[TheForge] ABANA Poll

Sat Mar 3 00:16:52 EST 2007

Let me comment here that...
We mostly don't much want to hear about the internal workings of 
ABANA on a day to day basis. We grumble if we are showered with 
surveys. We just want seamless services.
The board has worked their butts off  for no pay ,trying to keep 
a changing organization on track.
The board members i know, past and present, are the sort of folks 
i'd like to be like when i grow up.
They are mostly good hearted, competent and pragmatic fellow 
smiths. Probably very short on malice.
The vast majority of us simply aren't as good as they are, frankly.
A lot of the "steamrolling, vigour and enthusiasm" has been 
beaten out of them by now. They were not lightweights to begin with.
Give them credit, cut them slack, thank them!
My hat off to Phlip, Tom Clark and everybody ready to step in and 
get the job done.....
Has anyone gotten their pure iron sample yet....how do you like 
it? it ought to be wonderfully forgiving....pete f

Riverbend Blacksmiths wrote:
> I think what Phlip is attempting to do for us ABANA members should be 
> applauded. I have already put a bug in our Association's ear to help 
> collect or publish the survey if this goes ahead. I'm behind you all the 
> way! It's a real shame it didn't come from ABANA itself with such steam 
> .
> 
> I really look forward to my Association monthly meetings, the regional 
> and ABANA conferences to take in all the learning I can possibly get, as 
> well as meeting other blacksmiths that come from all over North America 
> and worldwide.
> 
> Other comments added below:
> ---
> On Mar 2, 2007, at 12:27 PM, Saint Phlip wrote:
> 
>> On 3/2/07, Terry <mail4t at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>> I finally got fed up enough with the apparent attitude of the ABANA
>>> board to weigh in on this discussion. I met Philipa in Seattle, and
>>> don't think she's getting a fair shake here.
>>
>> Thanks, Terry, for your support. But, one thing I've learned over the
>> years, is if you want a fair shake, you better check the dice yourself
>> ;-)
>>
>>> I attended the Seattle conference, and had many of the same
>>> complaints / observations of others on this list so I'm not going to
>>> list all of them here.
>>>
>>> 1.  There was no poll in my packet for Seattle.
> 
> None in mine either.
>>>
>>> 2.  I almost didn't go to the Seattle conference because of the cost
>>> - and I live 30 minutes away.  I'm a hobbyist, not a professional.
>>> The cost of the conference needs to get a lot lower - and this means
>>> the basic cost.  I  didn't sign up for the food or lodging, and would
>>> not at a conference that was farther  away.
>>
>> OK. How would you feel about camping, if that was included as part of
>> a reasonable Conference fee?
> 
> I would be bringing my RV
>>
>> And, how far would you be willing to go for a conference?
> 
> I would be willing to travel (drive pulling my travel trailer) to the 
> mid-US as suggested (KC or Oklahoma). I schedule my vacation days I get 
> from work to attend these conferences. Geographically, the area 
> suggested seems fair to me, because people can decide to take a cheaper 
> route by driving, or flying-in for faster transportation if they wish.
>>
>>> 3.  Don't bother with the poll until the ABANA Board agrees that they
>>> will do something with it.  IF you can't use the ABANA name whatever
>>> conference is run will be a "regional" conference.  Not that it is a
>>> bad thing, but one of the purposes of this discussion is to revive 
>>> ABANA.
>>
>> So far, I've gotten some feedback that I need to keep private, that is
>> positive towards the poll. Maybe could be Dave started the idea to get
>> me out of his hair, but maybe could be that other folks will be
>> looking at this seriously, too. Ain't gonna find out until I try. And,
>> after all, the heart of any organization is its members/volunteers.
>> So, I volunteered, I'm a member, maybe I can help change things for
>> the better. And, if not, I, and we all, will have learned something.
> We'll never know until someone like you (who seems to have the stomach 
> for politics) sticks their neck out for the rest of us.
> I, being a new ABANA member is behind you, and thank you.
>>
>>> 4.  As far as number of responses to whatever poll is used: my
>>> company has a "usability group".  They regularly do studies with 12
>>> to 15 people and assign "confidence levels" of 80% or so to the
>>> results - even though the final population is in the hundreds of
>>> thousands. Something about statistics which I never understood.
>>
>> Yeah, statistics can be interesting, if your choice is watching paint
>> dry ;-) But, used properly, they can at least give a bit of insight.
>>
>>> Yes, if the poll is done electronically, you will have a bias towards
>>> non-luddite blacksmiths. But if you don't want to wait 6 months for
>>> the results, it's something you will have to live with.  (My
>>> understanding is that 6 months is too long to get moving on a 2008
>>> conference.)
>>>
>>> Terry
>>
>> Actually, I'm thinking of going both ways. Electronic results will
>> give us quick results, which can be supplemented later by snail mail
>> results. Any differences between the two will be interesting in
>> themselves.
> I'll do whatever I can to help you out in Ontario to get the survey out 
> to our membership. Perhaps if surveys (electronic pdf's) are emailed or 
> sent to all the Affiliate Presidents, they can hand them out to their 
> members and collect them up afterwards; you know, work it into the 
> meeting, and send them back to you, or at the member's preference, fill 
> it out on-line. If you send/email me the survey, I'll print them out and 
> take it to the meeting with me.
>>
>> --Saint Phlip
>>
>> Heat it up
>> Hit it hard
>> Repent as necessary.
>>
>> Priorities:
>>
>> It's the smith who makes the tools, not the tools which make the smith.
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