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Dear Friends:
I’ve continued to work on the painting for the large convention print that will be released this September 12-13 during our Collectors’ Convention at the Hotel Roanoke in Roanoke, Virginia. Last week you got to see the very beginnings of it, and I’ll show you yet another picture of its progress next week.
This work-in-progress honoring our Founding Father Thomas Jefferson will be released as the special, large print for my Collectors’ Convention at the Hotel Roanoke, Roanoke, VA, September 12-13. In addition to Thomas Jefferson and three of the flags that have represented our country, you can see several of the buildings and homes that Thomas Jefferson designed. Clockwise from center: University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA; the Jefferson Memorial, Washington, DC; Monticello, Charlottesville, VA; Poplar Forest, Bedford County, VA; the Virginia State Capitol, Richmond, VA; and George Divers’ House (Farmington Country Club), Charlottesville, VA.
This weekend I’ll be in Waynesboro, Virginia, for my Museum Open House and Barn Show, and I’m looking forward to seeing all my friends in the Valley and those who live farther away. Often, collectors come from as far away as West Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and California—even England and Japan! It’s so interesting to talk to people and get to know them, and I often find that so many of us have much in common. In many ways the people in the “world of Moss” are like a beautiful patchwork quilt, stitched together with a common thread of love of home and family, country, and ethics; cancer survival; or a loved one with a learning difference.
Tinkling Spring Ride will be released at my Barn Show and Museum Open House July 11-13. It features the historic Tinkling Spring Presbyterian Church in Fishersville, VA. The original part of this church is the oldest church in the Valley. For more information, please contact the P. Buckley Moss Museum at 1-800-343-8643.
I am very honored that so many of my collectors have joined the P. Buckley Moss Society. The Society was established in 1987 by collectors of my work to foster an awareness of my art and to promote charitable endeavors to benefit children’s health, education, and welfare. As I was going around visiting schools years ago, I realized how much of a need there is for children to be encouraged, especially those with learning differences; but, I didn’t have the time or energy to meet all the requests for visits. About the same time, the idea of having a collectors’ club was being discussed, and I thought it would be a good idea to have a collectors’ “society” that could help with my work on behalf of children. I am so proud of the members of the Society and its Board of Directors and the work they do to help others. They have gone above and beyond my wildest hopes. The Society’s slogan is “For the Love of Children” and serves as a reminder of the Society’s commitment to help children achieve success. The Society has approximately 12,000 members and 36 active chapters. During the Society’s twenty-year existence, they have been directly responsible for raising over $1 million for charity.
The Society’s 2008 Board of Directors, front row, L. to R.: Lance Allen, Office Administrator & Assistant Secretary; me; Ginger Cloonan, Dealer Representative; and Mary Lou McMillin, President. Back row, standing, L. to R.: Arthur Smith, Legal Advisor; Hannes Meyers, Jr., Principal Vice President; Rev. Harold Henning; Scott Buchwalter; Marlyn De Waard, Vice President-Publications; Thom Smith, Treasurer; Sally Ann Gobrecht, Secretary; Peggy Goodwin, Vice President-Chapters; Jean Evenson; and Jake Henderson, Artist’s Representative.
The Society’s charity programs, scholarships, and awards are overseen by its dedicated Board of Directors who are all volunteers. The Society also has an excellent staff and maintains an office in Waynesboro, Virginia.
The P. Buckley Moss Society office is located at 20 Stoneridge Drive, Suite 102, Waynesboro, VA 22980; PH: 540-943-5678; e-mail: society@mosssociety.org.
The Society’s office staff, L. to R.: Martha Sullivan, Office Assistant; Lance Allen, Executive Director/Office Administrator; Mark Allen, Bookkeeper and Membership Manager; and Brenda Simmons, Charity Print Coordinator. Many of you will recognize Lance and Mark Allen, brothers, from my Collectors’ Conventions. Mark is a talented DJ and has provided the music for most of our more recent Convention Dinner Dances, while Lance has served as our MC and auctioneer.
The Society has two exclusive members-only programs, one for adults and one for children age seventeen and under. Members of the adult and junior programs receive a membership card, an annual porcelain membership brooch/pin (upon membership renewal), and the opportunity to purchase an annual Members-Only Print. The membership programs help the Society administer and maintain its charity and scholarship programs.
One of the resources the Society has to help raise funds for charity is its Charity Print Collection, which is stored and managed at the Society’s office by Brenda Simmons. A quantity of nearly each of my print editions is reserved for the Society’s charity print collection. Society Chapters and non-profit organizations wishing to raise money for children’s health, education, and welfare may apply to the Society office for a donated print to use in a fundraising raffle or auction.
