The Animation Guild and Affiliated Optical Electronic and Graphic Arts, Local 839 IATSE, has updated their website, which is hosted by the Animation World Network.
The April and May issues of the Guilds newsletter, THE PEG-BOARD, are available by clicking the PEGBOARD tab from the main page. The April issue spotlights the Guilds Seventh Golden Awards held on April 9. The Guild founded the Golden Awards in 1984 to honor 50-year veterans of the animation industry. This year, they honored seventy-two individuals of which 51 were in attendance. In his column, Business representative Steve Hulett discusses why all Guild members should seriously consider signing up for the Guilds 401(k) Plan. Also included are obituaries of Gene Hazelton and Hal Seeger.
The May Peg-Board highlights the lives and careers of the late Ed Friedman and the late Joe Grant, with remembrances by Tom Sito and Jeff Massie. Guild president Kevin Koch discusses the benefits of finding balance to ease the pressures of an animation career. Business Representative Steve Hulett admitted to some of the more serious mistakes he has made in his career, with advice on how others can avoid the same pitfalls. Guild members and the public are invited to the local première of DREAM ON, SILLY DREAMER, Dan Lund and Tony Wests documentary on the decline and fall of 2D animation at Disney. Studio Arts offers a class in Macromedia Flash for TV animation. Also included is a memoriam for the late Don Schweikert.
In addition to the Peg-Board, check out two new areas of the Guilds website. Click on the link from the main page to the new Golden Awards section, with information about the award given to fifty-year industry veterans. The section includes portraits, candid photos and biographies from the April 9 ceremony, and a list with links to information about the 269 veterans who have received the award since it was instituted in 1984.
The Guild website also features a new memorial section, accessible from the INFO tab at the main page. This features all the PEG-BOARD obituaries published since 1996, indexed by last name and date of death.
