BATON ROUGE, La. – During childhood, Cary Anderson helped his father with handyman projects around the house. As a married man, Anderson has performed his share of home remodeling projects. Today, the president/CEO of LA DOTD Federal Credit Union prefers to use his discretionary time crafting wood furniture for his family members. Several custom pieces grace the Anderson home. For his wife, he built an English tavern table that sits in their living room. Anderson also crafted a country desk for his study. A new phenomenon – grandchildren – has dictated projects of late. Begi

nning with the birth of his oldest granddaughter almost six years ago, Anderson has created a piece of furniture for each new grandchild: a cradle, a changing table, and a crib. He acknowledged “it's time to get started” on the toy box for the newest grandchild expected to arrive at the end of May. Anderson is not a carpenter-for-hire, however. “Charging would take all the fun out of it,” he said. He uses furniture designs found in books, but puts his own “twist” on every project. “I never do the same project twice.” “The bad thing is,” Anderson said, “that when I look at furniture in stores now, I'm critical of others' work.” The Andersons are in the process of unloading boxes after moving to a new house. Unfortunately, as a result of downsizing, Cary's woodworking “shop” has now become a “corner of the garage.” Accommodating his tools – table, lathe, multiple varieties of saws, routers, sanders, planer, and more – will be a challenge. “I'll just have to make it work,” he said. Disposing of tools is not an option. When his son recently asked to borrow one, Cary turned him down. “I'd rather buy him one of his own than not have mine when I need it.” Woodworking is Anderson's escape from the rigors of the business world. “It's very relaxing, and it's fun working with your hands, creating something. People at the office don't believe I do anything outside the credit union.” [email protected]