October 2022

Happy October

October is here and a new season is here. There is a lot to talk about in this Newsletter. There is good news and some not so good. Hope you stay for the whole letter and take action.
The good news in September included a Great Time at Matthews Alive. Neil McGuire headed up an awesome event for three days on Labor Day weekend. When it was hot outside, we had A/C inside, when it rained we had a roof and plenty of refreshments to keep us going. Plenty of people coming to see what we do. We gained over 100 emails from families interested in coming to our next Showcase (Only 6 months away).
For some of us this was our first Matthews Alive and personally I had a great time all 3 days. The following Tuesday, everyone who worked the event reported they had an exceptional experience as well.
It was fun to watch veteran members like Bill Dominick asking families if they were ready to start carving and newer carvers like Dave Clarke showing guests how the club instructed him through the learning steps of being a new carver.
To the twelve (12) carvers who showed up over the weekend to help, THANKS. I hope more will come and enjoy next year.

More good news at the Matthews Farmers Market where we had 2 events and picked up another 50 emails for the next Showcase. As always Bill Robinson arranged for free coffee to go with the club provided Apple Fritters. One more event this fall at the Market on October 15, 8am-12noon.

This coming weekend October 8 & 9, 2022 from 8am – 5pm is the Waxhaw Autumn Festival. Rich DiFranco is in charge of this event and needs volunteers to man the booth. It is believed we can sell at this event if you are so inclined. Please sign up this Tuesday or call Rich at 704-807-4101.

This leads to the not so good news. It is called WORK, also known as Volunteering. To keep our club strong and accomplishing our mission statement, we need more help. Clubs and Shows are dying across the country. In business there is a saying, “If you are not growing, you are dying”.

I was talking to Keith Jones our new “Showcase Co-Chairman” who has volunteered to help Lisa. (For some reason American Airlines thinks Lisa needs to work more for them.) Keith was president of a club in Florida for 3 years where they had to abandon their show. Keith suggests the answer is in forming committees to share the work. As you have read Lisa, Neil, Bill, Rich, and others are doing their part.
Our Showcase is 6 months away and progress has been slow. We just received written confirmation for April 14, 15, & 16, 2023. That took six (6) months! And, surprise, costs are going up.
If you have enjoyed our Club and activities, please volunteer to help keep it going. Thanks