Guild Memberships
 

Today I received an amazing phone call. I knew our guild recently changed boards and our new President appears to be doing a top notch job according to those I've spoken with. But, I have not been to a meeting for nearly 2 years due to my own health issues conflicting with the schedule, Mom losing interest, and my move which now places me 60 minutes away. Yet during this time I have made several big fabric donations to them for community quilts and just 2 weeks ago I gifted them with most of my mom's quilting stuff following her stroke. It literally filled the president's good sized sedan with fabric, patterns, templates, books, and baskets! Mom had been collecting since I taught her to quilt in early 1990, often surpassing me in her efforts. :o (Nothing thrills a teacher more!)

Well, today the president called me to advise that the board, which met yesterday, had suggested and voted me into Lifetime Membership -- no dues, but ALL privileges! There are only a few of these memberships. It is so touching and appreciated, it was stunning. :shock: I can hardly believe it because I haven't seen or spoken to many of these gals for 2 years. I often taught workshops for them, but felt like I was really a lesser talented member of the 115 member group. Now that the new year has begun, and Mom lives in GA with my brother, and I don't really have schedules holding me back, I can not wait to get to a meeting this Friday!! Had to share, I'm so excited! Can you tell?!

Does your quilting guild/group have different levels of memberships? What is the average age of your group? And how many members do you have?

Jan in VA

Sounds like you have given a lot from your heart and so you deserve it...obviously this guild feels that way and it's nice that they acknowledged your generosity...enjoy the meetings and the friends...

How exciting for you! Congratulations!
Our local guild is a good sized group ( last I heard 125+) I haven't been involved in 4-5 years due to scheduling conflicts, but donate also, and always visit the show they host. ( my work schedule has changed starting this new year & I just might be able to rejoin-- yea!)
I have no idea if they have different levels of membership.
Last summer's show it seemed that the active members were probably in the age groups of (40's -- 60's) and up.

How wonderful to know that they appreciated your efforts and valued you as a member. Hope it is all it was before, and then some!

No I have never heard of our guild doing that.......congratulations........the one locally I belong to has less than 50 members, and honestly, IMHO, most just come to visit with each other or get away from DH. More than half are seniors.....
the other is more active, has many committees, a show every two yrs, a wide range of ages, over 100 members, meet 12 months a yr. the only draw back for me is it is in a city about 25 miles away on rural roads, which are very dark at night and in bad weather snow blown, so I only attend in good weather....

Congratulations, Jan--a well-deserved honor.

Wow, that's fabulous news. I can tell you are honored and appreciated by your guild members for both your contributions and your collegial personality, Jan. I am vice chair for my guild of 65 members and I plan to share this benefit with my chair. Have a great time at your meetings!

Glad to hear, Jan. Good to know they appreciate you. I know I do - your comments are spot on as far as I am concerned. Re: guilds. I'm not in one right now. We just moved (to Georgia) and there is a quilt shop 2 miles away I haven't been in yet. I'm sure I will find a quilting family there. At least I hope. And will find out about any guilds.

I am very happy for you and congrats. Our guild does not do this.

Ahh that is so nice of the guild to honor you this way. You will be an asset to them for sure.
I quit my long time guild this year and joined a new one. My guild was getting stagnant and too set in it's ways due to the majority of the members were very senior. They voted down anything new. My new guild is very age diverse, lots of members and involved in all aspects of quilting. I read in the member's book that members with 25 years of membership and have filled an office of the guild have free lifetime memberships. I thought that was nice.

From everything I have viewed of your helpful & kind responses to this Board, you are highly deserving of this honor.
Congratulations.

How wonderful for you. Let us know how your meeting goes.

That is wonderful Jan!!!

Congratulations! I'm only a member of the Modern Guild and the dues are $25 a year. There are about 200 members but only about 30 attend the meetings. There are a couple men, and the other gals are in the 30ish age range. I'm probably the oldest member, but a few are probably in their 50's.

There's another big regular Guild here. The dues are about the same, and the age range is mostly older women. I attended a couple meetings as a visitor and there were at least 100 or 125 people there. It's too big and too traditional for my quilting style. And the parking situation is terrible as the meetings are at a nursing home.

That's awesome.Congratulations.

What a wonderful honor, Jan!
My guild has about 200 members, all ages and abilities. We have 2 chapters, one meets in the day and one at night. Programs are different at each meeting. We do not have different membership levels. Dues are $25.
Now that you have more time for quilt activities maybe you can join VCQ. March meeting is in Charlottesville. Newsletter is not out yet but you can check it out at VCQ.org. Would love to meet you!

We have a small guild compared to yours, but what a great idea. One name pops into my head immediately for the local guild. Congratulations to you. I think, although I don't know you personally, that your love of quilting, and the admirable way you seek to help others with questions, undoubtedly qualifies you for this honor. Your mother's largess will enable many others to enjoy hers and your love of quilting. Enjoy the meeting Friday night.

What a wonderful honor! Congratulations Jan.

I belong to no guilds in my rural area, but I believe the honor given you was well deserved! You are a very generous and talented lady!

Congratulations! Well deserved I'm sure!

I don't belong to a guild, but am so happy they are honoring you this way- you deserve it! I always look forward to your comments, and have learned much from you! Congratulations!

