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The 2015 Convention is now history and many great memories. Barbara Cummings, Joyce Dohanian and the Capitol Collectors planned a fun-filled event. Lots of club members also volunteered to make it a success. “Working” at convention is really lots of fun.
Many members took advantage of the great location, Arlington, VA, to tour nearby Washington, DC. Capitol Collectors made it easy by organizing some great tours. Lots of near-by restaurants also provided a way for members to get together early in the week to share stories and good times over lunch or dinner.
What makes convention so much fun? From time to time through out the day you can hear someone yell “salt and pepper, salt and pepper!” and the reply will be “shake, shake, shake!”
On Friday the convention officially opened when Barbara Cummings, 2015 Convention Chairperson, opened with the roll call of states. This year we had TV coverage – a crew from CBS Sunday Morning was filming for their show to be shown in the fall. The Washington Post was also present interviewing members for an article.
Convention presentations are a great way for members to share shaker information. This year members from Shaken’ Together-European Chapter shared information regarding European sets.
The costume contest is a tradition that always guarantees smiles. This year was no exception.
The Display Contests (Shoebox, Small, Medium, and Large) shows the imagination of our members. Each category, except the Shoebox category, has restrictions for the number of shakers allowed. There are no limitations on creativity.
The call was put out months in advance for members to enter Friday night’s talent competition. While there is lots of talent in our group, only one member entered the contest. Fortunately, we were treated to the magical talent of Irv Wargolet and his able assistant (aka granddaughter) Grace Cooke. Irv performed many magic tricks and kept everyone entertained with his combination of magic and jokes.
Friday night was a delicious “red, white, and blue” themed dinner. Little did we know that a special sweet treat was planned. When it came time to unveil the shaker a screen was removed at the back of the room and a large cake was revealed in the shape of our 2015 convention shaker. The cake was tasty and the one-piece shaker was a real treat too.
The Lifetime Achievement Award is given to an outstanding member who has made special contributions to the club over the years. This year’s recipient, Debbie Barger, met the qualifications and then some.
Her special certificate read:
“Since joining the Club in 1990 Debbie has been an active, enthusiastic member. On a chapter level, she has hosted many meetings at her home and has served as newsletter editor, vice president and president of the Heartland Chapter. On a national level, Debbie hosted the 2014 Convention in Omaha, Nebraska. Her most significant, and most appreciated, achievement has been as Newsletter Editor of the club for eight years—several years more than she planned.”
Mary Gelinas, our new President, opened the Business Meeting this year as Brenda All, our outgoing President was unable to attend due to personal family reasons. The outgoing officers were thanked and the new Board of Directors was introduced.
For some members convention continued into Sunday because a few members of Capitol Collectors generously opened their homes for members to visit and view their shaker collections.