Guild Meeting and Member Shop?

Look for a new survey coming to your mailbox soon about a member shop!  This is an important question for our members so please give us a response.

Over the past year, our strategy team has been developing ideas for what the future might be.  One idea that has been discussed often is whether our Guild should aspire to have a member shop, so we are going to ask your opinion.

A member shop could be equipped with industrial scale equipment and a broad range of tools that may not be available for many home shops.  Beyond the basic table saw, this could include planers, jointers, lathes, bandsaws and a broad collection of hand tools and work benches.  This could be beneficial for the new woodworker who is just starting their new hobby.  More experienced members may appreciate access to equipment they do not have at home.  Plus, it opens opportunities for experienced members to mentor and teach those starting out and looking to learn. 

Would you join such a shop?  It will require a separate memberships fee.  Would you volunteer your time to research further and run a shop?

A related issue is when will we grow out of our current meeting space and need a larger location?  With Covid delays to meeting in person and plans to stream future meetings, we are taking a wait and see approach to assessing the future needs.  When we get to the point of looking for new space, one scenario could be to find a space that could expand to be a future shop.

All these plans are contingent on what you, our members, want to do.  We need a high response supporting a shop to pursue that idea further. Please give us your feedback.

I hope to see you at a meeting soon.