Happy New Year everyone! We have a promising quilting year ahead of us.

January is a busy month and this year, a quilt show year, is even a more exciting one! Our membership is now at 138, and I know each of our members will be scurrying to ready hers or his quilts for the June show. Fortunately we have a monthly COPS day in which everyone is welcome to participate, or to seek assistance with tough quilting questions. I attended on
January 9th, and thoroughly enjoyed the excitement and camaraderie. Our members bring a sense of family to the day.

I was pleased to see that there are members actively considering the role of treasurer for the upcoming fiscal year. On behalf of the current executive we welcome and encourage each of you to consider volunteering for the vacant positions of Vice President, Treasurer, Program Coordinator and Committee, Newsletter, Member at Large, and Librarian.

Yes, some effort is involved in volunteering, but you are never alone in the role, and the current members are available to help smooth the transition. A friendly reminder that the Guild will not run without member participation, so please take the plunge.

Participating in show and Tell? The Guild is capturing the perimeter size of completed quilts in the CQA “counting inches travelling from Lethbridge to Toronto”. Please come with the completed size so that we can avoid guessing.

Travelling to south Vancouver? Our longtime member, Gaye McCance is now at the George Pearson Centre on West 57th between Oak and Cambie. She needs special care, but would like visitors, especially quilting ones. The flexible visiting hours are 8 am to 10 pm.

Based on our history, the formal initiation of the guild was Jan 20th 1987. We are 29 years young. Happy birthday guild members!

Bena Luxton, President

As you know our AGM is coming up in February and several executive positions are coming vacant. We hope you will give serious consideration to occupying one of them. Those of us who have done so can attest to the fun we have had and the new friendships that have been made. If there is a position you think you might be interested in make a point of finding out more about it from the person or people currently in it. You may be surprised to find out that it is not always as daunting as it may at first appear.

These are the positions that will be available:

VicePresident
The Vice President takes over the duties of the president in the absence of the president. They also oversee the storage locker and post office box rentals.

Treasurer
The treasurer looks after all the money business of the guild. That business includes preparing year end financial statements, any required tax returns, preparation of draft and final budgets, and presenting financial and budget details to the AGM.

Program Coordinator and Committee
The Program Coordinator and members of the program committee are responsible for planning the educational part of our business meetings. They contact speakers to determine availability and cost and are responsible for all correspondence with them, determining if special equipment or set up is required. (There is a list of available speakers and presenters available from the local Guild gatherings). Committee members assist speakers when they arrive at our meetings, and introduce them. The committee chair attends the executive meeting. Programs have been finalized until June 2015.

NewsletterEditor
Prepares and distributes the monthly guild newsletter for the nine months of September through November and January through June.

Member-at-Large
There are two members -at-large. Although there are two members each serving a two year term, one new member is elected each year. The members -at-large greet members arriving at guild meetings, look after the 50-50 raffle which includes applying for the annual license, assist with show and tell, and are another avenue of communicating with the executive. They also communicate congratulations or condolences to fellow guild members on behalf of the guild. In the second year of his or her term, the member-at-large is the Nominating Committee Coordinator for the upcoming elections.

Library
The person responsible for the library puts out the books for each meeting and stores them away afterwards. They record books in and out, collect library fines, purchase new books for the library , and cull any that are outdated.

We have a very talented group of people in our guild. We hope you will consider sharing your talents with your guild.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!! It is time to think about renewing your membership for 2016/2017. The dues for this year are $75.00 which includes the $20.00 fee for Quilt Show tickets that you will receive at a later date to be determined by the Quilt Show Committee.

A membership renewal form is on our Guild website. Just click on ‘Membership Form’ under the ‘Member Resources’ heading. This is a PDF file which will allow you to type in your information, print it off, sign it and then drop it off at the membership table with cash or a cheque for $75.00 made out to ‘Lions Gate Quilters Guild’ or ‘LGQG’. This form cannot be saved but can be printed off so you can hand write on it also. Please help us save paper by printing off your own form.

If you are planning to hang a quilt in the show in June, you must already be a member as of December 2015. In addition, you must also be a member in good standing and have renewed your membership by March 31, 2016.

Your current membership is good until February 29, 2016 but membership renewals will be accepted at the January and February meetings.

The guild currently has 138 members. We had 88 members present at the November meeting where we welcomed 1guest and 1new member to our guild meeting.

Remember to wear your name tags if you would like to win a door prize. Everyone who signs in, has an opportunity to win. Nametags are available for $1.00 each at the membership table.

Should you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us at membership@lionsgatequiltersguild.com.

Happy Quilting!

Joan Herrin
Membership Coordinator