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highflight

IPMS/USA Member
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  • FirstName
    Rob
  • LastName
    Booth
  • IPMS Number
    37548
  • Local Chapter
    Texas Hill Country Scale Modelers
  • City
    Ingram
  • State
    Texas
  • Gender
    Male

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  1. True enough James, but with the "appointment" of replacements for 2VP and Secretary, there will be 5 members of the Board that were not elected to their positions. The Treasurer (who does an excellent job for the society, I might add), is appointed. That means 63% of the Board will not have been elected to the post they hold.
  2. Mike, that has been pondered a lot. "What is the IPMS/USA Value Statement?" See attchd. 2030 Vision Statement that was offered to the Board last August, but has yet to be discussed with any seriousness because of all the turmoil. It may come up soon, but I feel more able to bring it up here, now that I'm no longer a Board member (no offense to the Board intended by that). It can't satisfy everything to everyone, but with some tweaking here and there, it could offer an excellent roadmap for the future of IPMS. IMHO this boils down to a generational thing that, as you point out, we may never be able to overcome without serious pain. Right or wrong, good or bad, there are two completely different sets of morals and values, and a huge culture change at play in this. At the risk of sounding preachy or hokey, being nice, or at least respectful to each other is the important first step. This vision statement mentions not tolerating a bullying atmosphere a lot. That mention is aimed at the extremes on either side of anything. (As a picture for perceptions: social media "rabble rousers" vs NCC & the "old guard") Some groups are better at it than others because a moderate majority in the middle doesn't hesitate to call out any extreme, rather than letting them divide the group. With IPMS's demographics, it doesn't help that the older we get (I'm 68 now, so this hits home), the less effort we tend to put into considering differing points of view. Wearing that as a badge of honor draws lines in the sand that can't be crossed. Pushing a mantra that we all love the same great hobby regardless of our age or preferred subject matter, is key to bridging those generational gaps, and erasing those lines in the sand. The real question is whether we collectively have the ability to do that as individuals, to have a better whole. IPMS_USA Vision 2030 v3.pdf
  3. Eric, could several volunteers take care of it from their own machines, given appropriate access and a current list? Divide and conquer, as it were. Each person tackle 3-4 last name letters by alphabetical listing? Four each would be seven people. I'd help. Could be done within a week, I think. Is the juice worth that squeeze for the admins to be able to maintain it from there? RB
  4. Nick, completely agree. Board members will come and go, and IPMS will keep going … until it can’t. The membership numbers will ebb and flow not because of who’s in office, or from any sort of proposed value propositions, or what the C&BLs say, but rather, based on how well the last national convention committee’s event was received, and how well the next team’s event gets hyped … until it can’t be sustained anymore. The future of the convention has become the future of IPMS because that is what sustains it. Everything else is window dressing subject to dedicated membership support, which, as the organization continues to discover, can’t be coerced or taken for granted. Lots of good programs and initiatives have come and go over the years because of that. Our single most most divisive issue is always the contest. The IPMS/USA National Convention has grown and gotten better every year despite the contest, which continues to create more and more controversy and contention every year. The convention grows because of the dedication of the 2VP and host teams to find good, workable venues, interesting activities and seminars, and great vendors, but mostly, because it is the only event available to a full spectrum of modeling genres who wish to gather at one. The contest is the biggest common variable to every Nats event. And because of that, the future of the contest will determine the future of the national convention until it doesn’t, or it can’t … or the leadership sees the wisdom in letting it evolve and/or de-emphasizing competition as the only option for modelers to display their works. The display-only areas at Madison will provide a glimpse into what could be a true celebration of the hobby. So for now, regardless of your opinions about IPMS, the contest or who’s in charge (nobody really cares), don’t pass on being in Madison this July. The Nats will continue to be the ultimate model geek Bro-fest that we all enjoy so much, and IPMS will keep going because of that … until it can’t … because someone, somewhere, will see opportunities in providing something better.
