IPMS USA National Convention

media release: International Plastic Modelers Society https://ipmsusa.org/ is a Veteran led organization created in 1964 (both our organizations are about the same age!) and has grown to over 5,000 members in 220 U.S. Chapters in all 50 states and also part of an International organization that includes Canada, the Philippines, Great Britain, New Zealand and many other countries.  The annual conference usually has an average attendance of 1,000 members and 3,000 people in the public attending, with about 2,500 entries and about a 1,700 night hotel economic impact on the host city.  This year our conference returns to the Midwest for the first time in a decade—in Madison, Wisconsin, at the Monona Terrace, a Frank Lloyd Wright designed conference center https://www.mononaterrace.com/  Attendees cover all ages with people attending from across the United States and even internationally—a membership passionate about the art of reproducing everything from science fiction to figures, and many people like to model the subjects of our military through aircraft, armor and naval ships, dioramas, and the history, lives and stories they represent. 

The local chapter is MAD Modelers https://madcitymodeler.org/, located in Madison and with members throughout Wisconsin and Illinois!  Many other clubs have done their separate donations, and we are taking advantage of the Madison show to finally coordinate this into a national program with a national partner.

The Madison conference starts on Wednesday 7/17 and concludes on the evening of Saturday, 7/20 with our banquet and when the awards are announced.  We are promoting a model donation drive which is perfect to launch for this program--the conference is billed as the world’s largest hobby shop, making it easy for attendees to buy kits to donate onsite, and of course to bring in their own to donate.  The Help Heal Veterans CEO will be providing two programs, one is a roundtable for Veterans and what the hobby has meant to them.  The program will launch the partnership of ongoing donations and a way to celebrate and share the work of the Veterans.

Registration for the full conference is $65; online registration is closed but registration will be open at the venue.

For the general public, the daily entry is $20 for individual and $25 for family, and which includes all of the seminars, the vendor room, and the contest room..