Election Results for 2020 Trustees Election

 

Candidate: Trustees  (3 Year Term 2020-2022)
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Thomas Chenal: 25 votes (50.0%)
Royal Unziger: 25 votes (50.0%)

Royal Unziger and Thomas Chenal win with 50.0% of the vote each.

Details:

Started at: December 19, 2019 at 5:00pm
Finished at: January 16, 2020 at 11:45pm
Time zone: Eastern Time (US & Canada)

18 of 46 ballots cast.

28.0 of 71.0 votes cast.

Weighted Ballots Used (Family Members 2 votes each, Personal Members 1 vote each)

Votes tallied: 50.0
Abstentions: 2

Livestock Conservancy Shave Em to Save Em Campaign

Rules

Although not mentioned in the rules, providers (which must be Livestock Conservancy members) can not sell conservation breed wool that is not from their own animals (per correspondence with the Livestock Conservancy late 2018).

Fiber Artists:

This is a great program to help save rare breeds of sheep and also to learn more about the characteristics of their fiber.  Even if you don’t pursue the program you can search through our member listings to locate those near you who are raising rare breeds on the Livestock Conservancy lists.  By purchasing products from them you are also helping to preserve these rare breeds.  For a list of breeds see the next 2 links below.

Heritage Sheep Brochure – 2 pages, lists breeds included

Heritage Sheep Breeds List by Conservation Priority Status (annually updated web page)

Flyer for Providers Promoting Program to Fiber Artists

 

For full info see the Livestock Conservancy website:  http://livestockconservancy.org/index.php/involved/internal/SE2

 

Hidden Powers of a Sheep

Nice article in the winter issue of Craftsman Quarterly:

https://craftsmanship.net/the-hidden-powers-of-a-sheep/

Judith Schwartz writes about the people who are trying to turn around the near disappearance of American wool processing within the United States.  Ecological reasons for keeping sheep (they contribute to carbon sequestrian if pastures are managed correctly), natural dying,  and efforts to make  American wool products competitive (based on value not on cost) with Chinese products made from American wool.

2019 Trustees Election Results

The election completed. Of the 39 eligible voters: 22 ballots were submitted and 3 opened their ballots but did not vote (56% voted).  We use weighted ballots for elections (personal members have 1 vote, family members 2 votes).

President – 2 year term (2019 – 2020)

35.0 votes tallied and 0 abstentions from 22 ballots

Kevin Melvin wins with 100% of the vote

 

Vice President – 2 year term (2019 – 2020)

35.0 votes tallied and 0 abstentions from 22 ballots

Bob May wins with 100% of the vote

 

Treasurer  – 2 year term (2019 – 2020)

33.0 votes tallied and 1 abstention from 22 ballots

Anita Duscher wins with 100% of the vote

 

Trustees – 3 year term (2019 – 2021)

64.0 votes tallied and 2 abstentions from 22 ballots

Carter Laidlaw and Brittany Smith wins with 50% and 45.3 of the vote each.

PLEASE NOTE:  A new ballot for Secretary will go out to all members at 6PM Feb. 8 2019 due to a ballot error.  The voting period will be 2 weeks. 

Experience Wool Now on YouTube

The American Wool Council has provided fans of the all-natural fiber with a new way to Experience Wool through the creation of a YouTube page. The page currently hosts three videos produced by Brand Juice in the past year to market American wool to a wide variety of consumers.

The videos were shown on multiple occasions during the American Sheep Industry Association Annual Convention last month in New Orleans, and can now be shared from the YouTube page by producers looking to promote American wool and its many benefits.

In The Luxurious Fiber, a narrator explains that the “Fabric designers choose first to achieve pure elegance, absolute luxury and unmatched style” is American wool.

The High Performance Fiber is aimed at more demanding users and offers, “There’s one time-tested, expedition-proven material you can count on. One fabric for four seasons. Experience the confidence of American wool.”

Natural and Sustainable promotes what might be the fiber’s greatest trait. “What this miracle becomes is infinitely remarkable, versatile, beautiful and in the end, sustainable.”

