Catching Up (Part 2)

Continuing to get caught up on this blog, New Year's Day was rather low key. I just stayed home for the holiday. The following Saturday (4 January), I was at World Wide Technology Soccer Park to play for St. Louligans against American Outlaws--St. Louis in the annual Winter Classic. It was a cold day, but a fun outing for the two supporter groups as we played, consumed sports drinks (OK, beer), and raised donations for the St. Louis Area Food Bank. Julie was there to lend her support from the grandstand.

Two days later, we got a wintry mix of freezing rain, sleet, and snow. It came to a total of 5 inches (0.1 m) at my house. The road was so slick I could not drive to work that day. I stayed home to shovel the driveway and walkway to the porch. The snow persisted in the area for about two weeks, due to the cold weather.

On 19 January, Julie and I went to the Schlafly Tap Room for the St. Louligans' Annual General Meeting. Plans for the coming St. Louis CITY SC season were discussed, and this year's jersey and scarf were unveiled. I ordered a scarf, which should be ready for pickup later this month. It was an informative time with plenty of socializing.

I completed my first model of the year (having started it late last year), a 1:72 J-8II "Finback." At the January IPMS/Gateway meeting, I successfully bid on several kits in the annual Kit Auction. Proceeds from this auction benefit club activities.

Late last month, I took in my first IPMS/USA executive board Zoom meeting, where I was unanimously approved to serve as acting Director of Local Chapters (DLC). I am replacing John Figueroa, who stepped down to concentrate on being 2026 IPMS/USA National Convention Chairman. I am the only candidate for DLC at this year's IPMS/USA e-board election, which will be held later this year. It will be a lot of work for sure, but I am looking forward to serving the society and its members. 

I have my hotel room reserved in Hampton, Virginia for the IPMS/USA National Convention on 6-9 August. I am looking forward to this event.

My birthday on 7 February was nice. My Enterprise branch colleagues signed a greeting card for me and bought me lunch from Pepper's Deli & BBQ in Ellisville. Two days later, Julie picked me up from home and took me on a date to celebrate my birthday and Valentine's Day. We first shopped at Left Bank Books, where I selected two books Julie paid for, plus she also got me a pair of socks. After walking around the Central West End for a few minutes, we then went to Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in the City Foundry for dinner and a movie. We ordered dinner from our seats, which was brought to us as we enjoyed "Casablanca." It's one of my all-time favorite movies and a great choice for Julie and I to watch together. I had given her a small bouquet of flowers and a personal accessory set (necklace, earrings, hair pin). The latter item was something I bought a few years ago and (as I told Julie) was being saved to give to a worthy woman. She greatly appreciated those items. It was a great date.

Been at work lately on another model, a 1:35 BMW R75 motorcycle with sidecar. I hope to have it done by this Tuesday's IPMS/Gateway meeting, which will have the Out of the Box Contest. For sure, I will enter the J-8 in that contest.

Yesterday (15 February), I joined two other IPMS/Gateway members in staffing a booth at Fox Con, a student-run fair at Fox High School in Arnold, Mo. We had a variety of models on display with club literature. The show was mostly cosplay and gaming enthusiasts, but we had a few visitors stop by and pick up our flyer. It was good to get ourselves out in the community.

That's it for now. I should be more frequent with my posts in the near future.

Later.

Websites of Entities Mentioned in this Post:

St. Louligans: Saint Louligans – Supporting Soccer in the St. Louis Area – St. Louligans – Supporting St. Louis Soccer

St. Louis Area Food Bank: St. Louis Area Foodbank | Member of Feeding America

Schlafly Tap Room: Tap Room — Schlafly | St. Louis' Original Craft Brewery

St. Louis CITY SC: St. Louis CITY SC

IPMS Gateway Chapter: IPMS Gateway Chapter

IPMS/USA: IPMS/USA | IPMS/USA Home Page

Pepper's Deli & BBQ: Sweet Peppers Deli

Left Bank Books: Left Bank Books | Customer Service | Community Service

Alamo Drafthouse Cinema--City Foundry: Alamo Drafthouse Cinema

Fox High School: Fox High School / Homepage

Catching Up (Part 1)

For some reason, since last October I did not feel like posting here. I don't know exactly why, except possibly I was too tired to do so.

