ABANA Board of Directors
The Artist-Blacksmith’s Association of North America, Inc. (ABANA) is run by a board of 15 directors elected by the membership. These elected volunteers serve as officers, committee chairpersons, and members of committees. Five of the 15 directors are elected each year for a three-year term. Business meetings of the ABANA Board are held annually near the 15th of November. In the even years, an additional meeting is held at the ABANA Conference. Between meetings, business is typically conducted by email, phone, and Zoom.
C. Leigh Morrell, President
Board member through 2023.
Leigh has been an ABANA member since 1981 and is currently serving his fifth term as ABANA President. Having spent 50 years forging iron, he previously owned and operated Morrell Metalsmiths in Massachusetts, the shop which was eventually taken over by two of his children. Leigh has also been a member of the New England Blacksmiths since 1979 and has served the organization in a leadership capacity. In addition to teaching in his own shop, Leigh has taught smithing, welding, and business classes at events and conferences across the country.
Frank Annighofer, 1st Vice President
Board member through 2024.
As 1st Vice President, Frank serves on ABANA’s Executive Committee. He is responsible for the publications, The Anvil’s Ring and the Hammer’s Blow, and is actively involved in our Education, Marketing and Conference activities. Frank retired from general management 20 years ago to start an architectural blacksmithing business, Wood & Iron Works in Montana where he still lives. He is one of ABANA’s inaugural National Curriculum Instructors.
Scott Kretschmer, 2nd Vice President
Board member through 2024.
Scott grew up in a creative family in Colorado and traveled around after school working in construction, theater, police and fire services, and land surveying. Settling in the San Francisco Bay area, he worked for a high-end construction company for 20+ years manufacturing hardware until 2004 when he and his wife, Lynette, decided to move back to Colorado. Scott has attended the Turley Forge Blacksmithing School as well as many education seminars around the US. Scott’s shop currently manufactures door and window hardware, tools, grills, and many other items. In addition to serving on the ABANA Board, he is also the President of Rocky Mountain Smiths, a local ABANA affiliate.
Jack Brubaker, Secretary
Board member through 2025.
Jack came to blacksmithing in 1970 from an art and design background. ABANA conferences showed him techniques, and tooling, that helped to grow his business and generated inspiration and lifelong friendships. Jack was active on the ABANA board and in leadership positions in the 80s and now serves on the Board again. He says his interest is in helping guide ABANA into new relevance as opportunities in the digital world expand.
Thomas Owens, Treasurer
Board member through 2025.
Tom Owens joined the California Blacksmith Association (CBA) in 2009 and ABANA in 2014 after becoming fascinated with the skills and art of blacksmithing. After getting involved in the blacksmithing community, his lifelong interest in art prompted him to return to school for a Bachelor of Art degree in studio art with an emphasis in sculpture. Tom also holds an AS in Computer Graphic Art. Outside of the blacksmithing community, he is a registered Civil Engineer and Licensed Land Surveyor who runs his own company.
Pete Engelbert
Board member through 2023.
Pete started smithing in 2007 making armor for full-contact medieval fighting. Pete holds several ESH board certifications, degrees in criminalistics, biology, geology & math, safety, substance abuse counseling, political science & a Doctor of Divinity, and a practicing Chaplain. Pete has been in volunteer roles with ASSE, AIHA, NETA, ANSI, ASTM, USAR, WHWB and others and has taught at Indiana University, Purdue University, OSHA Training Institute, and served as adjunct faculty at the US Fire Academy.
W.L. Bud Harvey
Board member through 2025.
Bud, along with his wife, Janelle, operates Hot Iron Blacksmith located in central Illinois. He has BS degrees in Mechanical and Metallurgical Engineering, a BSA Silver Beaver award and employed 37 years in engineering, quality and purchasing for a heavy equipment manufacturer. He is a life member of the American Society for Materials and Past President of Illinois Valley Blacksmithing Assoc. Bud’s blacksmithing mentors include Uri Hofi, Tom Clark, Mark Aspery, and other master smiths. He currently conducts 50 – 60 blacksmithing classes per year and has instructed 500+ new adult students and 300+ youth at his shop. Bud earned his ABANA National Intermediate Instructor Certification in 2022.
John McLellan
Board member through 2025.
John has been a blacksmith for over 50 years, including working as a farrier for 25 years. He owns his own shop which is primarily focused on architectural metalwork. He also teaches classes at his shop for groups as large as 60 students. His demonstrations have taken him throughout the USA, Argentina, and Australia. John has also served on the boards of the California Blacksmith Association (CBA), ABANA, and the National Ornamental & Miscellaneous Metals Association (NOMMA).
Eve L. Oswald
Board member through 2024
Eve has been making art her entire life. She learned to forge later in life but says it changed her world forever. Blacksmithing offered her much more than just a new medium to work in and attending her first conference convinced her that she had found her people. She learned the fundamentals at Marshall Gold Discovery Park in Coloma, California where she has also served as a volunteer blacksmith. Fast forward 10 years and she is active in both the California Blacksmith Association (CBA) and ABANA.
