Professional Development Opportunities

Product Search

Professional Development Opportunities

The purpose of Tamarack Foundation programs is to encourage Tamarack-juried West Virginia artisans, 18 years and older, to reach their full artistic and business potential by providing resources for training, education, and consultations in order to enhance economic opportunities to advance their careers. The programs are intended to further the professional development of working artists.

Outreach Education Grants

Through these grants and mini-grants, Tamarack artisans are given the opportunity to identify training opportunities they would like to explore and that may be beneficial to their businesses. The purpose of mini-grants and/or grants is to pay for or offset costs of attendance at courses, seminars, and classes, etc.

For more information about Outreach Education Grants, what to submit and an application, please click here.

Equipment Grant Program

The Tamarack Foundation Equipment Grant Program provides an opportunity for Tamarack artisans to increase their production capability, improve the safety of their work environment and/or expand product lines with grants of up to $1,000 to purchase new and/or improved equipment.

For more information about the Foundation's Equipment Grant Program and an application,

click here.

If you have any questions regarding any of the Tamarack Foundation programs, contact Ron DeWitt at 1-88 TAMARACK (1-888-262-7225) x149 or e-mail

rdewitt@tamarackwv.com.

Apprenticeships

Apprenticeships provide an opportunity for established artisans to expand their businesses and offer improved customer service. Apprentices may be employed for part-time or seasonal employment.

The Tamarack Foundation will assist in the placement of apprentices to pay an hourly rate based on current market salary ranges, plus payroll taxes, for up to one year. This will fund approximately half of the apprentice’s salary, with the other half being paid by the master craftsmen. The program is intended to raise not only the trainees’ craft skill level, but potentially their standard of living.

For more information about Apprenticeships, what to submit and an application, click here.

Additional Opportunities for Artisans

•Woodworkers
Good News! On July 5, Harry Faulk, Vice President and Chief Academic Officer of New River Community and Technical College, announced that starting in the fall of 2007 the college will offer a program in Fine Woodworking in partnership with Pocahontas Woods. Students can take individual classes for college credit, enroll to study for a "skill set" certificate, sign up for a one-year "collegiate certificate'" (with credits transferable to a degree program), or opt for a two-year Associate of Applied Science degree program. The Spring semester started on January 14, 2008.
For more information, go to their website www.pocahontaswoods.com. Don't miss the article about "John Friel and the Founding of Pocahontas Woods" in the October 2007 issue of WOODWORK: A Magazine for All Woodworkers.

•Glass Artisans
"Nationwide Tour Players Cup Competition" - Design Winning Trophy

Moundsville Glassmaker Wins Golf Trophy Design Competition

South Charleston, West Virginia- The West Virginia Division of Tourism and the PGA TOUR announced today that Fred Wilkerson Jr. has created the winning entry in the Nationwide Tour Players Cup trophy design competition. Wilkerson, a glassmaker from Moundsville, Marshall County, said he was thrilled to be named the winner.

“I’m so happy to have won this competition,” Wilkerson said from his Moundsville glassmaking company, Wilkerson Glass Company. “I had a strong image of what I felt the trophy for this world-class golf tournament should look like and was able to translate that mental picture into the winning entry.”