Eastern Woodland Carvers Club Inc.
The E.W.C.C. is located in downtown Converse, Indiana. We are a non-profit organization and are governed by a nine member Board of Directors. These Directors serve three year terms then may be re-elected.
A group of six Officers are elected annually to run our business meetings and our day to day activities. We have been fortunate to have had so many people willing to help out with club business.
Our club also has a group of members that hold a place of honor in the club. They also hold an awesome responsibility to the club. These people are nominated by the club members as a "Life Member" and then may be elected by the existing Life Members. Their duties are actually to be the overseers of the entire club and the clubs possessions. They have the duty to make sure our Officers and Board keep the best interest of the club at heart. Their duties are listed in the club By-Laws, Article 10 Amendment 2b
The club has two large rooms downstairs divided by a loadbearing wall. The north side is for smokers and the south side is for non-smokers. We have four smoke-eaters plus an exhaust fan to help keep the air clean. We meet at 6 P.M. on each Tuesday for open carve
We have a full kitchen with cabinets, pantry, serving bar, stove with oven and even a television.
Our library has about 150 instructional tapes that you can check out and keep for 30 days. If you wish you may watch the tape at the club. We have around 500 books that cover material from the simple beginning carvings to realistic busts, animals and birds. Books on painting and woodburning are also available.
Our showcases are full of carvings that have been donated by club members and professional carvers. The walls also have many carvings that have been donated. Most visitors are awestruck by the quality of the carvings we have on display.
On the second floor we have two rooms on the south side that our Crafty Ladies use for crafts of one kind or the other. The ladies meet on Tuesday evenings at the same time the club holds open carve.
The north side of the building has a living room, three (3) bedrooms and a bath with a shower. These rooms are used for our seminar instructors. Converse has only about 1200 residents and no motels so this was a big help for all the instructors we bring in.
Each July we are proud to sponsor our "E.W.C.C. July Show", catchy name, don't ya' think. The show is held on the third full weekend of the month. We bill the show as the cornfield show because it is held at our Fairgrounds. The show is quite dusty, but it is always loads of fun and the competition is great. Each year the quality of the pieces seem to get better and each year we say it can't happen next year. We do pay out prize money each year in excess of $1500. We also have purchase awards that started in 1998 that run over $800.
We have 17 Groups for carvers to enter carvings into. These 17 groups are then divided into classes so that each group may have as many as 8 or 9 blue ribbon winners. The Best of Group is then chosen by the Judges and wins a cash award plus a very nice neck ribbon and pendant.
We have a Chainsaw Carving contest that is always a big hit with the crowd. We have a carving contest for us "normal" carvers also. There are Amish bake goods for sale each year and we have a concession trailer for those who wish to spend the day and need some nourishment. There are door prizes every hour and these are usually woodcarvings.
On Saturday after the show closes we have our banquet at the clubhouse. That is when we pay out the prize money and present the awards. Thank goodness the presentations are kept short and sweet. There are also some nice door prizes given to everyone in attendance. These doorprizes are donated by a large group of businesses and carvers.Beginning at the 2000 show we held an auction after the banquet. The auction gave everyone a chance to bid on some nice carvings plus some carving wood and other carving odds and ends.
The show has only three vendors who sell carving supplies and wood. The Woodcraft Shop from Bettendorf,IA comes in each year with a supply of carving wants and needs that is unmatched anywhere. Larry and Carol Yudis do a great job of taking care of all our carvers needs. They have been coming here to set up from the start and we are so fortunate that they have. Another vendor that has been here from the start is Quality Hardwoods from Knightstown,IN. Jim and Rita Lukens have any wood that you could possibly need. If you want something special, size or shape just let them know. Bruce Nicholas has all of your chip carving supplies on hand and has some great chip carving sets.
We hold an annual club picnic on the first weekend of August. This event is usually a three day happening with camping, carving, swimming, eating and lots of music. A bunch of our members bring out their instruments and start singing and sometimes it lasts until the wee hours of the morning. The picnic is hosted by Tom and Lois Miller just three and a half miles north of the carving club.
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Last updated on October 7, 2000