TURNERS ANONYMOUS – MARCH 2020
A chapter of the American Association of Woodturners
LOCATION
We meet on the third Saturday of the month, September thru May, at Woodcraft.
The Address is 102 Four Coins Drive, Canonsburg, PA 15317. The doors open at 9am, with the meeting starting about 9:45.
Please save the parking spaces directly in front of the store for customers, so we are asking that you park against the grass strip.
CHAIRMAN’S REPORT – Becky Maruca
Due to all the public health closures and cancelations, I have been notified by Dan Habjanetz, the Regional Manager of Woodcraft, to cancel our March meeting. This means that the Michael Kehs’ demo and classes are canceled and we are working on rescheduling the event for a later time, maybe in the fall. Members who have signed up for the demo or classes have the option to receive a full refund or hold their spot in the new re-scheduled time.
Also, please be advised that the April and May meetings will be listed as To Be Determined as we wait for Woodcraft to make a decision on whether we can resume our monthly meetings.
On another note, Rockler’s Grand Opening event has been postponed as well. The new date will be announced later.
A notice went out about the AAW Symposium. The Symposium is still on, but they will be keeping an eye on the latest developments of the COVID –19.
And finally, if you are sick or if you feel sick, please stay home.
INSTANT GALLERY – Kim Romanko
The instant gallery is changing!
Starting in March, items will be voted on by the meeting participants in two categories, Novice and Advanced. The winner in each category will receive a $10 Woodcraft gift certificate.
The following are the rules for the instant gallery
- All items for the instant gallery will be submitted to Kim Romanko for display. A card will be available for the turner to write his/her name and if possible a description of the item being displayed, wood type(s), name of piece if is there is one, and any other materials used, etc.
- Identify your perceived skill level.
- Novice or Advanced
- Voting will be conducted like a Chinese Auction with each meeting participant receiving two tickets, see Kim Romanko before the meeting, with one ticket to vote for each skill level category.
- Cups will accompany each piece to place the ticket votes into.
- Votes will be tabulated, and the winners announced at the end of the meeting.
- You cannot win more than once every three months (consecutive meetings). However, that should not keep you from bringing in your turning(s). Those items will not be eligible to vote on but we all want to see your latest accomplishments.
Notes
For those members in the Novice category. If you win the instant gallery three times, you will now be considered in the Advanced category.
The winner in each category will be asked to discuss their piece at the meeting.
If anyone who submits a piece wishes to talk about it, tell about problems encountered, ask advice, or describe what was needed to complete the project, let me know at the beginning of the meeting and time permitting, you will be asked to discuss your project.
RAFFLE – Joe Katkic
$50 Cash
$20 Gift Certificate for Craft Supply
$20 Gift Certificate for Craft Supply
Thompson: 3/8” U-Bowl Gouge with bag
Dremel Versatip (multi-purpose tool kit)
Green Woodturning tool roll
Sandpaper cutter
Galaxy Multi-purpose Lamp
Box of Assorted Sapelle blanks
And of Course, The Mystery Box!
COMING SOON – Dave Dudney
APRIL – Another hands on session – this time we will work on the skills that Dudney and Betler showed us back in February.
MAY – Linda V. is back on the stage to demonstrate inside out turnings. This is really valuable if you want to make ornaments or stoppers, and is also one of those “how do you do that?” things.
SEPTEMBER – Right now we are in the planning stages for a visit with Chris Ramsey. Many of you know Chris from his cowboy hats, but what you may not be familiar with is his high level artwork. More info to come!
OTHER OPPORTUNITIES
WOODCRAFT
Woodcraft has several classes going on each month – we know of two bowl turning classes and a pen turning class that are in the future. See Kyle or Leslie, or check their website.
AAW NATIONAL SYMPOSIUM
You have all seen the notices for the annual symposium held in Louisville, KY.
This year the dates are June 4th thru 7th. Information may be obtained on the AAW website (woodturner.org).
