Meeting Minutes – May 2, 2026
Meeting Location: Mick Murphy’s Shop, 325 N. Waverland Drive, Baton Rouge
- 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 two guests at the meeting. I only recorded one of the names. His name was Dane Babin. Richard welcomed both to the meeting and they introduced themselves.
Officer Reports:
- Vice-President – Brandon Ginn gave a rundown of the upcoming schedule of meeting locations and topics. The next meeting will be in Hammond at Cajun Connection Woodworks Saw Mill.
- Secretary – Lee Soileaux reported that there were 19 members attending last month’s meeting and that there were 4 show and tells.
- Treasurer – Rick Albrecht reported there was a balance of $3265.70 in the club’s account. Rick said that one new member listed an address of St. George and told others who may now be living in St. George that if they would let him know he would change their address on the member roster if they wanted to do so.
- Webmaster – Open
- Community Service – Ken Brown expressed his appreciation to Lee Owens and Mark Monistere for volunteering to build the 7th table for O’Brien House. He also recognized the “Dow Group” for completing the statue pedestal for St. Vincent DePaul and told of St. Vincent DePaul’s great satisfaction with the result. They also commissioned a stand for the altar which the “Dow Group” agreed to do and which would be started within a month. Ken circulated a list for volunteers for a second laundry cabinet for the Volunteers of America. This one will be larger than the first one built for the VOA. Some design modifications have been made to increase the efficient use of materials during the build.
- Education Outreach – Open
New and Ongoing Club Business
- Rural Life Camp will be held again this year. Mark Monistere said that the event would be on Tuesday June 2nd. Volunteers will be needed to prepare the kits for the Rural Life Camp. There will be about 50 kits for the event. We will also need volunteers to help the kids assemble the kits.
- St. Vincent DePaul Statue Pedestal – Richard shared the content of an email from St. Vincent DePaul expressing their delight with the Pedestal.
- Participation – Richard repeated one of the benefits of participating in the club’s events and community projects. Involvement in events and projects exposes members to a variety of techniques and skills as well as the work habits of others. It also helps organizations with a community service orientation to provide those they serve with all sorts of items (furniture, cabinets, etc.) which they otherwise would not be able to give to those they serve. This might be the source of greatest satisfaction for many club members who choose to participate.
- Knock Knock Museum – The Museum was pleased with the club’s past participation in events at the Museum and asked for the club to volunteer for anything at the Museum. Richard said that the club was currently committed but that would be willing to join in the Museum’s events when our schedule of events allows.
Members Questions/Concerns
Safety Topic – A short video was shown illustrating the theme “the best laid plans don’t always work out”. Then, Keith Brian shared a lesson from one of Stumpy Nubbs videos. Stumpy Nubbs told of an experienced woodworker who badly injured his hand using a miter saw. His miter saw was not securely anchored down and he was cutting a warped board. The board twisted during the cut and caused the unsecured miter saw to immediately move forward cutting the woodworkers hand badly. Secure your tools and do not work with badly warped boards. +Stumpy further discussed the inadvisability of using a tourniquet when this happens. He advised that generally a tourniquet is not a good idea unless the cut has severed a major artery and bleeding is profuse. If not, it is better to apply pressure rather than using a tourniquet. This insures that some blood flow is maintained rather than starving the injured tissue for blood which may be critical for preventing further tissue damage.
Skill Topic: Domino Use/Alternatives/Shop Tour – Mick Murphy/jim Landry
Show-and-Tell There were 3 members with Show-and-Tell.
Adjourn