Dear HSNY members, officers, staff, friends and family,
I am humbled again to have the privilege of writing HSNY’s holiday greeting, especially because in the last year our membership has effectively doubled and I’m able to wish twice as many of you good health and cheer for your respective holidays and the coming New Year. Sponsorship has also increased and I’m able to offer increased thanks to the industry for its ongoing support of the Society. These developments are made more remarkable as we all remain in the middle of an evolving pandemic that is gradually teaching us the Greek alphabet.
These letters encourage me to look at things from a unique perspective. This year, strangely, I'm giving a lot of thought to the steam radiators in my house. You see, my house was built 95 years ago — only eight years after the 1918 Influenza. At that time the memory of that pandemic was fresh in mind and people were scared of “stale air.” Heating systems were designed and built so you could stay warm on the coldest day of the year with the windows cracked open… and 100 years later if you live with steam heat you’re well aware of how oversized these systems are. If you look around you will surely see other examples of how deeply surrounded we are by what has happened in the past.
So, while we consider the past and do our best with the present, every once in a while it’s fun to think about how much of what we do today will still serve to benefit others in 100 years. While membership and sponsorship have both grown significantly, there hasn’t been a proportionate growth in the number of watchmakers among us. This makes the underlying mission of HSNY — to advance the art and science of horology — more important than ever.
As Dan Fenwick taught me years ago, “making watchmakers is like growing trees, it takes a looooooooong time.” If you’re reading this perhaps you’re considering a career in watchmaking, or you know someone who is. If so feel free to reach out to us, we’re happy to share our experiences. If watchmaking isn’t your personal calling then you can still support the trade by gifting a membership, donating directly, or encouraging your friends to join HSNY. These funds are a large part of how we have been able to increase our scholarship giving year after year.
With that, I will leave you all with the hope you have a happy holiday season, a very healthy New Year, and hopefully a bit of inspiration to think about what you will leave to someone 100 years from now. If this is the year you simply plant a tree, take up watchmaking, or start building something you've had in your imagination for years, we hope your engagement with HSNY has inspired you to pursue it full steam ahead.
Sincerely,
John Teifert
President, Horological Society of New York
