The Villages Woodworker’s Club

January 14, 2014

Laurel Manor

President Mike Borfitz called the meeting to order at 7:02.

The Pledge of Allegiance was recited by attendants.

Mike welcomed all members and guests.

Five new members introduced themselves

Mike gave a “State of the VWC” address:

“2013 was a very good year for the Woodshop – one filled with successful events, positive changes and a little sadness – basically, a microcosm of life. I’d like to highlight some of these and thank those of you who helped make them happen.

Of course the most obvious change to The Woodshop was the new parking lot – a project started in 2012, under the leadership of Wayne Hendricks and finished in 2013. On June 12 of 2013 the Amenity Authority Council awarded the parking lot project to a construction company to the tune of $111,414.25. The final figure was just a little above that because The Villages graciously picked up the bill for our flagpole and flag. The project was conducted during the summer months and while we arranged for auxiliary parking and rented a golf cart for the transportation to and from the area, we rarely needed to use them. On October 15, The Villages conducted a ribbon cutting ceremony to highlight the parking lot project and the VWC in general.

Some of the less obvious events, but equally successful, included the following:

In January 2013, Jim Spallone, Bob Rosen and Bill McAlister were elected to three year terms on the Board of Directors. At the same time, John Herega was elected vice president, Sandy Moraco, Secretary, Doug Parks, Treasurer and yours truly, President.

Soon thereafter The Villages Entertainment Department contacted us to participate in Colonial Days – a day of highlighting clubs in The Villages

and celebrating the newest square, Brownwood. After a little arm twisting, our membership took the challenge – and we had what was probably the best attended display of the event.

Turners graciously agreed to don colonial apparel and demonstrated turning by making tops and honey dippers on the spot. The Toy Department cut puzzles on a scroll saw; and the carvers both hand-carved on site as well as described their carvings to the numerous interested residents. There were many requests to buy what we were displaying! It was a great success.

Along the same line, we displayed our wares at an Open House at Laurel Manor on September 23. There were again many inquiries as to membership in the Club and we had some press coverage at the event.

Back inside the Club, changes were afoot also. With help from a donated flat

screen, re-wiring and mounting taken care of by our Maintenance guys and computer set-up by Ed Ott, we were able to add Power Point shows in the lunch room area to our means of communication as well as use the screen for educational purposes.

Within the building we installed panic bars on the three main doors of the Shop – allowing easier egress from the building and eliminating the need to prop doors open during the day for re-entrance.

In an effort to zero in on space utilization, we established the EOC (Executive Operations Committee) to meet each month before the Membership meeting. Its purpose is “To serve as a forum to communicate matters pertinent to the administration and usage of the Shop and to identify opportunities to work together within the management team.” In simple language it is like a staff meeting where the heads of each area look to work together to make us a smooth running organization. As a result of this effort, numerous storage areas have been constructed within the Shop and new storage for the toys has been erected in the Wood Shed. The committee continues to work to identify other opportunities.

In line with the by-laws for conducting outreach efforts such as the Toy program which increased their output by 34, bringing the total to 5963 toys donated this year, the Eagle Cane project, and Special Projects, the Club embraced the Urns for Indigent Veterans project – building urns for veterans who are unable to cover the cost themselves – a sadly, surprisingly large number. We are grateful to Tom Miller for the work he did to bring this into organization.

On the financial side of things, we were able to remain well in the black and thus allow us to keep the dues at $55 a year while still being able to maintain and replace needed equipment. Some of the extraordinary efforts that helped in this area were the on-going display and sales of toys on the Square which helped keep the Toy Department self-sufficient; the monies realized from Special Projects which totals approximately $40,000; and the Christmas 2013 Chance drawing which netted $3050 this year. Special thanks go to Dan Pallo and his toy soldiers for the toy effort, all those who help with Special Projects and to Bob Bell and Ed DeHart for the year-long effort to cajole people into making items for the drawing. Lastly, we asked our members to help decorate a Christmas tree that would represent the Woodshop to be auctioned off to support the Special Olympics. I am pleased to report that the 2013 tree brought $450 which was more than last year. There was only one that came in higher – at $500. Thank you to all who contributed.

On the personnel side of things, we had a changing of the guard in some areas. After years of work and dedication covering approximately 10,000 special projects, John Justice and Roy Lincicome stepped down from leading that effort and Bob Thompson picked up the challenge. We also changed the schedule to accept special projects only on Monday, Wednesday and Friday each week. Thank you so much for taking on this responsibility, Bob.

In the same manner, Paul Green and Jack Tayge, who had tirelessly arranged the certification training for all members, understandably stepped out of the leadership role and Dick Besler stepped in. Dick also took over leadership of monitor training which connects two closely related topics. Thank you, Mr. Besler.

And while all of the regular efforts are underway in the Shop, we are also entertaining visitors who are intrigued by our facility and our Club. During 2013, we had a minimum of 1669 visitors – those are the ones who signed the guest book!

