May 2023 Newsletter

President’s Message:

Let the count down  begin!  Two great events for our Reading-Berks Craftsmen Guild in one week.  Tuesday, May 2 is our general meeting and our program will be featuring Lisa Sanchez, a park naturalist from Lancaster with an outstanding presentation.  We will be meeting in Room 420 at the GoggleWorks.   Saturday, May 6th is our third annual juried Spring craft show presented by You!    And what a craft show it will be.  Over 40 juried artists and craftsmen will be greeting our patrons from 9 AM to 3 PM that day at Renninger’s Farmers’ Market under the Pavilion.  The hype around this event is growing and growing.  The variety of fine art and craft for this event is outstanding and just in time for Mother’s day shopping.  I am excited to say that I again had the distinct honor of announcing our Stanley Seltz Student Awards winners again this year at the ceremony on Sunday, April 16  at the GoggleWorks.  The talent of our youth was again seen in so many different genres.  Being able to talk with these young people is truly an honor for me.  All these young artists and craftsmen flanked by their family members beaming with pride is a real motivator for us as a Guild.  Let’s do our best to encourage and help motivate our youth to enjoy and embrace their creative abilities.

Don’t forget our great summer picnic at the home of the Vardjan’s.  What a great way to start the summer with great friends, great food……it’s a great time.  Yes, I had 4 greats in that sentence.  Tony the Tiger would be proud!

On a final note, I spoke with Heather Zimmerman, director of the Kutztown Folk Festival, very recently and she said she has a few openings for some craftsmen.  So if you are contemplating about doing the Festival, now is the time to get in touch with Heather.  zimmerman@kutztownfestival.com

“Spring is nature’s way of saying, “Let’s party!”  Robin Williams.

Your President,
Barry L. Bennecoff

Vice President’s Message:

Just wanted to remind everyone that we will be voting on the new bylaws at the May 2nd meeting.   The changes can be see on the marked up version of the bylaws by going to:
https://rbcrafts.org/wpcontent/uploads/2023/04/RBG_Bylaws_2023changes.pdf.

Red text indicates text being removed, blue text indicated text that is added.   Date and appropriate subcategory indications will obviously change once the bylaws are official.

The document has been signed by the following 3 people for submission to the chapter for approval:  Steven A. Hunter, Carol Haile and Matthew P. Vardjan.

Vice President,
Cleon Garl

Programs:

Our program for May will fetcher Lisa J. Sanchez speaking about the history of the Conestoga river.

Lisa J. Sanchez has been a naturalist at the Lancaster County Department of Parks and Recreation Environmental Center for 30 years. Teaching students of all ages to explore and value the wonders of nature is her passion. Helping people reconnect to the earth through education and observation is a great day at work in her opinion.  Lisa can often be found in her garden or in a kayak on the river.

Programs Chair,
Matt Vardjan

Shows:

This weekend is our third annual spring outdoor show. Forty four craftsmen will be selling their crafts, thats almost a third of the guild. Please plan on joining us at Renningers this year.

The fall show is all set to go, applications are on our web page. Some folks have all ready sent in their applications so don’t be late, limits for types of crafts could go into effect sooner then in past years.

Social Media:

Our May 6th Show is almost here. Please help us to promote the event by going to the Reading-Berks Guild of Craftsmen Facebook page and sharing the Spring Craft Show Event to your page. If you’re planning on visiting or participating in the Event, you can select Going from the event page which will give you the option to invite your Facebook friends. This would really help us to get the word out.

Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/rbcraftsguild

Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/readingberksguild/

                                                                        Social Media Chair,
Lisa  Short

Media (BCTV):

Tune into “Your Berks Craftsmen” on May 17, 2023, at 7:00 PM on Comcast and you will find yourself at the Berks County Intermediate Unit Art Show that took place the end of March through part of April at the GoggleWorks.  This is where your Guild, Reading-Berks Guild of Craftsmen award their Stanley Seltz Student Awards every year.  The talent and flare that these kids possess and the passion for what they do is evidenced in their art and crafts.  Carol Haile, our education chair person and her panel of judges had a difficult task of picking the winners.  They were impressed by what they saw, and you will be too.  The show will take you on a tour of the event and you get to meet several of these amazing artists.  Don’t have Comcast…no problem.  You can watch on your computer by going to BCTV.org.  In a day or two you can watch it on our website at rbcrafts.org and it will be on YouTube.  So there is no reason you can’t see this incredible show.

Thanks for watching,
“Your Berks Craftsmen” Host,
Kay L. Bennecoff

Standards:

The next jury session is scheduled for Tues, Sept 5, 2023 at the Goggleworks in room 325. Members who have belonged to our chapter for a minimum of 3 months are eligible to present their work for jurying. The room will be open at 5:30, and jurying will begin at 6:00. Members will be asked to leave before jurying begins, and can return in 30 minutes for the results.

For more information or for an application, go to https://rbcrafts.org/resources  or contact Louise at eglassplace@gmail.com.

Standards Chair,
Louise Mehaffey

Membership:

From the State web site this month, we are showing a total of 152 members for our Reading-Berks Guild chapter.  You can see the status of your membership on the State Web site here: https://pacrafts.org/members/

Sorry I was not able to make it to last month’s meeting, but for those five people who have filled out a form for a new badge, I will be at the May meeting and will have your badges for you.  If you can’t make it to the meeting, I will be at our May 6th Spring Craft Show and you can also get them there.

I got this Question again so I wanted to include it here again:
Q: How do I find out when I joined the Guild and when is my  membership due for renewal?
Answer:
1.   Log into the PACrafts.org website using your ID and password here: https://pacrafts.org/member-login/
2. Scroll down to the heading called Office Use Only and look for Renewal Date (Date of Last Renewal) and you will see when you are up for renewal.

If you are new to the Reading-Berks Guild and don’t have a badge, contact me and I will have you fill out a form to get one.

Thanks Much,

Membership Chair,
Gary Rosborough

Website:

A few people have mentioned that they think our chapter website could use some updating.  I agree totally, but need help on what needs updating and a few people who are familiar with websites that could help with making the changes. If you are interested, please drop a note to info@rbcrafts.org
Webmaster,
Bill Jones

Mini-Grant Winners:

Congratulations to our four 2023 Mini-Grant winners:

Matt Vardjan
Louise Mehaffey
Lisa Short
Steve Hunter

We look forward to hearing how they have used their grants at a future general meeting.
Education Chair
Carol Haile

For Sale:

Lots of cabochons, faceted stones, raw stones and findings.  Contact Drena at drenaromberger5@gmail.com with jewelry in the subject line.

Events:

General Meetings: (1st Tuesday of Month):

May 2, 2023, 7 PM at the Google Works,  check the board for location.  We will be voting on the new Bylaws at this meeting.

June 6, 2023,  Our annual picnic.

Shows:

Spring Show:  Saturday, May 6, 2023,  Renningers in Kutztown, PA

Holiday Show:   Saturday & Sunday, November 4 & 5, 2023