Craig is away so since I am writing this in December 2003 and still the Vice President until midnight December 31st , I thought that I would give this space a try.

We have had a good year with wonderful presentations both from our members and outside presenters. Craig had a great idea and sent out a questionnaire to all members. Based on the results, there will be some changes in 2004 and hopefully for the better. We will see these changes in the months to come. One changed already in place is to start the meetings at 6:30 instead of 7 pm. This has worked well when we could get the room at 6:30. However, both the January and February meetings will start at 7 pm because that is when the room is available. Robbie Fanning wearing one of her several hats is searching for a permanent meeting place where time will not be a problem. If you have any leads preferably in the San Mateo area contact her at rfanning@mac.com or 650/323-1183. Another change that has been implemented is the meeting agenda. We now start with a Tech Talk if there is one followed by the main presentation followed by guest introductions. Following the break, we have the Announcements, Show and Tell and the Silent Auction and Raffle.

Our new slate of officers is a good one. Craig will continue as President and implement all those ideas from the questionnaires. Peter Wronsky a long-time member will be our Vice President. He did a wonderful job as Secretary in 2003. There was no candidate for the Secretary but subsequently Mark Ferraro came forward and Andre Sobiesky who can't make many meetings is willing to help when he does come. Andy did a fine job last year too. We will vote on that position in January and they are certainly a welcome addition. I will become Treasurer and continue with the newsletter. Since I do little wood working, I still have 10 digits and 10 toes so I should be able to handle the Treasury. Our great programs will continue with Jay Perrine but he will have a committee with Stan Booker and Fred Reicher to ease the load. Hospitality will be handled by Robbie Fanning who will get volunteers to do this. Harold Patterson will continue as Membership, Outreach and the Toy Workshops. He has done a great job wearing all those hats. If you participated in last year's Rebuilding Together project then you know the excellent skills that Bill Henzel applied in getting the project to run smoothly and he will continue in this capacity. Our November Woodworking show couldn't have been run better with Stu Hoffer and Robbie and Tony Fanning and they have even bigger ideas for 2004. The library will grow under the continuing direction of Mike Cooper who will now get help from Jeremy Ashley. They also have a list of what is available at the library. Jamie Buxton our webmaster will continue and keep being patient with your bumbling editor. He will still maintain the Resource page on our web site but he needs your help in listing more favorite hardware/lumber yards, wood working schools and other wood working sites. If you can't get to the web, ask me for a copy of the Resource list. Stan Booker who comes up with those great raffle and door prizes will continue. He still refuses to give me an extra ticket! Then there are the countless volunteers who have helped in 2003 and will continue to help in the New Year.

So, I think we will have a great year so stay involved and make sure you renew your membership with Harold Patterson.