Awards Banquet - Steve Marks, N.I.A. President

Reprinted from "Crown Jewels of the Wire", September 2001, page 59

Two of the National Insulator Association's goals' are to promote the "insulator story" to the general public; and to educate existing collectors on various aspects of the hobby. 

By having these goals, the NIA hopes to increase interest in insulator collecting, so that new collectors will be attracted to the hobby, and existing collectors will be exposed to other collector's experiences. 

The NIA believes that these goals can effectively be accomplished through quality displays. Exhibitors are thus encouraged to stress education, history, and information about the hobby or on their chosen specialty. Because this is such an important aspect of the NIA, and for the hobby in general, the NIA chooses to recognize those individuals that have accepted the challenge to display. Displays are judged on Showmanship, Education, Rarity, Variety and Originality.

The winners of the N .I.A. Awards for the 32nd Atlanta National are:

1st Place General - Kathleen Edwards
1st Place Lightning Rod Equipment - Glenn Drummond
1st Place Color - Bob Stahr 
1st Place Foreign - Keith Roloson 
1st Place Junior - Clay Bledsoe 
Dr. Fredrick Griffin Memorial Award for Threadless - Doug MacGillvary 
1st Place Porcelain - Rick Soller 
1st Place Specialty - James Frustieri 
Milholland Educational Award - Kathleen Edwards

Tonight the National Insulator Association starts a new tradition! One of my goals as President was to create and distribute an award that would recognize the tremendous effort that is required to host an NIA National Convention. One that the recipient could keep! 

In the past the NIA has presented the plaque that you have just seen. The recipients were able to keep it for one year, if they were lucky, because many times they had to share it with co-hosts, and it would sometime travel from house to house during that year. They would then have to have it engraved and present it to the next year's hosts, leaving them with nothing to remember "the big event" by.

Tonight it is my pleasure to formally present the first National Insulator Association National Show Host Appreciation Award to Dudley and 

(part of the article appears to be missing from the original issue)

He has written numerous articles that have appeared in the hobby's mainstream publications like Crown Jewels of the Wire and the, NIA's Drip Points. While she has written articles as well, including one that has appeared in Linn's Stamp News regarding insulators on postage stamps.

Together they have contributed to practically every insulator reference book written in the 1990s, donating hundreds of hours of their personal time to enhance the embossing numbering systems. 

Bill and Jill have created and maintained the largest and most informative internet site on insulators, bringing the "insulator story" to thousands of interested persons. Insulator Collectors on the Net or "ICON", is the product of hundreds of donated man-hours over the years. Clearly, the launching of ICON ranks as one of the most significant events in the history of the hobby.

Tonight's recipients are no strangers to the awards spotlight as they have previously won such major awards as the NIA Outstanding Service Award, Crown Jewels of the Wire Insulator Hobby Service Award, and the Len Linscott Pioneer Award. Tonight the National Insulator Association recognizes Bill and Jill Meier with their Lifetime Membership Award.

The second recipient this evening has been active in the hobby for about 30 years. He has hosted a National Convention; and has co-hosted numerous Regionals and local events.

For more than 20 years he and his wife have also supported dozens of other shows, by displaying and contributing as dealers (frequently attending shows more than 2,000 miles from his home in Pennsylvania). 

He has served as the NIA's Eastern Region Vice-President, and then went on to serve as the NIA's President, Past President and Second Past President. 

I've personally known our second NIA Lifetime Membership Award winner for more than ten years. He introduced himself to me when I attended my first ever insulator show. It was 1990, and the show was being hosted by the Chesapeake Bay Insulator Club. He was eager to talk to a new collector, and I have always looked forward to seeing him and his wife at dozens of east coast shows in the years that followed. 

Ask most collectors, and they will tell you that Steve is one of the best ambassadors to the hobby that we have. The phrase "positive influence" doesn't even begin to cover it. Ladies and gentlemen, please join me in a round of applause, as tonight the NIA would like to honor Steve and Donna Bobb with our Lifetime Membership Award.