ABANA Affiliate Liaison Letter,
October 2005
This month I get to be Dave Mudge as he and Cindy are still digging out from hurricane Katrina as are many other ABANA members in the affected areas. The Mississippi Forge Council, Gulf Coast Blacksmiths Association and the Louisiana Metalsmiths Association are all still in the process of locating displaced members and making sure everyone is okay. Please help get the word out to those affected by the storms to check in with their affiliate president or editor as soon as possible so we can get a sense of where the funding is needed. We wanted to let all the editors and presidents know of this letter that went out to the general membership in early September. Many of you along the Gulf Coast probably did not receive this missive so we are sending it out to the affiliates in hopes of getting the word out! Also all the ABANA members in the affected areas who did not receive Hammer’s Blow, Volume 13, #3, please contact me in the Central Office when possible at (706) 310-1030 or via email at abana@abana.org as we are holding an issue for you. In an effort to provide financial assistance to blacksmiths in the areas affected by Hurricane Katrina, the Artist-Blacksmith's Association of North America, Inc. developed a Disaster Relief Fund after John Steel, president of the Pittsburgh Area Artist-Blacksmiths Association brought the idea to the ABANA Board of Directors. Since the initial letters, sent on September 9th, the fund has raised $11,736.00 with the expectation of much more funding! Disaster struck again in the form of hurricane Rita affecting the southwest Louisiana coast and the southeast Texas coast. In that spirit donations dated after October 1, 2005 will now benefit victims of both disasters. The revision would allow ABANA to donate funds to Katrina and Rita survivors and survivors of other disasters impacting the blacksmithing community between now and March 15, 2006. Therefore ABANA is informing its membership and other parties interested in donating to this excellent cause that it intends to distribute all funds received in the Central Office through September 30, 2005 to hurricane Katrina survivors. All funds received between October 1, 2005 and March 15, 2006 will be distributed to blacksmiths affected by both hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Donations should be by check, US Postal Money Order or Canadian Postal Money Order made out to “ABANA Relief Fund”. ABANA will provide a receipt for all donations of $250 or more.
Please address your donation to: Canadian, Mexican and international donations are welcome, but please make sure your check is drawn on a US bank in US funds and contains a nine-digit routing number on the bottom of the check. US banks have great difficulty processing checks without this routing number, even though the check may say US funds. Please do not send cash or credit cards. One hundred percent of the funds will be distributed to affected ABANA Affiliates or, if necessary, to other public charities. Dispersal and distribution of the funds must be based on need and not on any affiliation to ABANA or an ABANA Affiliate. People donating money may suggest where they think the need is greatest. The final distribution of funds, however, must be made by ABANA. If it is critical for you to donate to a person or ABANA Affiliate, that donation should be made directly to the person or affiliate and not to the ABANA Disaster Relief Fund. If you know of people in need, please pass that information on to a local ABANA Affiliate and not to ABANA, the reason being that the local affiliate will distribute all funds to designated individuals. Affected affiliates are asked to tell their membership about this resource. Please distribute this letter to others you think may help. Toby Hickman of the California Blacksmith’s Association and John Steel of the Pittsburgh Area Artist-Blacksmiths Association will work with the affected ABANA Affiliates to establish an equitable means to disperse the ABANA Disaster Relief Funds. Distribution will begin no later than October 14, 2005 and the last distribution will be made no later than March 15, 2006. Please take a moment and contribute what you can and never underestimate the power of human kindness. ****On another note the 2006 Iron-in-the-Hats tickets that we mailed out to all the ABANA Affiliate Presidents are $1.00 each!!!!! Sorry for that oversight. Also, please let Marcus Vickery know at (706) 310-0323 or via email conference@abana.org if you need more tickets.
Thanks and hopefully Dave will be well on his way to a rebuilt shop in December and in time
for the mailer! |