06/16/2015
The following is from a post made by Kim Ash on the NAME Facebook Group introducing everyone to the Committee members working on the Indy National Convention--
How many of us ever think of just how much work, time, and effort goes into a convention or houseparty? The great time we have happens because there is a committee working their tails off for us. I always knew they worked hard but I just didn’t realize just how hard until I became a member of the 2015 Indy committee. I am in awe of everyone who has ever chaired or served on a committee. Thank you!!!
Many have jobs and then come home to work nights and weekends planning and working on the convention. Many use their own money to purchase things needed without asking to be reimbursed just so we have something extra or they can add that special touch to something. Many give up every spare inch of their house storing boxes, souvenirs, totebags, doorprizes, auction donations, garage sale donations, centerpieces, and many other things needed. I have a path to the closet (only because it’s where my minis are) in my spare room and I have a stack of tubs as high as I could reach in my bedroom for the convention. I don’t even want to think how many more boxes and tubs will need to find a home somewhere in this house. LOL! The committee also gives up valuable time with their family and friends to do their committee jobs, making committee gifts, attending a committee meeting, sorting, labeling, bagging and anything else that needs to be done.
The committee’s start working and planning usually about 3 years before a convention or houseparty. They do this because they love NAME and they want to make it the best event any of us have ever attended. The entire committee wants to thank each of you for doing your part as well. Thank you for donating, making a centerpiece, exhibiting, teaching a class, being a dealer in the salesroom, and volunteering during the convention. We could not do it without you!
Karen and I thought it was important for you to get to know the 2015 Indianapolis Convention Committee. We hope that each of you takes the time at every convention and houseparty that you attend to thank every committee member. They deserve a lot of appreciation from us for all their dedication and hard work. They do everything they can to make sure we have the time of our lives!
Chairman:
Karen Barone: I have been doing miniatures for 31 years. My best friends are in NAME. I have been married to my husband for 31 years and we just moved from FL to PA this past October to be closer to our family. My 3 grandkids are the most amazing people to me and I am constantly in awe of them. In addition to my minis, I love to read and exploring new places. I share the love of Jethro with my friend Janet... Something you don’t know about me is that my dream is to go to Finland, stay in a glass igloo and see the Northern Lights.
Assistant Chairman:
Kim Ash: I have worked for NAME for over 20 years now. I did not start out as a miniaturist but eventually I was bitten by the mini bug and started collecting and making miniatures too. I also collect Boyd’s Bears (well let’s face it…I collect all bears!) and angels. I have an 11 year old son, Logan. He is my life and I love spending every minute I can with him.
This is my first time ever being an “official” committee member. I received a phone call from Bill Allen one day saying he thought that we needed a convention in Indy and he would chair it and I would be the assistant chairman. I thought he had lost his mind. Before I knew it his enthusiasm had rubbed off on me and I was as excited as he was. I am having so much fun on this committee!!!!
Something you don’t know about me is that I am scared to death to get in front of people and talk. It’s all I can do not to pass out. I am also a reality show ju**ie!
Advisor:
Rachel Bonney: Hi, I’m Rachel Bonney, your Convention Advisor - and am in this position because I was asked to take over when Lynne Ellis had to resign (Colleen is really good at overcoming reasons not to do something!). I got into miniatures indirectly through making porcelain dolls (full size) and discovered minis were more fun (and also didn't take up as much room and could be dressed using far less fabric and trim than full-size dolls!) Of course that led to getting involved in other aspects of miniatures, and the rest is history ... and a lot of wonderful friends. What you don't know about me is ... I don't know - what don't you know about me?
Auction:
Donna Jacques: I’m Donna Jacques and I’m the National Auction Chairman. I was “recruited” into this position by the lovely and delightful Colleen Walker in 2007 and have been performing the duties of the position since then. You may have seen me around over the years as a moonshiner, a statue, an alien miniaturist, a tin can on a string, a piñata, a belladonna plant or even a Hallmark card. I’ve been a miniaturist since I was very young, obsessing over all things small. It wasn’t until later in life that my cousin, Micro Michaels, and I discovered there were “places for people like us” when we joined a club called the North Orange County Miniature Guild founded by the Mott family and subsequently joined NAME. Something you may not know about me is that during the month of October, I work as a “Monster” at The Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor, their annual haunted attraction, scaring people, creating havoc and causing general mayhem.
