Phil Johnson is one of the US Men’s Sheds Association Managing Directors
2020 marks the third year of US Men’s Sheds operations in America. We currently have 19 active Men’s Sheds in many states, including Florida, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Tennessee, Louisiana, Colorado, Oregon, Washington and Hawaii, with plans to start even more US Sheds this year.
2020 started as our busiest year yet, with several organizations working with our Board to start Shed programs in Vermont, Maryland, Tennessee and California and Wyoming, but they had to put their plans on hold after the March outbreak of the pandemic.
2020 marks the third year of US Men’s Sheds operations in America.
In spite of COVID, the USMSA has been able to make progress in a number of areas for both the national association and local Sheds:
- Many Sheds quickly adapted to the COVID pandemic by starting to host local Shed meetings and multiple Men’s Sheds meetings online.
- The members of a new Shed in Batavia IL would not take “no” for an answer and were able to get their new Batavia Men’s Shed started despite the obstacles with COVID.
- Four USMSA Newsletters were published this year highlighting local Shed activities and community service volunteering that did take place.
- The USMSA website at usmenssheds.org was professionally rebuilt to provide better information and performance. This work will continue into 2021.
- USMSA finished the writing of it’s Mission and Vision statements and its Constitution.
- Significant cooperation continued with other National Associations to build a stronger Men’s Shed Movement here in the US and around the world.
- The five active Men’s Sheds in Minnesota have formed the first ‘cluster’ of Men’s Sheds in the US and are planning for a Minnesota Men’s Sheds Conference this coming Summer or Fall.
The US Men’s Sheds Association is self-funded and is currently made up of five volunteer Board of Directors Members from Florida, Minnesota, Hawaii and British Columbia. With the release of the first COVID immunizations in the UK and those coming for the US, we are all looking forward to a better year for 2021.