Greetings NWBA Members!
All of our lives have changed since you received your last issue of the HIN and I’m sure that you are all looking forward to the day that things will return to ‘normal.’ The COVID-19 pandemic has affected each of us in different ways and has placed an unwelcome amount of strain on many of our members. I’d like to take this opportunity to encourage everyone to take the time to reach out to the fellow smiths in your life and check in on them. We may not be able to meet up and forge together, but there is nothing stopping us from keeping our community strong. Someday this pandemic will come to an end, the social distancing restrictions will lift and we will once again be able to meet, learn, grow and be merry together. Until then, let’s work towards keeping our community tight, close, and resilient so we can move forward together into whatever the eventual new ‘normal’ may be.
Having to cancel the Spring Conference is a blow to the NWBA, as it is to all the blacksmithing organizations that have likewise needed to cancel events. Although it was canceled there are many people who deserve recognition for the work they put into the ‘Spring Conference that Never Was.’ Both of our main demonstrators, Jim Austin and Riley Kirkpatrick, had developed interesting and engaging demos that I hope we get to someday see. Our hands-on demonstrators, Peter Clark and Bhakti Sa had great workshops planned. Pele Warnock and Alair Wells had developed a youth forging area (this will definitely make a return!), and Andy Dohner was fully prepared to feed us all. And a big
thank you to the Conference planners, David Tuthill, Lee Corechorea, and Silas Maddox. Hopefully we can just roll some of this work into Swaptoberfest!
Besides having to cancel the conference we have had to temporarily close the doors to the Mentoring Center… but this unexpectedly opened a new door. On April 18th the NWBA hosted our first pilot Digital Demonstration and it went so well that we’ve been having one every week since. These Digital Demos are free to all members and are pretty easy to attend (it might seem scary at first but its simpler than you may think). We understand that this type of demonstration format won’t work for everyone but the supportive response we’ve had so far shows us that it is definitely working for some. If you haven’t watched one yet, you should! All the DDs are recorded and will later be put onto YouTube
for everyone’s viewing pleasure. If you need help setting up your free Zoom account to participate or would like to be a Digital Demonstrator, please email us at webmaster@blacksmith.org and we’ll get you set up for success. The Communications Committee has been working overtime on this and deserves a huge THANK YOU!
Included in this issue of the HIN is a paper survey that we are hoping you all will take the time to fill out and return. We set up a slightly different online survey in March (thank you to those who took it) but wanted to make sure that everyone had an equal opportunity to take it. Please, help us gauge the pulse of the NWBA and direct its future by taking and returning this one. Since we won’t be able to have a members meeting at the banquet this year we are going to postpone that meeting until Swaptoberfest, but you are always welcome to email us your ideas and opinions. This is your association and we want to hear from you!
Lastly, the NWBA relies on your generosity to ensure we’re able to continue offering the events and programs that so many of us value. With the absence of conference this year, we are missing out on the yearly auction which is our primary fundraising opportunity. Please consider donating directly to the group at a level you are comfortable with at www.blacksmith.org/donate.
Stay healthy and sane, friends!
Kellen Bateham – el presidente