Category: Community Service

One Special Christmas

This year’s One Special Christmas raised $3,809 on behalf of the Charlotte Woodworkers Association!!!! 

Live Auction – Winning Bid

Bruce Bogust – Windsor stool, $140
Bob McElfresh – Lamp, $90
Mike Pleso – Side table $40
Tom Willis – Segmented bowls & spoons, $40
Roger Callahan – Clock, $75
Bruce Bogust – Slab bench, $135
Fred Miller (Bill Maloney) – Carved bird, $250
Bob Fields – Gun box, $1200
Tom Willis – Step stool, $100
Roger Callahan – Pine top table, $275
Howell Peterson – Side tables (two) $155

Silent Auction –  $1,309
Total for all CWA items – $3,809
Total auction – $12,400

Total overall including donations – $26,000

Bob’s lamp from last year also raised another $150 because the couple that purchased it split up and couldn’t decide to should own it.  So they put it back in the auction.  It’s a gift that keeps on giving that counts!

A special thank you to all of our members who made donations to make this possible!  It’s never too early to start planning for next year.

If you would like to know more about the One Special Christmas Charity please visit their website: http://onespecialchristmas.com/

Matthews Alive

Matthews Alive, one of our annual fund raising and promotional events, is coming up this Labor Day Weekend (Friday, Saturday, Sunday & Monday).  Come join us and volunteer. 

Calling all volunteers: 

Each year the club puts on a display at the Matthews Labor Day weekend festival. This promotes the club and raises funds for the club. We need members to sign up to work a few hours at the display to talk to the public and answer questions. It can be a lot of fun! People who work at the display will get a parking permit to park close to the festival.

Bruce Bogust will hand these out at the August meeting. If you cannot make the meeting, let him know and he will mail you the permit. Below is the sign up sheet. E-mail Bruce if you can work any of the open times. Thanks.

ALSO …. Remember we need items to display in our booth!!!

Volunteer sign-ups are here if you want to sign-up online, or you can email Bruce or respond on the club’s Google Group.

Current Sign-up Sheets

No sheets available at this time.

 

2017 One Special Christmas Banquet/Auction

One Special Christmas Banquet/Auction is to be held December 2nd at Oehlers BBQ.  Again this year we will be helping to support this non-profit by donating items made by club members.  If you would like to contribute an item details about how to get it to the auction, etc. will be provided soon.  http://onespecialchristmas.com/

Boy Scout Merit Badge Workshop

We have scheduled the woodworking merit badge days for Nov. 4 and Nov. 11. We will assist the boy scouts by teaching various skills and helping them complete the requirements to earn their merit badges. I am looking for volunteers to help out both days, from approximately 8am until 2pm. This is a fun activity and a great way to teach young people about woodworking or to learn something yourself. There are no requirements for skill level to get involved. On Nov. 11, the scouts will be completing a few small projects, one of which is turning a pen, so we definitely need turners also. If you are able to assist one or both days or have any questions, please let me know. Hope to see you there!

 

Festival In the Park with Bob Fields

This past month our association participated in the annual Festival in the Park.  I signed up late as I had a prior commitment to host some close family friends who cancelled a few days before.  The late cancellation gave me an opportunity to fill in an early Saturday morning slot with Bob Fields.

Bob Fields and I had corresponded a bit before the show getting some of the logistics setup for the club.  He, Dan and the other club members did a great job getting everything setup and communicating the details of the venue at our last meeting.

With the parking pass, I was able to park and ride the shuttle in.  Early in the morning when I arrived there was plenty of parking and the booths were just starting to open up. 

When I got to the tent I learned there had been an accident nearby that cut power to half the park and we were in the half without electricity to run the fans.  Our booth was located near the first aid tent.  This made it easier to find, but I had to wonder if the organizers considered us a high risk.  I know I personally have had a few close calls with power tools and safety in the shop is always top of mind.

In perfect character, safety was top of mind at the event too.  Bob came prepared with gloves and a heavy apron that we dressed passersby’s in when they sat down to shape a wedge on the shaving horse.  The drawknives were just sharp enough to made shaving a joy.  Throughout the morning, we had as many women try their hand at the shaving horse as kids.  It made me wonder where Bob gets his charm. I probably should not wonder because he is a man of many talents. 

Bob made his shaving horse over 20 years ago.  In perfect character for a well-made tool it performed as well at this event as it has at many other events and in the making of many of his shop projects.  There were lots of comments and questions about it as people stopped by to talk and try it out.

The table on display generated plenty of interest in the Learn and Build Class.  Plenty of people looked it over wondering if they could create a fine furniture piece.

As the morning turned into afternoon, Bob and I were looking for relief from the heat and opened the tent up to allow a little more of a breeze.  There had been a steady stream of people all morning.  So many people came by that we ran out of cards to hand out and had filled a page of email sign-ups from people interested in our club and in receiving the club newsletter.

Chris Broughton who help the second day and said, “Day 2 of Festival in the Park went very well and there was non-stop interest in the in the group. The shaving horse was a huge hit with kids. I think it’ll be on a lot of Christmas lists this year.”

Speaking of Christmas, spending time in the booth gave us the perfect venue to promote One Special Christmas and we handed out a ton of their brochures and talked up the auction.

Overall, the Festival in the Park was a huge success and on behalf of the board and the rest of the club, hat’s off to all the volunteers and organizers who worked so hard to make it a success!