Centerpieces & Charity:
Phil & Lynne Joehnk- We have been members of NAME for 35 years and have served in various capacities and on numerous steering committees. We started in miniatures
when we met--we were both into HO model railroading. Something you don't know about Lynne is she doesn't like soggy bread in anything and Phil loves museums and will read every single word that is posted on an exhibit.
Door Prizes
Romaine Eyler: Hi, my name is Romaine and I am door prize chairperson for Indy. I took this job because Bill asked me to and he was a good friend, I could not disappoint. I have been in miniatures about 35 years but joined NAME in 1995. I also belong to the Circus Model Builders club which is miniatures for people who like circuses things.
Exhibits:
Kris Dunlap- My maiden name is Doll so I was born a Doll and grew up in a doll house quite literally. My Mother was even tempted to name me Barbara but thankfully my Father talked her out of that so I am a Kristina instead. All through my school years, though, adults would ask me if I lived in a dollhouse therefore it should be no surprise that I've always loved to play with dolls and Barbie was a large part of my childhood.
In my early teens I become interested in 1" scale dollhouses and miniatures and during several family vacations we visited a miniatures museum that used to be in Kentucky, around Louisville I think. I was hooked! Like many of us, going to school and getting married the interest was pushed to the back burner. My interest was rekindled in my thirties and it has been a fun hobby for me ever since. The rest, as they say, is history!
Gold Star:
Amy Rauch: I have always loved miniatures, and have wanted a dollhouse for as long as I can remember. But, we were a military family, with 4 kids, and there was never room, or enough money. I was the oldest, so I was never quite sure why my parents insisted on having the other 3! A dollhouse would have been so much nicer!! I finally bought my first dollhouse when I graduated from college.
What you might not know about me: I got married in Denmark. I met my husband while he was an Army Officer stationed in Germany, and I was a civilian teacher for the Department of Defense Dependant Schools in Nuremberg. We took the "Darling Denmark" trip, which consisted of a roundtrip train ride to Denmark, 4 nights in a B&B in Roskilde, Denmark, and a wedding on a Thursday. Our 30th Wedding Anniversary will be August 1, during the National in Indy.
Hospitality
Patty Johnson- I volunteered to Co-Chair the Hospitality Room with my pal Betty DeWitt way back in Charlotte at the convention. My former fellow board member, Bill Allen (RIP) and the sassy NAME Office Mgr.- Kim Ash suggested that they needed a few Stars for their All Star Committee for a National Convention in Indy in 2015! All Star- heck yes, I definitely belong on the All Star Team- Sign me up!
(Well, I was retiring soon- and I would need something to keep me busy…..lol – words that are uttered recklessly by future retirees all over the country!!)
Before I left the convention I had volunteered my life away! Souvenir book for St. Louis, co-chair for Centerpieces at Madison……. I was downright out of my mind!!!
Okay…….something you probably don’t know about me is……I eat M&M’s in color order…… I take my Oreos apart (carefully) eat the side that has no frosting and then put two frosted sides together……I made double stuffs long before Nabisco!!
Betty DeWitt: My name is Betty DeWitt and I am the Hospitality Room Co-chair. I got into the miniature hobby in 1982 when I was killing time before a dentist appointment and dropped into a mini store. By the time I got to the back of the store, I was hooked. I bought a RGT toys dollhouse for $425; a LOT of money in those days. BTW, I never finished that dollhouse which is another story in and of itself! I descend from a long line of southern storytellers and I like my minis to tell a story. My favorite part of the hobby is the “figuring” out which is why I have innumerable already “figured” out kits waiting to be finished while I work on scratch built projects. Something you don’t know about me is that I was a “fully participating” young adult in the ‘60s and although I appear to be conservative old broad, in my head I am still a ‘60s peacenik.
Houseparty Helpers:
Marion Haerle- I got into miniatures because of my older sister, I am her claim to fame. She is now a vendor for 1" hand painted furniture. Also I fell in love with Colleen Moore's Fairy Castle in Chicago during a high school trip. I have been a NAME life member since 2001. My first real project was a 2 rooms (den and living room) coffee table, which I hauled around the country for 5-7 years before I got up the courage to start and finish it, all inspired by pipe and to***co stand that sit on the den desk. For 20 years I have put a hedgehog in every one of my scenes as my trademark. Something you don't know about me is... that I have a live hedgehog name Miniature Rose, "Mini"
Lynn Montgomery- When I was in the first grade, the sixth graders created a city from cardboard boxes and invited the other classes to view their display. The display room was dark and the buildings were lit from within. In all of my 6 years, I had never seen anything so fascinating. And that my friends, is how this obsession started.
