December 2009

The Tamarack Foundation can’t find enough. We can’t find enough time to put into reality all of the ideas that our small staff imagines. We can’t find enough money to pay for all of those ideas. And we can’t imagine what life would be like if we weren’t working for you – our West Virginia artists and artisans.

Every day our plates are full as we balance the schedules of meetings and programs. We look for ways to serve your needs at the artisan resource center in Beckley and to help those of you in need through the artisan emergency relief fund. We work on grants to keep our programs running and we meet with people who can help us achieve our goals. We want to be out in the community more so that those of you who can’t come to us can get our help when we come to you.

We love every minute of it.

At this time of the year, we are like everyone else. We look back to what we accomplished and look ahead to how we can make more happen.

We appreciate the wonderful support we receive from the people who believe in what we are doing. People like the artists and artisans who donate work and volunteer time for the Tamarack Foundation Gala and the other opportunities that come up through the year. . People like the staff at Phillips Technology for updating our information technology. People like the administration at Mountain State University who generously share space with us at their Beckley facility so we can operate the Artisan Resource Center. People like the team at Stonewall Marketing Group who provide creative in-kind and support services to help us effectively meet our needs when budgets are tight. And Caryn Gresham who supports our communications efforts.

We are grateful for the generous contributions of our Tamarack Foundation Board and the Artisan Advisory Board. We appreciate the creative support we receive from the staff at Tamarack. We can’t begin to say thank you enough times to everyone who supports us with annual contributions of both money and time, vital in-kind donations and thoughtful planned gifts.

As we look ahead, our biggest challenge comes from our realization that the needs of our artists and artisans are greater than the work that we’ve done. We know that we’ve made some inroads and provide necessary services to an important constituent in West Virginia’s economy (who happens to be an artisan entrepreneur!). But we also know that we need to do more.

One thing we can’t do is rest on our successes. In the coming year, we are going to be looking for more opportunities to partner with businesses, universities, colleges and funding organizations. We’ll be looking for opportunities wherever we can find them. Some will be traditional such as grant programs and cooperative activities. Some will come from out-of-the-box thinking and nontraditional partnerships.

Come along with us as we move ahead. If you have ideas to share or friends that you’d like for us to meet, please let me know. If we are going to be true to our mission to strengthen West Virginia’s creative economy, then there’s one more thing we can’t find: We can’t find ourselves sticking with what we know, we have to venture out and discover new paths and new partners.

Come along with us. We can’t do it without you!