IPMS/USA Region 12 Newsletter

[Mike]

August 2009
Howdy R-12,

Well, summer is over, the kids are back in school (finally), and the Nats are over with. Where has this year gone? Must getting old, the years are now just flying by.

This newsletter will mostly speak of the Nats for those of you that couldn’t make. They had 2525 entries and around 1050 entrants!! It was the second biggest Nats ever and this is in the midst of a Recession/Depression!! Well done to the Columbus guys. The work was outstanding, the hotel was nice and the venue was very nice indeed. True, there were some problems, but show me a contest that runs trouble free. The Contest committee was always present, ready and willing to talk to anyone that came up to him or her. There is a gallery of all of the entries on the IPMS/USA web site and I think that the Columbus guys have a gallery as well. Check them out. My favourites were the Me-163 in the truck, the burnt Ju-88 and U-boat diorama.

I don’t have a full listing of R-12 winners with what they won with, so I’ll leave that list until next month. So please contact me with your complete winners list so that they may be publicly noticed in next month’s newsletter. During the awards ceremony, I did hear the following names called out as winners: Jim “Yoda” Kiker and “Crazy” Joe Nejberger from Charlotte, Mike Fleckenstein from Myrtle Beach, Tim Kirkland, Thomas Smith, Cynthia Culbertson, Phillip Smith, Christopher Smith from Spartanburg, James Moody from Upstate and myself from Sumter.



R-12 did get two outstanding awards, John Ratzenberger from Eastern Carolina won the IPMS/USA webmaster/website of the Year for 2008, well done John, you definitely deserve it. Then some goober named Tim “Dumbo” Darrah (me) won the IPMS/USA RC of the Year for 2008!! That’s kool.

I attended the Business Meeting and here’s a bit on what was talked about:
• We currently have 4419 members, 424 new members this year
• A “site finding service” has approached IPMS/USA; they will look for venues and negotiate the costs with the venue so the Chapter doesn’t have to. They will get back with the Chapter with a list for consideration and details. This will be a free service, but looks to be only for those looking at doing a Nationals. This service is not in effect yet.
• We all know that Bob Hester is no longer the IPMS/USA web master and that position is now split into two positions – web master and forum master. They are working on improving on Bob’s great work with new hardware, software and appearance changes. So be on the lookout for those.
• It was mentioned that the make-n-take was taking up too much money for little return; plus the kids that do the building don’t join until probably 20 years later. But the ABC is doing great guns. So it was suggested to divert money from M-N-T to ABC. The discussion got a bit heated a few times. More info to follow.
• Lastly were the normal contest insurance questions and timetables. It was mentioned that it normally takes about 8-weeks from getting your EDS approved by the DLC to MJ, at the home office, getting the policy. So plan early. In other words, don’t wait until the last minute. You will not get the actual policy, but if you need a copy for your event site, contact MJ at the home office and she can supply you with a copy.

I didn’t attend the RC meeting as I was wondering around the USAF Museum at Wright-Patt. From the reports that I heard, they talked about the new DLC coming in the new year and that all Regional Contests must use the 1-2-3 style judging, not G-S-B. This info should be clearly mentioned in your flyers and web site.

The 2011 Nationals should’ve been an East contest, but no one on the East Coast put in a bid. There were a couple of interested parties but only one firm bid, so in 2011 the Nats will be in Omaha Nebraska. You already know that the 2010 Nats are in Phoenix. Their web site with hotel reservations will come active in January. So start saving your $$, I’ll try.

Attached is the contest info for both this year and next. As you can read, we’ve had two more contests announced for next year, one in New Bern, NC and another in Cocoa Beach, FL (yes I know that’s R-11, but…)

One last thing, elections for the IPMS/USA e-board end in October. So if you haven’t voted, please do. I’m not going to tell you how to vote, but just vote.

OK, this is the last thing; October 1 is the start of the re-charter season. Please look at your Factsheets, I’ve sent out the old ones for your reference. Make sure that you have your 5 current IPMS/USA members, your officers are current IPMS/USA members, your FactSheet is updated, and send in the $20 renewal fee to the DLC, not the home office. Go ahead and send in the renewal fee at the start of October, that way that portion is completed, then you’ll just have to get your 5. I think that it’ll be easier and quicker for you to re-Charter doing it this way. Please remember that the re-Charter deadline is December 31 and extensions will not be given unless of a disaster. Let’s face it, the sooner you re-Charter, the sooner I’ll stop talking about it. J

Take care, get back to the workbench and I’ll see ya at the contests. And remember I work for you, you don’t work for me.

Tim

2009 Contest Schedule
1
19 September Mechanicsburg, PA R-2
www.cenpennipms.com/index.htm
26 September Hickory, NC R-12
3 October Huntsville, AL R-3
http://hpmsweb.topcities.com/
16/17 October Runnemede, NJ R-2 Regional
www.njipms.org
24 October Warner-Robins, GA R-3
7 November Fayetteville, NC R-12 Regional
http://lafayettescalemodelers.ning.com/
7 November Murfreesboro, TN R-3
http://ipmsmiddletennessee.com
14 November Smyrna, GA R-3
www.acme-ipms.com/2009_nnl.htm

2010 Contest Schedule

February 27 Richmond, VA R-2
http://www.ipmsrichmond.org/
March 20 Lynchburg, VA R-12
http://www.bluegrayrenegades.org/
March 27 Knoxville, TN R-3
April 9/10 Sumter, SC R-12 Regional
http://www.sumter-shawafb-ipms.org/convention/
April 16/18 Cocoa Beach, FL R-11
http://www.ipmsspacecoast.com/
May 8 Greensboro, NC R-12
May 23 Fairfax, VA R-2
June 11-12 Spartanburg, SC R-12
July 10 New Bern, NC R-12
August 4-7 Phoenix, AZ The Nats
October 15/16 ??????? R-2 Regional