room did.

Also used internet bidding in the auctions.


The web transmission Skype or the web can provide an interactive window into a demo room, a walk through if the instant gallery....
These are valuable for sure.

However much of the value of a symposium is derived by in person participation
Meeting people, Putting pieces in the instant gallery, visiting trade show booths, visiting the gallery exhibitions......,
When I walk through the trade show or galleries I often have a friend nearby and we discuss the tools and the artwork.
For me the Symposium is so much about the personal contact with people.

How to capture that though the web??

Al

Al made a good point about contact, but what about those who cannot afford to travel or cannot get off work? I think that this could be a great enhancement to the turning world.

 

[Douglas Ladendorf]

Jamie, that looks like a wonderful event! Several folks I recognize from forums including Wally.

In terms of "casting" from the symposium, start with something doable one year and build on that. So much depends on the Internet connection when streaming video that nailing that would be a priority. A walk through of the gallery needn't be live, but posted while still going. A small number of featured events could be broadcast live to membership or for fee to get feet wet. Then improve from there. I would be interested and pay when I can't make the symposium.

Doug

 

[Jamie Straw]

Jamie, that looks like a wonderful event! Several folks I recognize from forums including Wally.

In terms of "casting" from the symposium, start with something doable one year and build on that. So much depends on the Internet connection when streaming video that nailing that would be a priority. A walk through of the gallery needn't be live, but posted while still going. A small number of featured events could be broadcast live to membership or for fee to get feet wet. Then improve from there. I would be interested and pay when I can't make the symposium.

Doug

Good ideas about an approach, Doug. Just a funny inside look at OPCAAW's foray into Skype. Evidently, implementing the idea suddenly became difficult when it as discovered that the school housing the meeting room has some kind of filter to keep Skyping from occurring. Oh, my. But determination won out, and they were able to work it out.

 

[Charlie Knighton]

time........view live or at later time (called delayed tape)
what........set up a certain # of rotations and play them......or have a menu.....sort of like a buffet
price........one price or like a buffet
hard copy or not