On the sadder side of things, we lost some members – two of the most visible being our good will ambassador Joan Nichols and the leader of the carving group, Buddy Neenan.

Now we stand poised for 2014. We have 755 members who have paid their dues for this year and 113 people who were members in 2013, but have not yet paid for 2014 – which suggest that we might reach 800 this year. Of note we had 125 new members sign up in 2013 and have already had 10 more sign up in 2014. We are off to a good start and ready to elect our officers and new Board members.

President – Mike Borfitz

Vice President – John Herega

Secretary – Sandy Moraco

Treasurer – Doug Parks

Board Members – Hans Zassenhaus, Charlie Murray, and Clyde Hamilton

Thank you all for a great year. We look forward to another in 2014.”

Election of Officers: Bob Thompson presented the slate of officers to the general membership. Bob then asked the members if there where any names to be added to the slate. No new names were brought forward. Theaforementined slate of officers where unanimously elected. Bob called the elected members to come forward to take the oath of office.

Certification - Dick Besler

There had been a certification class on the 9^th of January. The next class will be on January 23^rd. Scheduled classes in February will be on the 6^th and 20^th. All classes are full.

Dick asked that while the classes are being held, members working near the machineson which demonstrations are being held exercise patience and try to keep the noise level down.

The monitors meeting will be every first and third Wednesday at 4pm. The class should only be about 1hr and 15minutes. Dick recommends that members consider doing their monitor training about 3 -4 weeks before they are scheduled for duty.

Office Administration – Anne Bell

Anne reminded the members that January 31^st is the last day that you can pay your dues. If you have not paid yet you cannot go into the shop to work. If your dues are not paid by January 31^st you will have to be recertified again.

Anne also suggested that all members look on the Woodshop web page to get any new information, schedules and videos.

Shop Administration – Dave Adamovich

A video was presented giving an outline of the duties and schedule for the maintenance of the shop equipment.

The general cleaning of the Shop the first two days of January did not take place – not because the Shop did not need it, but because it is too much of a mess. There are large pieces of wood leaning on walls and in places they don’t belong, all over the shop. Rather than trash it all, the membership is being given some time to recapture their pieces and take care of them before they become free pickings. Mmbers should CHECK AROUND THE SHOP. If they recognize pieces they shoul label them and move them to an appropriate spot. That “appropriate spot “ maybe in their garage. Ifthe items are moved to an appropriate spot in the Shop, they must be labeled with a name and the date. Any items left behind will be confiscated. Items left longer than six months bast their labeled dates will require action to retain that storage area. If no action is taken to explain and receive agreement to leave the piece in that place with a new expiration date, then one week after the date that has lapsed, the material will be either returned to stock or placed in the free bin. In addition, storage bins not cleaned by the middle of February will be cleaned and reclaimed by the Shop.

Education – Bob Mathews

Bob thanked everyone who has helped with the class. Bob would like to see more instructors for the current classes and for any new classes coming up. If anyone would like to share their knowledge and experience please contact Bob. Classes usually run from 4-6 or some are from 6-9.

Toys- Ron Gammon

Ron reported that the toy department made just under 6,000 toys in 2013. The toy department will be on the square at Sumter Landing on March 13^th.

Board Comments – Ron Gammon

Ron reminded the members that the Turners meeting is Tuesday January 21^st at the woodshop at 7pm. The demonstrator will be Rudy Lopez.

Ron also mentioned the Florida Symposium that will be here at the end of the month. It is well worth going to see the item on display.

Wood Carvers – Bill McGuiness

Bill encouraged the members to consider taking up carving. The carvers are more than willing to teach their craft to anyone interested.

Web Site – Hans Zassenhaus

There have been some problems with the site and Hans has had to rebuild it. Hans reminded the membership again about making sure you contact the office if you have any changes to your personal information. It is especially critical that your email address be correct.

The class schedules and the monitor schedules are on the web site. Please take advantage of the video’s that are posted.

Bob Bell reported that the Woodworker’s Christmas raffle returned $3,050.

Mike told the members that the Christmas tree that the woodshop donated to the Special Olympics got the second highest bid at $450. That was even more than last year’s bid.

Ten Minute Break from 7:48 - 8:02

Show and tell:

Andy McTear had several wine bottle stoppers made from acrylic.

Linda Samson showed a necklace she made from some wooden dice’s and how she attached her husband’s military memorabilia.

Tom Miller made a vase from birch wood and did a process called burned.

Carson Wiedeman made a hole-inone trophy taught to him by Dick Besler.

Rick Pixley showed three different bowls made from all Florida wood. Some of the wood was pink ivory.

Bill McGuiness showed the Eagle Cane that the carvers do for the vets who request them. The turners turn the staff and the carvers carve the eagle head. Bill also showed a small Santa Claus that is simple to make from bass wood.

50/50

$20 / $19 / $16

Meeting adjourned at 8:20 pm

Minutes prepared and submitted by Sandra Moraco, VWC Secretary