Leonard Becker, Woodworker of the Year
David Basham
As president of the Woodworking Club, I have the privilege and honor of choosing the “Woodworker of the Year.” This year I started by listing everyone who had made a significant contribution to the club during the past year. My initial list had 22 people on it. Naturally there can be only one. I went through and eliminated those individuals who have already been Woodworker of the Year. While you could easily make a case for each of them as they are always making significant contributions to the club, my personal bias is to “spread the wealth” and pick someone new each year.
Leonard Becker has likely been a finalist for this award several times over the last few years. This year he was instrumental in the research, purchase and assembly of the new CNC machine. Once the machine arrived he learned how to operate the machine and spent countless hours learning how to use the software. He has become one of the core group who helps others learn how to develop their projects and create them on the CNC.
For the last few years Leonard has been the one to help others learn how to use the lathe and has volunteered a considerable amount of his own time to being the safety monitor so the shop can be open for everyone else. He also has made a number of projects, which were donated to the club for sale at the annual Craft Fair.
Thank you, Leonard Becker.