  5. Why? This is a long ramble, but if you’re really interested … I had promised myself I would try to stay quiet about all this, but I want desperately to steer this in the right direction. To be very clear, I left the IPMS/USA Executive Board not because the other seven members are bad people. They are friends, and all good people doing the best they can to hold together a widely diverse association of hobbyists. We just had an honest disagreement of opinion at the December working session about what a seat on the Board means, and how it affects the freedom to express our opinions. I was in the minority. I walked away after several weeks of honest reflection. Here is verbatim what my emailed resignation to the Board said: “I’ve been reflecting on the job the members of this organization elected me to in the weeks since our working meeting in December. I promised to be transparent to the membership if they elected me, and to work for positive change to many things within IPMS/USA. I believe I have effectively carried out all the Secretary’s duties outlined in the C&BL to that end, and then some. However, my understanding that an elected seat on the IPMS/USA Executive Board is the best of all possible places to express my values and opinions, and work towards a vision for the future of this organization based on the input I get from the membership who put me here, is wrong. My views and values just don’t mesh with a status quo that is so entrenched and inflexible that it does not allow for consideration of the changes I have lobbied for at the urging of the membership. The rebuke of my public comments on social media and my addition of the “heavily redacted” comment in the closing of the published minutes regarding the Bucholz editorial made an expectation clear. I am not here to actually represent, speak, or work for the members of IPMS that voted for me. I am expected to fall in line without publicly expressing any dissent, to present the appearance of a unified Board. I’m sorry, but I can’t and won’t do that to the people who put me here. With that, please accept my resignation as Secretary on the IPMS/USA Executive Board. Respectfully, I’m done today. I will assist in any way I can with the transition of the Secretary’s duties to your appointed replacement. Just let me know how you want to do that. I plan to maintain my IPMS/USA membership and continue working from within to effect positive change to the Society. I look forward to joining you along with my modeling friends in Madison this summer.” The fact that I had added the notation to the December minutes that they were “heavily redacted” prior to publishing them was not well received by several on the Board, and they told me so. So much for transparency. And with that, I was done. It took less than 30 minutes to receive an email that all my access to the membership database had been locked out. I struggled with the free speech issue regarding Chris’s editorial. On the one hand, he has every right to express his opinion on whatever he chooses. On the other hand, I just don’t think that the Editors page in the official publication of IPMS/USA was the appropriate place for that particular opinion piece. IMHO, that space should be used, to quote Jeff Herne, “Educate, entertain or inform.” True, any of those terms could be slanted and used to describe the piece, but I just thought it was incredibly bad form to poke at that incident after it had finally sort of gone away. Just my opinion, but it was incredibly damaging to the organization as a whole. As to the source of the controversy, the tank picture, that issue will likely be debated as long as there continues to be competitions in our hobby. I happen to be one who feels that it is a matter of respect to the piece and the builder that it not be subjected to any more risk of damage than is absolutely necessary. It’s an opinion, that’s all. If the “rules” say otherwise, pay your money and take your chances, or don’t play. Don’t sit on the sidelines and bitch about it. The rub is that “the rules” vary on this, depending on where you look, or whether you were listening closely at the judges meeting. I don’t spend a lot of time in these forums as many of you do. And I wasn’t ever informed that “official IPMS business” should be posted here for discussion. I don’t mean to digress, other than to say I think that after reading many of the comments here from Gil Hodges and others, I am not the wildly radical, social media trolling instigator that some of you have made me out to be. My values, opinions and agenda initiatives don’t differ much from yours. Example: “Overall I believe IPMSUSA needs to change its image so that (as you rightly point out) we are more interesting and palatable to more modelers in general. I believe that we should try to emphasize the artistic side of the hobby and de-emphasize the competitive side, which is where most of the criticism of IPMS stems from. I also agree with your idea of offering the Journal in digital format, at least to some if not all, IF it's affordable. In the past it didn't offer any financial advantage, but with the progress of technology perhaps it can do so now. I believe those two things MIGHT offer growth past our seeming ceiling of 4000+- membership numbers. We both have the hope to see IPMS grow and thrive, even if we differ somewhat on our views of the current situation and the exact paths we need take to get there, and that's the light at the end of the tunnel! Now if we only knew where our current Eboard stands on these things and EXACTLY how they plan to tackle them.” These are EXACTLY the things I have been championing for the membership while I served on the Board. The issue I have is that the “institution” that the Board has become is paralyzed by the fear of doing something wrong and being criticized for it. It takes FOREVER to convince a quorum to take action on anything that might be perceived as controversial to anyone. These forums and the world of social media have a lot to do with that. I listened when people (members) talked to me about issues, and tried my best to incorporate their opinions, initiatives and ideals in Board discussions. In the end, I became frustrated when I was told that as a Board member, I should refrain from discussing such things in public forums. Even though clearly stating that my opinions were my own, and not reflective of the Board or the larger organization, their concern was that by voicing them in a public forum, they would be perceived as “Board policy”. During the December meeting discussions, the implicit approval for Chris Bucholz to do the same thing IN THE OFFICIAL IPMS/USA PUBLICATION, well … here we are. So, I still want the same things for IPMS that I noted from Gil’s post above. I assume he, and many of you on this thread do too. I would be happy to host a monthly members town hall on Zoom (or any other appropriate medium) where such things can be openly discussed (within some respectful ground rules) to any who would like to participate. I meant what I said in my resignation about remaining as a member and working from within to affect positive change. Let me know at rbooth@hctc.net, and we can take it from there. Whether we agree on things or not, thanks for being a valued member and your support of IPMS/USA.
