Meeting notes April 16/26

Thanks for coming out gentlemen.

Present were:

• Simon Swanek
• Ian Stapely
• Roger Jennings
• Layton Engwer
• Gregg Eligh
• John McWilliams
• Doug McLeod
• Mark Pocock
• Pat Olson
• Rob Harris
• Pete Kerr
• Tony DaSilva

Doug M will check with Doug Bowen at Esquimalt Senior Society for specifications on the cornhole lawn game proposal.

Mark Nicoll is at work on arranging a meeting with Stephanie McLean, our MP. Volunteers for a draft roster of attendees from our shed were called; Doug M, Rob H, Pat O and John McW volunteered, pending date/time determination. We will stay tuned on this item. Thanks for putting your names forward, gents.

Rob H confirmed he has booked the shed to take part in Vic West Fest Saturday, Jun 6th. Rob negotiated our fee down from $75 to $40. Thanks Rob.

A call was made to strike a committee to manage preparation for this event. My notes didn’t capture names; please update me if I missed recording this.

Merchandise for Vic West Fest .

John H presented several birdhouse plans. John will finalize merchandise list for next week, and coordinate with Pat O on build dates for birdhouses, as well as build crew. Thank you John.

Other merchandise may be generated solo, as with Roger’s 3-d printed items.

Pete, Gregg Pat and Doug attended the farmer’s market with mason bee houses for sale. That was the final appearance for the season. Sales report at next meeting.Thank you gentlemen.

We reviewed Doug’s bat house information briefly. Many had missed the item previously. Doug will re-send the information. Look it over for discussion next week. 

Doug M, Roger, Pat and Ian (?) looked over some used tools offered for sale to the shed. We agreed to let them pass us by. Thanks gents for taking the time to look them over.

Doug, Roger, Layton (as a fixer), Pat and I visited the recent Fairfield repair cafe. We were greeted warmly, and garnered several useful tips;

Advertise well, and timely.

Use the ‘repair cafe’ wording; best name recognition.

Set up the space well to have the event run smoothly for volunteers and visitors.

Woody Woodruff – an organizer of the Fairfield repair cafe – recommended we use the “Repair Cafe” guides, templates and forms. A fee of $90C is required to access this material. All present agreed to spend this. Doug M will register the shed with Repair Cafe and pay the fee. Thank you Doug.

June 20th was decided as the next date for our repair cafe. Tony D confirmed Highpoint Church as the venue. Thank you Tony.

Ian, Layton, Pete, John M and John H volunteered to serve as fixers on the day. Thank you gentlemen.

John M will ask Woody at Fairfield repair cafe for a follow-up ‘tips & tricks’ exchange. He’s already offered to help.

Layton and John M met Tony at Highpoint Church to look over the space and reflect on what we’d learned at Fairfield. In doing so it came to light that we need a crew of volunteers to manage the flow of visitors. These volunteers may come from our membership, as well as our wider community. Please invite your friends or family to join us June 20th for a good time helping out. John M will write to Doug Bowen at Esquimalt Senior Society to ask if members of his crew are available to help with this.

Of note at the Fairfield event were several youngsters learning and practicing repair skills. I particularly like this aspect of the repair cafe. Invite youngsters you know to join in and learn a skill.

Lastly; the shed is on to staff the smokie grill at KMS Tools this coming Friday, April 24th.

Doug M sent a sign up link previously. Doug, can you publish a spreadsheet and send that as a reminder? Thank you. 

Thank you all for coming out.

Please correct me if I err.

Best Regards

John McWilliams