The next GCBA meeting will be held Sunday, February 28th from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm at Buddy Leonard’s Shop. The meeting will be a workshop so please bring your own tools (hammers, tongs, gloves and safety glasses).
Annual Dues
Annual dues are $25.00 and were due in January. Please bring a check or money order payable to “GCBA”, or cash to the meeting. Otherwise mail payment to:
Sid Gale
P.O. Box 2351
Denham Springs, LA 70727
Education Program
After conducting the business meeting, Wayne Cash will demonstrate Broom Making. When you make a fireplace set you will need to know how to make the broom. We will get to work in the back when his demonstration is finished (approximately 30 minutes).
Scholarships
In the interest of educating our members and developing our own “in house” demonstrators for future meetings, the Board of Directors has proposed an alternative to the scholarship to a blacksmithing school. Members may request reimbursement for conference fees.
The ABANA conference in Memphis, TN is 2-5 June. The Mississippi Forge Council will have a conference on Memorial Day weekend. The Alabama Forge Council will have a conference in September. As noted below, LAMA will have a conference in March
GCBA will pay the conference fee for members to attend any one of these conferences if:
- You have not been the recipient of a GCBA scholarship in the past.
- You agree to write an article about the conference and what you learned.
- You will demonstrate what you learned at one of meetings in the future.
LAMA Conference
The Louisiana Artist Metal Association will be having a Blacksmith Conference featuring Brian Brazeal, March 13th and 14th. GCBA members are invited to attend. The early registration conference fee is $35.00. Please let Sid Gale know if you are planning to attend.
Election of Officers
We will have an election of officers and Board of Directors at our May meeting. Please volunteer for positions or provide nominations for positions to our Secretary, Sid Gale.
Iron in the Hat (IH)
Please bring items for Iron in the Hat. January’s IH contributed $50.00 to the scholarship fund.
Show and Tell
Please bring items that you have made or think will be of interest to other members. There were many interesting items on the table at the last meeting. This is an opportunity to share ideas with our members.
Video Library
Blacksmith DVDs and videos are available from our library. Just make a $20 refundable deposit and check them out from Glen Wesley.
Picayune Arboretum Forge Day
Seven members of GCBA helped demonstrate in Picayune. Thank you demonstrators!
Click photo to see the GCBA Mug Shot Gallery
Mug Shots
Any members who haven’t had their picture taken yet, contact Chuck at the next meeting.
T- Shirts
Our inventory of shirts has diminished rapidly. They will be available at the meeting for purchase.
Coal
Coal is available for $35.00 per hundred pound sack.
Posted by Dan Delph 
Early Tools & Tool Collecting
Do you have an idea for an article? Are you interested in or know of someone who may be interested in writing articles for the Anvil’s Ring or Hammer’s Blow? Then the ABANA Publications Committee wants to hear from you. Our publications are the definitive journals of the craft and in order to make continuous improvements the ABANA Publications Committee is soliciting the membership for articles.
If your interest is in “How To Articles” for the Hammer’s Blow, and you have found a “new” useful tip, tool you made and want to share how it’s made, a new idea on an old technique, step by step process for forging something that is not easily understood or any other ideas you may have on something you think “should be published” in the Hammer’s Blow… then this is your opportunity to “Get Published”.
Either way, whatever your interest, an article for the Anvil’s Ring or for the Hammer’s Blow, contact the Publications Committee by using the email address provided: 
ANVIL’S RING – TIMELINE – 2010
WINTER ISSUE
The usual route for submitting an article is to the editors of the Anvil’s Ring and the Hammer’s Blow. If you submitted an article in the past that didn’t get published, pull it out of the dusty corner, polish it up and try it again by contacting the Publications Committee. The article that was submitted and didn’t get published may have needed a little help and the ABANA Board of Directors is ready willing and able to assist in developing, polishing and generally working with you to help make your article worthy of publication.
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