2019 Member of the Year

November 16th, 2019 by AQG Communications

Kimm has just completed her term on the Board of Directors having provided direction and leadership for communications. She has continued to develop our website, assisted in expediting registration by creating online forms, has overseen the growth and improvement of the Patchwork Chatter, has promoted the use of our Facebook Page, and has provided historical perspective for new members of the board.
She also worked with all of the AQG computers, kept them working properly, uploaded software, trained the users and was available to troubleshoot should the need arise.
She has continued to be active in Night Owls, her primary chapters, but has managed to visit many other chapters, creating significant friendships.
She has been a very busy Board Member, going well beyond the description of her Communication responsibilities to assist other Board members with numerous and wide-ranging tasks. Her enthusiasm and expertise has endeared her to many.
Although Kimm has “aged out” of Board service for a time, she will continue to work with our new Communications Director to create new on-line forms as needed and be available to assist her should the need arise.

It is with pleasure and respect for Kimm’s unwavering commitment to AQG that I humbly submit this recommendation. The Night Owls Planning Team proudly nominates Kimm Murray as Member of the Year for AQG.   She became a Night Owl member in November 2014.  She has always helped our “Owlies” become computer savvy.  As an AQG board member her skills and talents were invaluable.  She moved the guild from a paper guild to almost everything on-line . Examples of this are seen in AQG website that was continuously updated to make it user friendly with on-line forms, launched on-line voting, registration, and renewal, and began our social media component through her AQG communications team.  Kimm has done numerous tasks that make AQG a well-oiled machine, such a led an effort to update AQG policies and procedures, created the program for the Quilt Show, wrote the Chatter in 2018-2019 when the editor resigned, and helped rewrite the bylaws.  Kimm even stepped in as Secretary when needed.  She happily helps anyone who needs help while working full-time as a Geologist for NASA at ASU.

August President’s Letter

August 1st, 2019 by AQG Communications

Greetings! We are about half way through our hot summer and we have just had our first monsoon storm. We didn’t get anything where I live, but it was raining, thundering and lightening all around us. We felt left out except for the loss of electricity and we were okay with that. I hope none of you were inconvenienced with a loss of power. I am hoping for some rain; our plants are really feeling beaten by the heat.
This has been a busy summer for those of us leading AQG. We have spent a lot of time in the office trying to get things in shape and looking nice, so we present a welcoming atmosphere when you visit, work and have meetings. We have quilts hanging, prior Quilt Show Posters displayed and organized shelves and desk, so we now look a bit more professional. We are still in process, but we have made great strides and feel good about where we are in the process.
I hope you will look through this Chatter to see who will be serving you for the next year and feel free to contact any of us if you have questions, comments or suggestions. We always welcome new ideas. This Chatter is full of information and opportunities, be sure to go through it all.
Our board will be retreating for a weekend in August to get well acquainted, review policies and procedures, discuss our vision for AQG 2019-20, look at our programs for the year and make plans that we can enthusiastically support and accomplish. Our goal is always to improve, moving into the future with a strong program and capable leadership. This of course, calls for everyone to be involved as much as is possible and stay connected to one another and your board to ensure we are moving together.
We encourage all our members to attend our membership meetings and stay involved in your chapter, or other offerings that come along. We are excited about the ability to provide national teachers periodically throughout the year and are planning more such opportunities this year. Please stay informed by checking our website periodically, following us on Facebook and hopefully soon on Instagram.
I look forward to hearing from or seeing you soon.
Blessings,
Charyl Garman