I am so glad they did that for you, such a great idea. Our guild is fairly new with mostly younger members (I am one of the oldest!) and just has the one class of basic membership. But it is just $35 a year.

Congratulations, Jan! A well deserved honor!
My local Guild (I also belong to a regional long arm guild that meets quarterly) is county wide (rural area) and stays steady at about 150 members, ages 10-90(although the average is mostly in 50-70's). We are very active Guild having 5 on-going community charity projects (2 are collections, 3 are providing quilts---we gave 400 Vets quilts county-wide in a 2+ yr period), monthly meetings in morning &repeating at night, programs for all meetings each month, monthly workshops, 2 retreats/year, and we offer 7 3hr beginners classes for the $30 price of membership. New this year is working with local FACS classes--we hope to introduce quilting to a younger generation.
We have made some of our long time members who have contributed so much of their time to Guild activities (sounds like you, Jan)lifetime members. We also have a way to earn a free (or greatly reduced) membership based on sales of opportunity quilt raffle tickets, items for our annual show boutique.

Congratulations Jan! The honor is well deserved. :)

Your response has given me several good ideas to share with our new president when I return to enjoy my new membership. Thanks for posting!

Jan in VA

What a great idea! We'll see what's coming up at that time as I have another surgery to go yet.
Jan in VA

We do not have a life time membership, but it sure would be a good idea. The average age is late 40's to mid 50's. We have a cohort that are "snowbirds" that we only see at May to November meetings. Lots of gals have high school/early college age children. Membership has made a jump to the mid-50's in the past two years. Won't know exact number until the end of the January.

Congratulations...it is wonderful that they showed their appreciation for all that you do for them...and I might add for all the quilters on this board. You always have such good advice!

That is marvelous. You certainly have earned it with the vast knowledge of quilting you have shared with us on this board. Your donations have been a great help for the guild to continue with their scheduled charity events. I am delighted they awarded you a lifetime membership recognizing your compassion to others. :)

Congratulations, Jan, on an honor well deserved. I'm sure your contributions to this guild over the years have been vast, as they are here as well. And thank you for all of your contributions here, btw!

It warms my heart that they recognized what a valuable asset you are to their group. I am always amazed at the time you put in here on this board. Always helpful and encouraging. I'm so very happy for you!

What a nice thing to do ( and hear about!) Everyone hears that "no good deed goes unpunished" what a refreshing change to hear that virtue is sometimes recognized as well. Congratulations.

Jan, I am happy to see that your contribution and participation in this guild has been recognized. I know that your ability to teach, formally and informally is much appreciated-and they have honored you. And, your gifts of fabric and resources in undoubtedly appreciated and must make you feel good to see it well used. I do belong to a guild in my community that is diverse in age and skill level. I do find that it is a challenge to make inroads-it seems to go hand in hand with level of participation of things that go on. They do have quite a schedule of events and outreach. As we begin a new year I hope to set aside a specific time to participate. I did notice last year that special recognition was given to those who were very involved over the years. So, I hope you will enjoy your special recognition and participate as your time and health allow-please know you are appreciated.

Congratulations! From the sound of things, your lifetime membership is very deserved. Our guild just has a standard membership fee. I sure enjoy going, as I learn so much from the members and our speakers. (Maybe I learn too much, as I go out and buy more fabrics, patterns, and books)!

What a wonderful tribute to you! I'm sure you have been modest in your involvement with your Guild and nice of them to recognize your contribution and dedication. Thank you for sharing your excitement with us and please check in with us after your Friday attendance.

I just joined my local guild last Spring and I am the youngest member. I live in one of the oldest counties in one of the oldest states (Lincoln County, Maine) and that's all that needs to be said. :eek: I'm not sure if there are different levels of membership but it has been nice to see a few new members added in the past couple of months which shows that quilting is still a growing interest.

Congratulations! What an honor...and they win big too having the benefit of your knowledge and the gracious way you share it. I hope your surgery goes well and you recover quickly so you can enjoy going to the guild again.

congratulations. very touching just to read this. I just can imagine how proud and touched you are! Bravo.

Congratulations Jan...............it sounds like it was well deserved. Getting back with people is important, so I'm glad your health problems seem to be resolved or under control. Go and have fun!!! You will be a huge asset to the guild and they were wise in their offering. I still belong to a small guild near my previous residence, 2 hrs. away, in name only, to participate in their trips and retreats. I really like the 60-75 gals, so through the extra offerings, have a chance to catch up occasionally. They do have free membership for those over age 80, if I remember correctly. I haven't joined a local guild in the last 6 yrs. I have lived here. Their show was wonderful though, so have a "date" to get introduced in May. We shall see. I am pretty easy going and friendly, but hate the politics and drama many groups experience. At my age, I won't put up with that to be part of a group.

I for one really appreciate Jan and the advice she gives on this board but the times I have private messaged her with a question about something I didn't understand, she has always answered me and always very quickly. Thank you, Jan, for being so willing to help a not so accomplished quilter. A very appropriate honor for your willingness to always help.

Congratulations Jan, a well desevered honor. I belong to a guild that of about 300 members form as far away as Lexington IL and even farther. We have one man in our Guild. We have monthly workshops on Fri. and Sat. following the Guild meetings. Although I have header they are going to scale back on the workshops.