Members of the Classic City Woodturners:

Happy New Year. This note is to inform you of many exciting things in store for our club
in the coming year. We should have one of the best years in our history, and I challenge
each of you to join in and help make it just that. We have some really good turners lined
up, beginning this coming Monday evening with Wes Jones from the Chattahoochee
Woodturning Club. This will be followed by Mike Peace, Michael Gibson and his wife
Cynthia, Nick Cook, and our own Jim Underwood turning pens.

You will want to see Wes Jones’ pieces as well as his turning demo. Remember, in April
we will have an all-day session with Nick Cook on the 21st at the Lyndon House.
We have been invited to demonstrate at the Statham Farmers Market again this year. Our
Public Relations Committee will have more information about this in the near future.

We have been invited to join the potters in their annual festivities in March to help
feed the hungry. This has the possibility of being the greatest publicity efforts in our
history. But more importantly we have an opportunity to give back to the community by
joining the potters in raising money to feed those who are hungry. The potters have been
sponsoring this event for many years and it is a huge affair. On March 3 there will be a
silent auction of pieces at the potters headquarters on Jackson Street. There is a lathe in
the building and they would like to have live demonstrations of woodturning and pottery.
On March 14 there will be an extravaganza at the Classic Center. The Rotary Club
members will be coming, many restaurants in town will bring soup for a contest for the
best soup, and many hundreds of people will come to buy things to contribute to feeding
the hungry. We have been invited to contribute and participate in either of the events or
both. I think this is a golden opportunity for us give back and make our presence and
hearts well known to the community. There will be no costs involved for the club. We
will be asking club members to contribute bowls or other items for sale. We will bring
this up for discussion at our club meeting this coming Monday evening. The Executive
Committee would like to see this be a big success. Members can bring items even if you
cannot be at the events, and you certainly can help at the events and not bring a bowl or
other item, but I hope that most of us or even all of us will participate in some manner.
All proceeds will go to the North Georgia Food Bank, and these contributions will be tax
deductable.

We have an organization made up of some genuinely good people. It is fun to gather
each month for fellowship and learn a little more about our craft. As I look back on the
last year I see a lot of people involved in making the club a success. That is really good
and I hope to see even more get involved this year. If you would like to volunteer for
a task, please talk to me. We have little tasks and big tasks, but mostly little ones that
are important to keep our club moving smoothly. I feel honored to be trusted as your
president. I promise to work even harder this year to make our club better. I hope you
will join me in the excitement and continuously invite others to come join us.

Please come to the meeting next Monday prepared to pay dues for the coming year, $25
for individuals or $30 for couples.

Roy Grant, President.

CCW will hold its annual Christmas dinner gathering tomorrow evening (Monday, December 12) at St. James Methodist church located at the corner of Lumpkin and West Lake in Athens at 6:00 p.m.  Here are the particulars:

1.  Parking is off Lumpkin and to the rear of the church.
2.  Bring a covered dish to share with your woodturning friends.
3.  There will be NO silent auction but we will conduct the raffle as is our usual practice with tickets for sale at one dollar per ticket or six for five dollars so bring an item (wood, tool, etc.) for the raffle.
4.  Bring a wrapped, turned item (e.g. Christmas ornament) for the gift exchange should you desire to participate in the gift exchange. Bringing an item is NOT mandatory, participating is strictly voluntary.

The Christmas party is always a time of good fellowship and an opportunity to get to know one another better and the food is always excellent because of the many good cooks that we have in our group.  We look forward to seeing you all at St. James at 6:00 p.m. on Monday evening, December 12.

Best regards,
Bill Gohdes, Secretary (for 13 more days)

Please remember that the November 2011 CCW meeting will be held Monday, November 28th at 6:00 p.m. at the Construction Lab at the Clarke Central High School.    Jerry Chandler of the Chatahooche Woodturners has recovered from his previously-scheduled demo and will illustrate turning small boxes with ringed inserts.   Visitors are welcome!

This is a reminder that the October 2011 CCW meeting will be held next Monday, October 24th at 6:00 p.m. at the Construction Lab at the Clarke Central High School.   Note this is a departure from our usual “last Monday of the month” schedule due to Halloween.  Steve Mellott will be our demonstrator this month, and he will be showing us how to turn small hollow forms.  You can check out his supplied handout under the Meetings | Schedule tab.  Visitors are welcome!