The Society office sells commemorative bricks for the P. Buckley Moss Museum’s Commemorative Walkway, which was dedicated July 16, 1999, not only as a beautiful addition to the grounds at the Museum but also as a unique way for people to honor someone who has touched their lives. The profit from the sale of these commemorative bricks goes to the P. Buckley Moss Endowed Scholarship, which is for one or more high school seniors with financial need, a certified language-related learning difference, and artistic talent who plan a career in visual arts. The Society has two other scholarships, too. The Judith Cary Memorial Scholarship is for students who are pursuing either a bachelor’s or a master’s degree in special education, and the Anne and Matt Harbison Scholarship is for a graduating high school senior with a certified language-related learning difference who is pursuing post-secondary education. The Society’s President’s Award rewards a person who has made a significant contribution to the betterment of children.
Another of the Society’s programs of which I am very proud is its ACT Volunteer Program (Adults and Children Together). The ACT Program is a volunteer service program that pairs adult volunteers with children in the lower elementary grades who find school and learning in the classroom a difficult challenge. Under the development and guidance of the Society and the teachers, ACT volunteers visit children in the school for no more than an hour a week to establish a supportive relationship.
Recognizing a need to promote more ways to help children with learning differences, the Society created the P. Buckley Moss Foundation for Children’s Education in 1995. The Foundation is a certified 501(C)(3) non-profit organization, and its mission is to promote the integration of the arts into all educational programs, with a special focus on children who learn in different ways. The Foundation has its own Board of Directors as well as an Advisory Board, who are also dedicated volunteers.
The Foundation’s Board of Directors, front row, L. to R.: Dr. Douglas Ball; Mariann Peterson, President; and Peggy Goodwin, Society Representative. Back row, L. to R.: Patty Moss, Artist’s Representative; Marion Roark, Treasurer; Boo Elkins, Advisory Council Chair; Christopher Bryant, Vice President; and Linda Wilson, Ph.D., Secretary. Not pictured are Jenny Cross and Robin Fromherz, Ph.D.
Like the Society, the Foundation maintains an office building in Waynesboro, Virginia, and has an Executive Director and a Program Coordinator. The members of the Society and Foundation’s Boards of Directors and their respective staffs all have their hearts in a wonderful place, and I love them all!
The Foundation is located at 152 P. Buckley Moss Drive (next door to my Museum!), Waynesboro, VA 22980; PH: 540-932-1728; e-mail: foundation@mossfoundation.org.
Robert “Bob” Almond is the Foundation’s Executive Director. Bob is responsible for obtaining grants, donations, and endowments. He is also responsible for administrative responsibilities such as taxes and salaries, and he works closely with the Board of Directors in fulfilling the Foundation's goals and objectives.
Dell Philpott, seated, is the Foundation’s Program Coordinator and is responsible for the various programs the Foundation sponsors each year such as its preschool summer art program, the annual Creative Mind Conference for Teachers, and classes for school children during the school year. Sandi Swartz, standing, is a new part-time staff member who also works part-time at my Museum. Sandi is learning the ins and outs of the office work at the Foundation and will take over some of Dell’s responsibilities when she retires at the end of the year.
The Society assists the Foundation in many ways. It funds the Foundation’s Teachers’ Awards and Grants and many of the Foundation’s Pilot Arts Programs for children and teachers. Also, many Society members donate $3 of their membership dues to the Foundation each year.
Many of the Foundation’s preschool and school-age art programs are held at my Museum, and I’m very happy that the Society, the Foundation, and my Museum have this wonderful relationship to enrich the learning experience of children through the arts.
These youngsters are participants in the Foundation’s preschool art enrichment sessions that were held at the Museum in June.
At least 150 to 175 parents and friends attended the children’s art exhibit and reception that was held on the grounds of the Museum and the Foundation office.
The Foundation holds an education conference each year and invites educators across the nation to join us as we bring presenters together to discuss techniques, strategies, and lesson plans for incorporating the arts into the curriculum of every child. We especially are interested in finding new and original methods in teaching children who learn differently. This year’s 11th Annual Creative Mind Conference: Building Foundations That Will Last Forever will be held October 25-27, 2008, at the American Frontier Culture Museum in Staunton, Virginia.
Well, I’m off to Waynesboro!
’Til next week…
Love,
Pat
The Moss
Portfolio
74 Poplar Grove Lane
Mathews, VA 23109
(800) 430-1320
©P. Buckley Moss 2005