Victor Plitt
Board member through 2024.
Victor enjoys the therapeutic aspect of forging metal. He is quick to point out that blacksmithing and metalworking use both the left and right sides of the brain and believes that these creative endeavors are a healthy use of energy not widely available in today’s modern world. He places a great deal of importance on keeping traditional crafts available to future generations and feels that ABANA plays a central role in bringing resources to experienced craftspeople and giving a path to those seeking to start the journey.
Joshua Reynolds
Board member through 2024.
Josh Reynolds has been a hobbyist blacksmith for about 20 years and has spent the last 10 years learning from noted smiths in his area and working in his own shop. He has a BFA in Computer Art and a degree in Graphic Design. His business, Computer Imagination LLC, was founded in 1996 and offers drafting, CAD, and 3-D laser scanning services.
Stuart Shirley
Board member though 2023.
Stuart Shirley attended his first ABANA conference in 2016 in Salt Lake City, Utah which he described as “an absolute blast and a formative experience”. He recently completed his Masters in Metallurgy at the Colorado School of Mines. As a member, Stuart benefitted from several educational grants to further his blacksmithing and he discovered a love of teaching and demonstrating to others. His focus is on education and furthering the ABANA National Curriculum as well as reaching the next generation of blacksmiths.
Mark Sperry
Board member through 2025.
Mark Sperry started blacksmithing in 1985 and it has been his sole source of income for the last 24 years. You may recognize him as one of the journeyman blacksmiths employed at the Anderson Blacksmith Shop at Colonial Williamsburg. Mark’s decision to serve on the ABANA Board of Directors was prompted by his wanting to give back to the organization from which he benefited during his career. His focus is on educational standards in the blacksmithing community and he’s willing to help with any task put before him.
Linda Tanner
Board member through 2023.
Linda has co-owned Yesteryear Forge for 40 years, along with her husband, Michael. Linda is also proud to be a co-founder of The Blacksmith Guild of Virginia in addition to having previously served on the ABANA Board as Treasurer and President. She learned repoussé from Mindy Gardner and was honored to make plaques for her father’s headstone which honored his WWII medals.
Picture Yourself Here
Help shape the future of ABANA!
Each year, 5 Board members are elected for a 3-year term. Elections are typically conducted in the summer and elected individuals will be seated in late fall. Know someone you think might be a great candidate? Forward their name and contact info to Election Committee Chair, Jack Brubaker at jbrubaker@abana.org.
ABANA Staff & Contractors
Jennifer Jhon
Hammer’s Blow Editor.
Jennifer Jhon has spent her life working as an editor, writer, designer, and artist. Her background in glass and ceramics expanded to blacksmithing in 2017. Since then she has served at the editor for the Florida Artist Blacksmith Association (FABA) newsletter, Clinker Breaker, and now works for ABANA as the editor of the Hammer’s Blow magazine. She says, “The submissions from talented blacksmith artists in the Hammer’s Blow constantly amaze me with their ability to instruct and challenge readers.”
Mark Kochan
The Anvil’s Ring Editor.
Mark worked as a commercial artist/designer for 48 years before retiring in 2008. He took up blacksmithing mostly as a hobby and ended up working and teaching at the historic blacksmith shop at Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park in Coloma, CA. He has served on the Board of Directors for both the California Blacksmith Association (CBA) and ABANA. His job as the Editor of The Anvil’s Ring has been an easy transition as he puts it, “It is a marriage of all the crafts I love.”
Fritz Mayer
Executive Administrator
Fritz Mayer is the Executive Administrator at the ABANA home office in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. He holds an MBA from Case Western Reserve University (Cleveland) and a JD from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. Having lived in Johnstown for most of his life, he can trace his roots to the area before the Great Johnstown Flood of 1889. If you have any questions or need to update your membership, give him a call at (814) 254-4817.
Andy Quittner
Andy Quittner has been an attorney for more than 30 years, recently retiring as the city attorney for Seguin, Texas. He received bachelor in science from Louisiana State University in Shreveport and M.A. in Chemistry from the University of Texas. He received a law degree from the University of Texas all while continuing graduate studies in chemistry. An undying interest in blacksmithing was sparked while working as a farrier in Louisiana, particularly at the New Orleans Fairgrounds while working towards membership in the Journeyman Horseshoers Union. At the Fairgrounds blacksmith shop making tools was part of the learning process shared by some of the “old-timers”. He considers himself an avid amateur with a strong interest in self-improvement. As a person who believes in doing more than just joining an organization, he served on the ABANA board of directors for most of the 1990’s. Recently the opportunity to serve ABANA in a professional capacity as an attorney arose, and he now continues to serve ABANA in that role as a volunteer.