Four Years as Historian...

Show and Tell Sign In Sheet

Today marks the end of my four year term as Historian for the Santa Clara Valley Quilt Association.  These past four years have truly flown by and I am proud of my service to the Board of Directors and Association.  This past Monday during our General Meeting, I shared my top 5 benefits of being the Historian, in hopes of finding someone willing to serve as Historian for the next two years.

1.  There is no need to come to the meetings early to get a good seat, as one is already reserved for the Historian in the very center of the front row!  
It's a pretty sweet seat and comes with a number of perks and privileges!  I've especially enjoyed getting to interact with our guest speakers, who also get a reserved spot in the front row!

2.  Sitting front row center means you can really see and admire all the wonderful quilted details and embellishments that make ours members' quilts so beautiful and special.
I am always in awe at the talents and skills of our memberships and their quilts are a testament to their creativity, hard work and love of quilting.

3.  As you edit the pictures, you get to relieve the beauty of all the quilts that are shown as part of our monthly meeting Show and Tell aka Mini Quilt Show.  
On average 40 or more quilted items are displayed during our show and tell, so photographing them all tends to be pretty fast paced!  Oftentimes, I am focused on getting a nice square shot as the quilts are quickly passed up onto the stage and then returned to their maker.  So it is a real treat to return home and spend more time admiring each quilted beauty as I prepare the photos for use with our newsletter, social media and online gallery.

4.  Being Historian has helped me to learn so many names, faces and quilts of our membership! 
Certainly taking photographs during the meetings and events, that are then labeled helps me match members names to their face and quilts--no easy feat when your guild has nearly 500 members!  Being Historian has helped me overcome my shyness, as I approach members during the various workshops and events and ask their permission to photograph them and/or their work.  This brief icebreaker has really helped me to get to know our members and build a number of friendships within the Association.

5.  It really is one of the easiest and least time consuming positions on our Board of Directors! 
I've greatly enjoyed serving on the Board of Directors and being part of the decision making for our Association.  I've taken that responsibility to heart as I've strived to do what was best for our members, our Association and our future.  I've also appreciated the teamwork among the volunteers serving on the Board, and have learned something from each.  Even after some of our more spirited discussions, I am always appreciative for everyone's respect and understanding.

My sincere thanks and appreciation...

• Ileane H who helped to get me more involved in the Association and nominating me for the Historian position.  I was fairly new to the guild and Northern California, so this was the perfect opportunity for me to get plugged in and meet so many wonderful people!!
• Sylvia M for taking a risk on this shy and fairly new member and appointing me as Historian under her Presidency.  I've also learned a lot from Sylvia's leadership, service and commitment to SCVQA.
• Fellow volunteers that have served on the board over the past four years.  I've greatly enjoyed the camaraderie, as well as all your thoughtful insights about the Association and future directions.
• Visiting guests/lecturers for sharing your journey, work and beautiful creations with our memberships.  I have greatly enjoyed listening to your lectures/trunk shows, photographing your wonderful creations and getting to know you during the breaks.
• Last but not least, all the fellow members who have been so welcoming, positive and trusting with me photographing you and your amazing creations in photographs over the past four years!!  I've greatly enjoyed celebrating your quilting journeys, capturing your finished projects and always in awe at the talent and creativity of our membership.  And now future generations of SCVQA members will also be able to admire and celebrate your artistic contributions.