I have a habit of overusing the phrase “many thanks” and it’s an apt title for this message. I often comment that EMGW is a volunteer organization, and nothing happens without the efforts of our members. Where to begin thanking the volunteers who keep EMGW going?
Two years ago, then-President Ken Zoller reported that membership had grown to 128 members. I’m pleased to note that as of this writing, we’re now at 144. In October of 2024, I wrote that one of my aspirations for the coming year was to increase the number of members who are hands-on in the “behind the scenes” work of the Guild. In this message, I identify 69 women and men who have done just that -- taken on a recurring or one-time task, participated in a group project, served on a committee, or help an office. That’s 48% of the entire group, not counting Saturday morning regulars! THANK YOU ALL FOR THAT!!
Before naming names, I apologize in advance if I’ve omitted or misspelled your name. If I have, please let me know and don’t stew over my error. Some folks take on multiple roles, others just one. For some, the voluntary effort consists of showing up for a program and paying annual dues or watching a video. If you are in that latter group, thank you!
Others made shaving horses, bench brushes, or chairs from Bulls%$t! Some found or suggested a venue or speaker; others--mostly unnamed here--have called attention to some way in which we fell short. Read on for contributions from your fellow members.
In October 2024, our friend and treasurer, John George, died suddenly. Former Treasurer Don Cole stepped forward to make sense of the books and assist John LeJeune, who raised his hand to run for treasurer. Fellow Hopkinton resident and family friend Mike Roughan served as our go-between with the George family.
As the Guild has continued to grow, the process of on-boarding new members has taken on more importance. Andrew Davis leads the Newcomer committee, with able assistance from Steve Hoffman, Vincent Valvo, Jim Tartaglia, Wyatt Mills, and Dick Belanger.
Andrew also oversaw the creation of a new promotional brochure, with some design help from Linda Smith, and our friends at Reader’s, Woodcraft Walpole and Woburn, Highland Hardwoods, Lowell Makes, Needham Furniture Makers, and Artisans’ Asylum all helped to distribute them.
Throughout the year, the Guild’s activities run largely on a predictable annual cycle. The occasional member-driven group projects are a departure from the monthly pattern. In the past 2 years we ran three projects (leader/facilitator names are underlined):
- Shave horse: Dan Sichel, Mike Roughan, Steve Hoffmann, Rob Carver, Ed Payne, Wyatt Mills, and John LeJeune.
- Bench brush: Howard Barnstone, Steve Iadarola, Randy Hock, Maurice Plourde, Spencer Davis, Rob Carver, and Tom Kelly.
- Build A Chair From Bulls%$t: John Lejeune, Vic Kelman, Linda Smith, Carl Tappan, Travis Clark, Alex Moore, Wyatt Mills, Chris Haeni, Ray Tice, Maurice Plourde, Paul Duffield, Stephen Conlin, and Kaela Bleho.
The Guild’s income comes from two main sources: Dues and Auction Donations. Historically we auction off hand tools, books, and supplies carried in by members on auction day. Before the 2025 Auction, we decided to solicit new goods donations and tried to sell some larger used stationary tools. Instrumental in that effort were Mike Bossin, Ken Zoller, Jim Allen, Jim Tartaglia, and Scott Brown, who scored a beautiful, premium combination square from his employers at Starrett tools. We learned a lot from last year’s auction experiments, and at Mike Bossin’s urging we significantly increased our work in expanding the vision for the auction. Mike organized some volunteers to run tables at Woodcraft tool swaps in Woburn and Walpole, bringing in some new members and new dollars. Intentionally and by chance, we received several donations from non-members wanting to liquidate home shops. These efforts required some sweat equity and pickup trucks, provided by Mike Bossin, Ray Tice, Vic Kelman, Carl Tappan, John LeJeune, Dan Sichel, Alex Moore, Cindy and Matt Forkner, and Wyatt Mills
Speaking of member-arranged programs, Scott organized our fieldtrip and factory tour of Starrett Tools in Athol, and Linda Smith our program at Quality VaKuum Products in Hudson.
