Greetings:

With this, my first Letter from the President, begins a new chapter for SDA.  I’m excited about the possibilities that lie ahead for SDA and realize the responsibility I’m taking on as your new President. My goals include seeing that SDA continues as a strong, well respected force in the field of fiber.

Winter came early this year as evidenced by the snow the SDA board encountered at our October Fall Board meeting at the Textile Center in Minneapolis, MN.  Outside our window, we could see the snow building up on the plants…looking a bit like cotton emerging from their bolls. The magic of the moment continued as we came together as a board with seven new board and staff members and three current board members moving into new positions.

Our meeting was packed with ideas to enhance member benefits, grow SDA and develop financial support for our organization. I’m pleased to say, as of today, the SDA board and staff have been very generous in kicking off our annual fundraising campaign by making contributions totaling more than $2,500. If you haven’t already made a donation, we hope you will check the website (Donations) for information in order to do so.

Our board meeting in Minneapolis provided us with an opportunity to visit the Textile Center while making plans for our 2011 biennial conference, Confluence. We received a warm welcome by Margaret Miller, Executive Director of the Center, and her volunteers. This very well equipped facility serves Minneapolis’ fiber community with a gallery, auditorium, lending library, dye lab (to die for!), shop and classrooms. You will hear more about the Center, its volunteers and conference plans in the months ahead.

Our meeting agenda included discussion of our new digital newsletter (please update your email address on the website, Member to Member--Members Only page), new SDA Facebook page, website enhancement, restructuring our representative system, and development of a mentoring program.  Watch for details of these and more in the monthly eNews.

One of the final topics on the agenda was membership retention and recruitment. Jane Dunnewold challenged each board member to recruit ten new SDA members.  I’d like to challenge you, as well, to join with the board…can you recruit a new member for SDA? If you are attending a guild meeting, fiber group, attending a class or teaching a class, take along a copy of the Journal which has a Membership Order Form in the back. If you would like a stack of membership brochures, they can be requested from our Executive Director, Stacey Stern, at executivedirector@surfacedesign.org.

Help us build SDA!

Best,

Candace Edgerley

LETTER from the EDITOR