I didn't pick my position on the committee. Marion Haerle made me do it. LOL
Hmm, something you don't know about me......... My first degree was in design and 2nd degree in accounting. Now you know why I'm such a crazy person. The left brain and right brain are fighting for control.
Mini Swap:
Cindy McDaniel: My husband and I liked to go to various shows (ie, coin, model cars, trains, etc.) each weekend and one weekend we attended a Bright Star miniature show and the rest is history. I know my husband regrets it now. Like many that have been in minis a long time I have held every position in my various mini clubs. I swore I never get into quarter scale and now that is my only scale. I love to go to Goodwill, thrift shops, garage sales or hardware stores and see what I can find that will work in miniatures. Something you don't know about be is that I have to put up with the "good" Kim (Wood)and the "bad" Kim (Ash) at my miniature meetings as I am the acting president.
Operations:
Marti Icenogle: My name is Marti Icenogle and I am the Operations Chair for Indy. I am also- a miniaturist, a bookmaker, a jewelry maker, a painter, a printmaker, a
teacher/trainer, a computer geek, a retiree from the corporate world - many things. It is my background in corporate training which included lots of planning and organizing and my computer skills that seem to make me a good fit for the Operations position. And, it is the opportunity to use my various artistic skills, as well learning new ones, to make miniatures that makes me happy. Something you don't know about me is I love Steampunk!
Public Day:
Vicki Dukes: The Christmas of 1982 my husband wanted to know what I wanted for Christmas. I told him about a dollhouse in Frank's Nursery that I had been admiring. It took me 3 years to build. I hard wired it; not a clue as to what I was doing or getting myself into (lights still work).
I didn't know there were other adults who loved the little things as much as I did. I found a club about 1995 and joined NAME in 2004. This is my 3rd National Convention that I have been a committee member and the 4th one to attend. I have served as Michigan's NAME State Representative for the past 10 years. I want NAME to be around for my granddaughters.
No one knows that I graduated from Northwood University at the age of 48!
Publicity:
Barb Anderson- I got into miniatures over 25 years ago when I took my son to a hobby shop for some kits and found a stove kit that reminded me of my grandmother's stove. I just had to have it, but what do you do with just a stove? You build a kitchen around it....and then you're hooked. I can't begin to count the number of friends I've made because of that one trip to a hobby store...miniaturists are the best!! Something you don't know about me...........I'm a bartender in real life, and used to compete in arm wrestling tournaments a few lifetimes ago(even won a few of them)!!!
Registration & Garage Sale:
Ann Silverman: I have belonged to the Columbus Miniature Society and NAME since 1986 and have been on a number of club and convention committees. I have helped with the Columbus State Days, Columbus Regional and Nationals in Cleveland and Indy. I have chaired several different committees, such as Souvenirs, Table Seating, Hostesses, and Garage Sales but like the Garage Sale the best. It's like opening packages at Christmas. I never know what will be donated and things run from real garbage that we just throw away to the real gems that are too good for garage selling and we turn them into auction items or Houseparty Helpers. It gives me a sense of satisfaction to recycle and reuse items that others are no longer interested in. For beginners, the Garage Sale is a gold mine of items to pick up inexpensively and I love to see how excited everyone is to find their 'perfect' item.
Something that no one would know about me, is that we are in the process of building a new condo and we will move in this winter.
Vicky Turner- I received my first dollhouse when I was about eight. It was a hand-me-down from a friend of the family who had outgrown it. It had been handmade, not from a kit, probably in the thirties. The peaked roof had been lost. It was unfurnished. My father repapered and carpeted all the rooms. My mother ordered a houseful of plastic furniture from Sears & Roebuck. My sister and I played with that house for many years.
Fast forward 20 years. My mother downsized and I again had the dollhouse. My three sons played with it and broke many of the fragile parts off the furniture. Whenever I found a miniature item that caught my eye I would buy it and squirrel it away. I found out about the Columbus Miniature Society’s annual show and started attending. I decided to update and finish my childhood dollhouse. It had never had doors, windows or siding. It got enclosed with windows and doors, sided, papered, tiled, carpeted, painted and furnished. I ended up joining Columbus Miniature Society in 2001.
