After getting a few hours of sleep at Baymont Inn & Suites in Janesville, I was up early on Saturday morning (20 July). I then drove into Madison, parked in a downtown garage, and walked over to the Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center. This was the final day of the 2024 IPMS/USA National Convention.
Arriving at Monona Terrace, I walked along Lake Monona for a few minutes before entering the facility. It was a pleasant morning and there were a few walkers, runners, and fishermen out along the lake.
Then, I went inside the facility to attend the annual IPMS/USA Business Meeting at the Convention. The executive board (e-board) members spoke in turn, summarizing the past year for their respective areas of responsibility and outlining their plans for the year ahead. A few questions and comments were taken at the end of their talk.
After the e-board spoke, there was a presentation by Tom Jett, Chairman of the 2025 IPMS/USA National Convention in Hampton, Virigina on 6-9 August. He mentioned the venue, planned activities, and rates.
This was followed by the sole bid presentation for the 2026 National Convention. It was for Fort Wayne, Indiana, with John Figueroa--IPMS/USA Director of Local Chapters and 2026 Convention Chairman--presenting the bid. This would be held on 4-8 August 2026 and would be hosted by 11 chapters in IPMS/USA Region 4. Figueroa went over the venues, planned activities, hotels, and attractions. The e-board would meet after this presentation in closed session to consider this bid.
After the meetings, I was out checking out the contest entries and the vendors one more time. The Best of Class awards were already set out by their respective entries. I got a text from a friend saying I won a prize from Sprue Brothers Models, so I headed to their stand in the Vendor Room, where I found I won a t-shirt. I was happy to receive this prize.
I also did a bit more shopping, including some decals and a few books from various vendors. Additionally, I chatted with the hosts of the podcast Plastic Model Mojo, who at the time I met them was chatting with my friend Matt Hoeckelman of Modeling with the Matts. A great convergence, in my opinion.
In the mid-afternoon, I took in a seminar on restoring United States Navy aircraft that crashed into Lake Michigan during World War II. These aircraft were lost on training missions during the conflict. The seminar took the form of a YouTube video from Military Aviation Museum, which told of the salvage efforts so far (at the time the video was made). Approximately 40 aircraft were recovered by the video host's group, while some 60 to 70 aircraft remain in the lake.
Late that afternoon, I went onto the roof of Monona Terrace for a short happy hour before the Convention banquet was held there. The outdoor banquet was a first for a National Convention. I didn't have a banquet ticket--I don't believe in shelling out extra money for this event--so I walked a few blocks northwest of the venue to The Rigby, a bar and restaurant. There, I had a sandwich with chips and a beer. Interesting place, but it suited me just fine.
After dinner, I walked back to Monona Terrace for attend a watch party for the awards ceremony at Monona Terrace's Exhibition Hall. The ceremony itself was held at the Lecture Hall. The ceremony began at 7:32 p.m. with Chairman Jeff Herne thanking everyone for attending and his Convention staff for their hard work.
2025 National Convention Chairman Tom Jett then spoke, inviting everyone to Hampton next year. IPMS/USA President Phil Peterson then formally revealed Fort Wayne as the 2026 Convention host. He then announced the first two recipients of IPMS/USA's Ralph Forehand Scholarship and honored Mark and Eileen Persichetti for their 30 years' work with the Contest (Mark as Head Judge, Eileen heading the entry tallies). IPMS/USA Journal Editor Chris Bucholtz saluted his predecessor John Keck, who recently retired from that tole.
First Vice President John Noack honored Dave Morissette and Frank Landrus for each writing 500 reviews of scale modeling products for the IPMS/USA website. The society's 60th anniversary kit giveaway was then announced. Four prizes per month will be given to randomly selected members over the next year.
Herne then thanked those who developed the registration system, which was a major success. Figueroa then presented awards for Regional Coordinator of the Year (Mark Normal, RC-1), Website of the Year (Alamo Squadron), Newsletter of the Year (East Caroline Plastic Modelers), Chapter of the Year (Fort Crook), and Member of the Year (Dick Davenport of Capital Area Modelers' Society).
Finally, at 8:07 p.m., the contest results were announced. Slides presented on the screen showed the award-winning models, along with their categories and the category sponsor. I was happy when some of my friends won awards in the contest. That included my IPMS/Gateway clubmate Jon Fincher, whose Paul the Alien won in a Figure category.
After the category results were announced, the Theme and Best of Class Awards were revealed. The Most Popular Model (voted on by attendees) went to a diorama depicting a cross section of the USS Hornet (CV-8) with one of the B-25s for the Doolittle Raid in 1942. The Best of Show went to a science-fiction entry.
Herne gave the unofficial totals of 2628 contest entries, and 760 "Tiger Meet" display only models. Official totals from the Convention should be announced in the coming days as I write these words. With that, the Convention ended around 10:45 p.m. and I went to the Contest Rooms to pack my three models in their carry box, say my goodbyes to those I know, and headed to the parking garage. I then drove Julie's vehicle back to Janesville, making a stop at a convenience store for a soft drink to keep me awake. Just before midnight, I was back at the hotel and was soon off to bed.
The conclusion of my National Convention trip account will be in my next post. Later.
Websites of Entities Mentioned in this Post:
Baymont Inn & Suites: Baymont by Wyndham | Wyndham Hotels & Resorts
Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center: Monona Terrace Community & Convention Center | Madison, WI
Sprue Brothers Models: Sprue Brothers Models LLC Home Page
Plastic Model Mojo: Plastic Model Mojo
Modeling with the Matts: Modeling with the Matts - YouTube
The Rigby: HOME | TheRigbyPub
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