The Southern Utah Woodturners Chapter was formed in 2008 with a membership of 25 mostly senior woodturners, which meant many years of experience amongst us. We welcome men and women woodturners of all ages and levels of expertise. We were invited to hold our meetings at Cedar High School in their wood-shop and classroom. By membership agreement, it was decided to seek and mentor younger woodturners and that meeting at the high school presented a target-rich environment. We have demonstrations by our members as well as nationally recognized turners such as Kirk DeHeer, Mike Mahoney, and Alan Stratton. The club wanted to be more involved in the community and committed to supporting the local hospitals and their foundations.
Over the past 10 years, the Southern Utah Woodturners have turned and contributed over 700 Christmas ornaments, bowls, pens, bottle stoppers, and other small turnings to the annual fundraiser auction, benefiting the Dixie Regional Medical Center in St. George, Utah, and the Hospital Foundation of the Valley View Medical Center (now renamed Cedar City Hospital) in Cedar City, Utah. These donations have been determined by the charitable organizations to have brought in over $20,000.00.