At my first or second meeting the club was starting their annual club project, an electrified roombox, and Ann Silverman gave me her kit. I was sucked in. Although that project has never been totally finished, I am constantly working on learning a new skill, reading sourcebooks or making plans to attend a miniature function. I have met so many wonderful, creative and generous people. Many of my skills are on the amateur level but I truly enjoy trying and I’m sure I have as many if not more unfinished kits as any other miniaturist. My head is brimming with projects I can’t wait to start and they cover the gamut: log cabin Fairy play land, Millinery Shop, General Store, Santa’s workshop, designer Christmas tree, Haunted House… and the list goes on.
Look for me at the Houseparty. I’ll be at the Registration Table.
Roundtables:
Susan Karatjas-I got into miniatures when I built a dollhouse for my daughter in the early 80's. We completed her house and I moved on to building and landscaping a 1/2" scale in the early 90's. Finding furniture, plants and accessories was tough in this scale, so I started making my own. Two people influenced me. My husband encouraged me to go into business and make completed items. Debbie Jones of Kitz influenced me when she asked to to turn some of my items into kits and she was the first to order them in the late 90's. Making miniatures and kits took off after that. After that I joined NAME and started going to houseparties and my husband made a web page and my business took off. My daughter joined me in the business when she had her children. She gave up her fulltime job. This has enabled her to be a stay at home mom. She has turned into an asset to me and sdk miniatures LLC.
Something you don't know about me is that I have a twin sister.
Salesroom:
Amy Allen: I've been in miniatures for well over 30 years. My daughter and miniatures were the things that got me through some unpleasant days. The first thing I made in miniature was an afghan that someone asked me to make for their dollhouse. I'd probably cringe at it now but that got me started on mini
knitting. Still mourning the loss of that ability. When Bill and I got
together he was intrigued and enchanted by our little world and was always trying to find ways to help me.
I didn't "choose" my role(s) for the convention. They were assigned, but to be fair, Bill and I have been salesroom chairs for several conventions so it seemed a logical choice. The Culinary Wizard part happened because Bill and Kim and I were brainstorming and that was one of our ideas that Bill gifted
me with the task of fleshing it out. It's been fun. What you probably don't know about me is that besides miniatures my house is filled with Donald Duck stuff (my alter ego) and also monkeys. Bill called me his "little monkey" and somehow there was always a new one under the Christmas tree or with my birthday gifts or it just showed up out of nowhere.
Natalie Harwood: I have been a NAME member since 1990. I lost all my collections from childhood to members of my extended family. So I decided to start my own collections of scale dolls and teddy bears.I also collect scale miniatures in 1/4, 1/2 and 1" scales.
I was state rep of Ohio for six years under the late Colleen Chute and Deborah Willis.
I was assigned to the assistant chairman of the salesroom
What you don't know about me:My high school principal told my parents in front of me, that they shouldn't waste their money sending me to college. I showed him! I graduated from a junior college, the University of Michigan and earned a Master's
from Indiana University.
Seminars:
Gwen Campbell- I got into miniatures by taking an adult evening course at the local high school. We made a school house and then a general store with living quarters upstairs. This was 38 years ago and there were not a lot of ready made supplies so we had to make everything from scratch. I still have those two structures that I keep as a reminder of how far miniatures have come since then.
Something about my work in miniatures is that I absolutely hate working with FIMO or any other plastic clay. It just ties my stomach up in knots. I love what other people do with it and am happy to purchase from FIMO artisans. Just give me a 20-0 brush and something to paint and I am deliriously happy.
Souvenirs:
Tracy Wilson-How I got into miniatures:
It started with a $99 dollhouse from Goodwill. (which I NEVER finished - and was donated 4 years to another "newbie". Mind you that i have had 3 additional dollhouses that have met the same fate.) Much the way of my workshops and roundtables. My very proper British dollhouse is taking up residence in my second bedroom. And I might actually work on it ...... this year ...... for all you non-believers out there!
NAME: I went to my first dollhouse show - and within 35 minutes of arriving and meeting Babette - was the newest member of the Mini Mizers, NAME, and has signed up for being a docent at the Museum. Did I mention "enthusiastic"?
Committee: I picked souvenirs because I can keep a secret! Mind you - I current have over "1500" secrets living in my office.
