Newsletter for June 2020

Hi fellow members,

The Milwaukee Area Woodturners club had its first interactive remote demonstration (IRD). Tony Rozendaal had the honors to be the first member demonstrator. Although we are definitely in the learning stage, the demo went very well and with experience, our future demos will be even better. Specials thanks to Jerry Anson, who did a lot of research and testing, to Tom Hipsak for handling the cameras and to Tony Rozendaal for working the Powermatic and turning those wonderful little acorns.

Black Walnut Cap – Plum Bottom
As I noted during the meeting announcements, the Board of Directors approved a health and safety policy specifically relating to the Covid19 pandemic. The policy is as follows:

 

Milwaukee Area Woodturners Health and Safety Policy on Covid19:
Approved by the MAWT Board – June 2020
Although Stay-at-Home orders have now ceased and businesses are opening, the possibility of holding a regular meeting in Woodcraft at this time is still not acceptable. As noted in May, the Board is reviewing this situation on a monthly “wait and see” basis but the health and safety of club members is our primary concern.

When the situation improves, the Board will then decide to restore regular meetings and we will comply with the current guidelines. But even with these protections, many members will still be reluctant to come to a meeting in person and we completely understand that.

Fortunately we are able to produce live streaming demos from Woodcraft with club members providing demonstrations. This allows members to enjoy an interactive remote demonstration within the safety of their homes. We will continue this into the future as needed. We will also provide additional demonstrations from national presenters, as we did with the Mike Mahoney demo earlier in May.

We are in uncharted waters here and willing or not, we are all along for the ride. We sincerely hope that this health crisis will be behind us and we can all get back together soon. Thank you for your understanding. The MAWT Board wishes good health to all members, their families and friends.

Respectfully,
Milwaukee Area Woodturners Board of Directors

 

Some follow-up comments:

Between hiring national demonstrators such as Mike Mahoney in early May and Mike Peace for the July 6th demo, we are also purchasing equipment to help improve the quality of our IRDs. If anyone has expertise in video streaming and can provide assistance, please contact Jerry Anson at janson@wi.rr.com.  The club would also appreciate members to volunteer to do demonstrations. We still need to schedule demonstrators whether doing a live demo or meeting at Woodcraft. If you can help, please contact Tony Rozendaal at opa@opaspens.com.  And remember, it is your dues that help buy the new equipment we need and pay the national demonstrators we hire. MAWT was founded as an educational club and we want to continue that tradition.
MAWT is still involved in our community outreach programs:

Turn for Troops
– contact Carl Brust at cjbrust1@gmail.com for a package of 15 pen kits to be mailed to you.

Empty Bowls – we can continue to make bowls for the Milwaukee Empty Bowls Project. Bring them in when we can finally meet in person at Woodcraft.
Beads of Courage – again, continue making vessels for BoC. Kim Mayer from Children’s Hospital has contacted me and we will plan a meeting and demo in the future. If you need BoC beads, let me know – ronzdroik@mawturners.com.
Virtual Show and Tell Gallery – Send in photos and descriptions of your latest turning projects to Tom Hipsak at thipsak@wi.rr.com.
New Treasurer:
After many years of dedicated service to the club, Carl Brust will be resigning as  treasurer at the end of the year. Thank you Carl for all of your work!   We will need a club member to take over this officer position when 2021 starts. Contact me at ronzdroik@mawturners.com if you can help the club in this capacity.
Stay safe, stay healthy and keep turning,
Ron Zdroik

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