May President’s Letter

May 1st, 2019 by AQG Communications

As you know the Quilt Show was a big success and I am still hearing wonderful comments. Again, congratulations to all the winners. It is so good to know that the name of AQG is still being positively mentioned in our community. It is a blessing to all our members.
The spring meeting has also had very positive reviews and that is a wonderful thing to hear. Thank you to all of you who participated in its planning, coordinating, decorating and helping behind the scenes to put it together, Thank you. A special thank you to Strawberry Patchers and Shoofly Quilters for their providing an engaging environment. Their decorations, supporting the theme, “The Threads That Bind” were very effective and well appreciated. Amanda Castor, our special speaker was cheery, knowledgeable, likeable, and informative. Those who took her classes found her to be a great teacher and fun. Thank you to Charlene O’Connell who coordinated the classes.
We are now on the cusp of a new AQG year, the elections for the Executive Board are in progress, the Board meets this month to develop the budget for the new year and several on our Board will be saying goodbye, leaving the board to pursue other things. Others will be joining the Board to provide leadership and new insight for our future.
We have had a good year, having grown our membership, added a chapter, moved our office, had wonderful speakers at the fall and spring meeting, put new Bylaws in place to expand our affiliate membership program, expanded our Facebook presence and made other strides. We, as a Board, are pleased with our progress but not satisfied. We still have much more to do to improve our educational opportunities for our membership and others.
Thank you to all of you who have helped make a difference.
Blessings for a wonderful summer,

Charyl Garman

April President’s Letter

April 1st, 2019 by AQG Communications

Spring has sprung!!!! We are surrounded by the beauty of God’s creation waking after sleeping through the winter. The desert is beautiful having been nourished by the recent rains. We are so fortunate to live in the amazing desert. Hope you are enjoying the bounty of spring.
The Quilt Show, Jewels of the Desert was an amazing patchwork of beautiful quilts. We are so blessed to have such creative and competent quilters in Arizona. Thank you to all of you who entered quilts for the enjoyment of our guests. Thank you to all those who volunteered to make the show possible. Under the efficient leadership of Darla Orndorff and her team of willing volunteers the show was a shining success. We received many compliments for a job well done. Please see the winning quilts on the website and in this Chatter.
Now we look to the next event, our spring membership meeting in Payson on April 13. Be sure to be there in beautiful Payson, with the smell of pine and the budding of spring flowers. The drive alone will be spectacular. We will be reviewing the Quilt Show, presenting the slate of officers for 2019-20, giving the highlights of 2018-19, voting on some Bylaws changes and just generally enjoying our AQG friends.
I am looking forward to hearing Amanda Castor share her quilting journey and success of becoming a designer. Don’t forget to consider the classes she will be teaching the following week, hosted by some of the chapters.
I look forward to seeing all of you in Payson.

Blessings,
Charyl Garman

March President’s Letter

March 1st, 2019 by AQG Communications

Hello,
Remember last month I mentioned that the practice of free motion quilting was not the way I wanted to spend my time. Well, apparently, I am not the only one. Jenny K. Lyon has recently published a book: “Free-motion Quilting from Ordinary to Extraordinary” for all of us who would rather scrape ice than sit down to our domestic machine to practice. I am waiting for the book to be delivered to challenge me to improve my quilting. Anyway, just thought I would bring you up to date with my ever-changing story.
Ok, now for the important AQG matters:
I personally want to invite all of you and your friends to come to our annual quilt show, “Quilt Arizona”, Jewels of the Desert”, March 22-23, 2019 at the Mesa Convention Center. It will be a spectacular event, showcasing some of the most beautiful quilts from fellow quilters and a special exhibit from the Modern Quilt Guild. There will be many vendors and the opportunity to contribute to our “Build-A-Quilt” experience by sitting at a machine for a bit (rest those feet and back) to make part (or all) of a quilt for a teen boy who needs the warmth and love that a quilt can give. The organization for whom the quilts are being made is AZ Blankets 4 Kids who will also be the recipient of ½ of the proceeds from our Quilt Auction.
Speaking of our Quilt Auction, we are still in need of quilts. Bring your donated quilts on Sunday during the intake for quilts for the show. (Sunday, March 17, 10am-2pm at the Mesa Convention Center) The auction will be held on Saturday, March 22, 1pm at the center. Also, we need more Quilt Show volunteers, so go to our website to sign up to help. The sign-up sheet shows the available openings. You will have a great time assisting and you get into the quilt show free. The Spring membership meeting in Payson is just around the corner and I encourage all members to join us. Our surroundings will be beautiful, and we have lots to discuss. We will vote on several Bylaw changes, most importantly a new classification for affiliate members; have time for connecting with others and hopefully, we will provide an enjoyable time beyond discussing business matters.
I look forward to meeting and hearing our speaker, Amanda Castor, as I am sure you are.
Until next month, Charyl Garman