SAWS September 2025 Exhibition Roundup
SAWS Fine Works in Wood Exhibition lives up to its name
Story and photos by Terry Hockaday and Ed Marchand
It’s well-used marketing language to say an event just keeps getting better. But it’s hard to argue with those words being used to describe the Southern Alberta Woodworkers Society (SAWS) 2025 Fine Works in Wood Exhibition.
Feedback from all audiences showed it received a clear stamp of approval from members, exhibitors, media and the general public.
Launch meeting
The SAWS year starts off with its meeting at the Exhibition. Here are the highlights of that evening.
Outgoing President Darrell Aunger pulled together the attention of group and got things started. Exhibition Committee Chair, Tom Gorman did a nice job of an overview of what brought things to the 2025 show.
Jury Marshall Ed Marchand introduced the three Jury members, Jamie Clark, Donna Barrett and Kerry Harmer.
Jamie Clark
Jamie Clark obtained his Master’s degrees in Architecture from McGill and in Criminology from Cambridge. He has been a studio lead at one of Calgary’s largest architectural firms designing residential, commercial and office projects. Outside the office Jamie is an active photographer and artist.
Donna Barrett
Donna Barrett has apprenticed, volunteered, and exhibited while concurrently working as a visual arts administrator, educator, and director/curator for artist-run centres, public art galleries, and post-secondary institutions within Alberta. She has a BFA (with Distinction) in Interdisciplinary Studies from the Alberta College of Art and Design and an MFA from the University of Saskatchewan.
Kerry Harmer
Kerry Harmer, who was not able to attend the meeting, is a past speaker at SAWS events. She is a design evangelist with a Ph.D. in Environmental Design and a Masters degree in Industrial Design. She specializes in creative innovation workshops rooted in design thinking and has extensive experience in strategic planning, partnership building, and fostering collaboration across organizations.
New President Merv Manthey then took over and with the help of Ed Marchand, did a commendable job of moving commentators and members through selected exhibits as jury members provided their design input.
The 2025 winners. It is always a highlight of this event to honour the winners.
The full award winners list is in the SAWS Exhibition catalogue on the SAWS website. But winners were on hand to receive their awards.
Best Overall - 1st Place, Best Furniture Category was won by Ralph Reichenbach, Edmonton Alta. for his Scotch Bar.
The Harold Biswanger Best Amateur Award was won by Ryan Andrusky for his Bee Cabinet entry.
Best Turning category was won by Doug Drury, Strathmore Alta. for his Five Diamonds entry.
Best Finish category was won by Tom Gorman for his Liquor Cabinet entry.
Best First Time Entry was won by SAWS member Guillermo von Bassenheim for his Threat entry.
Special Award was won by the Negative Space shelf by René LeBel, Canmore, Alta.
Best Other Category, won by Tom Gorman for his Tea Box entry.
Members’ Choice Award was won by Dave Ross for his Dresser entry.
People’s Choice award, voted by the public was won by Dallas Gara for his Heirloom Rocking Chair entry.
Left: Patricia Holm of Lee Valley presents Best Overall to Ralph Reichenbach
Centre: Dylan (right) and Brad Thomas (centre) of Black Forest Wood Co. presented Members’ Choice Award to Dave Ross
Right: Exhibition Winners Dave Ross (left), Dallas Gara (centre) and Ralph Reichenbach
Left: Tom Gorman won Best Finish Category and Best Other Category
Centre: SAWS Exhibition Display Co-Lead Carey Henitiuk (left) talks with Special Award winner, René LeBel
Right: Ryan Andrusky (left) won the Harold Biswanger Best Amateur Award for his Bee Cabinet entry, presented by Tom Gorman
Donna Barrett reviews the Best First Time Entry winner, Threat, by Guillermo von Bassenheim
New sponsorship. SAWS depends heavily on sponsorship support to run this show. A full list is on the website and in the catalogue. The big news was the announcement of Lee Valley as a Legacy Sponsor. But it was great to have this in place for the first time and Lee Valley representatives on site to hand out the award for Best Overall to Ralph Reichenbach for his Scotch Bar.
Patricia Holm represented the Lee Valley team that worked with Jared Howkins, SAWS Exhibition Communications Chair to create the Exhibition Legacy Sponsor Category
Volunteers drive the show. Stewards in their highly visible blue vests were kept busy during the Exhibition sessions. But the easy identification and SAWS name tags meant any visitor had quick access about any questions.
Stewards greet Exhibition visitors
Active social media. The SAWS Exhibition communications effort featured strong social media. That was supported by sponsor social media networks. Just a reminder that SAWS members and others can check it out and help keep that interest moving by promoting these posts in their own social media networks.
New membership. The special business card invites to meetings and membership were on the display board and several hundred were handed out. Several new members have already signed up and some showed up and were introduced at the September meeting.
Long-time members reconnect. One pleasant part of these Exhibitions is to see long-time members from the past show up to have a look at the show and a visit with old friends. Always nice to see people whose contributions are one reason for SAWS continued success.
Former SAWS member Brian Erhardt (right) visits with Bill Maniotakis
Strong media interest. Again this year SAWS leaders had several media interviews about the Exhibition. In addition, there was strong support from Southcentre Mall with digital promotion on their mall network.
Photos of interviews in progress
Upgraded SAWS website anchors the Exhibition. The Exhibition communications team put a lot of work into making the website managed by webmaster Nancy Wiebe a useful and valuable experience. That sophistication is a significant accomplishment for a group this size.
The people behind the show. Once again in 2025 the SAWS Exhibition committee was led by chair Tom Gorman. That official crew and many others worked over many months to organize and deliver the final results. That list is in the SAWS catalogue. It is a reminder that SAWS has many skills in its membership that work together to make this event so enjoyable and successful.
Buy a catalogue. Once again, the catalogue overseen by Jared Howkins looked great and there was strong interest in catalogue purchases. A reminder, they are still for sale in the Store.
More moments in SAWS history
A real benefit to SAWS and the Exhibition is a chance for people to come together. Here are some memories from the 2025 show.
