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About Us

The Minnesota Woodworkers Guild is a group of professional and amateur woodworkers bound together by three goals:

to advocate high standards in our craft
to meet new friends and discuss woodworking
to educate ourselves and the public about woodworking

The Guild hosts monthly educational meetings, offers an annual Fall Seminar, Woodworkers Expo and sponsors the annual Northern Woods Show, an exhibition of fine woodworking. We welcome membership by all woodworkers, regardless of what they build, their level of skill, style of work, or their profession.

Our goal is to encourage the highest standards in woodworking, while allowing each of our members to grow at their own pace, from whatever level of skill and accomplishment they begin with.

Simply put, we want each of our members to become the best woodworker they are capable of, and to enjoy telling their Guild friends about it along the way.

Board of Directors

President: Ed Neu

Ed is a retired mechanical engineer, turned semi-professional furniture maker. He started taking commissions to make custom furniture in 2014. He has been a member of the Minnesota Woodworkers Guild since 2010, and has served as President since 2016.

Vice-President: Richard Tendick

Richard started woodworking in his father’s shop and took woodworking classes in high school and college. After retiring from his job as an engineer, he started writing articles for American Woodworker magazine.

Treasurer: Travis Frey

Travis has a PhD. in plant genetics and has always been fascinated with the power of plants and the many roles they play in our lives. He was introduced to the joy of woodworking at the young age of 8 when he helped his father to design and build his childhood treehouse on stilts. He loves learning new skills and problem solving through the woodworking process on all different types of projects. A Pennsylvania native, Travis now calls Cannon Falls home with his wife Heidi and their German Shepard, Kota. Travis has been a member of The Minnesota Woodworkers Guild since January of 2022 and now serves as its Treasurer.

Secretary: Roger Christopherson

Roger grew up with an Industrial Art teacher – his father. He still has fond memories of going into his dad’s shop at the end of the summer prior to the start of school and helping to open all the new tools for the upcoming school year. Roger joined the Guild many years ago after attending a Northern Woods Exhibition and joined the board in 2019.

Sponsor Liaison: George Lucas

George is a retired mechanical engineer still working part time in the medical device field. He has been interested in woodworking since his 8^th grade woodworking teacher showed him how to make the desk that he used through high school. He has been a member of the Guild since 1999 and a member of the Board since 2018. George also serves on the Northern Woods Committee.

SIGs Coordinator; Northern Woods Exhibition Chair: Mike Johnson

Mike is an amateur woodworker and just recently started to shift his focus from cabinet making/home remodeling to fine furniture making. He has been a member of The Minnesota Woodworkers Guild since March of 2021, and has served on the Board of Directors as Program Director since September of 2021. Mike resides in Elk River, MN with his wife Missy and daughters Madeline and Mackenzie.

Chair, Woodworkers Expo: Ron Ausen

Ron has been an amateur woodworker most of his life. He was taught by his dad and relatives who practiced the art as a hobby. More recently he discovered hand tool made Windsor chairs. He finds the quietness and lack of dust an enjoyable practice. He has recently extended his hand tool experience to tables. Ron also enjoys green woodworking. He joined the woodworkers guild in 1996.

Director: Bob Kraby

Bob has been a Guild member since 2004 and joined the Board of Directors about in 2010. He has been a professional woodworker in Maplewood for nearly 2 decades. Currently he sits on the Northern Woods Exhibition committee and is co- chair for the Fall Seminar.

Director; Fall Seminar: Paul Ehrlich

Paul is an experienced amateur woodworker who enjoys both the challenge of figuring out how to build a project as well as the satisfaction of the completed piece. As the newest board member he joined in 2022, and serves as a member at large.

Membership Director: Angela Vargas

Angela has always been fascinated by woodworking. Now that she is a semi-retired physician, she is using her new free time to follow her passion. She joined the Guild in 2019, and loves learning new techniques and working on challenging projects as she expands her skills.

Program Director: Matt LaBo

Matt is a former union staffer and, after retiring, a self-taught amateur woodworker. He leans more towards the hand tool side of woodworking but will not turn down a helping hand from his electric tools. He lives in St Paul with his wife Kim and their cat Peanut. He has two daughters, three grandchildren, and two great grandchildren.

Director: Mike Nesnidal

Mike is a business development manager for aerospace and defense applications. He is a self-taught woodworker and luthier. Mike has been a member of the Minnesota Woodworkers Guild since 2015 and served as Treasurer from 2017 until 2023.