  6. FYI, Minutes for the December 2023 E-Board working meeting have been posted to the website.
  7. 4th Qtr IPMS/USA Executive Board Meeting have been posted to the website. Phil Peterson assumed the post of President after Dave Lockhart's resignation and John Noack will serve out the next term as 1st VP.
  8. For anyone else interested, let them know I have the remaining leftovers decal stock from 2023. We printed 1,000, and I was worried we'd run out at the show. Probably 30-40 or so left. We can't sell them due to a licensing agreement with the Terlingua Racing Team franchise. I'll send a set to whoever wants them for actual cost of postage and mailer. The ones I've already sent out are about $15.00 for the USPS flat mailer with a tracking #. Just let me know, shoot me a check or Paypal, and they'll go out until they're gone. RB
  9. PeteJ I like it! I’ll check into any licensing issues and see how it goes.
  10. Bob, Here is a photo of my haul to the Orlando Nats back in 2012. A clear plastic storage bin with a snap-on top. All done with homebuilding insulation sheathing, toothpick and pins and rubber bands. Suitable for the overhead bin of a Southwest 737 at the time. Have since taken entries across the pond on a British Airways 777 for Telford. No ill effect to them from travel. Just have to be careful not to drop the box... Hope it helps. RB
  11. Thanks Ed! We hope that all IPMS members who are winners at this year's Nats will appreciate the uniquely Texan theme of our awards this year. The total budget to put on our national convention is a rather large sum, as you might expect. The trophy costs are not an insignificant part of that sum. In an effort to be fiscally responsible in putting the event together, we decided to try to offset the cost of the category packages that go unsponsored every year. Rather than shoring up the cost of the category awards sponsorships (by some 30-35%) to cover the unsold categories, we tied the cost of the average number of unsponsored categories to the Best of Class awards to do our best at securing 100% funding of the awards packages. We hoped that this approach would keep the category sponsorships more affordable to IPMS members and Chapters. We have received several sponsorship requests for various things from firms and individuals within the hobby industry. We wanted to offer the Best Of awards to these folks to accommodate that and balance our awards costs. I have an email prepared to go out to all our vendors and a select industry contact list tomorrow. If the response is what we hope for, I would encourage you to put your budget towards supporting several categories within the class you wished to sponsor. You are welcome to contact me if, as a chapter or an individual, you want to sponsor a Best of Class package after June 1, and I’ll be happy to discuss it at that time.
  12. All, Last chance for your input for the 2020 Convention Decal offerings. We appreciate everyone's input thus far, with lots of great ideas presented. We have more than enough aircraft submissions to choose from, but still need some SPECIFIC ideas regarding a military vehicle subject. We've received some general suggestions, but at this point we're looking for a specific vehicle that has a Texas connection, and photo documentation to work from. Please email me at rbooth@hctc.net with any specific subjects you'd like to submit. We'll be making final choices in early January, and put together a teaser for announcement later in the month. Merry Texmas to all, and may Poncho Claus bring all of you that special box of plastic you've been wishing for.' Rob Booth – IPMS# 37548 Awards Coordinator Decal Coordinator Chief Gofer IPMS/USA National Convention 2020 www.nats2020.com
  13. Very good ideas coming in for the decal sheet(s). Could I ask the auto guys to chime in with some relatively current kit releases that would be a suitable palette for some law enforcement decals? It might be easier to research by vehicle type of available kits than vice versa. i.e. TX DPS is using Tahoes in my area right now. Are there any readily available kits? Also, they were using some pretty hot Mustangs for a while... Pics of the subjects and model kit manufacturer's names and kit nos are VERY helpful. NASCAR buffs - what about the Labonte Brothers? Any ideas there? Armor guys - what specific subjects from Ft. Hood, Ft. Sam Houston (field ambulances????), Ft. Bliss, others, would you like to see? We're trying to avoid putting together an all aircraft sheet. Thanks, RB
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