2024 Steel Mill Modelers SIG Meet: Going Around the Bend!
Steel Mill Modelers have been invited to join the Midwest Region 2024 Convention in South Bend, May 2-4, 2024.
(Note: This event will take the place of the normally held SMMSIG Annual Meet)
The event will be held at The Century Center, 120 Doctor M.L.K. Jr Blvd, South Bend, IN 46601.
Please see the listing of area hotels. We have not reserved space in any hotel but will notify attendees if this changes. Parking in the Century Center lot is $5 per day. There is plenty of free parking on Saturday and Sunday, but not Thursday and Friday. A Convention Schedule and a list of Clinics is also available on the event web site: https://www.mwr-nmra.org/aroundthebend.html
The “Dean Freytag Award”
The “Dean Freytag Award” was created to memorialize the late Dean Freytag. Dean was widely recognized in the world of Steel Mill Modeling as one of the pioneers of the hobby. A regular attendee of the annual meetings, Dean was the de facto mentor of all members who attended. Those who presented a clinic were under the careful and constructive coaching eye of Dean. We all enjoyed his spirited comments and suggestions that have made all of us better modelers. This award was formalized after his death in 2010 to recognize the model deemed best by a vote of the members. Awards will be presented in two categories:
- Best model at the show
- Best model photograph
The photography award is for those who cannot transport their modeling work because of size, transportation difficulties or who do not want to shut down operations. To help evaluate your model and not your photography skills, three photographs of your model in 8 X 10 format are required. Photo one should be a straight on shot. Photo two should be at a 45 degree angle to the left or right of center. Photograph three should be an overhead view. Members who attend the Meet will vote and the awards will be presented at the banquet. Good luck!
Call for Clinics
We are looking for people to present steel mill related clinics at this year’s annual Steel Mill Modelers Conference. Each clinic should be for one hour, including 10 to 15 minutes of questions at the end of the presentation. To sign up to give a clinic, send the author’s name, clinic title, and a few sentences describing your subject to Jim DiPaola, chief1rtfd@aol.com. And don’t forget to bring your own USB flash drive if you want a copy of the clinics to take home.