Members and Friends,
I hope everyone is staying cool in the face of this never-ending heat and humidity. Please take it easy and stay hydrated!
We have had a very encouraging summer so far. We have continued to see brisk sales in the museum gift shop and the addition of the new Gazebo has produced a number of real quality venue bookings that we probably would not have been able to secure. We were also surprised last month to learn that City Council has given the museum a 17% increase in our Operational Grant. Please thank Barbara Henley, Rosemary Wilson, Michael Berlucchi, Linwood Branch, Guy Tower, Rocky Holcomb and Mayor Bobby Dyer for supporting this very important increase in our funding!
We are in need of some quality volunteers for the museum. We could use a person to track and keep up with memberships. We need docents to greet and educate our visitors. This will make our museum much more dynamic and much more informative. If you enjoy planning and executing parties and events, then we could use your help in putting the many activities together for our membership. If you enjoy gardening, we could sure use your help in planning, planting and cleaning our 4200 square feet of Ocean Friendly Garden. Our Garden Club is led by a Master Gardener that will teach you how to garden in a hostile saltwater environment. If any of these activities interest you or someone you know please contact the Director at director@awhm.org.
We will be having our first general membership meeting in more than two years on Tuesday September 6, 2022.
The social will start at 6:00pm and will include food and beverage, the business meeting will start at 7:00pm. Following the business meeting there will be a lecture and demonstration by Eastern Shore Champion Woodcarver Billy Crockett. Please put this meeting on your calendar now, you will not want to miss this meeting.
Save the date now for the return of our annual oyster roast. This year’s event will take place Sunday, October 16th. Spend a beautiful fall day in the gardens, dancing to the music of the Tiki Bar Band, enjoying Beach Bully BBQ, local wine, beer, and Eastern Shore Sewansecott oysters! Tickets will go on sale soon. Bring your family, friends, and colleagues. This is a major fundraiser for our organization and its success depends on you. I’ll see you there!
Also, save the date, Tuesday, December 6, 2022. This will be the date of our annual Christmas party. We will continue the tradition of “Pot Luck Supper”. There will be live music, beverages of all types, appetizers, and a silent auction with some fabulous items. Location will be announced soon. Please plan to attend!
Membership in this organization has reached a critical level. This organization was formed in 1975 as a Guild for Wildfowl Artists. Artist of every discipline; painters, carvers, sculptures, and photographers pulled this group together all for the love of the world’s wildfowl. We need to rely on our roots to continue recruiting new members; especially among our young people. You don’t need to be an artist to join this group, all you need to do is love wildfowl. Please help us find some new members and remember to renew your own membership.
Finally, I will close on some sad but proud news. Our part time employee, Dorian Stewart, will be leaving on August 8, 2022 to enlist into the United States Army Reserve. He has been with us for the last four years and has been a stellar employee. Please join me in wishing Dorian the best as he begins a new adventure in his life. Good Luck Dorian.
