Our next meeting on November 6th is the annual Toys for Tots holiday meeting. Everyone is invited to attend and help us celebrate this worthy cause. If you have time in the next month please help us out by making a toy to bring along. Those of you who have toys to donate, bring them in as soon after 5:00PM as you can.

The Marine Corps will be there to pick up the toys and take them to their distribution center. This is our opportunity to give back to the community and have a lot of fun at the same time.

The lodge will open at 5:00PM to set up and bring in toys. (Lots of help will be needed to set up the tables and get the room ready.) Dinner will be at 6:00, with the main meeting at 7:00.

Our traditional dinner is pizza from Costco and Laura’s famous Caesar salad. Once again, we will charge an exorbitant $5 each for dinner, but you all are on the honor system. A “financial receptacle” will be in the area of the pizza boxes (and will be guarded with a security camera, in case someone needs a new band saw).

Toys for Tots night has always been a special social evening with a chance for the spouses to find out what we have been up to for the past 11 months and to catch up with old friends. We hope you can make it.

Derrick is the founder and owner of the Puget Sound Woodworking School, located in Snohomish.

Our September 4th meeting will be back in the Hillcrest Lodge and will feature
club member David Helm. David joined NCWA in 2010 shortly after a crazy
driver plowed into his shop in the Bellingham area. David was in his office next
to his shop at the time, but was unhurt. He is an accomplished woodworker and
has built beautiful furniture and cabinets for his home. He also specializes in West
Coast Native American mask carving. He has studied the art and attended several
workshops by master carvers. David’s program will include examples of his work
and he will show us the process of creating a mask beginning with raw wood from
start to finish.

On Saturday, August 11, we’ll be gathering at Val and Laura Matthews place at 1PM for the annual picnic and tool auction. This is our traditional combined Northwest Corner Woodworkers Association and Northwest Washington Woodturners event. Val and Laura have ample parking and space for this, and all you have to do is show up with a side dish (salad, dessert or whatever), something cool to drink, and a lawn chair or two. Normally, we eat about 3 PM and close the bidding for the auction at around 4 PM. Don’t forget to bring your significant other and something to sit on. The two clubs provide the burgers, hotdogs, brats, fixings, paper plates, plastic ware and napkins.

Also, the drawing for our Toys-for-Tots raffle will be held, and tickets ($2 each or book of four for $5) will still be available for purchase prior to the drawing.

The annual picnic takes the place of our regular monthly meeting: there will be NO regular meeting on Tuesday, August 7th.