 | President's Letter to the Affiliates October 2003 |
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Dear ABANA Presidents and Editors, I hope this letter finds you all well, busy and productive as we move into the fall months. I wanted to take this opportunity to thank Bob Fredell for his hard work over the past three years, both as an ABANA Board member and Membership Services Chairman / Affiliate Liaison. Bob was excellent in all these roles, always on time, full of great ideas and the drive to carry the projects through. Way to go Bob! He will be missed! Thanks! The annual ABANA Board of Directors meeting will take place next month in Memphis, Tennessee, November 13-15. The board will be working hard during these three days on many issues, including the 2004 projected budget, the 2004 ABANA Conference and ABANA Affiliate programs. During this meeting the Board will select a new Membership Services Chairman / Affiliate Liaison, so if you have any ideas of who you would like to see appointed to this position, please let me know before the meeting. Speaking of the 2004 ABANA Conference, which will be held in Richmond, Kentucky, July 7-11, we have a special offer that we hope all the ABANA Affiliates will find worthy of participation. If your affiliate signs up ten new ABANA members before March 1, 2004, we will give your affiliate one free registration to the 2004 ABANA Conference in Richmond, Kentucky. You can use the registration as an award for a worthy member, auction it off as a fund raiser for your affiliate, or use it as an “Iron-in-the-Hat’ item. Your choice! Please note that the offer does not include lodging and meals. The definition for ‘new’ member with this offer is someone who has never belonged to ABANA, or a former member who has lapsed longer than two years. Presidents, you will find in the box twenty-five ABANA membership applications, marked with a black dot. Please have the person signing up use this form for Central Office processing, and also have them write their affiliate name somewhere on the form. Once your affiliate has ten new members signed up, please send a list to the Central Office so that we can verify the memberships and mail you the certificate. In the box you will also find fifty 2004 ABANA Conference brochures and five copies of the latest Hammer’s Blow for your use. The 2004 Conference in Richmond will be an exciting time for us to all get together, and we hope this incentive program will help more people attend. Sometimes people ask me what ABANA does for them, why join? For me, it has always been about the magazines and the way they connect us to the larger community of smithing. I love the way people from all parts of the country, and the world, accept our differences and concentrate on sharing what we hold in common; our passion for smithing. The conferences are so great for education, networking, tool trading, and camaraderie. One often-missed benefit to membership is the scholarship program. I don’t know of too many other organizations that you can join for $45 and then get a $450 scholarship to get an education. Not a bad return if you ask me. So, good luck, and I hope to see you in Bluegrass Country!
Scott Lankton, ABANA President
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