Meeting Minutes – December 6, 2025
Meeting Location: Jim Landry’s Shop, 37237 Ski Side Avenue, Prairieville, LA
- Fellowship before meeting
- Collection of dues (Rick Albrecht) and selling of shirts and caps (Lee Owens)
Invocation and Pledge of Allegiance – Harold Choate
Welcome and Introduction of Guests– There were 22 members attending this meeting at Jim Landry’s shop. Three members brought items to Show-and-Tell: Jim Landry, Geoff Michelli, and Brian Stauss. There was one visitor, Eddie Blakemore.
Officer Reports:
- Vice-President – George Campagna- George announced that this was his last meeting as Vice-President and that Brandon Ginn would be the incoming Vice-President. George outlined the meeting schedule for 2026 and distributed copies of the schedule to members. It looks good so be sure to attend the meetings for some solid fun and information. Please check the website for details of the schedule. President Richard Robles thanked George for his years of faithful service as Vice-President.
- Secretary – Lee Soileaux reported that there were 14 members attending at last month’s meeting and that 3 members participated in Show and Tell.
- Treasurer – Rick Albrecht reported that as of November 30th the bank balance is $2822.02. He announced that he is all set to collect dues beginning this month. Although the balance is lower than the average in previous years, Rick pointed out that several purchases have been made by the club to improve equipment, i.e. tents, signs, etc. and that we also have some outstanding invoicing to send to Volunteers of America which when received will boost the balance significantly.
- Webmaster – Open
- Community Service – Ken Brown reported that the first sets of cabinets have been completed for the Volunteers of America and that there would be a bit of rest between now and the beginning of the new year. He thanked the members who volunteered for the cabinet build for the fine work they did. Ken outlined a slate of future projects that included cabinets, tables, and a podium. Pictures of the completed projects will be placed on the club’s website.
- Education Outreach – Open
New and Ongoing Club Business
- Executive Committee Minutes- Richard outlined the topics discussed during last month’s Executive Committee meeting. Procedures for estimating cost for future projects will have to take into account some additional expenses not currently included in our estimate, for example, our lumber supplier Brazos charges a fee for credit card purchases and our experience with the current percentage markup for shop expenses may be too low and will have to be adjusted upwards. There will still be no charge for the work that members do in building the various projects. Also, an expense tracking mechanism was developed for fine tuning the expense estimates submitted to prospective clients. Ken Brown thanked Richard and Brandon Ginn for their work
- WBR Museum Christmas Event- Richard gave the final plans for the Christmas event at WBR Museum Event and renewed his call for volunteers. Six volunteers were obtained.
Members Questions/Concerns
Safety Topic– Brian Stauss described his experience with sharpening a lathe gouge and the importance of being aware of where your hands and fingers are while sharpening lathe tools. Just a bit of carelessness can result in some injury to your fingers in particular. If you like sharp fingers this is a great way to achieve it. Richard Robles cautioned everyone to be vigilant while working in unheated shops during this winter season. Don’t wear long sleeve shirts or jackets/coats while performing cutting operations because loose garments can inadvertently become entangled in blades/cutters and mayhem can ensue.
Skill Topic: Woodworking with the CNC – Jim Landry gave an excellent presentation on the fascinating subject of using CNC with woodworking. Notwithstanding the objections by some few that the CNC approach is not “real” woodworking, the processes and results achieved during Jim’s demonstration were quite impressive. Time constraints limited Jim’s presentation to basic processes but it could easily be seen that more complicated projects could be planned for use with the CNC machine. Thanks Jim.
Show-and-Tell There were three members who brought items to Show-and-Tell.
Adjourn