To rectify that, I will give you a pair of posts to catch up on things. The first one will take you to the end of 2024, with the second on the start of 2025.

Here's goes: In early November, I attended scale modeling shows in Columbia, Missouri and Topeka, Kansas. I earned two contest awards in each of those events. I also sought to get on the ballot to run for Director of Local Chapters of IPMS/USA in the 2025 e-board election. In December, I was elected as a Director for IPMS/Gateway for 2025.

Also in November, I volunteered at the St. Louis International Film Festival. I pulled shifts at Washington University's Brown Hall, the Chase Park Plaza Cinema, B&B Theatre, and the Hi-Pointe Theatre. Refereeing youth soccer's Fall season ended in late November. 

Julie and I got out photos taken with Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus at Zenhorse. We also got together for Thanksgiving with her roommate Joan. Julie and I cheered on USA in its CONCACAF Nations League Quarterfinal match against Jamaica at CITYPARK (now Energizer Park).

December marked my 12th anniversary at Enterprise. My manager gave me a great review. I served as a course marshal at the Hot Chocolate Run in Forest Park.

For the Holidays, Julie and I toured light shows at the Missouri Botanical Garden, Grant's Farm, the Saint Louis Zoo, World Wide Technology Raceway, and Candy Cane Lane. We spent Christmas together with Joan and her relatives. I received nice gifts from Julie and family at Christmas.

My next post will take you up to the present. Later.

Websites of Entities Mentioned in this Post:

IPMS/USA: IPMS/USA | IPMS/USA Home Page

IPMS/Gateway: IPMS Gateway Chapter

St. Louis International Film Festival: SLIFF 2024

Zenhorse: Zenhorse | equine assisted therapy | Marthasville, MO, USA

Enterprise: Car Rental with Great Rates & Service | Enterprise Rent-A-Car

Missouri Botanical Garden: Missouri Botanical Garden

Grant's Farm: Home - The Grant’s Farm Experience | St. Louis, MO

Saint Louis Zoo: Saint Louis Zoo | Saint Louis Zoo

World Wide Technology Raceway: Home Page Indycar Bommarito 500 - World Wide Technology Raceway

Final 2024 St. Louis CITY Home Matches

St. Louis CITY SC's second Major League Soccer campaign ends next Saturday (19 October) at Minnesota United. It was disappointing overall, compared to the year before, but the second half showed signs that point to a brighter future.

On 28 September, I picked up Julie and we headed to the St. Louligans' Pre-Match Party by the Schlafly Tap Room. We grabbed dinner from the Five Aces Smokestaq Lighting food truck and shopped at the St. Louligans' yard sale of scarves and jerseys donated by members. I bought two items--a Forward Madison scarf and a Sao Paulo FC jersey--with proceeds from the sale going to the St. Louis Area Foodbank.

Julie and I then joined into the march into CITYPARK for the match against Sporting Kansas City. The home side won 3-1, which was great in beating our cross-state rivals. It was a happy night for Julie and me.

After a 1-nil loss away to Los Angeles FC, CITY hosted Houston Dynamo in the final home match of the 2024 campaign last Saturday (5 October). Julie and I were at the St. Louligans party, enjoying dinner from the Mr. Gonzo's Tacos food truck. My friend Jim Kavanaugh, minority owner of CITY SC, came to the party. It was great seeing him there.

We marched into CITYPARK after the party and settled in our places for the match. The supporters unveiled a tifo honoring goalkeeper Roman Burki as the match began. It looked like a tough night ahead, as Houston was fifth in the MLS Western Conference with a playoff berth clinched. However, CITY took charge early and often, coming away 3-nil victors. After the match, CITY players and coaches walked around the pitch to salute their supporters. They stopped in front of the Supporter Section in the north end to especially thank us. 

