Getting to Know Your Guild
Guild History
Board Members – Elected
Board Members – Non Elected
Other Positions
Membership Benefits
Biennial Quilt Show
About Us
History of BHQG
The Baltimore Heritage Quilters’ Guild (BHQG) was founded in 1984 by three women who met through the owner of a local quilt shop. They decided to meet in October, and presented “Baltimore’s History in Quiltmaking” to interested Baltimoreans. Needless to say, they were pleasantly surprised when sixty people attended! The BHQG was born!
The Current Guild
Today, the guild is thriving with approximately 150 members. A diverse range of programs and specialty classes are offered to meet the varying skill levels and interests of the members. Monthly meetings are held from September to June, with informal ‘sit ‘n sew’ gatherings held in July and August. From “quilting expert” speakers to show-and-tell, the guild is alive and well in Baltimore today.
Board Members – Elected – The Executive Committee
These positions are elected by majority vote each each year. Each elected Board member may only serve two consecutive one year terms. The slate of nominations is presented at the April guild meeting and elections are held at the May meeting. The new board takes office after the June meeting.
President
The President conducts the board and general meetings, prepares the agenda and keeps the meetings on track. Guild tasks are delegated to various committees. The President also serves as spokesperson for the guild.
Vice-President
The Vice-President participates in all decision-making activities of the board and serves as meeting chair in the absence of the President.
Secretary
The Secretary is responsible to taking minutes at board meetings, distributing them for review to board members, then posting the corrected minutes on the board Yahoo site and in the guild newsletter. The secretary posts an email reminder of board meetings and may also write occasional correspondence.
Treasurer
The Treasurer collects monies, records income and expenses and maintains all financial records of the guild. The treasurer oversees the development of a prospective budget for the guild. She keeps the checkbook, writes payments and processes deposits. A monthly statement of the financial state of the guild is presented at board meetings and included in the newsletter. The treasurer also files any state and federal tax reports and payments.
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Board Members – Non-elected – Standing Committees
These non-elected positions are filled for one year terms. Guild members are recruited and/or volunteer to serve in the various capacities.
Newsletter
The Newsletter Editor gathers material, including articles and photographs and produces the guild newsletter. Newsletters are published monthly from September to June and once mid-summer.
Website Manager
This member is responsible for maintaining and updating the guild website, making technical and functional changes regarding hosting services, etc. as appropriate. The website is www.baltimorequilters.com . The website manager also forwards incoming email received at the several email addresses associated with the website to the appropriate board member/committee.
Program
The Program chairs/committee is responsible for organizing, creating and executing the monthly guild programming.
Historian
The Historian records the history of the guild; takes photographs at meetings and events, arranges the material for display at events and shows.
Special Projects
Coordinates one or more special projects each guild year, including activities such as block swaps, mystery quilts, summer challenge and other participatory projects open to all guild members.
Charity Project Coordinator
The guild regularly selects and supports a community charity by making and donating quilts made by members. The Charity Project coordinator, with membership input, determines the charity to be supported, determines their needs regarding quilt types and sizes, publicizes this to the membership, documents donations and arranges to provide the quilts to the charity.
Librarian
The librarian maintains the guild’s collection of books and other materials, providing new and removed title information to the website manager so the library list is up to date, makes the holdings available to members at meetings, buys new books to support member interests and participates in removing unneeded materials, which may be auctioned as part of a guild program or donated to a community resource.
Nominating Committee
The nominating committee serves to recruit members to fill board positions for the annual elections.
Biennial Expo
The Show chair is responsible for organizing and executing the Biennial Expo. In coordination with the Executive Committee, this member contracts for the venue, sets the show dates, recruits the show committee chairs and chairs their meetings. This member coordinates with venue representatives, oversees the show and gives an after-action report to the board, including income, expenses, attendance and recommendations for future Expos.
Non Board Member Positions – Special Committees
Sunshine
The sunshine member recognizes events experienced by members such as illness or bereavement and acknowledges them on behalf of the guild. A supply of the fabric postcards created by guild members is available to her for this purpose.
Refreshments
The Refreshments member organizes member volunteers to bring snacks and beverages to guild meetings, sets up the self-service refreshment table and removes the trash at the end of the meeting. This member also maintains sufficient disposable service supplies for monthly meetings.
Retreat Coordinator(s)
The guild organizes a variety of retreats for members, where they can get away from their normal activities and share fellowship and quilting for one or more days or a weekend. Traditionally, the guild has hosted two retreats a year at theWestRiverUnitedMethodistRetreatCenternearAnnapolis. Weekend retreats are also held at several other retreat centers from time to time. A day-time-only retreat is also offered during the winter, so that members unable to be away from home for an extended time can participate.
The retreat coordinator is responsible for booking/contracting with the host site, determining per-member fees in collaboration with the board, enrolling participants, submitting their payments to the treasurer and planning for logistics during the period of the event.
Bylaws
As a qualified non-profit organization, we are required to maintain a current and relevant set of bylaws. The bylaws review committee is formed periodically to review the current bylaws and make recommendations to the membership for renewal and/or revision.
Greeter
The greeter works with the Membership Committee at the beginning of each meeting to identify visioturs and newcomers and extend a warm welcome to them. If a visitor is alone, the Greeter helps the visitor locate a seat and introduces her to nearby members. The Greeter often makes the first and strongest impression on prospective members as to the friendliness and openness of the guild membership.
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Membership Benefits
Guild members are welcome to take part in the monthly meetings, participate in special projects, exhibit quilts at the biennial show, share their quilting knowledge and enthusiasm with other quilters and members of the greater Baltimore community, participate in workshops and retreats and join in any other activities organized by Baltimore Heritage Quilters Guild.
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Biennial Quilt Show
The guild holds a quilt show open to members and the general public every two years. The recurring title for the show is EXPO with the relevant year, such as EXPO 2013. The show is held at an accessible venue, displaying member quilts, a ‘Buy it or Bid’ Quilt Auction, Stash to Treasure, a members’ boutique and a wide array of vendors. Demonstrations are also offered at this event, which is a major fund-raiser for the guild.
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Revised Sept 2012