Dear fellow members of WCG,

We are halfway through the 2021-2022 season, in the midst of Winter blahs and pandemic blues. Luckily, WCG has several interesting and fun events planned for you.

March 3rd is our annual focus on emerging professionals in our area. We will feature several talks by interns, fellows and new conservators to share the research and treatments they’ve been doing over the past year.

Our final meeting this year will be our May 5th Annual Business Meeting. While this meeting tends to be more party than meeting, we do have the important task of voting to fill vacant positions on the Board. We are planning for an in-person meeting at an outdoor venue. Come to finally see many of your colleagues face to face and participate in our raffle for many fun items.

In addition to meetings, we will be hosting other members only events. If you know someone interested in any of these who isn’t a member, please encourage them to become one:

• There is still time to rsvp for our February 24th webinar, Demystifying Federal Contracting Language. The webinar is 5-6 pm, conveniently timed for the end of the workday. The presenters are Lauren Horelick and Janelle Batkin-Hall. Here is the link.
• We are bringing back our popular Pewter Spoon Workshop with Ed McManus! Ed will include information on the conservation of pewter as part of his presentation. The workshop is April 16 and will be hosted by Randall Cleaver, in Takoma Park, MD. Lunch will be provided. Further details will go out soon. Keep your eye peeled because the number of participants will be limited.
• A wet plate collodion/tintype class will be held outdoors in the spring, tentatively scheduled for late May or early June. Details will go out in another month.
• A Materials Swap is being planned to coincide with your spring cleaning in April. Details are pending. The event will be in person. Start looking through your inventory and see if you have a cache of useful-to-someone-else materials you would like to swap. More information to come.

WCG would be nothing without our volunteers who make all this happen! If you would like to get involved, we’d love to have you. Our IDEA and Emerging Professionals Committees are actively seeking new members. Or plan to run for the Board!

The Nominating Committee is currently pulling together a slate to present to the membership this spring. Email nominating@washingtonconservationguild.org if you are interested. For other volunteer opportunities, email us or go to our website.

Jayne Girod Holt
President, Washington Conservation Guild