Scale Models in Springfield; Flowers and Recognition at Church

Early Saturday morning (16 May), I drove to Marion Morris' house in Maplewood. There, I got into Morris' minivan with Jim Triola and David Thomas to begin traveling to Springfield, Missouri. We of IPMS Gateway were going to MOSS CON, the annual contest and vendor fair presented to IPMS Missouri Ozarks Scale Specialists. 

Along the way, we picked up Randy Kleeschulte and continued on our journey., stopping in St. James for breakfast at McDonald's. After about three and a half hours of travel, our party arrived at the Arc of the Ozarks facility in Springfield, where MOSS CON took place. Six other Gateway members traveled separately to the show.

After paying our admission and registration fees, we made our way to the contest area. I brought three models--two aircraft and a ship--to enter. After placing the models on the contest tables, I started to make my way around the room, talking with people I knew, purchasing some raffle tickets, and browsing among the contest models and vendors.

I had my camera with me to take pictures of the contest models and general show scenes for Gateway's Facebook page. I bought several kits and a paint brush holder from vendors and won two kits in the raffle.

Midday, I and several other attendees volunteered to judge contest entries. This contest used the Gold-Silver-Bronze system, in which each model in a category was judged by its own merits instead of in competition with other entries in the category. A model could receive either a Gold, Silver, Bronze, or no award, and there were no limits to the number of such awards that could be given out. I helped judge automotive models and it worked out well at my end. The judges placed comments with each entry of what was good and bad about it and what award, if any, it earned. Neither of my three contest entries received any awards.

Seven of my Gateway mates won awards in the contest, so I was proud of them. I made sure to highlight their winning models on the club's social media. Overall, the contest drew 313 entries from 82 modelers.

Late that afternoon, I joined with Morris' group to pack up our things and leave for home. We stopped in St. Robert for dinner at Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers before dropping off Kleeschulte and then returning to Maplewood. I got my items out of the minivan and put them in my car before driving home. It was quite a fine day.

The next morning had me at Eliot Unitarian Universalist Chapel for Sunday service. Julie Rodriguez and Joan Burke joined me for the service, which featured the annual Flower Communion--a tradition in Unitarian Universalism. Julie brought some flowers, so she gave Joan and I a flower each from the bouquet. At the appointed time, parishioners brought the flowers up to the front of the sanctuary and placed them in glass vases. There were several vases filled with flowers that day.

After this communion, the church recognized its new members from the past year. The 32 new members--including me, who joined in February--came to the front of the sanctuary to be recognized. Each of us received a copy of the book Love at the Center: Unitarian Universalist Theologies. It was great to see this recognition given by the congregation to its newest members.

After the service, there was lunch in Adams Hall. This was followed by Eliot's annual Congregational Meeting in the sanctuary. The meeting approved three new members of the Board of Trustees and three new members of the Nominating Committee. We also discussed the proposed budget and other church matters.

Julie and Joan had to leave before the meeting ended, as Julie was seeing her son Dave and granddaughter that afternoon. I left church after the meeting to go home. After starting to post photos from MOSS CON onto IPMS Gateway's Instagram and Facebook, I bought groceries from Walmart.

Later.

Websites of Entities Mentioned in this Post:

IPMS Gateway: IPMS Gateway Chapter

IPMS Missouri Ozarks Scale Specialists: Missouri Ozarks Scale Specialists scale modeling | Missouri Ozarks Scale Specialists

The Arc of the Ozarks: The Arc of the Ozarks: Serving People with Disabilities in Missouri

Eliot Unitarian Universalist Chapel: Home

Road Trip to Springfield for 2024 MOSS CON

It was an early wake up call for me yesterday (18 May). Up at 3:00 am, I got ready to welcome my IPMS/Gateway mate Don Will, who came to the house just before 4:00 am. Together, we got into my car to travel to Marion Morris' house in Maplewood. The three of us got into Morris' minivan to begin our trip to Springfield, Missouri. 

Along the way, we picked up clubmate Randy Kleeschulte. We stopped at a McDonald's in Rolla to get breakfast before resuming our trip. The four of us arrived in Springfield just after 8:00 am and arrived at The Arc of the Ozarks, site of MOSS CON. This is the annual contest and swap meet hosted by IPMS/Missouri Ozarks Scale Specialists.

After checking in at registration, I placed my two contest entries--a Bren Gun Carrier and a 6pdr Anti-Tank Gun--on the appropriate tables and began to make the rounds of the show. I brought some flyers promoting our Invitational this September. Morris brought a lot of model kits to sell at his vendor table, while Will and Kleeschulte entered contest models as well. Three other Gateway members arrived separately for the show.

It was great to admire the contest models, browse among the vendors, and chat with fellow scale modelers at the show.  I purchased six raffle tickets and won three items: two kits and a framed painting. A good rate of return on investment.

At midday, I joined with several other attendees to help judge the contest. Free pizza was served during the judges meeting, which was most welcome. I worked with two others to judge Ships, Junior (Ages 12-17), and Miscellaneous (Real Space, Sci-Fi, Gundam/Anime Mecha, All Others, and Out of the Box). There were some tough choices in a few categories, but we were able to reach a consensus on our choices for the three places.

This was all done in plenty of time before the awards were announced at 3:00 pm. IPMS/MOSS President Nate Jones thanked the attendees for coming before announcing the results. He said that over 200 items were raffled off, and that 62 modelers entered 321 contest models--the latter a record for MOSS CON. My two entries did not place, but four of my clubmates--Will, Kleeschulte, Matt Hoeckelman, and Dave Roeder--picked up awards. 

After the announcements, I packed up my models and other items. Morris sold many of the kits he brought to the show, which insured plenty of room in his minivan for the Don, Randy, and I were bringing back. In my case, I had acquired six kits from vendors. The four of us left Springfield around 4:00 pm.

We stopped for dinner at a Freddy's Steakburgers in Saint Robert on the way home. After dropping Randy off, the three of us returned to Marion's house. Don and I got out things out of the minivan and got into my car to drive home, where Don took his leave. It was just after 8:00 pm when I came home.

This was a rather long day, but always satisfying after a great scale modeling road trip.

Later.

Websites of Entities Mentioned in this Post:

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

IPMS Missouri Ozarks Scale Specialists: IPMS M.O.S.S. Missouri Ozarks Scale Specialists (ipmsmoss.com)

The Arc of the Ozarks: The Arc of the Ozarks: Serving People with Disabilities in Missouri

McDonald's: McDonald's: Burgers, Fries & More. Quality Ingredients. (mcdonalds.com)

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers:  Home | Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers (freddys.com)