Club News :   The Necka members BFC forum is now working Click here, if you did not get your P/W by email , please email one of the BOD's for it. NECKA NEWSLETTERs 06/24/08 This has been emailed to all members and past members, non members are wellcome Sheath Making Seminar After the last Necka H/I Mike mentioned maybe we could do a Club sponsored Sheath Making Seminar. Well, it looks like it's all sliding into place now, with the help of Marcel Morin. We have the place and now working on the time. Hopefully it will be in July, the 2nd 3rd or 4th Saturday at the Tandy Store in Lewiston Me. details on the location later. Please note, Dave the owner of the store, has offered all Necka members a 10% discount on Tandy Supplies ordered from him. I thought was very nice of him, right now I'm assuming it's going to be an on going offer, more on that as things work out. I just talked to Lamont Coombs to see if he would also help out with the seminar making a sheath also, if the date comes right he will be there too , if you've seen some of his sheaths you'll have a hundred questions for him and will want to see him work his magic. I'll be offering some hands on also not that I would call myself a sheath maker but I'll offer what I know about it. If anyone wants to offer up their points of interest and ideas at the event I'm sure it will be welcomed. Check the NECKA Forum on Blade and The NECKA website for updates. You're thoughts? Dan Gray dangray@knivesby.com 4/28/2008 We Fudged in a new cut off date for registration it's been moved out to May 10th Mike will need at least 7 days to order the food for you all. don't wait to register guys the time is getting close. See the link to the left for the up coming Hammer in details 3/13/2008 Spring Hammer in hey guys, take a look at the dates for the spring hammer/in, a two day event this year.. more details here - on BFC May 17th and 18th At the High Hill Fox and Coon Club 361 Collins Corner Rd North Dartmouth, MA 02747-1383 Note ! because of insurance Liability no alcohol due to state of MA Law concerning gun clubs , Thank you. 12/1/2007 OK now, the elections are over and now we have to get down to business. First up; DUES are due by December 31st. We know it’s the spending season but if we don’t have your dues it gets hard to keep going forward. Let’s all get paid up and encourage your friends to sign up too. Spring Hammer In; We are starting to plan for a big two or three day event to be held at the Gun club in Mass. Watch the NECKA Members forum on Blade Knife Maker's Forums - BladeForums.com and New England Custom Knife Association for updates and info. We will set the date ASAP so everyone can plan ahead. Please think of any vendors who might want to come and display/demonstrate their products. We also want to have some displays and demonstrations from our people. Contact a Board member with your ideas. Let’s all work together to make 2008 the best year of growth and recognition for NECKA. The Board wishes you all the best of the season and a better New Year. Paul Duerr Secretary, NECKA 10/21/2007 election emails have been sent out to all members with email today.. see up dates for the 2007 Necka Hammer-In here..first post.. NECKA NEWSLETTER also sent to all members 10/3/2007 by email Hi guys, This is the last call for nominations. If you have anyone to nominate, Make sure they want to serve and someone will second the nomination. I will post this in the Necka forum on Blade and the necka website. Nominations will close on October 19th 2007. This is the current Board of Directors nomination list I have: President Dan Gray Vice President Mike Spangler Treasurer Vickie Gray Secretary Paul Duerr Members at Large, (Pick 3) Jim Siska Joe Brum Jerry Adams Marcel Morin submitted by Paul Duerr see the 2007 fall hammer-in delails below ****** 10/3/2007 Votes are in the, 2007 fall hammer-in will be the 27th of Oct. 2007 where? at the shop of Gray Knives, Dan Gray 686 Main Rd, RT 11 Brownville Me 04414 207-965-2191 contact a Board member to sign up 9/21/2007 OK were coming up on within a month and it's looking like the most of the guys coming wants the . last chance on the times guys.. pick your dates. this is new for up here in Maine so it's slow picking up but will be a good time either date. 9/11/2007 Hi Guys since we only have a few yeses and a few maybes for September for the Fall H/I lets go with Oct for the Fall H/I Sept has way to much going on.. lets do the big one in the spring in Mass. Where time is slipping away lets do the fall H/I here at my place in Maine.. in Oct. pick your dates guys.. Third weekend 20th of Oct, Forth weekend 27th of Oct, email or call me with your RSVP use the Necka forum or reply on the reg forum 8/28/2007 Hey Guys and Gals log on to the necka Forum with your password you were emailed from us for the New Necka Forum Talk on H/I dates, tools for H/I's, lists , Food , ect, are being talked about there now click on the link above and resister free with Blade forums, once on, you can go to your user CP at BFC -bladeforums .com - and control your email notices sent to your own email when members post to the threads posted , so you don't miss anything, and more dates are being worked out now, get your vote in.. ,7/30/2007 hey all we sent out email to all the members trying to get a feel for a get together here in Maine From all members, I received 3 that was for it.. time is getting short to reserve the place now, If I can now? please email Dan Gray or one of the BOD with your thoughts on it it's your club and I won't do it without your input...... thanks ,7/3/2007 I want to mention that the Necka forum is held up some, Kevins House was robbed last week so he has other things on his mind right now as well he should. I'll let you know when as soon as I know.. have a safe 4th 6/21/2007 hey all as you all know we've been in the process of talks with Kevin on BFC for a Club Forum,, all you all that replied about it were in great support of it SO,, it is a go.. soon we will have our very own