by Violet Oman
Many thanks to Garry and Shelly Roux for hosting what has turned out to be an annual event, the IWCS Gateway Group Regional Meeting! We all know it took a lot to put on this 2 day event June 24 & 25. Garry has a way of getting his IWCS crew and family together to help prepare for this meeting. I was only able to make day 2, it was a fun filled day of turning and carving, with special demos: How to best prepare a turning block with resin to achieve outstanding results by John Ferreira and his fine assistant (Deb), and pen turning with “so smooth” magical finish by Jeff Nasser and a carving session by Michael Short, it kept Garry busy for well over an hour! Shelly’s BINGO room was filled full of fun and prizes, the place to be in an air conditioned room on that upper 90’s day! Many items were on display confirming how talented our IWCS members are. Their projects always blow me away. Mike Luecking’s spice cabinets and the boxes he donates to the club, they pretty much take your breath away for anyone that has an eye and the love for beautiful wood grain. The “always spirited” wood auction was led by Garry Roux and was so much fun. It was a great day once again to catch up on old friendships. We missed members that weren’t able to attend the event and hope to see them next year. Many thanks to everyone that worked and donated to the auction, unbelievable support from members that were not in attendance!
Special thanks to the American Legion Post 365 in Collinsville, IL. It was the perfect venue for our meeting. I was curious about the 1980 Bell AH-1 Cobra that decorates the property. It has made Collinsviile its home. I do believe Garry’s brother Everett Roux may have helped reassemble this helicopter when it arrived at the post. It sounds like a story we’d all love to hear.
For the Flight history: http://www.collinsvillepost365.com/AH1F%20Cobra.html