Howard County Woodworkers Guild (HCWG)
The Guild is a collegial organization of like-minded and creative individuals, dedicated to sharing in the art of fine woodworking craft, nurturing newcomers, and giving back to our community.
Whether your interest is in turning, fine woodworking, carving, finishing, lumber, trees, or camaraderie, all of the above, or you’re not sure; our Guild is for you. Come to a meeting or two and get acquainted.
Our Guild does not buy or make anything for retail sale. We do not buy and sell used woodworking related items. We do provide a marketplace where buyers and sellers, or those seeking help, may post an ad for that purpose.
We offer with limited capacity educational opportunities provided by dedicated and skilled senior craftsmen and women (SME program & Classes). Our monthly meeting is highlighted by impressive show-n-tell reviews of finished projects, and a 60-90 minute skill presentation (Monthly Presentations Schedule).
URGENT – HCWG Workshop Coordinator Needed
We have been informed by Howard County Management that the Guild may return to using the workshop at Bain Center.
As we previously wrote to you in March 2020, the Guild Board of Directors decided then to close the workshop effective March 31st, 2020, to coincide with Ron Fico’s resignation as Workshop Coordinator, and the absence of any replacement. The new Guild Board voted to continue that decision in our October 2020 board meeting.
With the County’s decision to resume Bain Center access, and guild member access to the workshop, our need for a coordinator is renewed. However, until we have a Coordinator, the workshop will remain closed.
Any interested party is encouraged to reply as soon as possible to this email asking for more information, or for a meeting with the board, as appropriate. Maybe you’re on the fence about the role. Would it hurt to open a discussion with the Board? Maybe some of the concerns you have can be addressed.
What does the job entail? Well, Ron left us with very well written and comprehensive workshop policy, guidelines, operation manuals and organization structure. READ it here on the Workshop Policy Homepage. There may be important additional flexibilities potential coordinators want to know about. The board has discussed revising or altering the job description for the Workshop Coordinator to make the role less demanding. A candidate coordinator would have the opportunity to work with the Board to review and implement changes as warranted.
Can we improve utilization? Only a fraction (about 17%) of active members actually use the workshop. Our board has wondered aloud if this is because of the limited hours the shop was open. Bain Center has indicated a willingness to expand the days of the week for evening hours, thus opening the possibility for daytime working members to have better shop access options. Further, the Education Programs Committee has discussed with the Board a vision to enhance skill transfer via Mentor and SME program and use of the workshop for special program events. The Coordinator would be instrumental in this effort.
Benefits of the role include ability to lead the direction of the workshop, paid dues membership, and a voting board member position.
Regards,
Mike Haigwood, HCWG President