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Sorry some of you were disappointed in the way the Awards Show was run. Some of you always will be. Based on all the feedback I have received, you are not in the majority. Bill and Aris did a great job with less than 200 categories for a number of years with a show that generally lasted four hours or longer. Most still complained the show ran too long every year, and nobody did anything to fix it. Currently there are 225 regular categories. That number is likely to increase next year. Something needed to be done about the Marathon Awards Show. San Marcos used slides over dinner in 2023 and it worked well. In 2025 we knew we had to put a fix into the Awards Show to get it organized and finished a timely manner. We concluded there was no way to read 225 categories, no matter who was reading, and finish the show in a timely manner. We choose showing the slides over dinner. The plan was to show the slides twice, but everyone was finished eating, so they only ran once. Not sure if the slides ran long or dinner ran fast. We also for the first time I know wrote a script. Everyone who had a speaking roll had written remarks that we walked through prior to the show. FYI, we did cut back on the amount of time we spent thanking everyone, but understand, these folks have put two years of their life into a convention for IPMS and deserve some recognition. The result was an organized show that was completed in two hours. By the time everyone had picked up their models, the slide show was posted online in multiple places so everyone could see who won. Even then, we had people pounding on the Contest Room doors and yelling at volunteers demanding their models. I can't see where we are going back to a four hour show where we announce all the winners. We have received a lot more positive feedback than negative. That doesn't mean we are not looking to improve in 2026 and make some changes to make it easier for people to see the winners. We are always doing our best to improve the convention experience. That does not mean we are going to please everyone. We look at all the feedback and try to create the best convention we can. Scott Hackney 2nd Vice President, IPMS/USA

Hey everyone! While as Secretary I was not the one in charge of planning these events, I was a part of the discussion leading up to the convention and I wanted to let you know that there was much discussion revolving around how to best resolve the two main components of the event; not keeping everyone there for hours AND recognizing those who received awards. I understand the points you're making and the frustration with the way it was done this year. Please know that I have copied down the issues you mentioned as well as your suggestions for our next meeting and future discussions regarding the awards ceremony. I also want to thank y'all for including suggestions to improve it. I know this might not be the detailed answer you're looking for but I wanted to jump on here and make sure you knew that you're not only heard but that this will be getting discussed also. Joe Terry Secretary IPMS/USA