This was followed by a fireworks display at CITYPARK, which lasted nearly 10 minutes. It was the club's way to thank their fans for their support this season.

Later.

Websites of Entities Mentioned in this Post:

St. Louis CITY SC: St. Louis CITY SC (stlcitysc.com)

St. Louligans: Saint Louligans – Supporting Soccer in the St. Louis Area – St. Louligans – Supporting St. Louis Soccer (stlouligans.com)

Schlafly Tap Room: Schlafly

Forward Madison FC: Forward Madison FC

Sao Paulo FC: Home - SPFC | The Most Beloved (saopaulofc.net)

Five Aces Smokestaq Lighting: Smokestaq Lightning (fiveacesbbq.com)

Sporting Kansas City: Sporting Kansas City (sportingkc.com)

Mr. Gonzo's Tacos: Best Food Trucks | Mr. Gonzo's Tacos - menu

Houston Dynamo FC: Houston Dynamo FC

2024 NFPW Conference (Part 1)

Last Thursday night after work (20 June), I headed to the St. Louis Artists' Guild for the Welcome Reception of this year's National Federation of Press Women (NFPW) Conference. Missouri Professional Communicators (MPC), an affiliate of NFPW, served as the Conference's host. I joined with other MPC members ijmllnn

 welcoming registrants to this event, which had a buffet dinner and wine tasting. Afterward, I helped my colleagues in cleaning up and taking some surplus food and drink home.

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The Conference got well underway the next morning at the Hilton St. Louis Frontenac. The day started with a welcome breakfast. First time Conference attendees (including myself) stood up and introduced themselves. We each received a small gift (in my case, a pair of Rome socks). All attendees received a sheet of paper to seek fellow attendees who answered some items on that sheet, such as a current MFPW officer, someone who is retired from work, and a past Communicator of Achievement. The exercise was to help us get to know other attendees well. I completed my sheet the next morning and turned it in for entry in a raffle prize drawing the next day.

Theis was followed by the Keynote Session: "History in the Headlines." Speakers at this session were Lynne Jackson, great-great granddaughter of Dred and Harriet Scott and president and founder of the Dred Scott Heritage Foundation and Dr. Jody Sowell, president of the Missouri Historical Society and a former assistant professor of journalism at the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Journalism. Jackson talked of how she helped preserve the memory of her famous ancestors. Sowell presented a talk about St. Louis historical items not generally well known to most people. Both were very interesting speakers.

Before the next program, I went into the room where the Silent Auction took place. I surveyed the items up for bid and started placing bids on items that particularly interested me. Proceeds from this auction will go to the NFPW Education Fund. Already, I was really liking the Conference and the people there.

The lunch program was "AI: Partner or Pestilence?" This panel discussion on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and how it affects the news business had three speakers. Mary Ann L. Wymore, partner at UB Greensfelder law firm, adjunct professor of media law at Saint Louis University, and former journalism professor at the University of California-Los Angels. Also participating were Aisha Sultan, family and social change columnist for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and John Stamm, CEO and founder of Hello Citizen, a St. Louis-based firm that enables uses to harness AI in following local government. This was quite a thought-provoking discussion.

I then attended two workshops in the afternoon. First, freelance photographer Rosalind Guy presented "Effective Storytelling through Photography," She talked about how she got into photography 45 years ago and her love of covering positive items in the community.

Then, I took in Anne Shaw Heinrich's presentation "Thriving in Nonprofit PR, Professionally and Personally." She spoke on her long experience working for both organizations and freelance along with balancing work with her family life. It was a very nice talk and I chatted with Heinrich afterward.  She said she would put me in touch with an educational public relations group in Metro St. Louis to help me in my job search.

The late afternoon saw me going through Author's Alley, where several attendees had their books for sale. I bought two books during this time: "Delivering Greatness: How I Found Success...and You Can, Too! by Tom V. Quinn from Connecticut, a personal motivational work; and "Touch," a young adult novel by MPC member Eileen P. Duggan. Both authors autographed their works for me.

