Today I was approached to fulfill a vacancy on the board of directors for the National Knife Collectors Association for the balance of the term which runs through the end of 2011.  I agreed to allow my name to be submitted to other board members for confirmation.

I agreed to be considered for the NKCA board for several reasons:

• I care about our hobby and about the NKCA.
• I have a passion to help spread the word about how much fun our hobby is. In the past, I've primarily done this through online venues like ElephantToenails.com, Cutlery News Journal, YouTube, Twitter, facebook and here. 
• The NKCA has played an active and important role over the years promoting our hobby and was the first knife association/club I joined once I got hooked on playing with knives. 
• It needs help now. There are some issues that prompted me to do this right now- The new treasurer, Leroy Matthews, is an excellent choice to sort out the financial matters. What happened in the past is important mainly to keep it from happening again, but "examining the books" so to speak, isn't going to provide leadership direction, even though accountability is important to the membership.
• The NKCA needs a clarified and/or new vision and purpose. It has lost some of its relevancy today.

For you who may not be familiar with the NKCA-

The National Knife Collectors Association (NKCA) was founded in 1972 as a membership based, not-for-profit corporation, chartered in the State of Tennessee. The NKCA is the oldest nationwide, all knife-only-organization, bringing together knife fanciers & enthusiasts, knife collectors, knife makers and knife dealers with something for everyone who appreciates cutlery. The NKCA is focused on promoting the hobby of knife collecting, educating the general public and providing programs that enhance the knife collecting experience.   www.nkcaknife.org

I am not changing the purpose of our community or my involvement here...are you kidding- I have a blast! :). And while there is an overlap between iKC, and other online knife forums/communities, and offline/traditional knife organizations, the NKCA has resources, manpower and position  to continue to be a driving force to grow our wonderful hobby of knife collecting.

If you are a member of the NKCA I'd appreciate your support and if you'd be willing to tell all NKCA members you know (online and offline) to help me- I'd greatly appreciate it. 

Now I guess I'd better tell my wife :)