April 2016
/Program: April Potluck Dinner, Officer Elections, & Iron Quilter
Tuesday, March 12, 20016 6:30pm - 9:00pm
Join us Tuesday, April 12th at 6:30 for a wonderful, very busy annual meeting including social, business, and service aspects. And, of course, FUN! Note the date change and the early start time! Also, due to the anticipated length of this meeting, there will be NO Show and Tell. The date was moved one week earlier so that members who will be going to AQS Quilt Week in Paducah will be able to attend the VQ Annual Meeting.
This event includes a potluck dinner, and members signed up to bring dishes at the last meeting. If you have forgotten what you signed up for, you may download the sign-up sheet here. If you missed signing up, please feel free to contribute something.
Nomination and election of board members for the 2016-2017 year will also take place at this meeting, as well as budget approval. Please see articles below on the slate of nominees and the budget.
Iron Quilter quilts will be turned in and voted on at this meeting as well. This will take the place of our usual Show and Tell. Don’t forget to bring your quilts for the Staben House and Eddie Washington Center. Representatives of these organizations will attend to receive the quilts at the meeting. Let’s welcome them with armloads of beautiful quilts!
Village Quilters President’s Letter
Well, this is a bittersweet letter. It is my last letter as President of your guild. What a ride! Thank you all for being there for me and with me.
These two years flew by eventfully. There were many ups and only a few downs. And you were all there with me to share the ups and cushion the downs. I never cease to be amazed at how many people volunteer so generously whenever the need arises. Most recently, we see that this is true because we have almost a full board for the next term.
And let me put in a plug here for Advance Program Chair. I will help and work with anyone who volunteers to take on this important job. Certainly one of the main reasons people are guild members is to attend programs and workshops. Do not be afraid. I will help you. And do not feel it will be too time-consuming. I will help you. Please step forward. (See my article in last month’s bulletin for a more detailed description of the joys and duties.)
The term’s highlights must include the quilt show, the programs, last month’s members-teaching-members (I heard many ask for it to be repeated, so it will. Who would present next time?), the spectacular show-and-tell sessions, and the terrific board members, one and all.
I am still working on my small sized Storm at Sea. I am getting closer to the end and acquiring more courage for a larger version. I fear that the quilt I am working on to give away may not be done in time, but I know there will always be someone in the guild whose job it is to accept a charity quilt. Of course, I have more projects stacked up and calling me.
And, what would a President’s letter from me be without mentioning my garden, which now competes severely with quilting time. I have removed leaves from several beds and I am about to rough-prune the roses. I am designing new rose beds and sketching out a Japanese garden. In short, I am happily busy indoors and out.
Thank you again for trusting me with your guild.
See you at the April meeting.
In the meantime, Happy Quilting
Linda
From the Treasurer
Income: Our budget for the 2015 quilt show was a net $12,000, which was very optimistic since the previous show had a net of $8,400. We exceeded our goal bringing in $12,816.46, thanks to the hard work and creativity of many, many guild members. Ways and Means also brought in $423 at the Brown Bag Auction despite a cold and icy night. Membership dues (including guest and name tag fees) totaled $4,887.45 in 2015-16, but we’ll keep the membership budget at $5,500 for next year. Workshop income was $2,850. Our year to date income is $20,976.91.
Programs: The 2015-16 budget anticipated net program expenses to be $6,000. In that number, we anticipated 12 participants in each of the 6 workshops offered. ($9600 for expenses less $3600 in workshop payments = $6000 in net costs). Unfortunately hotel and airfare expenses were more than expected making programs and workshop space rental $9,921.13. We had fewer workshop participants than expected. Instead of an income of $3,600 we brought in only $2,850.00 – a significant shortfall. Net program expenses were $7,071. The proposed budget for next year estimates ten students per workshop. We will really need guild member support of workshops this next year to stay on track.
Other expenses for 2015-16 totaled $2,555.03 for an Expenses total of $12,476.16. Our net income for 2015-16 to date is $8,500.75.
2016-17 Budget: We have had a very generous donation to the Library which, in addition to the budget of $50 will more than cover the first year of our new online program. In summary, our budget for next year anticipates a total income of $8,900, expenses of $12,880 and a net loss of $3,980. The quilt show provides a funding cushion for programming and other expenses for the following two years, but we will need member participation in workshops to continue to get the very best teachers available. If we can keep up or improve our membership numbers, and increase workshop participation, we should be able to maintain a balanced program budget for the 2016-2017 program year.
A summary of the current and proposed budgets will be provided at the April meeting for the consideration and approval of the guild membership.