I went to the hotel bar for a drink and conversation with MPC's co-presidents, Janice Denham and Deborah Reinhardt, who were major driving forces behind staging this Conference. Then, we headed back to the meeting area for the Communicator of Achievement Banquet. This included a nice dinner and introduction of the five finalists for this lifetime achievement award. The winner was then announced.

This was quite a start to this Conference with more to come the next day. I will tell about that in my next post.

Later.

Websites of Entities Mentioned in this Post:

St. Louis Artists' Guild: St. Louis Artists' Guild (stlouisartistsguild.org)

National Federation of Press Women: Home (nfpw.org)

Missouri Professional Communicators: Missouri NFPW affiliate | Missouri Professional Communicators | Clayton (moprocommunicators.org)

Hilton St. Louis Frontenac: Hilton St. Louis Frontenac Hotel near Creve Coeur, MO

Dred Scott Heritage Foundation: Dred Scott Lives | The Official Site of the Dred Scott Heritage Foundation

Missouri Historical Society: Missouri Historical Society | Find Yourself Here. (mohistory.org)

UB Greensfelder: UB Greensfelder — Attorneys at Law (ubglaw.com)

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: St. Louis Post-Dispatch | Breaking News | Read St. Louis, MO and Missouri breaking news. Get latest news, events and information on Missouri sports, weather, entertainment and lifestyles. (stltoday.com)

Hello Citizen: Hello Citizen - Home - Hello Citizen

Rosalind Guy: (8) Rosalind Guy | LinkedIn

Anne Shaw Heinrich: (8) Anne (Shaw) Heinrich | LinkedIn

Tom V. Quinn: Tom V. Quinn (tomvquinn.com)

Eileen P. Duggan: Versatiliosity | A cafeterious selection of nonfiction, fiction, essays and feature articles (wordpress.com)

Weekend of Class Reunion, Model Contest, and CITY Soccer

Right after a full day of work on Friday (13 September), it was off (after a clothing change on the way) to Andre's Banquet & Catering South in Oakville. My high school class--Mehlville High School Class of 1982--was having a 42.5-year reunion and 60th birthday party. I had to admit it was hard for me to bring myself to come, as I didn't have the greatest of experiences in high school and since. Fortunately, classmates made me feel welcome and I could relax a bit.

I was able to mingle and to meet many of those classmates in attendance along with one of my teachers. There was a buffet dinner with a birthday cake, a slide show of images from Mehlville High during the time we were there, high school yearbooks and other artifacts from those days, a memorial tribute table to classmates and teachers who have died since 1982, and classmate Phil Bender speaking to the crowd. A DJ played music of the time. Overall, it was a nice time that should have gone on an hour or two longer for me.

Among my classmates present that night was my good friend Tim Popp, who I had not seen in person in some time. It was good to catch up with him for a bit.

I came home after the event to get a bit of sleep before being up early the next morning (14 September). It was off to Affton Elks Lodge #2635, where IPMS Gateway Chapter was holding its annual Invitational model contest and swap meet. I was there to help with running the show, particularly in running the admission table. Besides helping take the attendees' money and attaching wristbands, I asked attendees where they found out about the Invitational and where they live. The questions were for survey purposes in planning outreach for future shows.

I entered three models in the contest: an F9F-2 Panther in Aircraft, and a Bren Gun Carrier and 6-pounder anti-tank gun in Armor. I didn't spend much time in the contest and vendor areas, as I was kept busy with attendees. By my count, we had 180 attendees (not counting show volunteers and vendors) who came from as far as West Virginia, Georgia, and Michigan.

I was one of the contest judges, helping out in judging Figures and Out of the Box entries. There were some terrific quality models entered in this show. In fact, 68 attendees entered 317 models in the contest. Virtually everyone left the show happy with how it came out. I stayed to help tear down and get the hall back to where it was before set up the day before. With all the volunteers there, it took just over an hour to do so.

