Meet the TFG Executive Director and TFBC Board Members

The list of TFBC board members will be posted after the TFBC board of directors elections.

TFG Executive Director Jeff Arvin

Dear TFBC members,

I am a lucky man. Among my many pleasant duties is to welcome the Timber Frame Business Council back home to the Timber Framers Guild. 

With the recent merger of the Timber Frame Business Council and the Timber Framers Guild, we are on the cusp of a tremendous opportunity. Bringing the companies and craft back together is the best thing that has happened to both groups since the invention of beer. To take advantage of the opportunity at hand we have to communicate a new vision, and create a new perception of the value the TFBC can bring to the timber frame community. My goal is to help build a thriving, vital community where companies flourish. 

By way of introduction, my name is Jeff Arvin, and I am delighted to be the executive director of the Timber Framers Guild. I’ve been around a while and so I know a lot of you. But for those I have yet to meet, let me say this: I have been a hands-on timber framer and a timber frame business owner. I first joined the Guild in 1985. Somehow I was elected to the board of directors in 1987, and became president in 1989. I had a really close look at the growing Guild. Believe me, we lacked the sophistication the organization has today. The interwebs were yet to be invented. Mobile phones, if anybody had one, were bigger than bricks and almost as heavy. Fax machines were rare; overnight FedEx was the best tool for “instant” communication. The Guild operation was a cut and paste affair—and I mean scissors and glue.

Now, 30 years later, the Guild has entered a new era. We have grown and changed, weathering tough years, accumulating knowledge and skill along the way. Through all the growth and change, however, the essence of the Guild is unchanged. I believe the Guild stands for commitment to good work that improves lives and communities. It’s humbling and inspiring to see how Guild members put that into action. 

As ED, I look forward to the journey ahead of us. We have the tools, skills and experience to create works of even greater relevance for our families and communities, and our very exciting task is to find ways to implement our ideals. Can it get much better than that?

Recently, I have been working with the former TFBC executive committee—Paul Freeman, Stephen Morrison, Bob Best, Peter Dickson, Bruce Bode, and Amy Goode—to develop specifics of how the Business Council will be governed going forward. We will establish a new TFBC Steering Committee whose tasks will be to develop outreach programs, create business education opportunities and otherwise plan and budget Business Council activities. While all past functions of the TFBC, including the operation of TimberFrame.org, will continue until such time as changes are requested by the committee and the TFG board of directors, we are seeking new initiatives to stimulate participation in the extraordinary organization the Guild has become.

Please continue to support the mission of the TFBC. Within a few days you will receive information about company membership in the Timber Framers Guild. You will see that membership rates are much the same as TFBC rates in 2014, but I believe we are offering additional, tangible benefits. Additionally, we are offering an affordable entry level designed for small companies that have never been TFBC members. Please pass the word. 

In addition to company membership, and following the success of the Visionary Partner campaign in 2014, we will be offering expanded opportunities for these partnerships. Stay tuned for details. 

In closing, please know that I truly appreciate the hard work that TFBC directors, including Pam Hinton, have done over the last, difficult years. That work brought us to the cusp of this opportunity. Let’s make the most of it! 

Keep in touch. 

Jeff Arvin
TFG Executive Director
Timber Framers Guild

Connect:
Email Jeff
Phone: (413) 443-1100

Board of Directors

The list of TFBC directors will be updated as soon as TFBC elections are held.

Board Members

To connect with another timber frame organization, visit the Find a Professional page.