Hello, my name is Kerry Traynor and I am the new Chapter and Member Liaison for IPMS Canada.
First off, I would like to thank Gary Barling for the great job he has done with the Chapter and Member Liaison portfolio, and for all of his advice and assistance in this time of transition.
It is my hope to continue in the tradition of Gary, who has set a high standard for representing IPMS Canada as well as ensuring that the chapters and membership are duly represented at the executive table.
If you will allow me, I’d like to introduce myself. I call London, Ontario home and I am married to Beth, and we have two adult children. For the past 23 years, I have been making my living as a teacher in the architectural technology program at Fanshawe College. Prior to teaching, I worked with various architectural firms in Calgary, Ottawa and here in London, Ontario.
I have been involved in the plastic modeling (I find it helps to add the word ‘plastic’ when I am describing my hobby, as it minimizes the confused looks as people often think of ‘fashion models’ when I mention modeling. Look at my picture and you will understand the confusion…) hobby for most of my adult life and I have been a member of IPMS Canada for about 28 years. I have been a member of IPMS London for 26 years and I am a past president (a couple of times…) of this illustrious chapter.
My modeling interests lay predominantly with 1:48 post WWII aircraft, but I find myself drawn to WWII aircraft flown by the RCAF, modern armor (again, with a Canadian association…) and the odd ship. My ‘stash’ outnumbers my ‘builds’ by an embarrassing number, but the less said about that, the better.
At this point I should note that I am a STRONG supporter of the local chapters and have a STRONG belief in that you can’t go wrong by joining one. I have always made it a point to join the local IPMS chapter where ever I have lived. My first IPMS chapter association was in 1982-83 with the IPMS Calgary chapter. I was made to feel welcome and in the year I was with the chapter I learned a lot about building plastic models. On moving to Ottawa, I joined IPMS Ottawa, learned even more about building good models and found a group of like minded people who became good friends. They are still in my life today.
When my wife and I decided to start a family, the decision was also made to move closer to our families, who lived in south-west Ontario. So, three weeks after our daughter was born, we moved to London. Not the best idea I ever had, the whole moving thing with a three week old baby, but London has been great for me and my family.
Once we settled in I tracked down where the IPMS London chapter held their meetings. It wasn’t long before I started to meet new friends, learn new stuff about modeling, and 26 years in, I still look forward to the monthly chapter meetings or the more informal weekly ‘sanding circles’. I am a past president of IPMS London (twice) and I chaired the committee that organized and ran the first London Scale Model Show.
You might think that after all of those years what more could I learn about or get out of being a member of a local chapter. Well, there are times where the only things I take home with me are a couple of good jokes and a quasi- commitment (never said aloud…) not to eat the ‘hot’ chicken wings again, but more often than not, I get inspired by the finished models on the ‘show and tell’ table and the talk about a new model on the market.
From my perspective, a part of the fun of being a member of a local chapter is the road trips. Over the years I have travelled to IPMS USA Nationals in Dayton, Columbus and Omaha, and numerous USA regional conventions and to conventions throughout Ontario. Now, some of you may have heard stories about me and a glass elevator. All I can say is that Rochester was a blast…you have to love a town that has a supermarket called “World of Beers”.
As you can see, I have a strong allegiance to the local chapter and what they represent. Perhaps that is why I said ‘yes’, when I was asked to consider taking over the Chapter and Member Liaison position on the national executive of IPMS Canada.
In the past, it was perceived by some that the communication lines between the IPMS Canada executive and the chapters and membership was slow and inconsistent. Over the last number of years, the national executive have gone to great lengths to eliminate any such perception. Chapters now get regular communication from the Chapter Membership Liaison and all members have the ability to communicate with the executive through e-mail and get updates as to what is happening on the IPMS Canada website. For those who communicate ‘old school’, IPMS Canada produces its’ magazine RT on a regular schedule and the fresh out of the package newsletter, BeaveRTales is now available via e-mail.
With the CML portfolio, it is my plan to follow in the footsteps of Gary Barling and continue to talk to chapter liaisons and members on a regular basis and listen to, and then act on, what their needs and concerns are. Gary has spent a great deal of time and effort to forge these lines of communication and I want to see that the lines stay open.
If you belong to a chapter that has not been getting e-mails from Gary, please drop me a line via e-mail and we will get you on the mailing list. Similarly, if you are member currently without a chapter, visit the IPMS Canada website to see if there is a chapter near you. If there isn’t, let me know and maybe we can arrange for you to get one going in your area.
Thanks for reading, and we will be in touch!