Forum on BFC, this forum will be password protected for Necka members only, once we get set up, I will send you all, the password to have access to the Necka forum. this password will change from time to time depending on if it leaks out to non members, say from a member that has dropped out. or some other reason? once logged in we should be able to see if everyone logged in, is a member or not please keep the password to yourselves to save time in changing it, the forum is not to be a big secret but rather a place for just members to be interactive and hash out club stuff like voting through the pole option, club interests, we can sell stuff, have master lists for hammer/ins, tools the club owns and much much more. I've been working with Kevin on some finer points also meaning unlike the other forums on BFC only Necka members will be able to view the Necka Forums. we welcome your thoughts, Thanks Dan 6/16/2007 All members should be geting the Necka meeting Minutes soon, were are having an email isue that should be fixed soon.. Thank you 6/6/2007 News letter 1 , June 4 2007 one of more to come Finally Hey guys.. Necka BOD's, members and other non current members.. (forgive My poor typing..) sent by email 6/4/2007 The Necka board and members will get this letter in whole the other past Necka members may get a possible edited copy . I want to mention for review and members thoughts on the info below.. It's been a tuff transition because of not knowing what's going on I know but that is changing now that we can do as Necka was on quest to do in the beginning, it's a go now, we have many things going for us ..and thank you all that have kept this together and believed in Necka...... things we have and will be addressing in the near future .. We now have 1 million in liability insurance aggraded to 2 million the Hi Hill Fox and Coon Gun Club will be our permanent places for the spring H/I and the date will be set for one permanent date in the spring a three day event for those that want to come and stay more on that later.. we now are legally listed as a non profit Knife and forging club with the IRS one more step and we can apply for government grants, this is exciting !! we now have a paypal account for payments in and out.. The 5/26/2007 H/I was a great success this is from the members , guys that joined up, rejoined and joined in,, we had a few bumps but even though, some said the best ever so far,, COOL you haven't seen anything yet some little things that didn't happen will be fixed and we have those fixes in the works most, was just miss communications one way to fix this is listed below, news on a forum of our own on BFC .. it's been mentioned at the meeting, for all to keep an eye out for the tools for a possible mobile smithy but more so right now to get what the club needs for a well balanced Hammer-in at the least. with donations and members bringing in there gear just shows how much the guys want this to work . club equipment ? where members would keep key pieces at their homes or shops and then bring them to the hammer/ins as we have them. the trailer can come down the road. we have a paypal account now so if you see items on eBay we can maybe get some stuff from there now.. keep that in mind.. communication problems, check this out guys. I've heard back from Kevin owner of BFC. we can be set up with our very own password protected Necka forum..for necka members ONLY there is a cost, .. a set up fee and then a reoccurring fee per year. .he needs to get back to us with that. most of the members are on the forums and those that are not, most of them have email. to have a forum that is Necka password protected means we Can discuss club business there with-out interruptions from non members with no business with the info discussed with in. it's better than the web site for that.. email has proven not interactive enough for what we can do with a forum of our own.. once you subscribe to a post you will automatically be sent an email being notified of another member posting to it. you can respond from the link sent to you by email. it's all interactive from there on.. it's a way to chat when needed, voting on line live !!! maybe? we can post pictures , links, share knife info and more.. go from Shop talk back and forth. we can have a thread dictated to H/I's with up dated lists to what the members want.. have a thread for a master list for what we need for setting up at the H/I's we can keep a master list for club equipment and who has what this stuff is just a little tip of what it can be used for, and we will be the first to do this on BFC if others want to know what's going on with in necka they will have to join Necka to find out.. let me know what you guys think, as soon as I get the updated list of paid up members from Paul I well send out the minuets of the H/I meeting to the members some thoughts sent by you members for discussion.. a forum for this would be a great asset.. to keep track of thinks, emails just get jumbled up.. let me know what you all think.. once I get the up dated members list the necka site members page will be up dated and any non members will be taken of that list and you will not get anymore news letters so you guys sitting on the side lines thinking of getting back in, get back on board now, this will be the last email to non Members of this sort.. we are setting sail with out you.. Dan Gray Necka 4/13/2007 We're  going to have a hammer-in, on the 26th of May  at the High Hill Fox and Coon Gun Club.  361 Collins Corner Rd Dartmouth MA  Map Quest directions to the High Hill Fox and Coon Gun Club   Due to regulations as it being at a gun club liquor is prohibited. Demos: Dan Gray: Leather Sheath Making, Oxy Acetylene Heat Treat Michael Spangler: Making Cable Damascus Paul Duerr: Buffing How To and Safety Mace Vitale (ABS Journeyman Smith) Forging Jerry Adams Jim Siska: Grinding? signed up as of 4.27.07  17 GOOD News Joe Brum will continue to be one of Necka's BOD's If anyone would like to volunteer for a demo or has any suggestions or requests, please let us know. Cost Paid Members: $15.00  Non-Members: $30.00 if you have been to a past NECKA H-I you must join Necka to attend, yearly dues are $30.00 Food and drink included..   