2006 IPMS Region 2 Convention

Fellow Modelers,

IPMS Tidewater is excited to host this year’s Region 2 convention on October 20^th and 21st, which is just 4 months away. TidewaterCON 2006 will be a memorable modeling event in the same location of the 1996 and 2002 IPMS Nationals. The venue this time will be the newly built, spacious Virginia Beach Convention Center which replaced the Virginia Beach Pavilion is gone; the new facility is far nicer and a great venue for a convention. The theme is “A History of Innovation” as we commemorate the pioneering events that occurred in this region – The Monitor vs Virginia, the Great White Fleet, The Wright Brothers, James Ely’s first naval flight and of course the engineers of NACA/NASA.

TidewaterCON 2006 will be more than a local show. Starting at 3:00pm on Friday, there will be two days of activities to keep you busy. The focus of the convention naturally is the model competition and the vendors, but we are planning seminars, display tables, static displays and family activities to make it even more enjoyable. We have a cash bar social hour planned for Saturday just before the awards ceremony. We have over 90 tables set aside for vendors and already have commitments from nine vendors. If you have a favorite vendor, please encourage them to sign up soon, before the best tables are gone and to take advantage of our discount price until July 15^th. As for convention registration, it is never too early to sign up. As an extra incentive to attend we are offering an IPMS discount on the registration good up to an including the days of the event and an early bird discount before September 15^th.

We have reserved rooms in the nearby Double Tree hotel and very attractive rates so that you can make it a relaxing fun filled weekend; rooms are only $75 a night for either a king or two full beds. Please checkout our website http://www.ipmstidewater.org/2con_home.htm , which is linked to the IPMS-USA website, for the latest and complete information. The hotel is only a mile from the oceanfront and the amenities of the resort area; so plan on making the convention a relaxing get away weekend. Plus there are a lot of activities nearby including the USS Wisconsin, the new USS Monitor exhibit, Fort Monroe, the Army Transportation museum, Langley AFB and NAS Oceana.

For this event we have developed a very attractive trophy for the contest patterned after the challenge coins used by the armed services. These medallions are beautifully enameled with gold, silver, bronze or pewter (for out-of-the-box) borders and come in an attractive rosewood display and can be seen on our website. This basic awards package is only $35 making it affordable for both smaller clubs and even individuals. This same medallion is used in the “best of” trophies and special awards. While the costs of these packages are higher, they are still reasonable. Please consider sponsoring one or more categories – we look forward to your support.

As more events/activities/information firms up we will be posting it on our website – so please check back often. The Region 2 convention has always drawn modelers from around the East Coast and points west and is one reason that it has always been so much fun. This convention will be a great opportunity to catch up with old friends/acquaintances, share the hobby, and share our history. We hope to see your club there in force.

Best regards,

Charles Landrum

Chairman, Region 2 Convention

President, IPMS Tidewater