copy of november clinker breaker, presidents corner

President's corner.
Bill Robertson

Thanks to everyone who helped put on another great conference.
Pictures and details will be in the next issue.

Abana update:

An ABANA relief fund has been established to help blacksmiths affected
by Hurricane Katrina. Following a discussion and a vote taken at the
FABA general membership meeting, FABA will be donating 500 dollars
toward the effort. We thank John Steel, president of the Pittsburgh
Area Artist Blacksmith Association, who proposed the idea. We
encourage individual donations also. make checks payable to ABANA
relief fund, po box 816 Farmington GA 30638.

I am sorry to also report, however, that problems continue with ABANA.
Those of you who were around a few years ago remember the controversy
over anvil shoots between FABA and the six other Southern chapters that
put on the Madison conference. The issue behind the controversy was
ABANA's attempt to exert control over the individual chapters (not
about safety or liability). A line was drawn in the sand (by then FABA
president Patty Draper) when we were told by ABANA that we had to
abide by its ruling not to shoot an anvil at a chapter blacksmith
event. However, FABA, as a Florida non profit corporation, could not
accede it autonomy, it ability to decide its own business, to another
organization. The result, after several years of fighting, was ABANA's
acceptance of this fact and a name change from chapters to affiliates.
Jerry Kagele, ABANA board member and attorney, was one of the ABANA
board members behind ABANA's push for this control over chapters. He
used his access to the ABANA publication "The Anvil's Ring" to promote
his agenda and vilify anyone who opposed him. Well, it seems that
Jerry Kagele, as the editor of the NWBA affiliate newsletter, used his
position and the NWBA newsletter in a similar way, and in a way that
did not represent NWBA. The NWBA board fired him as their editor. In
response, Kagele sued the NWBA and it cost the NWBA thousands of
dollars to defend itself. As a result, the NWBA will no longer be
hosting the 2006 ABANA conference in Seattle (NWBA is located in
Seattle) as many members are unwilling to work with Kagele who is the
2006 ABANA conference chair. They have informed the ABANA board that
they are willing to reconsider this action providing that the ABANA
board has Kagele step down from the position. The ABANA board has
refused to get involved, or in other words, it supports Kagele's
actions. Two websites that will provide additional background on Mr.
Kagele and the c u r r e n t c o n t r o v e r s y are
http://www.lawyerethics.org/mt/archives/001054.html and
http://www.lawyerethics.org/mt/archives/000922.html. No one likes to
be the bearer of bad news, but I think that it is important that you be
informed (you will not get this information through any ABANA
publication) so that you will be able to more effectively use your
vote.