The First Post-Quarantine IPMS/Gateway Meeting

Last night (19 May), the Gateway Chapter of the International Plastic Modelers' Society (IPMS) (https://sites.google.com/view/ipmsgatewaychapter/home) met for the first time in two months; the April meeting having been cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic-related closings of public facilities. This meeting was the first at the club's new meeting venue, Affton Elks Lodge 6235 (https://www.elks.org/lodges/home.cfm?LodgeNumber=2635).

There were 14 members in attendance at the meeting, and with the large meeting hall, there was no problem maintaining social distancing. The facility got raves from all of us there.

This meeting had a People's Choice Contest for models members built during the quarantine. I had completed two models in that time--a 1:48 scale Ryan NYP Spirit of St. Louis, and a 1:306 USS Fletcher. They were among six entries in this contest, in which attendees voted for the three best models in the contest. My Fletcher got the third-most votes, and my prize was a roll of toilet paper and a cloth mask.

Besides the contest and the show and tell--which included my 1:32 MiG-21PF, a work in progress--I mentioned the Missouri Professional Communicators (https://www.facebook.com/MissouriProfessionalCommunicators) awards for the club's newsletter and press releases that I had received the day before. We also had a demonstration of Tru-Color Paint (http://trucolorpaint.com/), with samples of the paint and literature about the paint line.

I know that several club members stayed away because of lingering coronavirus concerns, which I understand. Attendance should improve as conditions improve for all of us.

Later

2020 Honors from Missouri Professional Communicators

Yesterday afternoon (18 May), I checked my mail at home and found a large vanilla envelope addressed to me. After noting the return address label was from Missouri Professional Communicators (MPC) (https://www.facebook.com/MissouriProfessionalCommunicators), I carefully opened the envelope to remove its contents. Clipped together were a cover sheet and four awards certificates from this year's MPC Communications Contest.

Earlier this year, I submitted four entries to the contest, which was open to MPC members. All entries were reviewed by a panel of judges, who then evaluated the entries and gave them awards in their respective categories. I have participated in this contest for three years now, and it has been most helpful for me, not just for the honor of the awards and how they would look for my career in this field, but also for the judges' constructive comments about each entry. I have sought to take these comments to heart in my subsequent work, and the chief judge noted this in her cover sheet.

All four of my entries this year (for work done in 2019) were honored. I earned a First Place in Writing: Publication regularly written by entrant--newsletter or other non-newspaper for The Arch Scaler News, the member newsletter I edit for the Gateway Chapter of the International Plastic Modelers' Society (IPMS) (https://sites.google.com/view/ipmsgatewaychapter/home). The judges noted "The newsletter is well organized and looks clean. For an organization that must be small, it is well-done and easy to read. The writing is very accessible. The minutes are a bit dull, but seem like standard minutes. But the other writing is much more lively." With this First Place award, The Arch Scaler News is eligible for an award from the National Federation of Press Women (NFPW) (https://nfpw.org/) 2020 Communications Contest. Those awards are normally presented at its annual Conference; however, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the NFPW will present the awards virtually early next month. That organization contacted me yesterday for my photograph, which I sent.

Two press releases I wrote last year for IPMS/Gateway earned awards in Information for the Media: News or feature release--single release. the release announcing our club's $500 donation to Toys for Tots (https://www.toysfortots.org/) in Metro St. Louis earned Second Place. The judges noted "It's always wonderful to write a press release about an effort that brightens the lives of children! Again, this release was well-written and thorough. I liked how the release included information about the history of donations from the club and the mission and purpose of the club."

Taking Third Place was my release announcing IPMS/Gateway's Invitational model contest and swap meet held last September. This was praised for being "well-written and thorough."

Finally, a post to this blog from last 22 May earned Second Place in Web and Social Media: Personal blogs. The entry was "Scale Modeling and Soccer: One Saturday in Louisville," and talked about my visit to Louisville on 18 May. That day, I attended the Military Modelers Club of Louisville (http://www.mmcl.org/) model contest, a brief visit to the Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory (https://www.sluggermuseum.com/), and joining the St. Louligans (https://stlouligans.com/) in supporting Saint Louis FC (https://www.saintlouisfc.com/) against Louisville City FC at Louisville Slugger Field. The judges noted "Easy, conversational tone/readability. Detailed, informative chronicle of journey, events, and points of interest with enlightening facts and abundance of photographs. 'I chatted with...' leaves the reading wanting more."

http://bobbyd0702.blogspot.com/2019/05/scale-modeling-and-soccer-one-saturday.html

Needless to say, I am honored and most happy to be recognized by my peers for this work. It gives me greater confidence in my abilities, and encouragement to improve my skills in this field.

Later.