ABANA Secretary
The ANVIL’S RING • Summer 2001 •

Dear Editor:
As the Secretary of ABANA, I feel compelled to respond to Ms. Draper’s letter of May 26, 2001, regarding the anvil shoot at Madison, Georgia on May 19, 2001.
First, I note that Ms. Draper and the members of the Florida Artist Blacksmith Association (FABA) were fully aware of ABANA’s policy concerning this inherently dangerous practice before they went to Madison. The May issue of the Florida Clinker Breaker, FABA’s newsletter, contains President Doug Learn’s Letter and Message to the Chapters, which explained, in detail, the ABANA policy and its basis in the 1997 Motion Number 346. I also note from Ms. Draper’s letter that FABA voted in October of 2000 to ignore ABANA’s prohibition. In her President’s Corner letter in the issue, Ms. Draper stated, “It is not clear to the FABA board that the most recent threat (again, concerning shooting the anvil at the Madison Conference) represents ABANA board action or merely hotheadedness on the part of ABANA president Doug Learn and a few others.”
I have been on the ABANA Board only since November, 2000, a month after FABA apparently was discussing and voting on anvil shooting. Doug Learn became the president of ABANA, succeeding Bill Fiorini, at the same Board meeting. As ABANA officers, we inherited a policy that had been adopted by the 1997 Board. As Directors of ABANA, from 14 states, it is our duty and mandate, as the representatives of almost 5000 members scattered around the world, to carry out ABANA’s Mission Statement and preserve the organization from undue threats. These threats include any activity which cannot be insured. This includes anvil shooting.
Ms. Draper tries to use alleged ABANA control over FABA and other chapters as a pretext for anvil shooting. Anyone who has had any familiarity with ABANA over the years knows that this is an unfounded assertion. Following ABANA’s very basic principles is not relinquishing “decision-making to another entity.” She concedes that, “Clearly, FABA is bound to abide by the ABANA bylaws and other structured operating principles (Article ITT-A, Section 2 of the ABANA bylaws), and it has.” FABA, like the other 59 ABANA chapters, has voluntarily agreed to its status as an ABANA chapter. Adherence to the common group’s tenets is basic for any chapter in any organization.

However, ABANA does not have to ban anvil shoots in its bylaws in order to ban the practice as an organization. The Georgia Non-Profit Corporation Code (Section 14-3-1-1) clearly allows the Board of Directors to manage the “business and affairs” of the corporation. Georgia law defines the corporate bylaws as being the “code of rules” to manage the corporation — not to specify the business a corporation can conduct. Ms. Draper’s assertion that the ABANA bylaws must prohibit anvil shooting (or any other activity inconsistent with ABANA’s Mission Statement) in order to be banned by the Board is contrary to the corporation law of Georgia and every other state.
Ms. Draper also states that FABA shouldn’t be subject to ABANA’s anvil shooting ban because the Madison Conference “was not ABANA sponsored, did not use ABANA’s name in promoting the event, and did not use ABANA’s teaching station.” However, the FABA Clinker Breaker, which lists the Madison Conference in its Upcoming Events, clearly states that FABA is a “CHAPTER OF ABANA, Inc.,” on its front page, as well as in its official notice section. Stating that the Madison Conference, which was organized by seven ABANA chapters and promoted in their official ABANA newsletters, was not ABANA related is not credible. If the event was not ABANA related, why did the chapters feel that it was necessary to vote to defy ABANA policy at the conference? Further, if some child had been struck by a piece of flying anvil, ABANA would certainly have been included in any litigation — and without the benefit of insurance defense or liability coverage. Any officer of any of the participating chapters, as well as the members of the ABANA Board, could also be named in such a suit. The effects on all concerned could be ruinous.
Ms. Draper cites Georgia Code 14-2821, which applies to Business Corporations in Georgia and not non-profit corporations. However, non-profits have a similar provision regarding procedures for motions. ABANA had made its position crystal clear that “the chapter must be removed from the roll of ABANA Chapters effective the moment the fuse is lit.” (Clinker Breaker, Page 5, May issue.) An official Board motion was made to exclude the seven chapters as soon as the Madison event became known. The motion has passed by a vote of 11 to 3. The written ballots, which were filed with the ABANA Secretary, comply with the procedural requirements of Georgia law.
Ms. Draper tries to compare anvil shooting to the normal activities associated with blacksmithing, such as powerhammer use and forging. However, there are two critical distinctions between the two. The first is that anvil shooting is not insurable, while the other activities are. The second is that anvil shooting has nothing to do with ABANA’s Mission Statement, which is to promote blacksmithing skills, and is nothing less than thrill-seeking. Anvil shooting is to blacksmithing what bull-fighting is to agriculture! It is an inherently dangerous pyrotechnic activity involving explosives, which have the ability to kill someone.

Anvil shooting proponents have had four years to find insurance. ABANA has been specifically warned by its insurance carrier that its liability policy does not include anvil shoots, which are not regarded as an ordinary and normal part of the blacksmith craft. Anvil shooting would be included in an insurance policy only if a specific rider detailed the limits and conditions of liability. Any chapter that believes its general liability policy would cover anvil shooting is making a serious error. One of the chapter presidents has stated that the Madison Conference had insurance to cover anvil shooting. I have requested evidence of that insurance but have received nothing. I have spoken to various insurance companies. I have inquired of the Club Insurance department of the National Rifle Association. No known insurance company has formulated a risk policy for anvil shooting.
I have been a practicing trial attorney for 30 years. I think I know negligence when I see it. My kids went through college because of it. I know of no personal injury attorney worth his tasseled loafers who wouldn’t have named ABANA, its directors, the participating chapters, their directors, Tim Ryan, and everyone else in sight, had the Madison anvil splintered in mid-air and put a jagged shard of itself through some child’s gut. Even if ABANA could ultimately convince a jury that it had no liability, the cost of defense would bankrupt the organization.
What’s a prudent Board to do? Fiftythree of the remaining ABANA chapters seem to have no problem with foregoing a cheap thrill that has outgrown its social acceptability and viability. Ms. Draper can try to portray ABANA’s actions in any light that she wants. The fact is that the Board had no choice but to insulate the organization from this dangerous activity. For the small handful of anvil shooters to jeopardize their chapter status, as well as expose others to such legal liability, is selfish and imprudent.
I personally regard this as a petty issue. The ABANA Board has a great conference coming up in LaCrosse, Wisconsin, issues great publications, provides a chapter network for chapters to exchange newsletters and information with each other, hosts theforge, and is working on programs to increase its effectiveness to members. The seven chapters involved in this matter are all great chapters, with lots of blacksmith talent. FABA alone has a dozen different events planned throughout the year.
Members of these chapters need to realize that this is not personal! It is an issue driven by legal and financial reality. It is not about egos and control. For most ABANA Board members, every hour spent dealing with non-productive issues such as these is an hour that could have been spent in the smithy! ABANA has no sinister conspiracy to exercise world domination and mind control over the chapters. We’re a bunch of volunteers who are simply trying to do what’s best for the group. However, we cannot hold our breaths each weekend wondering which chapter, with ABANA flags flying, is launching anvils into space, hoping that they return to earth intact.

Jerry Kagele,
Spokane, Washington