Eddie

Supposedly, there was a husband of one of the female members who was "objectionable" during their meetings. Exactly how, I don't know, but apparently he caused a stir in some form and wasn't even a quilter himself - he just came for the free food each month. So in 1991 they wrote into the bylaws that men were excluded from the guild. Rather than deal with the problem person, they excluded an entire gender from membership.

Here are the people in that guild that I have spoken with to date about it, and their response:

1. Vice President of the guild - Summer 2009 - She said that she would take the issue up with the guild so that it could be changed. Said it might take "a while".
2. Owner of a LQS who is a member - Summer 2009 - She said that they would bring it up in the guild meeting to get it changed.
3. Distant cousin who is a longstanding member of the guild - January 2010 - She said that she had talked with the President about it and that she wanted to see it brought up and changed.

Also, a couple of members of the guild have told me privately how sorry they are that the guild has that policy, and I could tell they were embarrassed that it was like that. But they also told me that there is an "old guard" mentality with this group, and that some of them would not only vote "No", they would vote "H*ll No!" if this were put to a vote. Oddly, a lot of these women are members of my church (which is the largest church in town), so I do wonder how they square all of this with their supposed Christianity.

Anyway, this is not a small guild, they normally have 70+ members at each meeting. But the sickness in the group runs deep, and is really indicative of what I've come to hate about living in this town. It's what I call a "forced happiness" where no one had ever even think about stepping out of "their place" or you will be quickly smacked down. It's a combination of "Peyton Place" and "Pleasantville" narrow mindedness.

Off my soapbox now...

Lucky Patsy's

I belong to a large guild with 90 some members, 65 attended the last meeting. We have a set of bylaws that determine in general how the guild is to be run and what we spend money on. Our treasurer heads a budget committee that attempts to predict our income for the year and determines how much money each committee will get. We pay $30 per year in dues and are expected to sell (or buy ourselves) $20 worth of opportunity quilt tickets as well. We are often asked to donate food or fabric or batting for different events or projects. Our guild spends its money on renting a hall for meetings, insurance, post office box, storage unit, monthly newsletter, fabric and supplies for opportunity quilt, BOM, and charity quilts, presenters at meetings and equipment. The person or committee in charge of each area usually decides how their allotment of money is spent, but items that may differ from past practice may be put to vote of the entire membership.

azdesertrat

Eddie ,if you ever find your way to Tucson we will be glad to have you,we have a very large group 700 members,probably more during the winter,some that live elswhere during the summer and only come to town when its quilt show time.a few years ago we had a man as co-president with his wife
so feel free to join!
Kathy

Ripped on Scotch

We have a silent auction at the June meeting because we break for the summer but that money is used for the travel expenses so we can bring in some out of town speakers. We also have 2 other guilds fairly close so if the meetings are in the same week we can split travel costs.

Ripped on Scotch

I think you should make waves too Eddie. We have 2 men in our guild... and it's funny because it's jack & Jack... So they have lovely taken on the nick names of Jacquelin

Susan P

Have you thought about starting a guild with people more open-minded and progressive? It's probably a lot harder to do than I think. I don't go to my local guild because when I first joined newcomers were not treated very well. I sat at a table with older members and was ignored. A few months later they actually introduced new members and had some gifts for them. They said they didn't have enough for all the new members, and just started throwing them into the crowd and if you wanted one you had to fight for it. I think that was my last meeting. I don't remember ever seeing a man there, wonder if they are banned. I guess I should check.

It was very hard to hear any speaker because very few people paid attention and talked through the meeting.

I do say that they do a lot for the community and are very charitable. I just wish the meetings were more enjoyable. I haven't been in over a year, and I just received a call asking for my $15.00 fee. I sew charity quilts and can donate on my own.

have2quilt

Eddie,
Have they SEEN your quilts? If so, they are just jealous. If not, they don't know what they are missing.

You could continue to lobby for change (only you can decide if you think it would be worthwhile). If you get the rule changed, it sounds like it will still take a lot of work to adjust their attitude. You might be better off using your time and energy to quilt!

Perhaps you and the quilters (any gender) who are embarrassed by the "old guard"'s behavior, need to start a new local guild - with fewer (bad) rules and lots more fun.

If you ever make it to Wisconsin, we meet on the 2nd Wednesday of the month, and you are VERY welcome.

Good luck. Grace

Eddie

Given the hold that the "old guard" has over the guild, I don't think there would be many who would dare to also join a competitor guild. From my observations, there is a definite pecking order there. So the benefits of staying would most likely outweigh anything that could be offered by a start-up guild in the area. They have the upper hand, they know it, and are going to run things the way they want to, regardless of how right or wrong it may be to treat people like that.

Eddie

Actually, they have seen my work. Back in mid-February of this year, the president of the guild called me to say that their scheduled speaker for the February meeting had to cancel and she wanted to know if I could come do a trunk show in her place. I wanted to show that I could rise above them and their discrimination, so I said yes (my wife told me what SHE would have said if she had been me, LOL!). But I went, did the trunk show, and that was the end of that. I had thought that perhaps that was the beginning of a thawing of the non-men issue, but not so. Haven't heard a word again from them.

Tiffany

Eddie: With the way it sounds, you might be better off starting your own guild! I bet you'll be surprised at how many members from the other guild who aren't happy end up at your meetings instead, or they'll be like me and many of my friends and belong to both guilds. ;) It's pretty easy to start a guild and only takes a handful of people. And the best part is that you are in on the ground floor, which means you can make it any way you'd like. (I see Susan B has suggested this too.)

I bet if you started your own guild and announced that men were welcome, the other guild would change their policy pretty darn quick!

As for them using you for a trunk show and then discarding you - that is just plain rude!!! I wouldn't want to belong to a group who treated people like that. At the least you should have received a thank you card. Heck, my guild would have made you an honorary member!

Ripped: Normally the money our guild makes from its Stash for Cash goes to either charity or the library. Sad that I can't remember which, but we do a special thing each year for both of them as well as the raffle quilt every other year.