The President's Corner - April 2011

March’s program was “Saw Blades 101” presented by Tom Ferrone. Tom did a great job of explaining why and how different blades are suited to different tasks. I think maybe I need more blades.

As you know, we recently purchased the web address trianglewoodworkers.com. Paul Holzworth has set up a new format using a different web hosting service and will be helping us to do the initial entries. The major benefit of this new host, in my view, is that we will be able to more easily update information. The downside is that we will have to keep information more up to date. Beyond what I just reported, I don’t really understand it very well, but we are going to try this for a year and evaluate after that.

At our last meeting, I recognized Janet Batker for her great work in handling refreshments at our meetings. She has to shop for the plates, cups, food, etc., set it up, serve it, and clean up. That’s a lot of work and she does it well. Let’s keep in mind that while we are visiting, she is working and thank her for her efforts.

Since our last meeting, our Board met to handle a variety of matters. The most important to most members is a new dues structure. The issue that caused us to restructure is this: it takes 6 months or more to collect dues which are due for all memebers on August 1st. While we engage in a several month compaign to prepare our mebership for the renewal date, some members just forget or put off payment. Most do not realize that late payments create a great deal of work for our Membership Chairman, Treasurer, & Newsletter Editor. Reminders must be sent to those who are late, if one choses to renew with that notice membership lists must be revised and sent out to appropriate parties. As it stands now we have renewals coming in at various times during the year which creates repeats of notifications going out to several members to make sure your needs are met (receiving your newsletter, posting your payment, and renewing your badges).

One option we considered was instituting a penalty for late payment, but we don’t like the sound of a penalty. What we decided is that we would rather give a benefit to those who pay on time, or at least by August 30th. However, we couldn’t afford to reduce the club’s income, so we had to increase dues by the amount of the benefit. Does this sound like a late payment penalty in sheep’s clothing? Well it is. We decided to raise the dues by $5 to $40/year and at the same time to give a $5 discount to people who pay by August 30th. So, if you always pay on time there is no change for you; you will still pay $35 ($40 - $5 = $35). If you have been late in paying, you have a chance to keep your payment the same by paying on time, and if you don’t pay by August 30th you will have to pay $40. Let’s think of this as an incentive to pay dues on time. It sounds nicer. And, it will help reduce the workload for some good unpaid club workers.

The upcoming meeting is on Friday April 15th and will feature John White, former manager of the Fine Woodworking Magazine shop. He will be discussing the proper setup of woodworking machinery. Everyone who has or wants to adjust their tools should consider attending, and also attending the workshop on Saturday & Sunday. In the workshop, John will demonstrate just how you go about adjusting tablesaws, planers, jointers, and bandsaws. There is still space available in the workshop, contact me to sign up.

I believe each member will shortly receive an email survey of his or her interests for future presentations and workshops. Please be sure to respond as soon as you can. The Program Committee will be using that information to guide them in setting up next year’s subjects and obtaining speakers. They want to get a fast start since the really good presenters are often booked into the future.

My last item for this month is that we are going to ask members to invite people they think would enjoy our club to visit and of course join. We aren’t suggesting a hard sell, but if you know someone who might enjoy it, please invite them to a meeting. To that end, we will have flyers available at the next meeting for you to give to your prospective guests. 

Thanks, and I hope I will see you on April 15th.