Cash Balance 4/30/15: $ 21,178.59
Deposits: $ 29,605.04
Expenses: $ (25,244.66)
Includes expense paid for next program year: $ 220.00
Cash Balance 3/29/16: $ 25,538.97
Kimberly Jurco, Treasurer
Nominations for Guild Officers
The following Village Quilters' members have been nominated to serve as officers for the 2016-2017 term:
Barbara Schober, President;
Patricia Warren and Carol Swartz, V.P. Membership;
Mary Dietz and Yolande Sherrod, V.P. Programs;
Advanced Programs Chair still open;
Judy Hillebrand, Secretary;
Laura Partridge, Treasurer;
Judi Young, Assistant Treasurer;
Christine Tindell, 2017 Quilt Show Chair.
Nominations may be made from the floor at the April 12 meeting; however, all nominees must have agreed to nomination prior to their names being submitted.
Nancy Salmela, Member-at-Large and Nominations Chair
Iron Quilter News
Move over March Madness... Iron Quilters are coming to town! We are really looking forward to the April 12th Annual Meeting and the presentation of our quilts to Staben House and Eddie Washington Home. As in the past Village Quilters will vote as to who will win the IRON QUILTER trophy and the winner will be announced following dinner.
This year, this is how it'll work. You will receive your Official Voting Chip during dinner. Each eligible quilt will be displayed with a Brown Bag in front of it. As you peruse the quilts, vote for your favorite by putting your chip in its attendant bag. Similar to the Brown Bag Shuffle, except the quilt with the most chips in its bag wins. So make sure you get your chip and vote. We promise there will be no debates!
As your Service Committee, we want to also take this opportunity to thank each and every member of The Village Quilters for their wonderful support the past two years. We enjoyed every minute of it! The outpouring for the Quilts of Valor was beyond our expectations. And the commitment to the Staben House and Eddie Washington Home is heartwarming and so appreciated... not only by us, but by the recipients of your beautiful treasures.
Kathy Sorkin and Cheryl Mercy
Service Committee
Library—Now Online!
Announcing the Village Quilters Online Library! Our new online library features book covers, allowing you to search by author, title, or tag (subject) to find what you're looking for. In the coming months, we hope to improve our list of subject tags to make it more useful, and we are exploring how we can allow members to place a hold on books to reserve them for pickup at guild meetings.
The catalog of the guild's library is now available online at through a link under the Members menu on the web site or go directly to:
Also: We would like to demonstrate the library at the April guild meeting, but we need a projector. If you can help, please contact library@villagequilters.org.
Maggie Schmude and Christine Tindell, Library Committee
Important Programs Reminder!!!
Everyone should bring your cash/checkbook to the next meeting in order to sign up for our great programs lined up for the coming year. Next month, May 18, will be Maggie Ball teaching “Bargello with a Twist.” A sample of the finished project will be on display.
It is very important that our members support these programs if we are to continue to attract good teachers. Go to the website to see your future projects.
To find the listing of programs and workshops on our website, put your cursor on the Programs menu item at the top of the page. Pull down to choose Calendar from the list. The calendar lists upcoming programs and workshops. Descriptions, bios, and photos of workshop projects are posted when they are made available by the speaker, so that you can get a good idea of the topic or project. We also provide links to a speaker’s web page when available. Scroll through the calendar to make sure you don't miss any of these wonderful opportunities!
Thank You Guild Members!
Dear Guild Members,
My responsibilities as a guild officer are coming to a close and I have been trying to think of a way to thank everyone who has assisted me over the past four years. Afraid of omitting someone, I am taking the easy way out: I have made a donation to the guild to pay for the guild’s new online library system for the 2016-2017 year as a thank you to all of you. Our librarians, Maggie Schmude and Christine Tindell, and our webmaster, Margaret Martin, have worked hard to make the online library system available to us. We have a fine collection of books, available for review at our leisure and for easy check-out when we attend guild meetings.
My thanks to all of you for your support and guidance in my terms as president and member-at-large. You are a lovely group of people.
Sincerely,
Nancy Salmela
Membership
Membership Renewal Time!
IT’S TIME TO RENEW AND THE EARLY BIRD SPECIAL IS BACK!
Renew your membership by April 30th for $45 (a $5 saving)!
Download the Membership form (pdf) and bring to the next meeting with your membership fee or mail them directly to Membership to the address on the Membership form.
Ginny Flock and Kate Mayer Tekampe
Welcome Back!
Welcome back to returning member, Linda Frankiewicz!
Happy Birthday!
April Birthdays
Peggy Williams, April 5
Erica Jarrett, April 6
Margaret Martin, April 21
Jinni Swab, April 27
Edythe Hirasawa, April 28
Mary Ellin Innes, April 30
Enid Mattimiro, April 30
May Birthdays
Emmy Moore, May 1
Linda Frankiewicz, May 6
Patricia Warren, May 7
Donna Derstadt, May 10
Linda Panozzo , May 12
Marti Austin, May 13
Joan Lagedrost, May 13
Eloise Williams, May 16
Claire Machinist, May 19
Celia Stratman, May 19
Carol Miller, May 20
Penny Petitclair, May 20
Donna Lechowicz, May 22
Linda Wiemerslage, May 30