The Wooden Boat Association of North Texas
New Member Welcome Center
Created in Memory of Bill Baldwin
| |
| Bilge Pump Newsletters |
| Photos and Videos |
| Calendar of Events |
| How to Join |
| Classifieds |
| Officers and Contacts |
| Links | Lake Levels |
A Special Welcome to Our New Members! |
 This page is devoted to you, our new member, in an effort to acquaint you with our history, our culture, our events and our projects. Several of our members have contributed to this page, giving you information they wish they would have had when they first joined. This welcome center was envisioned by our late member and friend, Bill Baldwin. He called his idea, "The WBA Revealed." We offer it to you in his memory. We invite you to read this page, and the pages to which the links lead you. Most of all, we welcome you to the WBA!Who we are The Wooden Boat Association of North Texas is an unincorporated social group...a volunteer association of people who are enthusiastic about antique and classic boating. We have over 100 members, most of whom hail from Texas, but some of whom live in other states. Many of our members own and maintain antique and classic boats, but boat ownership is by no means a prerequisite for membership. At our boating events, members who don't own boats just hitch a ride with those who do! The past twelve years or so of our club's history are well documented on this web site, either on the Bilge Pump Newsletters page (see links in the left hand column of this page) or the Photos and Videos page. For a written account of the early years of our club, click here. Click here for a contact list of current officers and chairpersons. Click here to read our Constitution and By-laws. Monthly meetings
We hold dinner meetings on the third Thursday of each month, except in December, at a restaurant in Dallas called "Two Guys From Italy", located at 11637 Webb Chapel Road, just south of Forest Road. Click here to learn more about this restaurant. We have a brief business meeting, including reports from each of our officers, our membership chairperson and our projects chairperson. We then have a program of general interest to antique and classic boating enthusiasts. Members with particular boating interests or stories are encouraged to provide a presentation at a meeting. For example, members have demonstrated staining and varnishing techniques, shown photos of trips to national and international boat shows, described their own boat restoration, and told the history of a specific boat manufacturer. Events
In recent years, we've been holding a season kickoff party in May at the home of one of our members. This event is announced by invitation.
In addition to the events sponsored by the WBA, there are a number of events held by other antique and classic boating clubs in our area in which the WBA participates. The Bilge Pump Newsletter, WBA Web Site and Facebook Group
The WBA web site, woodenboatassociation.com has been the on-line presence of our club for over 15 years. Filled with information about past and upcoming events, projects and activities, the site remains the primary web presence for the group. The site also features a Classified Ads section, with ads free for members. In addition, for members who join Facebook, the club has a Facebook group, where members can post their latest activities and share other items of boating interest with others. The Robin McGeorge Boat Shop
Your participation Of course, the most important issue is this: how will you participate? Well, the answer is up to you. You are welcome to become as active and involved as you wish to be. We're here for fun and fellowship, not to put pressure on people to take on unwanted responsibilities or burdens. Whether the WBA is a place for you to enjoy an occasional classic boat outing, or an opportunity to serve in leadership, or a place to learn the techniques of restoration, the club is here for you. We hope you look forward to a long and active membership!
|
We send monthly reminders of the meeting dates, including a map in our newsletter, The Bilge Pump. We meet at 5:30 p.m. in one of the restaurant's private rooms, and we order dinner off the menu. Each member pays his or her own way. If you choose not to have dinner with the group, be sure you're there by 7 p.m. for the start of the meeting.
The WBA holds several events during the year. Our signature weekend event, the "Ride 'n Show" is held at a Dallas area lake, normally in October. When possible, the event is held in conjunction with Pier 121's "Cruisin' Lewisville Lake" car and boat show, which adds plenty of things to see and do to the event. You can watch videos of our past Ride 'n Show and Cruisin' Lewisville Lake events on the 
Also, the Club holds an annual Christmas Party, normally on the first Saturday in December. The event is announced through invitation. The party is our yearly opportunity to dress up, celebrate the holidays, and recognize the service of our officers, and install new officers following their election. Because we have the party in December, there is no regular December WBA meeting.
You can click on the logos of a few of these clubs seen in the left-hand column of this page, to visit their web sites. Their events include 
WBA members have access to shared tools and facilities at the Robin McGeorge Boat Shop in Lucas, TX (near Allen, north of Dallas). This shop is not operated by the WBA, but WBA members can reserve space in the shop. Many WBA members keep their boats in storage units adjacent to the shop, and it's not unusual to find quite a gathering of WBA members there any given Saturday morning. 
Members advise each other, share their particular expertise, and even lend a hand, to move projects forward. Since most member projects involve work on individually owned boats, you'll need to meet an owner with a project and offer your help in order to participate. The shop is named for our late, long-time member, Robin McGeorge (left), who worked every week at the shop for over 30 years. WBA members use the shop and its tools, paints, chemicals and other equipment at their own risk, and are asked to sign a waiver of liability before accessing the shop. If you are interested in performing work in the Lucas Shop, contact