After coming home to drop off my things from the Invitational and making a change of clothes, it was off to Schlafly Tap Room for the St. Louligans pre-match party.  Before St. Louis CITY SC played Minnesota United, it was party time. I got a Kolsch beer from a Schlafly beer tent and a Meatball Here Parmesan with Mozzarella from the New York Tom's Foodtruck. 

After the party, I joined the supporters' march into CITYPARK for the match. As the match began, a tifo honoring Hispanic Heritage Month was lowered in front of the Supporter Section.

CITY took the lead early in the match, but that would be the only high point, as Minnesota United scored three unanswered goals to win 3-1. This loss means CITY has very little chance of getting the final playoff spot in the Western Conference of MLS. A disappointing end to the day for me.

Later.

Websites of Entities Mentioned in this Post:

Andre's Banquet & Catering: Andre's Banquet & Catering - St. Louis | Event & Wedding Venues (andresbanquet.com)

Mehlville High School: Home - Mehlville High School (mehlvilleschooldistrict.com)

Affton Elks Lodge: Lodge #2635 Contact Us (elks.org)

IPMS Gateway Chapter: IPMS Gateway Chapter (google.com)

Schlafly Tap Room: Menu 1 — Schlafly | St. Louis Craft Brewery, Restaurant, Bar & Events

St. Louligans: Saint Louligans – Supporting Soccer in the St. Louis Area – St. Louligans – Supporting St. Louis Soccer (stlouligans.com)

New York Tom's Foodtruck:  Home (nytfoodtruck.com)

CITYPARK: CITYPARK | St. Louis CITY SC (stlcitysc.com)

St. Louis CITY SC: St. Louis CITY SC (stlcitysc.com)

Minnesota United FC: Minnesota United FC (mnufc.com)

Major League Soccer: MLSsoccer.com - The Official Site of Major League Soccer

2024 Labor Day Weekend: Japanese Festival, CITY Soccer

After a busy week of work, I was ready for a holiday weekend. It got going Saturday morning (31 August), when I picked up Julie and we headed to the Missouri Botanical Garden. This was the venue for the annual Japanese Festival that weekend. Julie is a Garden member, so we got a bit of a discount on Festival tickets. I found a parking spot on the street a short walk from the Garden and the two of us went to attend the Festival.

We took in an opening ceremony, which featured dignitaries that included the Japanese Consul in Chicago. After the ceremony, Julie and I went to the amphitheater to see a parade of cosplay artists dressed as their anime characters. It was fascinating to see these people and to hear about the characters they are portraying.

Julie and I went to the food tents to get a cup of sake and a bowl of mushroom and vegetables on a bed of noodles, both of which we shared. I then browsed among some exhibits aimed at children, including one on Japanese characters.

After that, Julie and I walked back to my car and I drove her back to her apartment. We had a wonderful time experiencing Japanese culture.

Sunday morning (1 September), I was up early to head to Creve Coeur Park Soccer Complex. I was there to referee two matches in the Gallagher Friendlies tournament that weekend. I had two middles in under 11 boys, which played 9-a-side on a smaller field and 30-minute halves. The first game was more challenging, having to deal with a coach who wandered up and down the touchline instead of staying within his technical area. I cautioned him for continuing to stray from the area, and he wised up. The second match was much calmer by comparison, with no major issues.

After my matches ended, I drove towards CITYPARK for St. Louis CITY SC's match that afternoon against LA Galaxy. I stopped at a QuikTrip men's room on the way to change out of my referee uniform and get into more appropriate attire for a St. Louligans member. I got a cheesesteak sandwich and potato chips from the Widdy's Cheesesteaks food truck and a beer from Schlafly at the street party by the Schlafly Tap Room. Some time after that, I joined in the parade into the stadium for the match.

It was hot and humid, but the crowd was loud and packing the stands for CITY's match against the MLS Western Conference leaders.

