2024 NFGS Convention

 
Are you as excited about the convention as I am? If you haven’t sent your registration to the office, please do so soon. If you are exempt from paying sales tax, please remember to include your Tax-Exempt form with your registration. We must charge sales tax if we don’t have your form. Roxanne and Les Rowe will be in the Wingate Hotel lobby from 6 to 8 PM on Friday, July 26, handing out con-vention packets. You may also pick them up Saturday morning, July 27, in the lobby of the Grand Pointe Convention Center starting at 8 AM. You may also buy pins, 50/50 tickets and glass raffle tickets at Grand Pointe. Please be sure to sign up for your banquet table at this time. I am always excited for our 50/50 drawing each year. Tickets will be available at the Grand Pointe Convention Center throughout the convention. This year our non-profit of choice is the Williamstown, WV Volunteer Fire Department. Wear your convention badge to all events. It is required to enter the Glass Sales/Silent Auction room, board the Valley Gem for the Dinner Cruise, attend our Annual Meeting and enter the ballroom for our Banquet. Your badge is also needed to enter the Hospitality Room for your prepaid lunches. They are also a great introduction to other attendees.I hope dozens of items are brought in for the Glass ID seminar. Nancy and George Fenton, and Anne and MaxBlackmore are our expert panel this year. I really enjoy this event and always learn a lot. I am looking forward to the banquet for great food and fellowship. I look forward to hearing “Anecdotes of anAuctioneer”with Mike Voshel, our keynote speaker. He has volunteered for the NFGS consignment and banquet auctions for years and I know he will have some good stories. Finally, it is wonderful to end our convention with the whimsey auction. During the Monday morning Designers Seminar, Michelle Kibbe, Kim Barley, Robin Spindler, and Frances Burton each create a one-of-a-kind item. These items are up for bids during the auction along with other special items, including many one-of-a-kinds by various artists. I want to take a moment to thank each chairperson and board member who work hard to bring our Convention to fruition. It takes a village and ours is wonderful. I look forward to seeing old friends and making new ones. If you have any questions, please contact me atluv4steelers@sbcglobal.netor call me at 724-208-4009 

 
The showcases of the NFGS Convention are the exquisite display tables. I say it every year, the display tables are like a mini-adventure and experience to observe the beautiful glass. Our club members always do a fantastic job of creating beautiful displays of the various types and colors of Fenton art glass. This year will be no different. There will be historical collections of glass to learn from and enjoy. We will have experienced displayers along with some rookies setting up display tables. Former Fenton artisans will be displaying their creations. They are Chris Carpenter, FrancesBurton, and Frank Workman. All three of these talented artists have continued to create or decorate beautiful glassware since the closing of the Fenton factory. It will be a truly remarkable display! Convention time is rapidly approaching! All of us are eager to get together, to shop, and to share our Fenton experiences with each other. This year's table displays will be uniquely beautiful and enlightening. My contact information is: cdlyngaas@gmail.com Seeyou at Convention 2024! 

 
Hey y’all! As of June 1, we only have 56 more days until convention! I can’t wait. I’m just so excited to finally meet y’all from Facebookland and everywhere else. Just as an FYI here are some things you’re gonna wanna know. On Saturday the 27th you’ll attend the First-Timers meeting, with yours truly, at 8:00 am located at the Wingate Hotel. This meeting will take place in the hospitality room on the ground floor to the left of the breakfast area. Remember this room as this is where the food will be later on in the convention, and we all know how important that is. I’ll be down there about 7:30 for all you early birds on your second pot of coffee. My wife Kaden and I will share with you everything you’ll need to know about Convention and most importantly, this is where you’ll get your Convention packets that tell you all the Who, What, When, and Where information you’ll need for the weekend. Some other important items in the packet are your badge (which is to be worn to EVERY event) and your bid card for both the Consignment Auction and the Banquet Auction. You will need to show your badge to enter and make glass purchases at the Special Glass Sales room, to attend the Annual Meeting, and to enter the Hospitality Room if you selectthe pre-paid lunch meals. This meeting is very laid back and mostly just a get together to meet each other and learn what’s going on. I promise you’ll have fun. Just an FYI: your 1st Timer Badges will be in blue. This lets our Fenton Family know to welcome you to the club and take you under their wing, so to speak. IMPORTANT: If you are tax-exempt, I encourage, beg, and plead with you to return the form to the office BEFORE the Convention. This is just to make sure we are able to make checking out in the Special Glass Room and auctions as painless as possible. For those of you who are tax-exempt, your badge will reflect this status. If you purchase tickets to the Valley Gem Sternwheeler and the Convention Banquet, that information will be stamped on the back of your badge as well. When we leave the Saturday morning meeting, we will then head to the one place you’ve all been waiting for: theSpecial Glass Sales/Silent Auction room! As First-Timers, you have the chance to purchase the member-exclusive glass before the sales open to other members! Now I’m not saying go pull out EVERYTHING you have in the bank to come shop but...you might want to because the glass in this room is always stunning and pieces you’re going to want to add to your collection. With that being said, make sure you bring more than one form of payment. We take cash, check, debit and credit cards. Also, don’t forget to check out the Silent Auction table. All the items are one-of-a-kinds, so they are for sure going to be something to admire. All bidding takes place on Saturday, with the winning bidder's names posted Saturday afternoon. The winners are to pick up their purchases at final Glass Sales on Saturday from 4:15-5:15 pm. Do not forget to check out the Room Sales! Lots of your favorite Facebook and other dealers set up displays ofglass in their rooms that is for sale. Feel free to walk into any room where the door is open for sales. The hotel lobby will have a list of the rooms where glass is being sold, watch for signs taped in the elevator and hallways too. The dress code is casual except for the Banquet where most choose to dress up a bit for this occasion, ya know church clothes y’all, not evening gowns and tuxes. All events are in air-conditioned areas with the exception of going to watch Dave Fetty make glass at HendersonHall. I will see y’all real soon! Safe travels and happy hunting. You can always email me with questions atsje30731@yahoo.com