Executive Board Announcement
Submitted by IPMS/USA Webmaster on January 10, 2024 - 12:45am ESTFellow IPMS/USA Members
Fellow IPMS/USA Members
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Ralph Forehand (1932-2022) was a long time IPMS-USA member (member #1592) and he formed many lifelong friendships during his many years with IPMS.
As a former high school dropout, he enrolled in the Air Force and served as a flight line mechanic at Laughlin Airforce Base during the Korean War. During his service, he worked to attain his GED and then after serving he first attained an Associate Radio Engineer degree, and eventually a BS in Industrial Engineering from Virginia Tech. He strongly believed in the benefits of a higher education.
As you probably know, IPMS/USA is a volunteer based organization. All of our Executive Board members, Regional Coordinators, Webmasters, and Convention Chairs and teams are volunteers. We often hear from members that they want to be more involved in the Society and help improve it. This is your chance to be a part of the future of IPMS/USA and make it better for everyone!
As you probably have read, Dave Lockhart has resigned from the role of President as of October 31, 2023. In accordance with the duties of the First Vice President, I accepted the role of President until the end of the next term.
To replace me in my previous position I nominated John Noack to once again take on the responsibilities of the First Vice President. He accepted and the Eboard approved his appointment.
IPMS/USA has been using an ad hoc method of advertising Local Chapter events with email blasts to IPMS/USA members within an area of interest. This has proven effective for the Chapters but cumbersome to manage. The IPMS/USA Director of Local Chapters (DLC), in concert with the IPMA/USA Member and Event System Administrator (System Administrator), has developed the following procedures to standardize an efficient process for the Local Chapters to use to advertise their events via Wild Apricot, our Member and Event Data System.
Effective Oct 31st, I will be resigning as president of IPMS/USA. While this has been a difficult decision for me, I have though on this for a while and feel it would be best for myself and IPMS/USA. While I have thoroughly enjoyed most of the past two years. There have been situations out of my control and others where I should have displayed more control. Perhaps my leadership skills are not what is needed now.
My days of tilting at windmills are over and I’m looking forward to getting back to the joy of building models.
Sexual Harassment
There have been several posts on other social media sites concerning an incident of sexual harassment at an IPMS/USA event.
Let me reiterate in the strongest wording that IPMS/USA has not and will not condone any such behavior. The board takes these issues very seriously and will address them immediately.
In this incident the individual responsible what immediately dismissed from IPMS/USA and is not allowed to attend our national convention.
To the Membership of IPMS/USA,
The results of this year's officer elections and amendment referendum have been tabulated and verified and are available for your review below. In short, all officers were running unopposed, and were confirmed by the vote. All proposed amendments to the Constitution and By-Laws were approved by a majority of a sufficient number of the membership, to make a valid response as required in the By-Laws. The specific totals for each line item are included below.
The Executive Board of IPMS/USA appreciates your participation in the election process. Your participation and feedback are critical to the success of our Society.
Some members have told us that the current PayPal and credit card payment process we use is confusing and hard to use. We heard you! Today, April 1, we are changing to an integrated credit card payment process that is faster, easier to use, and fully integrated with the membership system. You will be able to use your MasterCard, Visa, Discover or American Express card for membership and convention registration or trophy packages.