Now is the time to make any changes to your current benefit package and/or enroll in any benefits available to you as a member of ABANA.   The annual Open Enrollment for member insurance program is now open!  After December 31st, 2009 existing members will not be allowed to participate until the next open enrollment one year from now.  (New ABANA members may apply for the coverage in the first 60 days following the initial membership in ABANA.)

Make sure that you understand the program coverages you automatically qualify for.  You can sign up for one product or as many as fit you needs.

See the Insurance Programs section of the ABANA website for complete information.  As an ABANA member you can sign up for any of the types of insurance, Dental, Vision for example.  You are not obligated to sign up for the Select Medical Benefit Plan.  You get the choice of coverages to sign up for.

December 31st 2009 is the new extended open enrollment closing date for Open Enrollment.  Remember, the next opening for plan enrollment will be fall of 2010.

Call (866) 893-1167 for more information on how to enroll.  Click on the image below to view the flyer.

ABANA has announced that the 2010 ABANA Conference will be held June 2-5 at the AgriCenter International in Memphis, TN.

See the following ABANA resources for updated information:

Conference News Update

Conference Blog

Conference Website

Blacksmith’s Journal tracks 111 blacksmithing sites worldwide and publishes a ranked list of the Top 50 Blacksmithing Sites based on daily page views.

Since the February re-launch of our website, GCBA online visits have steadily climbed past 40,000 and GCBA now consistently ranks as one of the top visited blacksmithing websites in the world.  On any given day our ranking ranges between #30 and #45, and continues to climb.  You can check GCBA’s current ranking by clicking this icon located at the bottom of the right column of each page.

In October 2009, GCBA achieved an all-time record of 8,150 page views in a single month, shattering the previous monthly record by 57%.  (Click the chart for a closer look.)

Many thanks to everyone who has contributed to the success of the new site!
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GCBA Site Traffic

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It’s now much easier to navigate through GCBA photo galleries.  The GCBA website is built upon the WordPress blog platform which recently added new functionality to make it easier to sequence through photos in a gallery.

For example, Chuck Robinson recently published a photo documentary of the process of Al-Bronze Casting of a Knife Handle.  If you click any image in that gallery,

• You will notice that immediately below the current image are thumbnails (miniatures) of the previous and next images in the gallery.  Simply click the thumbnail images to navigate forward or backward through the photo gallery.
• You can easily return to the related gallery page by clicking on the gallery name link above the current photo.
• Click the current image to view it in its full original resolution.

Check it out.  This will make browsing GCBA galleries much easier.

(Many thanks to Dave at Vault9 for responding to GCBA’s request to expedite this new functionality.)

Visit the photo gallery of our September meeting.

We are pleased to welcome six new GCBA members:

• Tony Miller
  
• Joseph (Joey) Miller
  (Tony’s son)
  
• Warren Hutchiner
• Alton Baker
• Edd Scafidel
• Billy Scafidel (Edd’s son and a proud Marine and honorary member as he will soon be busy hammering out a new career)

Buddy Leonard announced that he is resigning as President of GCBA as of this meeting. Buddy has been our leader for ten years and,  along with some medical considerations, would like to take a lesser role in the organization. We are grateful for his years of leadership and his willingness to host our meetings and provide instruction and coaching for any and all of our members.  We will continue to hold GCBA monthly meetings at Buddy’s shop.

Our Vice President, Chuck Robinson, will assume the President’s duties until our next election in May 2010.

Members are invited to join in demonstrating at the George Ohr Arts Festival at the Biloxi Town Green this coming weekend October 3rd & 4th. Buddy will be taking a forge, some tools and stock. Several members have already signed on but we can always use more hammers on the anvils. Bring your own tools and forge if possible.

We are sorry to report the passing of our valued member Chester Varnado. It was Chester who built the brick forge in Buddy’s shop. We shall always be grateful for his work and will always remember Chester as we make use of this fine forge.

The following is quoted from the Biloxi/Gulfport Sun-Herald:

L. Chester Varnado

Mr. L. Chester Varnado, age 65, resident of Lizana, passed away on Saturday, September 5, 2009.

Mr. Varnado was born in Poplarville and lived on the coast all of his life. He graduated from Harrison Central, Class of 1962, and went to work for Railroad Express Agency. He then became a blacksmith and journeyman farrier in 1974. He enjoyed woodworking and working around the farm on his equipment. He will be remembered for his hard work, sense of humor, and his love for his family and friends.

He was preceded in death by his father, Lowren Cleyman Varnado.

He is survived by his mother, Madie Lee Varnado Jackson from West Monroe, LA; children, DeWanna Varnado of Hattiesburg, and Dustin (Krystyna) Varnado of Wiggins; BFF, Debbie Paradies of Lizana; siblings, Elaine Ladner of Lizana, Jane (James) Bryant of Bay Springs, Lou Dunn of West Monroe, LA, Sarah (Nathan) Lizana of Lizana, Bob Varnado of Salem, SC, Billy Varnado of Texas City, TX, and Gene Varnado of Long Beach, MS; grandchildren, Nicholas and Lauren Fandel of Hattiesburg; former wife, Loretta Varnado of Hattiesburg; and numerous aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends.

Visitation was held on Tuesday, September 8, 2009, at Riemann Family Funeral Home.  In lieu of sending flowers, friends and family were asked to consider doing something kind for their neighbor or a stranger.

A book of condolences may be signed online.

Several members of our neighboring blacksmith organization, The Mississippi Forge Council,  were featured in the cover story of the May 09 issue of TODAY in Mississippi, a monthly publication of the Coast Electric Power Association. Thanks to Debbie Stringer, editor, we are able to bring it to you in our News Posts this week.

Playing with Fire: Blacksmithing ignites creativity of Mississippi Forge Council members

After Hurricane Gustav

GCBA holds regular monthly meetings at Buddy Leonard’s shop, where we feature something new from smiths with special skills.

We begin gathering 9:00 a.m., and the meeting starts at 10:00. This is a working meeting, so please bring your own hammers, tongs, gloves and safety glasses.

After the Rebuild

We encourage you to bring along an item you have made and surplus blacksmithing tools and supplies for our Iron In The Hat Auction. Items will be displayed on a table and bid on by a kind of silent auction or raffle. If you are interested in an item you can purchase a ticket for $1.00. You can buy as many tickets as you like and place them in the adjacent cup. After lunch the tickets will be dumped in the hat and one ticket selected which wins the item. The more tickets you buy the better chance of winning the item.

Members can bring their own lunch to eat in the shop or drive to a local restaurant for lunch of their choice.

Please plan to join us.  For more information, contact Chuck Robinson at (601) 798-0060.

Upcoming Monthly Meetings

• Sunday, November 22
• December,  No Meeting – Merry Christmas & Happy New Year
• Sunday, January 24, 2010
• Sunday, February 28
• Sunday, March 28