The Certification Committee has completed the Level 1 tests! Both the CP/HP Practice Test and the MP Practice Test are now available on-line. You can take the practice tests as many times as you want.

In addition, the Committee has also compiled some study aids, including a Terms and Definitions List for Level 1 and References and Resources for Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3.

See the Certification Program Overview for more data and links to all the pertinent pages.

If you are planning to take either test at the Conference, please sign up for the test before the conference if possible.

Annual Meeting News

The 2008 Annual Membership Meeting is scheduled for April 29, 2008 in Burlington, Vermont, during the Annual Conference. All members are welcome to attend, whether or not they are attending the conference. If you would like to attend the Annual Meeting, but are not otherwise attending the conference, please let the Secretary know so she can arrange for you materials and meal. You can email the Secretary at secretary@soapguild.org. See the Annual Membership Business Meeting page for details on how the Annual Meeting Works and the 2008 Annual Meeting Agenda for information on the 2008 meeting.

Elections

Three Board of Director terms expire this year, so elections will be held at the Annual Meeting to fill those seats. The Nominating Committee has nominated four candidates: Elaine Koronich, Leigh O'Donnell, Sheila Stewart and Sr. Cathleen Timberlake.. See the full body of the Nominating Committee report .

Members may also nominate candidates for the election. See the Election Procedures for more info. The Member Nomination Form must be received by April 15th, 2008 in order to be valid.

Bylaw Revisions

This year there will be several revisions to the Bylaws presented to the membership. Our bylaws require that any proposed changes be announced at least 60 days prior to the meeting. See the Proposed Amendments to the HSMG Bylaws for the entire text of the proposed revisions.

New Website!

January 14, 2008 - As you can see, there have been some changes to the HSMG website!

Updating your Member Profile has been simplified and a new benefit is the ability to include a Personal Soap Maker Page or a Personal Vendor Page (depending on your membership). You can upload your own page with html and pictures, which will display when someone clicks the "More Info" button from your on-line listing(s).

You should also be able to find information about the HSMG and your membership more easily. Back copies of the Journal are easy to download and there is information about advertising and article submissions. General information about HSMG management and membership is much easier to locate. All the HSMG policies are on-line and available for any member to read.

There are changes in the other areas of the website as well. More information is available for non-members who want to find out about soapmaking and the online Soapmaker Roster is much easier for the public to view and use (and faster there, too).

Many of the other changes are behind the scenes, in the way that the information you submit is collected, stored and displayed, which is particularly true in the Member Profile area and in the forms that public submit.

Some of the pages and areas from the old site are not yet converted over, but will be within the next few weeks.

If you have any suggestions for the site or see any errors or typos that need to be corrected, please email the webmaster@soapguild.org

Thank you for your patience during this website evolution.

Vendors