Please see 1.6.3 of the Bylaws for family members and such at  http://www.necka.net/bylaws.html please look over the other related Bylaw info pertaining to club events....   Members of the High Hill Fox and Coon Gun Club can join at a discount rate, TBA    Come and join us, have fun and learn the art of Knife making,,     3/21/2007 NECKA NEWSLETTER March, 2007       We're ready to get back into the swing of things guys. We need all of the support we can get from all our members and friends.       Due to recording problems made by a non member during the 2006 spring Hammer In, we need to get a member count. All who believe they are a paid member of NECKA for 2006 and/or 2007 should contact a board member as soon as possible. Those not listed as a member for 2007 on the NECKA website, please contact us with your intentions for this year.       Also, PLEASE, if you see someone on the website without an email address; have them contact us so we know how to get the newsletters out to them also.       NECKA will be having a meeting after the March 25th NCCA show in Marlboro, MA. Location TBA. We would like to have all of the board of directors present, and as many members as possible. We can vote on any new ideas from the members, and discuss some other ideas.       I would like to discuss some of the following topics at the meeting:   Traveling Shop Supplies/ shop donations and how we should set it up. Hammer-In and Public demo Locations. Donations from Suppliers for Raffle Items (In Return For Advertising Their Business) NECKA Dinners Hammer-In Demonstrators, dates and duration (multiple days?) Buying a tent for the Club.        If you can't attend but have a suggestion, contact a Board member so we can add your ideas to the list, Remember NECKA is for its members, tell us what you would like.       We're going to get NECKA going forward and bigger than before. I have found a local gun range (Dartmouth, MA) with a hall that can hold 120 people, on 16 acres of land.  They are more than willing to let us rent it for a hammer-in. With a few more locations we will be able to have our own traveling show, making room for larger more focused hammer-ins with better demo's and an overall better learning experience. Along with that we're going to set up a mobile shop to make this possible. Donations of tools and materials are always welcome, and so is the lending of tools, forges, supplies and what ever for the events. This will all be discussed in depth at the meeting.       NECKA is moving in a positive direction, with more new members being added to the 2007 list. Despite some sad changes last year, this year is turning in a positive direction and will make NECKA stronger then ever with dedicated Members. We want the vision back from when we started in 2002. This year is promising to be moving in that direction already and looking up.   These letter is approved by the Board members below.   Dan Gray, VP Joe Brum, Treasurer Paul R. Duerr, Secretary  Michael J. Spangler, B.O.D Rene E. Roy, BOD Jim Siska, BOD       2/1/2007 Hi Folks,   This news letter is to remind members and to those that might like to join NECKA that NECKA dues are past due and need to be taken care of soon. A vote for officers will be held soon and only current members will be able to vote. Please up date your membership.    If you have joined the club for the year of 2007 and your name is not listed on the members page, or a number 7 is not after your name please let me know at dangray@knivesby.com.  I still have to get with Joe for earlier updates that may have slipped by. The web site will have to be updated with only currant members soon..   You can pay your dues and membership here.. http://www.necka.net/join.html   If you do send a check to Joe, his snail mail addy is at that link, if you mail payment, please email me dangray@knivesby.com that you've done so, so I can have a heads up on it..   Coming up we will discus club functions and Hammer-ins for 2007 and discuss other things we'd like to do.    There will be a public function in Brownville or Milo Maine for knife making awareness as a fund raiser. We'll have  some forges set up much like a hammer-in sell hot dogs and such.  I have access to the legion post in Milo and they are set up for these things so most likely this is where it will be. We have some volunteers all ready willing to help. I will have at least one open house at my shop also. We'll set up some hammer-ins and discuss other things we'd like to do. NECKA will continue to have a table at the Mass NCCA Show   The board will need to vote to get a club tent so we will not have to rent one any longer and discuss tools and equipment for a mobile smithy.  We have an anvil coming donated by Paul Carlson. ( in which when ever not needed by NECKA it will be returned to him, it's ours to use until such time) I believe Mike Spangler has donated one also. We have some new members and they have been added to the web site. Please welcome Ron Savage, Peter Ceprano, and David Suitor    If you have ideas for a nominee for one of the board/officer positions please nominate them for vote, but make sure they are willing to take the position first, email them to Paul R. Duerr atfab@optonline.net     I guess that's it for now..if you have some ideas please let me know.   Sincerely, Dan Gray VP of NECKA and acting President for now.       8/10/2006 The date for the next NECKA Hammer-in is: September 9th . and will hosted by Jim Siska Direction to follow soon. http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=416942 To Pre-pay for the Hammer-In Fees, please click on Payments Page.   1/31/2006 Dues is due folks. Contact Joe Brum or Dan Gray to get it up to date. We will be updating the members page shortly to reflect paid members. Thanks Stop by often and see what's new!