ICGA
CONVENTION 2004 -
Crowne Plaza St. Louis
By Carl and
Eunice Booker
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Click here to see all our pictures from this convention.
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It’s always good
to see the ICGA Welcome sign hanging in a
conspicuous place at the convention hotel. This
year was no exception. It was right there in
front of everyone when they were moving from one
side of the hotel to the other. The “early
birds” were treated to pizza, iced tea, and
lemonade on Tuesday evening. The pizza was
served on a buffet line and members sat in the
dining room which gave plenty of room to eat and
more around.
A new feature
at this year’s convention was the 8:00 breakfast
seminar. Brian wasn’t sure how this would work,
but each session was well attended, enjoyable,
and educational. John and Loretta Nielsen gave
the Wednesday morning seminar. They set it up in
the form of a test and then explained the
answers. It was an interesting concept.
The Thursday
seminar was presented by Harold Cox. Harold
brought some of the first pieces of Carnival
Glass and some of his later special pieces.
Again, it was enjoyable and educational.
The Friday
seminar was presented by Bud and Gladys Martin.
They brought seven pieces and explained how they
were purchased. Collecting stories are always
enjoyable. Thanks to John and Loretta, Harold,
and Bud and Gladys for sharing their glass and
knowledge with us. Also, thanks to the members
who were up early in order to enjoy these
presentations.
ICGA will be
operating this year with a new set of officers
and directors. Those elected and appointed this
year are as follows:
President -
Brian Pitman
Vice-President - Phil Hessenius
Secretary - Lee Markley
Treasurer - Barb Chamberlain
Editor - Carl Booker
Directors:
East - Janet Knechtel
South - John Nielsen
Central - Ted Meeker
West - John Lee
At-Large - Gale Eichhorst
At-Large - Rick Stockhill
We, as members,
need to give our full support to these officers
who will be running the Association. We need to
let them know how we feel about current issues
in Carnival Glass. We also need to let them know
if we like what is being done in the ICGA.
At the
convention, the 2004 blue Frolicking Bears
cuspidors were painted into whimsies by members
at the convention. The children seemed to be
more willing to paint than the adults, although
some of the adults showed their creativity. Even
Carly Seeck was involved. She painted a paper
plate. Credit for the "Paint Your Whimsey" idea
goes to Brian Pitman and Barb Chamberlain. I
think it was Brian’s idea with Barb getting the
painting supplies.
The whimsey
painting was done after the Ice Cream Party. It
was interesting to watch the members doing the
painting. They had 100% concentration to their
task. Several members even painted two of the
cuspidors. The activity was so popular it was
repeated on the next night.
Special paints
were purchased for this project. The paint
adheres to the glass and, after heating in the
oven, will be permanent. This was another
creative and fun activity involving lots of our
members. It’s another reason to attend the
convention. What will Brian come up with for the
2005 convention?
The 2004
Display Room was “International Glass.” Janet
Knechtel and Diane Beitz were in charge and did
a wonderful job of organizing and displaying the
members’ glass. To top off a beautiful and
educational display, they presented a seminar at
the end of the convention featuring pieces from
the display. The display was organized by
countries. Janet and Diane had Carnival Glass
from eleven countries represented. Did you
realize that eleven countries produced Carnival
Glass?
Room Display
winners were:
Roger and
Cathy Dunham
Lawrence Vander Werff
Don Lacock
Dick and Jennie Hochstetler
Ted and Judy Meeker
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