Thinking back to our monthly gatherings, there are four times and places that people can socialize, learn, and teach:
- Saturday meetings, staffed and planned by the Program Committee, with coffee supplied by Don Fye and Len Nygren, and videography by Neal Carey, Mike Roughan, Chris Haeni, and Marc Holland. Mike Roughan laid down the camcorder and took over the chair of the Program Committee, whose members are Howard Barnstone, Neal Carey, Rob Carver, Andrew Davis, Michael Gianetto, Chris Haeni, Marc Holland, John LeJeune, Carl Tappan (who also manages the monthly feedback surveys), and Ken Zoller. The committee has already lined up some great events for 2026-27. This past year we added two new venues, thanks to this committee: Artisans’ Asylum in Allston and the Fowler Library in Concord.
While we look forward to outside "celebrity" speakers, the following members contributed their time and talents to make presentations on a Saturday morning: Sean Harrington, Dave McCormick, Jim Russell, Dan Sichel, James Goodwin, and Michael Wheeler. Their gifts to the Guild are priceless, and were among the most highly-rated events.
- Furniture Interest Group (FIG) meetings: Organized and sustained by Tim Holiner, sometimes on Zoom and often hosted at member homes, including those of Mike Roughan, Mike Bossin, Dave McCormick, Bob McKee, Ray Tice, Tim Holiner, Tom Shirley, Dan Sichel, and Ed Payne.
- Traditional Woodworking Interest Group (TWIG) meetings: Wyatt Mills convenes the TWIG folks on Zoom, with occasional in-person sessions. Often these are open discussions, but sometime feature member-led topics, presented in the past 2 years by Tony Blanchette, Mike Bossin, Steve Conlin, Paul Duffield, Vic Kelman, Kathy Murphy, Jim Russell, Michael Schermerhorn, Carl Tappen, Jim Tartaglia, William Watkins, and of course Wyatt himself.
- The Cape Cod Group meets monthly, hosted by members who also present on a wide range of topics. Rob Aronson, Howard Barnstone, Steve Conlin, Andrew Davis, Paul Duffield, Andy Peppard, Jim Viera, Mike Walter, Ray Ward, Rob McNeil, Scott Newman, Walt Henry. Alan Reed, Steve Rusconi. Messrs. Conlin, Duffield, and Walter are the main organizers.
Also occurring monthly are updates to the Web and production of the newsletter. As explained in last month’s report, this has been the responsibility of Vincent Valvo, who has been an intensely overworked one-man communications department for years. One of Vincent’s major contributions has been the valuable “Featured Piece of the Month” series. In the past 2 years, he cajoled, coached, and edited contributions from the following:
3 articles: Dick Belanger, Dave McCormick, Bob McKee. 2 articles James Goodwin, Ed O'Neill. 1 article: Jeff Clunie, Andrew Davis, Steve Hoffmann, Vic Kelman, Pat Kinney, Steve McKenna, Jim Russell, Jim Viera, Ken Zoller.
In addition, Vincent has edited and written introductions for monthly blogs from Andrew Davis, Dan Sichel, and yours truly.
One of the more memorable gatherings of the year was our planning meeting at the Fowler Library in Concord, coordinated and led by Chris Haeni. The supporting cast included Mike Roughan, Vic Kelman, Richard Kent, Mike Bossin, Neal Carey, and Tom Shirley.
In Concord, we decided to launch an overhaul of the website and monthly messaging. The effort is underway, and I want to recognize and thank those who’ve volunteered to start the process: Tom Shirley, James Goodwin, John LeJeune, and Vic Kelman.
Transitions:
As the year ends, three of our most engaged leaders are stepping back and will be taking on new roles. Vincent Valvo will continue to support the communications work of the Guild and (I hope) reach out to new and veteran members at post-meeting lunch outings. Our long-time Secretary and multi-tasking handyman, Tom Shirley, will retire from his secretarial duties and assume the newly-created job of Web Master. Finally, our auctioneer par excellence, Jim Tartaglia, who reliably shows up for work carrying his own voice-saving jar of honey, is passing the gavel to Dan Sichel for next year’s auction.
New Members: April showers brought May flowers, and apparently also brought a large crop of new EMGW members:
Luke Driscoll, Scituate
Theodore Carlson, Medfield
Alan Reed, Yarmouth Port
Martha Koch, Providence RI
Kaela Bleho, Newport RI
Ed Chiappini, Reading
Parting Thoughts:
Serving as President has been a rewarding and creative experience. I’ve gotten to know many wonderful and skilled members, enjoying their support and friendship as I dealt with several personal health challenges, and hope that I had a role in securing the long-term health of the Guild. I recommend Board service to any interested party, and look forward to assisting the new Board starting this summer.