If you haven’t seen them yet, check out the videos. Share them with your friends, family and clients, and help the American Wool Council in promoting this natural, renewable, sustainable fiber that is perfect for any occasion in any season.

Access the YouTube Channel:   https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFhONGmym_OM8ZWxPqw9Fag

For more information on American wool, visit AmericanWool.org or follow Experience Wool on Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter.

Source: ASI Weekly February 8, 2019

 

‘Shop local’ drives sales of American-made yarn

Source:  https://www.morningagclips.com/shop-local-drives-sales-of-american-made-yarn/

 

Wool Eases Eczema Symptoms

A new study has confirmed that wearing superfine Merino wool helps ease the symptoms of eczema and improves the wearer’s quality of life.

Professor Joe Fowler at Dermatology Specialists Research in Louisville, Ky., undertook this two-year study assessing the effect of Merino base-layer fabrics on 50 of his patients with mild-to-moderate eczema.

Using a cross-over design, participants were placed in two groups. The first group was dressed in their regular clothing for six weeks and then changed to superfine Merino wool garments. The second group began with the superfine Merino wool for six weeks and then crossed over to their regular clothing for the final six weeks. Each patient undertook an initial visit to establish their baseline condition, followed by regular visits until completion of the study. They were assessed for clinical, physiological and quality of life outcome measures.

Significant decreases in eczema symptoms from Baseline to Week Three were seen in both groups. However, those who switched to Merino wool at Week Six experienced a further significant decrease in symptoms, in contrast to those who switched to regular clothing. Further, “it was only when Merino wool was worn that improved quality of life scores occurred,” Fowler said.

“I still wear the [wool] clothing, even though I’ve finished the study,” one participant said. “I’m super sensitive about clothing and never keep any that are not comfortable.”

Another participant commented, “I could feel it working, my skin got softer and I wear [wool] now when my skin needs help.”

 

Source: ASI Weekly November 9, 2018

Full Article: https://www.iwto.org/news/us-study-confirms-wool-benefits-to-skin

Raw Material Offers One Woman’s View of the American Wool Industry

New book released Oct. 2018….Raw Material – Working Wool in the West

Follow a sweater with an “Italian Merino” label back far enough and chances are its life began not in Milan, but in Montana.

Many people want to look behind the label and know where their clothes come from, but the textile supply chain – one of the most toxic on the planet – remains largely invisible. In Raw Material, Stephany Wilkes tells the story of American wool through her own journey to becoming a certified sheep shearer.

What begins as a search for local yarn becomes a dirty, unlikely and irresistible side job. Wilkes leaves her high-tech job for a way of life considered long dead in the American West. Along the way, she meets ornery sheep that weigh more than she does, carbon-sequestering ranchers, landless grazing operators, rare breed stewards and small-batch yarn makers struggling with drought, unfair trade agreements and faceless bureaucracies as they work to bring eco-friendly fleece to market.

Raw Material demonstrates that the back must break to clothe the body, and that excellence often comes by way of exhaustion.

With humor and humility, Wilkes follows wool from the farm to the factory, through the hands of hardworking Americans trying to change the culture of clothing. Her story will appeal to anyone interested in the fiber arts or the textile industry, and especially to environmentally conscious consumers.

Stehanie’s website:  https://stephanywilkes.com/book

Book also available at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Raw-Material-Working-Wool-West/

 

Pics from the 2018 Festival

The 24th annual Sheep & Fiber Festival was held on Saturday and Sunday at the Hunterdon County Fairgrounds in Ringoes.

The festival was presented by the Garden State Sheep Breeders, a non-profit, educational group promoting sheep and wool products in New Jersey.

This year they added two breeds: the Scottish blackface and Valais blacknose, a new breed to the United States, on display courtesy of Stone Manor Farm.

Source and to see the Photo Gallery:

https://www.nj.com/hunterdon-county-democrat/index.ssf/2018/09/for_24_years_nj_sheep_have_had_their_own_day_in_hu.html