President’s Message
AACG is on a positive trajectory this year, and I have been heartened by the level of enthusiasm and commitment from our board members. We have received tremendous support from the community at large as well, reinforcing that we are on the right path. The board has asked me to extend my term, and I have accepted their invitation, with the hope that this positive momentum continues. Moving forward in 2024, AACG is continuing to evolve to find ways to connect with and better serve the community, and we will continue to position ourselves as a leading resource in the area of glass art.
By the time you receive this newsletter, you will know that our Montreal trip filled in record time! It is so exciting to be traveling again, and this trip will be a wonderful experience for both social connection and education. If you are interested in going and didn’t get your reservation in on time, please contact Linda Greene to be placed on the wait list. We are also starting up our international trips again, after a long hiatus. This means that starting in 2025, we will have one domestic member trip per year and one international trip. Re-establishing our international trip series has already brought in some new members to AACG who have reserved their spot on the tour. I want to extend a big thank you to Arlene Silvers for making this additional programming for our group possible, as well as to our amazing Travel Committee (Ray Chimienti, Arlene Garfinkle, Linda Greene, Carol Mapes, Diane Phillips, Lori Solon) who did a phenomenal job planning our Montreal trip. Jack Cooperstone has also been a tremendous help and resource. I look forward to seeing a lot of our members in Montreal in September!
While in-person connection is always so valuable, it is also amazing to be able to connect on a weekly basis online, through the continuation of our Friday Zoom programs. Our First Friday FIRED UP! programs are always free and open to the public. The rest of the month consists of our Friday MeetUp programming, which is exclusive for members only. While we are not all at home as we were during the pandemic, you can still enjoy all of AACG’s online video programs by signing up for our Virtual Resource Library. This is exclusively for AACG members only, and has all of AACG’s Friday program videos going back to the start of our programming in 2020. With a search bar at the top of the library page, it is also easy to search for a particular interest or artist. If you haven’t signed up for this member benefit yet, I encourage you to do so. Look at the bottom of page 4 of this newsletter for instructions on how to register. Then you will be able to enjoy AACG programming anytime anywhere!
I want to thank you all for your continued support of AACG. The dedication of our board members and the support of the community make what we do possible. Our grants and scholarship programs are going strong, and we are continuing to add new programming and benefits for our members, to drive membership growth. I encourage you to be active in your communities and help us spread the word about AACG so we can continue to grow this amazing community of collectors, artists, gallerists, curators, and enthusiasts. With gratitude, I look forward to an amazing year ahead!
Best,
Demetra Theofanous
