The January meeting topic will be veneering, and will be presented by Jack Coobs. Jack is a professional woodworker who works on a commission basis. The type of work that Jack does requires him to do a lot of inlay and veneering. Jack has given to us a presentation on inlay work in the past.

We are pleased to announce that your CWA Web Site has been redesigned and relocated to a new server. TAKE A LOOK!

The redesign was done with the objective of making it easier to find what you are looking for and allows for easier modification and maintenance of the site. The new server is much faster making it a more pleasant experience to visit the site.

The backbone of these changes are the result of considerable effort on the part of Barry Boyer, one of our members dedicated to computers as well as woodworking.

Be sure to look at the new site and to let Barry know how much you appreciate his efforts in setting up the site. You will note that he has included a section that makes it very easy to send along your comments.

Great job, Barry!

The annual Christmas Party was a huge success. The location at St. Mark's was large enough for the 75 attendees. (Actually we had enough room for 150). Everyone had a great time and there were plenty of spouse gifts to give out. Gifts included a rocking horse, beanie babies, wine stoppers, pens, a cutting board, and Christmas ornaments. The food was great, but I think the hot spinach and sausage balls were the hit. Our thanks go out to Bob Harbage for organizing the dinner and to St. Mark's and the Ole Smokehouse for providing our location and the dinner.

January begins a new year for the Charlotte Woodworkers Association, and a new year brings changes. To start, there a lot of new faces in the organization who weren’t with us even a year ago. We here in the CWA hope you like what you’ve seen so far, and look forward to your continued membership and participation in future programs.

There are also a few new faces in the officers’ roster as a few of the more familiar ones step down. John Graham, one face that hasn’t changed, has stepped up to the president’s office previously occupied by Bob Harbage. Bob Reading’s position as Vice President and Program Committee Chairman has been filled by Dave Waters, with Jack Mady filling in as the Assistant Program Committee Chairman. David Terpening will continue the excellent job he has performed as Treasurer. And yours truly is now the Secretary and Editor of the Charlotte Sawdust.

For Sale: Tilt-Top Router Table & Cabinet - Made from pattern/kit sold in 11/98 Wood Magazine. 80% completed. 21"x21"x35" cabinet made of MDF has dust collection, sliding shelf for storage of bits, storage space . . . but takes up too much space for my shop! Includes 300 Incra Jig fence system and hinges for attaching a tilting top that you need to make or buy. Asking $130, which is how much I have into it. Call Jim Gilkey @ (704) 543-6761.

Wanted: Pending cabinet job has me seeking a portable planer (12" or 12½") and/or a jointer (6" or 8") in reasonably good shape. If you have one you’re not using anymore, please call Jeffrey Hollis @ (704) 596–2874.

Welcome to 1999! I have enjoyed serving as Secretary for the last two years. The job was fun, as I got to be creative with the newsletter. And challenging also (when you have nothing to put in it)! Overall, it was a great experience meeting each one of you, reminding you all to put your name in for the Christmas drawing, and keeping everyone generally informed with the newsletter. Join with me in supporting your new secretary, Jeffrey Hollis, who will be in need of articles, classified ads, and items of interest for future newsletters.

As your new president, I have a hard act to follow in Bob Harbage. He brought a lot to the club, overseeing all the functions, (like beverages, conducting the meetings, and making sure I got the newsletter out)! I only hope that I can continue the successful traditions of the past CWA presidents. Please feel free to contact me during the day at home (I work in the evenings) at 588-8450, or you can e-mail me at jgraham389@aol.com. Let's have a great year.

Member’s Gallery

Please keep in mind that we need additional photographs of your work for the Gallery. Many of you must have had Christmas projects to do. Let's have a copy of your latest effort to share with others. In addition, we'll need more photos for the Web Site. Call me at 541-0411 if you need help with the photographs.

Winners Prize Value

* Please pick up your prize at the January meeting.

President : John Graham 704-588-8450     jgraham389@aol.com

VP / Programs : Dave Waters 704-871-1609

Asst. Programs : Jack Madey 704-596-6959    jmadey1937@aol.com

Treasurer : Dave Terpening 704-541-2651

Secretary : Jeffrey Hollis 704-596-2874    heffmoe@bellsouth.net

Looking back over my past years as Vice-President/Program Chairman (1996) and President (1997 and 1998), I am especially proud of the continued growth in Charlotte Woodworking Association membership from 86 members in December 1996 to 180 members in December 1998.

Most of this growth was the result of moving our meetings to the Charlotte Woodworking Shop in October 1997, and the great publicity generated by the Charlotte Woodworking employees with their customers. Thank you, Mark Sanders and staff!

It has been especially helpful to me to learn about members’ special woodworking skills, and the members have all been very willing to help me when I have had a woodworking problem. This help, combined with the information provided through the meeting programs has made me a much more skilled woodworker.

Our meeting attendance has been excellent, thanks to the fine programs arranged by our Vice-President and Program Chairman, Bob Reading, and the timely publication of our newsletter, The Charlotte Sawdust, by John Graham. Our Treasurer, Dave Terpening, has faithfully collected dues, paid our bills, issued membership cards, and generally taken great care of out financial needs.

Serving as Raffle Manager involves visiting and soliciting our sponsors for contributions each month, selling tickets at the meeting and managing the raffle. Carl Underwood has done an outstanding job in this capacity! Carl’s predecessor was Ted Sellars, who also performed yeoman service as Raffle Manager.

I can’t fail to mention Jack Madey’s service as Librarian and I especially appreciate Dwight Hartsell’s reliable provision of refreshments.

I ask that every member personally express their appreciation to these individuals for their good work for the CWA and offer the same fine support to the new officers.

- Bob Harbage, Past President