Meeting Minutes
Torch Club of the Fox Valley
14 September 2017
Atlas Coffee Mill & Café
Notes taken by: Sofia Wilson, Secretary
Attendees: Karen Bachhuber , Jim Baumbach, Mary Flanagan, Paul Frieberg, Walt Hedges, Jean Jepson, Barbara Kelly, William Kelly, Jude Kuenn , Cam Maurice, Jan Smith, Robert Swain, Helen Thiel, Peter L. Thiel, Donna Weis and Sofia Wilson
Guest: None
BUSINESS MEETING
Meeting called to order at 6:35pm.
- Meeting minutes from 5/11/17 were accepted; motioned, seconded and approved.
- Treasurer’s report: 9/11/17 balance is at $2,388.69. Dues are due by November. The Single membership renewal is $70. Second in household is $45. Report was accepted, motioned, seconded and approved.
- Old Business:
A. Annual Summer Party – There was a warm thank you to Bill and Barbara Kelly for hosting the Summer Party.
B. IATC Convention – Sofia gave a summary of her experiences at the Kalamazoo Torch Convention and passed out summaries of the speakers; Sofia discussed the speakers, the visits, IATC membership concerns, no dues increase, our newly elected IATC Vice President and general thoughts on the benefits of the conference and potential for more club interactions.
- New Business:
A. Speakers for 2017-18 – Walt reviewed the list of speakers for the year and brought up the openings for papers needed. There are openings in November and April that need to be filled. Please consider signing up, if you haven’t already.
B. Donation on Behalf of Janet Cloak – Peter proposed making a donation to the Library in memorial of Janet Cloak’s passing. There was discussion on the type of books and what Library to donate to. Barbara agreed to coordinate the donation effort. Bill motioned that the donation be up to $75. Motion was accepted, seconded and approved. - Announcements:
A. Jim – The Blood Center is accepting donations to help support the Hurricane Irma Relief Effort.
B. Sofia – The Trout Museum of Art currently has an Origami Exhibit, ORIcursion –Original Origami by Robert J Lang showing until December 31, 2017.
C. Bob – Sad news. Nancy’s Border collie Robbie Bodway, also recently passed away.
Business segment adjourned at 7:00pm for dinner.
Jan Smith - What do we do with our stuff when we are gone
There are two main places for stuff. Stuff in view (typically more sentimental attachment) or stuff out of view (things in the basement /garage).
The question is, who is going to want your stuff? Children of more recent generations have been found to not value things as much as they value experiences. There is also a concern on the cost of maintenance/storage of things passed on.
So, what do you do? There are three options: Sell it (if possible), trash/recycle it, or donate/give it away (to museums, libraries, etc.).
Jim spoke about taking shelves of slides and digitizing them down to 2 DVDs.
Many donors have very specific wishes for their collections, which makes it difficult for institutions to accept their donations. People want to leave a legacy, but don’t always consider the costs the institution must incur to display their donations. (Cost of the display, catalog, maintenance, care, etc.) A gift can become a burden, depending on the care and maintenance required for upkeep.
One Object at a time. At the Corning Convention, a request was put out for pieces to exhibit with the idea of a potential gift. There was a symposium to deliberate the plan for the collections.
If donating, one must do the research to find a good match and work on separating your sentimentality from the object. It is a good idea to weigh the state of the market for when to donate. Finding the “right” fit for an institution may take some time to find. The piece may be better fit with a small institution than with a large one. A discussion will need to be had to find a balance of what, where and how many. A compromise may need to be made on the sale of the donation and the proceeds are identified as in the name of the donor.
Bob spoke about a kit ship he inherited from Roger Wainwright and then his experience finding it a good home. It is now on display at Brewster Village. Jean commented on the donations of pianos and the need for provisions for care and tuning. She also mentioned that Instruments, like a violin with a Stradivarius stamp, need to have reputable appraisal.
Jim asked if there was something specific that the glass museum is looking for. Jan explained that they aren’t looking for a specific piece as much as they’re looking for pieces that help explain the history and development of glass. Building a collection for a museum entails a lot of looking and asking. Bill talked about helping clean out a house filled with books that unfortunately had a large amount of them go to the garbage. Peter brought up the difficulty of putting a price on some things that are donated. He spoke about donating folders of historical research on the National Parks of Helen’s mother. Cam spoke about the storage units that get auctioned off. Jean mentioned a good habit of getting rid of two things every time you get one new thing.