The Beginning of Lake Erie Woodturners
As a member of four clubs, in the state of Ohio and Pennsylvania, the closest being 62 miles, one way and the furthest 187 miles one way, I decided to attempt to start this local club in Ashtabula, OH. I started talking to as many people as I could in the local area to see if there might be enough interest in starting this local club. I started doing some research to find out what I needed to do to create a club and what was required to become a chapter of the AAW. It didn’t take too long to come to the conclusion that it was going to be very difficult to do this on my own. Being associated with the owners of Bridge Street Art Works and with some advice from Judy and Anzietta of the Art Store I was referred to the then CEO of the Goodwill in the Ashtabula Harbor, Eric Schwarz. After meeting with Eric and discovering he is an avid woodturner, we decided to go forward and try to establish a club called the Lake Erie Woodturners.
Our first meeting was held at the Ashtabula Art Center on W.13th Street in Ashtabula, OH. There were 19 attendees at our first meeting including Pro turner and master wood worker, Ernie Conover, Pete Wade and retired industrial arts teacher Joe Herrmann. With their support the Lake Erie Woodturners was on the way to becoming a recognized turning club in Ashtabula county, OH.
After about 3 or 4 meetings we held our first elections and voted in a board of directors, Pres., Ron Tomasch, VP, Eric Schwarz, treasurer, Bob Sampson, secretary, Isabel Quayle, and three members at large, Joe Herrmann, Jolene Schwarz and Kyle Foote. After the board was elected the club started collecting club dues and effective as of the date of this bio the club has 16 paid members in good standing.
In December of 2018 we filed the necessary forms to the Ohio Secretary of State to become a registered nonprofit corporation within the state. On December 27th, 2018 we were notified that our club had been approved and we were granted a certificate as a Registered nonprofit corporation known as the, “Lake Erie Woodturners”, effective January 1, 2019.
Thanks to Eric Schwarz, Ernie Conover, Pete Wade, Isabel Quayle, the existing board and all of the members of Lake Erie Woodturners this club is now a recognized wood turning club in Ashtabula Ohio with the expectation of education and growth in the art of woodturning.
Ronald R Tomasch, President, LEWT