Cedric Teuchert scored for CITY in the 9th minute to give the home side the lead. Early in the second half, the Galaxy leveled the score, but CITY won it on Marcel Hartel's 68th minute strike. Roman Burki was superb in goal, making 5 saves for CITY. We were a happy group of fans at full time.

After a well-deserved sleep, I woke up Monday morning (2 September) to nothing. Work was closed that day for Labor Day. I hung around the house that day, mowing the lawns, watching TV, and working on an aircraft model. It was back to work the next day (3 September), and it was a busy one with many cars to clean. My colleagues and I got the job done and all ended well.

Later.

Websites of Entiries Mentioned in this Post:

Missouri Botanical Garden: Missouri Botanical Garden

Creve Coeur Park Soccer Complex: Creve Coeur Park Soccer Complex (ccparksoccer.com)

St. Louis Scott Gallagher: St. Louis Scott Gallagher — Club Soccer in Saint Louis (slsgsoccer.com)

CITYPARK: CITYPARK | St. Louis CITY SC (stlcitysc.com)

Schlafly Tap Room: Schlafly

St. Louligans: Saint Louligans – Supporting Soccer in the St. Louis Area – St. Louligans – Supporting St. Louis Soccer (stlouligans.com)

Widdy's Cheesesteaks: St Louis Food Truck Association - Widdy’s Cheesesteaks (stlfta.com)

St. Louis CITY SC: St. Louis CITY SC (stlcitysc.com)

A Weekend in August: Scale Modeling in Liberty and Festival of Nations in St. Louis

Early Saturday morning (24 August), I left home to drive to Liberty, Missouri, northeast of Kansas City. After over four hours of driving (including stops along the way), I arrived at Liberty Christian Fellowship Church, site of the 2024 Modelfest presented by IPMS West Central Missouri. 

I paid for myself and my three model entries at the registration desk, then placed my three models in their contest area categories. I also brought in some flyers for IPMS Gateway's Invitational next month, which went on the contest registration tables. Additionally, I bought some raffle tickets and milled around the show area.

It was very nice seeing my friends and acquaintances at the show and admiring the contest entries. I did win one military vehicle kit in the raffle and bought an aircraft kit and three aircraft books from vendors. At midday, I joined with other contest judges for lunch and a briefing before we began judging contest entries. My team judged automotive entries, then I joined a team to judge ships and figures. The judging went very efficiently.

At the end of the show, I plugged Gateway's show and several other upcoming model contests were promoted before the contest results were announced. I didn't win anything with my entries, but that didn't bother me. I am happy if I win, but that isn't why I am at these shows. Being there is the important part to me. I packed up my models and drove home, arriving home Saturday night.

The next afternoon (25 August), I went to Tower Grove Park in south St. Louis for the final day of the Festival of Nations, a multiethnic fair run by the International Institute of St. Louis. I walked about the many booths offering various food, crafts, and information. I enjoyed a cup of boba tea from Honey Bee Tea, and two empanadas from the Tango Argentina booth.

Late that afternoon, I reported to the volunteer desk for my assignment. I joined with two others to help with traffic control as the artists were leaving the park. I stood my watch for a little over one hour and things went smoothly. It was great to have done my part in making the Festival of Nations such a success.

 Later.

Websites of Entities Mentioned in this Post:

Liberty Christian Fellowship Church: Liberty Christian Fellowship (lcfliberty.org)

IPMS West Central Missouri: Home (ipmswcmo.com)

IPMS Gateway: IPMS Gateway Chapter (google.com)

Tower Grove Park: Tower Grove Park

Festival of Nations: 2024 Festival of Nations Home (festofnations.com)

International Institute of St. Louis: International Institute of St. Louis – Immigrant Services & Community Engagement Hub since 1919 (iistl.org)

Honey Bee Tea: Boba Tea Coffee Smoothies - Honey Bee Tea (honeybt.com)

Tango Argentina: TANGO Argentina Food - Saint Charles, MO