ABANA Affiliate Liaison Letter,
April 2005
ABANA Publicity Committee At the ABANA Board meeting in Richmond, Kentucky a committee was formed with the intent of getting more shows on television which feature blacksmithing. The committee members are Dan Nauman, Elizabeth Brim, LeeAnn Mitchell and Wayne Coe. I notice that there is an abundance of woodworking, quilting, gardening, painting, etc. shows on public television. Even on the home improvement and home construction shows, Do It Yourself (DIY) and Home and Garden (HGTV), rarely is there any mention of iron work or the work that blacksmiths can and do provide. I have also noticed that on RFDTV, a cable and satellite network, there are a number of farm/human interest shows that could, and on occasion do feature blacksmiths (Texas Country Reporter, Georgia Farm Monitor, Louisiana Agriculture, American Backroads, California Country, Prairie Farm Report, Dakota Lands, as well as others). I feel that the job of this committee is multi-faceted, to show the public that blacksmithing is alive and well, that it might be something that they would be interested in doing and how to get involved in a local group, what blacksmiths can do for them, and who they can go to in order to get those special items that they want. LeeAnn is looking into the possibility of obtaining grants so that ABANA can get periodic shows made and presented to the various networks. This is a request to each affiliate to designate a committee to approach networks, local channels, show producers, and others to let them know what events are going on in their area and who individual blacksmiths are who might be suitable for exposure on their shows. It is obvious that the producers of these shows will be more interested in information from individuals in their local areas rather than some unknown person from Georgia. Please designate these committees and then get that information to Dave Mudge, as ABANA Affiliate Liaison and board member and to LeeAnn as a member of the Publicity Committee.
We, as members of ABANA and the blacksmithing community will be doing ourselves and the blacksmithing community a great service by pursuing these goals.
Dave Mudge, Affiliate Liaison
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