I know I'm not the only itinerant out there. Is everybody working? I've been slinging resumes for weeks. I have had a nibble or two and a couple confirmations for spring. Just wondering if the rest of you guys and gals are feeling the pinch? Lots of shops offering lower wages. I guess what I'm digging for here is a State of the Trade Address. I hear membership is down,attendence at conferences is down (though I have no confirmation from anyone that would be in a postion to know) through the grapevine. I'm just curious to why none of us (including myself) have had nothing to say for year.

Membership is down.

Conference attendance is down.

Some timeberframe comanies in my area have experienced sizable lay-offs.

Any suggestions forum dwellers might have about keeping the TFG real and relevant in changing times would be welcome.

Education. In my eyes the guild is doing a good job of education through rendezvous, workshops, conferences. I would love to be more a part of all that myself, for now I'm just so glad to see it happening. Keep up the good work and you will remain relevant.

It's a perfect time, I think, for the Guild to impliment some cheap small events. For example, find a local host in some 4 state region to bring folks together for a weekend, and fly in one guild representative to tell the folks what he knows -- it's tough all over, there seems to be some work like this or that going on, etc, etc. The Guild it seems to me needs to be the glue to keep social, employment, and business networking going in these trying times. Kinda like a support group coordinator ...

How about a summer Rendezvous in Frankfort, KY?

Camping, camp kitchen. Lowest costs.

I think that's a dandy idea.

The ebb could give us time to prepare and realize a different flow.
Is Frankfort close to Ft. Knox? I second the camping as long as there is a good river nearby.

Its time people look up Ort . Ort, Oink, Oink.

I'd never heard of Frankfort until yesterday, and today in the news I see .....

FRANKFORT, Kentucky - A group of atheists filed a lawsuit Tuesday seeking to remove part of a state anti-terrorism law that requires Kentucky's Office of Homeland Security to acknowledge it can't keep the state safe without God's help.

American Atheists Inc. sued in state court over a 2002 law that stresses God's role in Kentucky's homeland security alongside the military, police agencies and health departments.

Of particular concern is a 2006 clause requiring the Office of Homeland Security to post a plaque that says the safety and security of the state "cannot be achieved apart from reliance upon almighty God" and to stress that fact through training and educational materials.

The plaque, posted at the Kentucky Emergency Operations Center in Frankfort, includes the Bible verse: "Except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain."

"It is one of the most egregiously and breathtakingly unconstitutional actions by a state legislature that I've ever seen," said Edwin F. Kagin, national legal director of Parsippany, New Jersey-based American Atheists Inc. The group claims the law violates both the state and U.S. constitutions.

You are welcome.

Now please use it to self-modulate!

This forum hasn't seen this much activity in ..... ever!
We need to locate a source for hollow logs for Rendezvous in Frankfort, KY.
The Stumpkin lurks!