Hello ALHFAMily,
Having just celebrated the Thanksgiving holiday here in the United States, I am mindful of all we can be thankful for within this organization. Our organization is run by an all- volunteer Board of Directors who give freely of their time and mental resources to tackle the issues we face at the institutional level. The Board of Directors is supported by volunteer managers and editors who keep our communications and publications flowing in the right direction. We are also supported by volunteer members of the many different committees and Professional Interest Groups that keep the internal workings of the organization going. Last, but certainly not least, we have volunteer representatives from the regions who keep the channels of communication open and work to encourage their regional members to be active and involved. When you take a step back and realize just how many people it takes to run an all-volunteer organization, it is humbling, to say the least. I am very thankful to be part of an organization whose members are so willing to give back to their community, so to all of you: Thank You!
It is also the time of year when I really begin thinking about heritage skills and the workshops where these skills are taught. Probably one reason I begin thinking about these workshops is I will be teaching a Butchering & Curing workshop at Fort Nisqually Living History Museum in about one month, and it is on my mind. Skills workshops are another thing that I am thankful for in our organization. The low-hanging fruit of our annual and regional conferences are the excellent opportunities for us to teach skills workshops to many of our members at one time. Of course, other opportunities exist during the year to host these workshops. If you have not visited the Skills Workshops page on our website, I would encourage you to do so. Here is the link. If you are planning a skills workshop, send the details to our webmaster so she can post these to the website and help other members know what is going on. If you can, arrange for someone to record some or all of the workshop on video. If you have time, these videos can be edited into skills clips that might go on to teach others who could not attend. If nothing else, the B roll footage could still be preserved in ASK and possibly edited at another time. Whatever you do, passing on heritage skills to future generations is at the core of why ALHFAM exists, so to all of our workshop presenters– Thank You!
The last topic I wanted to touch on in this end-of-year message to our membership is the future of our organization. The growth in membership as well as the growth in interest of various topics communicates our desire to seek out new information and knowledge within a broader range of subjects. ALHFAM can facilitate a growth mindset as our interests are cultivated and evolved through exposure to new ideas and experiences. The experience of hosting a conference focused on workshops has encouraged others to look at what works and what could be improved upon using this model. The Board of Directors met in Little Rock in October for our fall board meeting. During this meeting, we received a report from the 2025 Conference Committee, and to say I am excited really is an understatement. The many different workshops, experiences and sessions are going to be very beneficial and enjoyable to our members. Regional conferences and workshops are also in the works, and the resumption of these activities are quite welcome to us all. Our Professional Interest Groups (PIGs) are also growing as we added one new group this year and look to add another soon. Witnessing this growth has made me excited about what ALHFAM has on its horizon! My thanks to you all for your membership and for all that you contribute to our shared experience within this great organization. I wish you all well and look forward to what is ahead in 2025.
Best regards,
Jim Lauderdale
ALHFAM President
jim.lauderdale@alhfam.org
ALHFAM 