NH,

As a board member I feel like I can hopefully shed some more light on the goings on with the Guild and its various groups like TTRAG and the Engineering council, the ATP and likely if the merger goes forward, the TFBC.

As we envision this, the TFG will act as the umbrella group for TTRAG, TFEC, the Apprenticeship Program and the TFBC. This will be no change in status for the first three groups who now operate under the TFG's legal and tax status and have their own initiatives, leadership structure, and budgets. The TFBC will likely operate under the same or a similar arrangement, maintaining its own leadership structure, programming and operating budget.

What is exciting to me and may be of interest to you is that we are also trying to give these acteive and vibrant groups more voice at the TFG board level by alloting director seats to each group. This will give TTRAG, TFEC, and the ATP a direct hand in the directing and overseeing of the TFG, which is appropriate since the work they are doing is a significant part of what the TFG on the whole is doing. The business council will likely have the same arrangement. And there will continue to be directors elected by the entire TFG membership the same or very similar to the current process.

So to your specific area of interest - I think that with TTRAG having a voice on the board of directors of the Guild, I would expect them to become even more active and vibrant and hopefully even more involved in the TFG as a whole and its various programs, like the conference and our community building projects. I like that idea because it will create more opportunities for that group to share their knowledge of the craft's history and traditional practice with young framers and others who are interested.

I hope this is helpful - let me know if you have any questions or concerns.

Gabel Holder