You are invited to join WOM Editor Matt Kelley in supporting the Make-A-Wish Foundation by carving a segment for the GPO 2001 Friendship Canes. The canes assembled from donated segments will be auctioned off as part of the fund raising activities that will occur on Saturday of GPO Week.
As of this writing, over 20 carvers have committed their support of this effort, so there will be at least two canes to auction off. Three or four canes would be even better, so there is still lots of room and time for other carvers to join this effort.
Len Dillon of DiamondD Studios has agreed to provide a number of sets of tips, handles and caps for the canes, and turnings not used for the canes will be including in the auction.
"Ol' Don"
Burgdorf, who produced the pig mascot for GPO the First, has
agreed to design and carve special GPO 2001 headpieces
for the friendship canes. The exact design of the pieces is know
only to Ol' Don, but you can bet they will be as great as the
GPO Pig.
With at least two canes available, the possibility of a "silent auction" via email or the internet is being examined, which would permit those not in attendance to bid for a cane.
Even if you are not attending GPO 2001, you are invited to participate in this project. To register, please send email to: GPOCane@carverscompanion.com
Please include "GPO Cane" in the subject field, and be sure your name, email address and snail mail address are in the body of the message.
Once you have registered, you'll receive confirmation and shipping information. The segments and turnings will be assembled, photographed, and lugged to Somonauk for the GPO 2001 auction.
Cane segments are 2" x 2"x 3" tall, with a 5/8" hole running the long dimension. If you have never carved a cane segment before, you may see examples HERE.
For more information about the friendship cane project, contact WOM Editor Matt Kelley at mkelley@carverscompanion.com.
