Labor Day Weekend 2018

Up early Saturday morning (1 September), I turned to KTVI Channel 2 (https://fox2now.com/), for two of my IPMS/Gateway (http://www.ipms-gateway.com/) colleagues, Bill Wagner and Rick Keasey, were appearing on "Fox 2 News in the Morning." There, they and the anchorman talked about scale modeling, our club, our Invitational this Saturday (8 September), and our raffle there to benefit Toys for Tots (https://bridgeton-mo.toysfortots.org/local-coordinator-sites/lco-sites/default.aspx). It was an approximately four minute segment, and I thought it went great. It will be interesting to see how many people come to the show based on that segment.

Then, I went to work at the rental branch that morning. We had some business from people wanting vehicles for the Labor Day Weekend, but it wasn't too busy, and I was able to leave just after closing time at 1:00 pm. Usually, I would be there until close to 2 pm on a Saturday, staying to help clean up vehicles on our lot.

After grabbing lunch at Jet's Pizza (http://jetspizza.com/) in Ballwin, I came home to relax. Later, I ran off flyers for the IPMS/Gateway Invitational, which I took to both Checkered Flag Hobby Center (https://checkeredflaghobby.com/) and Schaefer's Hobby Shop (http://schaeferhobby.com/).

Late Sunday morning, I was at World Wide Technology Soccer Park (https://www.saintlouisfc.com/soccerpark) to referee matches at the Gallagher Friendlies youth tournament (https://slsgsoccer.demosphere-secure.com/tournaments/gallagher-friendlies). I worked three under-12 matches, including the middle on the first one of the set. They went well, despite the heat (we took water breaks midway through each half of these matches). They were fun matches to do.

Monday (3 September), the Labor Day holiday, I went to St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church in St. Louis' Central West End for the final day of its annual Greek Festival (http://www.opastl.com/). It's always a great time, and this was no exception. I got a nice lunch--shish-kababs and rice pilaf--and then enjoyed watching Greek dancers perform. I also toured the sanctuary while a priest talked about the Orthodox Church and this congregation. It was a most interesting presentation. After a dessert of loukoumades, I headed home.

Back to work yesterday, it was quite a busy day, thanks to all the returns off the holiday weekend. We got things handed well, tough, and I was on my way home by 6:20 pm.

Off work today, I did some work on a model I am working on for the contest this Saturday. I went to the show venue, the Holiday Inn St. Louis SW--Route 66 (https://www.holidayinn.com/hotels/us/en/st-louis/stlsw/hoteldetail?qAdlt=1&qBrs=6c.hi.ex.rs.ic.cp.in.sb.cw.cv.ul.vn.ki.va.sp.nd.ct&qChld=0&qFRA=1&qGRM=0&qIta=99504425&qPSt=0&qRRSrt=rt&qRef=df&qRms=1&qRpn=1&qRpp=20&qSHp=1&qSmP=3&qSrt=sBR&qWch=0&srb_u=1&icdv=99504425&dp=true&cid=28784&glat=SEAR&setPMCookies=true). I took some photos of the exterior and interior, and peeked into the ballroom where our show will be held. Also, I am getting my laundry done.

Later.

Heading into Labor Day Weekend

This past week was quite busy at work. Besides the usual traffic from repair shops and business travelers, we had customers getting their vehicles for Labor Day Weekend. The end of this week was lighter than usual for a Friday, as many customers already had their rental vehicles for the holiday weekend. I'll be working tomorrow (Saturday) morning at the branch, then we're closed on Monday.

After work Tuesday (28 August), it was off to Bill Wagner's house for this month's IPMS/Gateway (http://www.ipms-gateway.com/) (https://www.facebook.com/IPMSGateway/?ref=aymt_homepage_panel) business meeting. We discussed final plans for our Invitational model contest and swap meet next Saturday (8 September). This show will be at the Holiday Inn St. Louis SW--Route 66 (https://www.ihg.com/holidayinn/hotels/us/en/st-louis/stlsw/hoteldetail/events-facilities#) in Sunset Hills. I outlined plans to produce and distribute a special issue of our club's newsletter, The Arch Scaler News, to go out to our members this week, spotlighting the Invitational and the club picnic the next day (9 September).

On my off day Wednesday, I worked on that newsletter--a four-page item, instead of the normal 10-page documents--and sent a proof copy to the board members for their feedback. I also got my laundry done and got some needed rest.

After getting a couple of corrections from the board members, I made the few minute changes needed before sending this newsletter out to our members early this morning.

Tomorrow morning, at approximately 7:25 am Central Time (1325 GMT), two IPMS/Gateway members will appear on "Fox 2 News in the Morning" on KTVI, Channel 2 in St. Louis (https://fox2now.com/). They will talk about our club, our show, and the raffle at that show, which raises funds for the United States Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots program (https://bridgeton-mo.toysfortots.org/local-coordinator-sites/lco-sites/default.aspx) in Metro St. Louis.

Relaxing at home now. Watching "Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie" on DVD. Funny.

Later.