The Carnival Pump, the quarterly newsletter of ICGA, contains a Message from the President of ICGA in each issue.  Below is the current Message, as well as links to previous columns.

Accepting the Call
By Brian Pitman, December 2009

I hope this issue of The Pump finds you preparing for a wonderful holiday season full of friends and family, good times and happiness. I also hope it finds you ready to dig into another year of carnival glass collecting, eager to learn (and share) as much as possible, happy with the treasures discovered this previous year, and excited with the possible finds in 2010. If so, this issue of the Pump is definitely for you.

This issue of the Pump is different. As you may recall in the last issue, I mentioned that the December issue would be the “Top Tens” issue, and indeed it is. Throughout these pages you will find nearly one dozen Top Ten articles which feature a wide variety of subjects – Top Ten overall pieces, Top Ten Dugan, Top Ten Mugs, Top Ten European, etc. Now Don Moore was the king of Top Ten articles. Don would put one out often, and frequently his articles would inspire conversation, debate, and even controversy. I have no doubt that the articles in this issue will do the same.

Now there are a few things you need to know about these articles: they were assigned. These are not articles from people who volunteered to do them. These are articles from people we asked to do them (a fundamental difference from the way we have done our newsletters in the past). We asked them to give their opinion in an article, and each is just that. They were asked, to the best of their ability, to rank the items about which they are writing. I asked them to consider value. I asked them to consider desirability. I also asked them to consider rarity. Now you don’t have to be in carnival glass very long to learn that value, desirability, and rarity are very frequently not related to each other in any way; thus, the debate side of the articles begins. You will find things you disagree with in this issue. Perfect! If you feel strongly about an article in here, write your own follow-up and send it in. These Top Tens are only the beginning. We will revisit them from time to time, offering new takes on previously ranked subjects, as well as new Top Tens.

You should also know that we realize many of you will want easy versions of these Top Ten articles when you are on the hunt for glass. You may not have realized what some of these pieces are, and now you want one. We have you covered! If you log in to our Member Only Website, you will find the Top Ten lists available for download in a printer-friendly format (and many of them with several more pictures than you find in this issue, all full color). Print these things out and keep them with your books, and you will be able to pull out this handy guide when you need it (like that time at the antique mall and you just aren’t sure if the piece in your hand is that super valuable piece you read about in one of the Top Tens.)

You will also find many other surprises scattered around this issue of the Pump. This issue was planned for the past six months, and it is truly only the beginning. The ICGA Board of Directors is answering the call for stepped-up information, articles, and features for our members to enjoy. The March issue of the Pump is going to be phenomenal. Our website has many articles and features, and its Members Only portion contains a quickly growing number of items, including a robust video section that has interviews, presentations, and more for you to enjoy. Furthermore, we are developing new features and applications you will find intriguing, fun, and very educational on carnival glass.

At a time when many carnival glass clubs are dwindling in membership, our goal is to increase ours and to reach further than we have before. If you have the next great carnival glass idea, we are very interested in hearing from you (we are very serious about increasing the day-to-day offerings and benefits of membership.) You can e-mail me at bpitman@woodsland.com anytime to offer feedback, ideas, and even criticism. ICGA membership is a fantastic thing, and it is only going to get better.

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and Happy New Year, everyone!!!

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