 | President's Letter to the Affiliates May 2005 |
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Many exciting events have kept your board members very busy recently----
As mentioned in The Anvil's Ring, the ABANA EDUCATIONAL ENDOWMENT TRUST has been completed. It is seeded with the funds from the old Scholarship and Trust funds, together with general funds for a total of $150,000.00. The scholarships and grants made possible by the trust contribute to the artistic blacksmithing community in many ways:
Speaking of grants, the Controlled Hand Forging Committee that produces the excellent teaching articles in Hammer's Blow is seeking grants. They would like to expand on published articles in the Hammer's Blow and complete a book to make the information even more widely available. Contact committee chair Dan Nauman with information to help the committee achieve their goal. ABANA is always looking to increase communication worldwide with other artist metalworkers. Most recently we have increased our liaison with the British Artist Blacksmithing Association. Going fast are The Anvil's Ring back issues, available for $1.00 on purchases of twenty or more, hurry to fill out your back issue library. Also available is a CD, picturing the gallery items at the 2004 ABANA Conference, thanks to our own editor, Brian Gilbert. The ABANA website is rotating pictures from the CD when you access it, check it out! Remember you can renew your dues for two years at the current $45.00 per year fee when you receive your notice. Dues will increase to $55.00 on January 1, 2006. Just think of it as a way to save a buck, and make the board work a little harder to fill all our organizations needs at budget time! It is with GREAT sadness that I received Tim Ryan's resignation from the board! Tim has been a long time board member and positive supporter of ABANA. We all owe Tim a round of appreciation--HEAR! HEAR! Elected to the board was Louie Raffloer of Black Dog Forge in Seattle, Washington. Louie is a full-time smith and runs a multi-staffed shop in Seattle. The shop is involved in all aspects of artistic metalwork and known for its many creative productions. Please join us in welcoming Louie as he begins the work ahead. Having the newest board member at 'Ground Zero' of the 2006 ABANA Conference will be a Big Help! The 2006 ABANA Conference in Seattle will be the most diverse to date! Tours and demos will be held at the University of Washington Metals Department, which is probably the most high-tech in the United States! Three-dimensional and digital design techniques will give smiths a view of the cutting edge of what's to come in metal design and execution! There will be an array of new and exciting smiths from around the Pacific Rim. A new feature will be the 'Smithy Social Center' where smiths can relax from the demos, chat with old friends, and enjoy a soft drink, snack or microbrew right on the water! On-going smithing activities and entertainment will keep the conference exciting from early morning to late at night!!! With so much smithing, you may be 'Sleepless In Seattle'!!! May your fire be hot and your clinkers few!
Don Kemper
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