The second meeting of the Tool Collector's Association was held at Denver on May 18th. The Association has experienced good growth, and, in fact, paid membership has increased about 60% since the meeting in Las Vegas last November. We are past fifty paid members and on the way to our first hundred! With some money in the bank and a lot of enthusiasm by the members, our future looks hopeful. Here are some brief highlights from the most recent meeting in Denver....

• In an effort to provide a more descriptive name for the group, it was decided to change the name from Antique Shooting Tool Collector's Association to the Antique Reloading Tool Collector's Association. The goal of the group remains unchanged; namely to focus on the study, preservation and collecting of loading tools made more than 50 years ago. Tools covered by the Association include loading and reloading tools for shotguns, rifles, and pistols.
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• The officers in the Association include the following:

  • President- Phil Wahl  -  no email
    
  • Vice President- Ed Curtis  -  email
    
  • Secretary- Tom Quigley  -  email
    
  • Treasurer- Gary Roedl  -   email
    
    

• Questions or comments about the Association can be directed to the officers or posted on the message board.
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• A report on incorporation of the association was presented, and it was decided to incorporate in Washington state. Fees for that are nominal and several board members reside in Washington, making handling of the application process easier. Gary Roedl presented proposed "Articles of Incorporation" and "By-laws" which were adopted. President Phil Wahl expressed our gratitude to Gary for getting those tasks accomplished so nicely. Anyone wishing to obtain a personal copy of the by-laws may do so by sending $5 to the secretary.
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• It was decided to change the domain name for the association website from "oldshootingtools.org" to "antiquereloadingtools.org". Other suggested improvements to the website were also discussed. One of those was inclusion of an auction service on the site. That might be a venue to generate some revenue and provide members with a way to buy or sell collectible items. Another suggestion was to consider reducing the content of the site with the idea of rotating offerings more frequently. It will take some time to complete the transition to the new domain, and members should be aware that there may be some disruption in service while that is underway.
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• It was decided that the Association newsletter would be published twice each year...in March and September. Bob Carow is the editor of that; the Board will work with Bob in setting the mode of distribution (electronic vs paper), length, format, advertising and similar policies.
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• The concept of offering "life memberships" was discussed, but no decision taken. A subcommittee was formed to consider that possibility, and it will be revisited at the May 2003 meeting.
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• It was decided to have the annual meeting of the Antique Reloading Tool Collector's Association in conjunction with the Denver Gun show in May of each year. More details about that will follow as time for the next meeting draws nigh.
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• Note was made of a recent article in The Gun Report in which Michael Carrick and Phil Wahl collaborated in answering a question about Marlin tools presented in the "Powder Flask" section in that journal. That article generated considerable interest, and was instrumental in helping the larger collecting fraternity become aware of our existence. Such articles certainly constitute excellent exposure for our group.
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• Ed Curtis will head up a subcommittee looking at setting up an annual display show, possibly offering some awards to encourage exhibitors. That might be a good way to expand the pool of potential members, and, at the same time, share some of our better tools and knowledge with other interested collectors.
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• Thanks to Tom Quigley for providing detailed minutes of the meeting upon which this abbreviated summary was based.
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