President’s Message – July/Aug 2006

By the time you read this, Camp B. will have come and gone, and you will have a new BOD. The results of the election will have taken place whilst at Camp B.

So, if you’re anxious to know the results and were unable to attend Camp, you can contact me and I’ll give you the results. I will do this whether I am re-elected or not.

On that note, I am in somewhat of a state of flux, so I’ll lay out no great visions for the future at this time. However, our own personal thoughts on the future, for many of us, are measured in smaller increments of time and physical ability – especially when it comes to stone carving.

Aging brings change: downsizing to an apartment or a condo, no place to carve, stones too heavy to move, reduced income in retirement,  etc. all these impact our membership.

What I would hope is that while we seek youth to fill our places on the field, that we also work to provide a place in our association for the active minds of our aging stoners.

There are so many activities which require little physical ability and or expense that can enhance and grow our association. If re-elected, I want to actively pursue this avenue, I think they call it networking now a days.

On a somewhat related note, I read Leon White’s “The times, they are a changing” with an avid interest. This is my personal opinion. I think he hit the nail on the head, at least for those of us who remember when we were all together in Fisher Hall. For those of you who are newer to the association, does the picture of camaraderie he presents in his article seem an inviting scene? It was. Do the changes in our facilities at camp affect the body? Personally, I believe they do.

The first time I came to Camp B., I was reticent, shy even. I know many of you may find that hard to believe, but it’s true. I didn’t know anything about art and it was all I could do to gather up the courage to go just so I could learn to cut stone.

I picked up my tray and looked about anxiously trying to find an un-obtrusive corner to eat my dinner. Then someone waved me over with a smile.

I had my dinner conversation and gained confidence to spread my wings amongst strangers who would later become my friends, that was 10 years ago.

In the first few days, I had learned enough to cut stone, which was my mission at that time. I more than likely would have come back home with a rudimentary level of skill, but without that opportunity for fellowship, I might not have found the grace of stone art nor the enduring friendships that have formed me in one way or another for the past 10 years.

This happened because we were all bunked in one building mostly and most importantly we ate together, chatted together all in the same building. So there are questions which Leon pointed out most succinctly in his letter. Can we fix it? Is the change in the facility the issue, has our group gotten too big, or do we just need to adapt to inevitable change?

Perhaps, it is only a longing of what was and, therefore, is a non issue. For those of you who remember, please take a few minutes to think about this, and for those of you who don’t have all those warm and fuzzies about Fisher (forget the bunk beds) please contact me with your thoughts. After all, it’s your association, and your voices can make for changes!

And remember: mentoring does not just stop once you leave the field. We must all work together to insure the continuum of  fellowship, the grace of stone art, the bonds of friendship formed both on the field of dreams and in the breaking of bread together.

Let’s demonstrate that it is not the building, but the people who constitute the essence of NWSSA.

Next BOD meeting is at Silver Falls.

Your pres,

Elaine