The Society of Wood Manufacturing (SWM) hosted the Make & Take booth at the AWFS Fair and raised over $2,100 for industry education. A portion of the funds went towards SkillsUSA California woodworking contests, while the remainder will be used for SWM industry/career awareness outreach events for students and programs that support teachers.

At the Make & Take booth, AWFS Fair attendees could assemble a wooden mallet and add a custom laser-engraved message on the mallet. There was also a daily raffle for a handmade “Carillion freighter” chip and dip bowl, made by Inland Woodworker Chris Thomas. This was a very popular item and the raffle tickets brought in a majority of the donations. Attendees could also take home laser-engraved spaceship ornaments that could be assembled. These were available in 2021 and were popular once again this year.

               

 

The Make & Take booth was staffed primarily by volunteers of SWM and Inland Woodworkers Assocation. Thank you to the following volunteers for their time and contributions to the Make & Take booth:

  • Saúl Martín
  • CJ Nord
  • Mike Trejo
  • Chris Thomas
  • Rick Reimer
  • Rick Duvall
  • Michael Miller
  • RJ Monsma
  • Brad Roa
  • Frank Paton
  • Antonio Garcia (SkillsUSA CA)

SWM and AWFS also thank the following AWFS Fair exhibitors for their support of the Make & Take booth:

  • Paton Group
  • Felder USA
  • Royal Plywood
  • LMT Onsrud
  • Inland Woodworkers Association

SWM is a chapter of AWFS and is focused on supporting woodworking teachers, students, and school programs in Southern California. The group meets monthly via Zoom and everyone is welcome to participate. In addition to the Make & Take booth, SWM members help with MFG Day events (plant tours for students) and SkillsUSA CA student woodworking contests. If you would like to learn more about SWM and get involved, you can read more about SWM projects here or follow the SWM Instagram account here.