I am a Carmel homegrown - and am looking forward to showing all our guests around what I think is the greatest place to live in the world!
My Christmas tree has over 1000 ornaments on it - I LOVE Christmas!
I spun the globe and went to China for my mid life crisis trip.
Have never a little white rescue dog that I haven't kept!
I have very recently discovered Gilligan's Island - LOVE those inventions
Souvenir Book:
Callie Brunelli- My name is Callie Brunelli and I have always loved miniatures and delight in making things that are as realistic and tiny as possible. I've been led into micro-miniatures by brothers who say “Can't you do that any smaller?” in that brotherly challenge that casts doubt on what's been accomplished so far. I've retired from teaching, worked in a museum and now I'm “doing my own thing!” And part of "my own thing" is desk-top publishing - sometimes in miniature and sometimes in life size, so creating the Souvenir Book seemed like the perfect choice. I've reached out to the entire NAME community for this one - dealers, affiliates, shops, regions and clubs to let lots of people have a voice in it. And the response has been wonderful. One thing you might not know about me is that I'm really quite shy.
Table Host/Hostess:
Jean Ellsworth: I became interested in Miniatures 41 years ago when a friend showed me her childhood collection of miniatures. A few weeks later I went to the
Cleveland Show and I was hooked. I came home and opened a Miniature Shop the
following year, joined NAME, and started the Miniature Society of
Cincinnati.
After chairing a National Convention in 1984 and chairing 3 Regional
Houseparties over the years, I thought it would be fun to get involved
again.
The thing most people do not know about me is that I love to Ballroom Dance.
Cindy Mullen: I belong to the Miniature Society of Cincinnati. I've been a member for about 17 years. It amazes me the talent that people have in miniatures. I love it!
How I got to do this position is, Jean Ellsworth talked me into it!
One of the things people don't know about me is that I raised birds at one time!
Theme Luncheons:
Cathy Kalte- My name is Cathy Kalte & I am Theme Luncheon Chairman. I live in Crystal Lake, Il. & have been involved in miniatures since I took my first miniature furniture class in 1979. I have been a member of NAME since 1989. This is the third committee that I have been on & have enjoyed them all. Jo Dewane is the person that got me started with the committees & she was to be my co-chair in Indy. Something you don't know about me is I have more unfinished kits then finished ones (need to work on that).
Tote Bags:
Kim Wood: Hi. I am Kim Wood. I began in miniatures when I was about 8 or so years old, when my grandma took me "into town" on a Saturday morning to do a little workshop which was making a toss salad out of green shredded sponge, cut cocktail straws, etc. Don't know that this was grandma's love of miniatures at the time; rather think it was a "let's get little Kimi out of her mom's hair for a few hours". Whichever, minis stuck. And, as rudimentary as it was, I still have that salad!
I opted to be the tote bags chair this year as first it was something I haven't done yet. As my office is filling up very, very quickly, I understand why I haven't done it before! I actually thought it would be fun, and it is, to see all the favors coming in. Separating them may be a different story.
Something you don't know about me is that, prior to being a nurse, I spent about 25 years in the floral field, and during this time designed for celebrities, dignitaries, and designed florals for the Rose Parade.
Workshops:
Veronica Foreman: I am Married and have a son, Tobias and a grandson, Damien.
I have been in NAME over 25 years and have worked on several houseparty and convention committees. I have had my work published in Miniature Collector numerous times. I am the face of NAME at the Chicago International Show. Served as state rep and at the Tucson received the President's Award for my years of service to NAME. Jr. goes to every convention and has been seen roaming during RT's in Lexington.
Something you don’t know about me is that on Friday nights you will find me watching Tom on TV.
Youth Coordinator:
Kat Vattiato: My name is Katerina Vattiato but everybody calls me Kat. I am 14 years old and this will be my 4th National Convention, but the first one where I am on the committee. I’m the Youth Coordinator for the What’s Cookin’ Convention in Indianapolis. This fits me very well because I love being part of NAME as a youth member, I love doing miniatures and because I love to cook. My idea was to have a Youth Table so that all of us Youth members could sit together and get to know each other better And we are having a Youth table and I will be the Table Hostess We are going to have fantastic workshops and parties and many extras. Something you might not know about me is that my family owns an Italian Restaurant and I get to work there.
We all look forward to seeing each of you in July for “What’s Cookin’?” in Indianapolis!!