This from Phil McDonald:
People worldwide are facing concerns about the COVID-19 epidemic.
We’d like you to know that the AAW leadership is carefully monitoring the status of COVID-19 in preparation for our 34th Annual International Symposium, June 4-7, in Louisville, KY. The health and safety of our members, demonstrators, trade show vendors, partners, and other event attendees is our absolute and utmost priority.
We remain watchfully optimistic that the AAW Symposium will go forward. Based on all available guidance as of March 12, the symposium is still scheduled to occur in June.
Any changes to this plan will be made based on available evidence and recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the World Health Organization (WHO), the Kentucky Department of Health, and other health authorities. Our professional conference management partner, ConferenceDirect, is actively communicating with the Louisville Convention and Visitor Bureau, our group hotels, and the Kentucky Exposition Center, the venue for the 2020 event. These ongoing discussions ensure regular and full sharing of information between AAW organizers and local authorities.
The AAW Symposium is 85 days away and the COVID-19 situation continues to evolve. Should anything change in our symposium planning, we will promptly notify you. We understand that the uncertainty is difficult and thank you for your understanding and patience as we thoroughly assess what is in the best interest of all our constituents.
For those who have already registered for the AAW Symposium, and for those still planning to register, we have waived early cancellation fees. If future developments challenge us with a difficult but necessary decision to cancel the symposium, all registration fees will be refunded in full.
We will continue to update you as new information becomes available via email, AAW social media sites, and the AAW website. A list of the onsite measures AAW will be taking, can be found on the new COVID-19 page of the AAW website. We have consolidated COVID-19 FAQs and travel information from reliable international, national, state and local health and regulatory agencies on this page, which will be updated frequently.
Finally, if you have any questions or concerns do not hesitate to reach Phil McDonald, AAW Executive Director, by phone at 651-484-9094 or by email at phil@woodturner.org.
We look forward to seeing you in Louisville.
Kind regards,
Phil McDonald, AAW Executive Director
Janet Collins, AAW Symposium Committee Chair
LET’S DO A CLUB GROUP AT LOUISVILLE
This is the last call to sign up for the symposium discount. I have 7 members who are signed up to go to this symposium. We need 10 to qualify for the discount. If you want participate in this; first, don’t sign up online, let Becky know. She will need to know if it’s just you, or if you are bringing a Spouse or Youth, and if you are going to the Dinner. Secondly, we need to send all the checks together to the AAW before April 13th to qualify for the discount. All checks must be written out to American Association of Woodturners. Let Becky know whether or not you’re coming by March 28th. Contact Becky at ramaruca@gmail.com.
TURN-ON CHICAGO
Chicago woodturners is sponsoring a woodturning symposium July 24-26, 2020. Featured demonstrators include Andy Cole, Cynthia Carden Gibson, Michael Hosaluk, Eric Lofstrum, Chris Ramsey, Avelino Samuel, plus regional demonstrators. Flyers are available at the club meeting or check their website (www.turnonchicago.com)
PARKING AND TRUNK SALE
Please save the parking spaces directly in front of the store for customers. We are asking that you park against the grass strip. This is where we will have our “Trunk Sale”. Anyone who has items for sale or free give-a-ways can make the deals out here before the meeting. Please don’t bring anything into the store other than Instant Gallery items. We don’t want to mix up our stuff with Woodcraft stock.
BOARD MEMBERS FOR 2020
Chairman – Becky Maruca
Vice Chair – TBD
Finance – Glen Nickodemus
Secretary – Maurice Brazeau
Membership – Rick Barbour
Website and Video – Pat Griffin
Facilities – Bob Gollick
Programming – Dave Dudney
Instant Gallery – Kim Romanko
Raffle – Joe Katkic
IN CLOSING
The next meeting was scheduled for Saturday March 21st and has been cancelled due to the virus pandemic. We will keep you informed about any future developments.