COMING MEETING: April 9, 2024Time: 7:00 PM Location: Schramm Park Education Center Following meeting: May 14, 2024 Program:Ron Cisar, a local birdwatcher and science educator will talk on birdwatching, bird photography and, his bird watcher’s guide.
President’s Notes: Greetings everyone. I hope you are all doing well and I hope to see you at the upcoming meeting.
Don’t forget that we will have a program presented by Ron Cisar. Ron is a retired educator having taught high school biology for over 30 years. Ron worked for the National Wildlife Federation for over 20 years. He has received numerous awards and accolades from the likes of Dr. Paul Johnsgard and Dr. Jane Goodall. Ron is an avid photographer and has published a bird field guide book.
As discussed last month Norm and I have been in discussions with NGP regarding putting on a carving class. We have some ideas about what we could do for projects and costs. There are still unknowns such as when the classes would be held e.g.: as part of the monthly meeting or at some other time. A lot depends on what we can work out with NGP staff. Hopefully NGP would help get the word out there about our art form and we might actually pick up some new members. Please give this some thought and let us know what you think at the meeting.
Of course, when we do attract new members, we have to make sure that we keep them interested in our meetings. In reviewing the 2012 member survey that was completed, members expressed interest in short educational programs at our meetings. I know that interest still exists and will be crucial in keeping new members interested. Topics of interest ranged from painting techniques to anatomy to art design and composition. Please think about this and if you would be willing to participate. A copy of the survey results is included with this email. And finally, last month we talked about some events that the NGP was hosting. One of them is the Venture Parks Discovery Fair being held
April 7th at Mahoney State Park. This will run from 12 pm to 3 pm. We will have a couple tables there with examples of our art form. If you would like to participate by spending some time at the table and interacting with the public let us know as soon as possible. Otherwise, stop by and say hello. Happy Carving Kirk
Meeting agenda (4/9/2024): Welcome members and visitors. Program note.Following the program we will hold our business meeting. I. Treasurer’s report. 2023 Club treasurer’s report. II. Old business: 1. 2024 calendar edition plan update. and photo session. Ron Pigg/ Norm Wise 2. Website and Collectors’ Corner page additions. III. New business: 1. 2024 Mini Decoy show discussion. 2. Web page addition and changes. 3. Hall of Fame selection criteria IV. Agenda additions: V. Member’s carvings on display. VI. Adjourn.
At the March Meeting…Club 2025 calendar update…Ron Pigg reported the basic production is proceeding as planned. We still need photos and bios from some members.We will continue to take photos of carvings during the April and May meetings. Ron asked for brief carving bios to be sent to him via email.
Website additions and deletions… Norm reported we have added 2 new decoy collecting articles to the Collectors Corner page. One is titled “Nebraska Made” posted with permission from NebrasaklandMagazine and the second is titled “A Timeline Tale of Factory Blue-winged Teal Decoys” by John Ockerbloom. You may read the articles in their entirety by clicking on the link to Download the File below each article summery. We are working on the next pictorial decoy review.
Mini Decoy Show… It has been proposed that the Mini Decoy contest be changed to include a mini antique decoy replica category. This change was made to include the old decoys as part of the show and is designed to educate our members on collectable decoys and collecting. The new category will have essentially the same requirement of size criteria, but it will focus on replicas of the old decoys or, carved and painted to represent the old decoy style.
Unless there are further edits, these will be adopted and posted to the Club website. The revised criteria are included with this newsletter mailing.
Hall of Fame… Kirk distributed the updated version of the Hall of Fame selection criteria. These changes are based on our discussions in the past 2 meetings. These criteria will be used by the HOF Committee to select future members for our Hall of Fame.
The preamble has been edited to include collectors and influential founding members. The final revision is included with this newsletter mailing.
Growing the Club membership…At the February and March meetings we discussed ways to improve our new member recruiting and retention activities.
We generally agreed that we need to introduce potential members to wildfowl carving and at the same time to recruit them to the club. Courses on bird carving was suggested as a mechanism to recruit and retain new members.
Along with what the subject matter of courses, the discussion included a timeline for development and the logistics of a new (novice) carver education program.
It was suggested that we include the new carver education program into our club meetings over an extended period (several meetings). This should get the new carvers involved in the club business and activities early in their carving career.
The subject will be added to future meeting agendas. It was suggested that we form a committee to develop a plan to recruit members.
CFDCCCompetition Results: ODCCA, March 15 - 16. Don Gabelhouse: Ruby duck drake, Over 65 class, decorative floating category, 1st in species and 3rd best diver.Green-winged teal hen, Over 65 class, decorative floating, best in species. Tom Christie:Yellow-shafted Northern Flicker palm frond, Best Of Show category. Barrows Goldeneyedrake, Best Of Show in the IWCA Style decoys. 2024ODCCA show review… Tom Christie posted a great YouTube video reviewing some of the ODCCA show held on March 15 - 16. Fifteen minutes in length. Click on the image If you want to see a full screen version. Or, click on or copy and paste the link below to the YouTube home page. https://youtu.be/hREb_pFhAGs We are grateful to Tom for taking the time to record and post his observations and this review.
Coming Shows and Competition: Wildfowl Carving Online Championships will return in 2024. The dates and prize sponsors for the 2024 Competition will be announced after the first of the year. This is an online competition and should not be confused with the Ward Foundation Wildfowl Carving Championships. 53rd Ward World Championship Wildfowl Carving Competition and Art Festival… will be held on April 26 to 28, 2024 at the Roland E. Powell Convention Center, Ocean City, MD. Reminder. Dues are due… You may pay your 2024 dues at the meeting or send $25 to Norm Wise. Contact info: Kirk Pfeffer:[email protected] 103 Charles Park Dr, Council Bluffs IA. 51503 712 366-3620. Ron Pigg:[email protected]. 402 216-3967 Norm Wise:[email protected]. 402 320-2947. 8502 South 101 St. Lavista, NE. 68128.
2025 Calendar sneak peek... below. Don Gabelhouse, Ruddy duck drake. ODCCA 3rd Best in Show diver.
below. Miniature replica of a circa 1932 Michael Vallero pintail decoy carved by Kirk Pfeffer on a Al Thomas mini Remington shellbox.