Eugene Makerspace Newsletter
Dear Friends and Fellow Makers,
Been a minute since the last newsletter, but we thought it was about time for an end-of-the-year round up. So without further ado, let’s ado-it.
Karen Englebeck
President, Board of Directors, Editor/Writer of da blawg.
| TL;DR … you’re welcome |
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🗳 2023 Board of Directors – Election Results
As a matter of formal procedure, the Election Results from December 3rd vote were ratified by the standing Board of Directors during the December 8th board meeting.
The 2023 Board of Directors will look much the same as the board for 2022, with Myself (Karen Englebeck), Ben Hallert, Beata Dalhagen, and Piotr Esden-Tempski remaining in positions on the board. Michael Bacarella declined to stand for election again, though his presence and participation will be sadly missed.
If you ever need to reach out to the board of directors, you can do so through this webform, or by typing @BoardMember on any of our Discord channels.
✅ Results of the Member Poll for EMS Organizational Goals
This year, alongside our election for the board of directors, we ran a poll of the general membership, to see which of seven proposals for future ‘big projects’ resonated most with the membership. Seven interesting proposals were submitted, from getting new tools, to repairing lasers, to several procedural ideas and proposed changes to how we do things.
Through the poll, we asked you to rank the choices from most interest to least, and the results were surprising, but also quite interesting! The poll was set up to allow up to all seven to win, but due to nuances in the Meek STV system that we use, only the top four proposals were ‘declared’ winners.
- Refurbish the LaserPro Mercury “Laser Shark” cutter/engraver.
- Create interior partition wall(s) for dust/noise control.
- Eliminate membership benefit: Member Storage. Future member storage would be charged an additional monthly fee.
(the title of this proposal was contested by the author, but no alternate title was provided) - Require all shop projects costing more than $200 or needing more than 20 hours of work to include a SMART goal statement.
- Purchase and install a new security camera system.
- Purchase a new set of cordless, handheld power tools.
- Purchase a new set of manual hand-tools.
The vote definitely helped us see and understand what the membership as a group feels is most valuable. As such, let’s start at the top:
🧯 Call for volunteers – LaserPro Mercury Refurb Team Lead
We are looking for an individual, or individuals, interested in heading up the project to refurbish our LaserPro Mercury Laser Cutter (aka “The Laser Shark”).
Qualified candidates should be members in good standing, have some knowledge of how laser cutters work, and be willing to potentially form and coordinate a team of members with multiple levels of expertise, with the shared goal of determining parts needed, researching prices for needed parts and service, and potentially organizing the practical process of getting this laser cutter back to full operational status.
Team lead’s responsibilities would include regular status reports to the Board of Directors.
Please submit statements of interest by January 4, 2023
🗓 Remembering Kevin Forsythe – Memorial on December 11
As many of you have already heard via Discord or our recent Shop Talk post, past EMS Board President, Dr. Kevin Forsythe, passed away last month, after a prolonged battle with Cancer.
I’ll not repeat the bulk of it here, only to mention that there is a small post on our blog in his memory. We were able to collect a few really great pictures of Kevin at a couple of great events. I really wish we had more. We all really should take more pictures.
I know that Kevin was a friend to many current and past EMS members, and that is part of why we pushed this newsletter. We wanted to make sure to spread the word, that a public memorial service is planned for Sunday, December 11, at 4PM, at the Unitarian Universalist Church, located at 1685 13th Ave, Eugene, Oregon.
😷 Mask Guidelines into 2023
As recently as today, the CDC is once again recommending that people wear masks to help control the spread of current variants of Covid-19, Flu, and RSV. In addition, the CDC is also strongly recommending that anyone able to get a Flu vaccine, get one as soon as possible.
In terms of the makerspace, our official policy to encourage but not outright require mask wearing, seems to have had decent support. In the absence of clear mandates from the Federal, State, County, or even Municipal levels, we’ve had to go it on our own.
While we know not everyone is wearing a mask every time at the shop, we also haven’t had any reports of major conflicts between members over being asked to mask-up! So we’d very much like to say thank you, to all of you, for working together.
During the next few ‘flu season’ months, we do hope you’ll take the best care of yourselves and others, and in line with those CDC recommendations, we’ll absolutely encourage you all to wear masks, and to mask-up when anyone at the shop asks. Wash your hands, and let’s stay healthy!
✏ Closing Thoughts
That’s about it for this edition of our newsletter! We hope you all have a safe and healthy Holiday season, whichever ones you celebrate or don’t. We hope your family, friends, and loved ones are well, and we look forward to the coming year. We’ve got exciting things to work on… and I, for one, look forward to seeing what we can do, together!
Let’s make something!
