SBCS President Joe Kopitz just sent me a wrap-up of
the 2013 convention events to share with those not able to attend. Joe writes,
“There was such a great and complete announcement
of the just-passed Minneapolis/Saint Paul Souvenir Building Collectors Society
convention published in this blog last April, that there is little to add to
the facts and flow of what was said or referenced there. However, for a good
re-cap of the convention, check out the story in the latest issue of the SBCS
newsletter. What was
not provided in the fact-filled itinerary was just how special this convention
was in so many ways. Members were
able to connect with each other in a much more personal way – time to just sit
and chat and discover much about one another and the buildings they
collect. And the photos from the
convention also show just how fun this year’s convention was. Enjoy! The greatly expanded Show and
Tell has given us all a terrific opportunity to learn more about folk’s
favorite buildings – and why they are so special. It’s sort of like a dozen “mini tours” of people’s home
collections with an added commentary that informs and entices. The auction presented several terrific
and rare buildings that tempted vast sums of money to leave one’s checkbook
(mine). This continues to be a
great opportunity to acquire significant buildings from other members while
also supporting the SBCS.
Hopefully more members will see this as a great venue to buy and sell
higher end buildings and can expand the offerings at future conventions. It’s a great resource for those looking
to thin their collection of duplicates or if they are looking for a practical
way to downsize their collection and target fellow collectors as their
audience. The raffle continues to become much more fun and another terrific
resource for adding great buildings to one’s collection. Thanks to some logistical changes made
several years ago, the raffle moves much more quickly, every lucky winner
always gets the building they want and excitement (and raffle ticket sales) has
blossomed. It’s so much better to
know that every raffle ticket purchased goes to increasing your chances in
getting the buildings you really want.
Such a win-win. The announcement of next year’s convention location
contained an interesting twist.
The convention will be in Nashville, Tennessee – a fun place to explore,
but maybe not in the typical SBCS convention month of June. Surprise! Next year’s convention will be the last weekend in October
2014. A much more reasonable (i.e.
cooler temperature) time to visit Nashville. And, it coincides with the gigantic monthly flea market – a
very tempting draw. Stay tuned for
more details.” - Joe K.
Steve S., who also attended the convention, also wrote, “The
convention was good. The Foshay where we stayed was fantastic! Very cool
historical building. Has an observation deck with an incredible 4-sided view of
the city. Also has a museum on the top floor, but unfortunately they did not
have a model/replica of the building. Friday afternoon we did a guided tour of
the Guthrie Theater. Amazing building! Then Friday night we toured Tom Malone’s
collection at his Tae Kwan Do studio. Saturday we started with the business
meeting where we discussed trying to expand membership, etc... Next was the
swap meet. Then we did a guided tour of St Paul in a trolley. We went to the
Capitol, the St Paul Cathedral, and then to see the God of Peace statue in the
City Hall. We ended the day with the dinner, auction, and raffle. The best
auction item was the People's Bank of St Louis that finally hammered at $575.
Sunday morning we went back to St Paul to tour Carolyn's collection. We visited
with everyone for several hours there and then to the airport to head
home. There were 25-30 members in
attendance.” SBSC Member and attendee, Lara G., uploaded many photos of the convention to Flickr.
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