Village Press

How time flies! It’s time to pay our 2005 dues! Dues are $15 per person or $25 per family. If you joined in 2004 in one of the months on the following schedule, your 2005 dues will be prorated as follows:

Please pay at the February meeting or send to our mailbox if you cannot make the meeting.

We do not have an updated Treasurer’s Report for this Newsletter. Rich Moore took over the Treasurer’s position last month, and between going through the records, participating in the audit, and being very busy at his job, he was unable to submit a report in time for this Newsletter. Rich will have an updated report for us at the February meeting.

Chet and Diane Rosenbaum have sold their home in Boca, packed up, and moved to McDonough, GA. Again, we thank Chet for his work as Treasurer, and Diane for the behind the scenes work she did, being on committees for the holiday dinners, helping to coordinate different games we played, and for letting Chet do his "thing". We wish you both all the best, and we’ll miss you both very much.

Just a reminder, the Programs position is still open. While we have the meetings pretty much set through April, we still need to fill this position.

Larry Sargent from A Christmas Place will be doing a "bi-level", landscaped demonstration, showing us how to do it with Dickens Village and Christmas In The City houses. We all know what it is like to run out of room. Larry will show us a way to "go up". Larry’s display will be a raffle prize.

PRIZES-PRIZES-PRIZES-PRIZES

Door prizes – There will be 10 door prizes.

Raffle Prizes – There will be a total of 6 raffle prizes, including the Mystery House.

Gene Armeno hosted "Survey Says", which was comprised of four teams with 6 players on each team. The teams had to name the 6 most popular houses in North Pole and Dickens Village, as well as 6 most popular North Pole Accessories, and 5 things enjoyed the most at the SRG 2003. At the end the members on the top two teams were awarded a prize.

Hard to believe the holidays are behind us, it’s Valentine’s Day, Easter is on the horizon, as is tax day. With time seeming to move so fast, before you know it, it will be August, and the SRG 2005 will be here. Yes, I know I’m pushing things a bit, but with our busy schedules, time does seem to be going by faster and faster. The SRG Board and committees are hard at work planning the different events, collecting lots of prizes, and very special entertainment has been booked for the banquet. So, if you haven’t made your hotel reservations, or sent in your SRG 2005 Registration Form, don’t delay, it is never too early.

Thanks to Nancy Fernon, Ruth McDonough, Donna Fresquez, Marlene Bretl and Josephine Armeno for bringing refreshments to the January meeting.

The following people have signed up to bring refreshments for February:

Jerry Cunningham, Dottie Winzell, Jeffery Kirchner, Arlene Geiselman, Carlos and Gisela Suarez, Donna Fresquez and Guenther Heil.

(Re-printed from the National Council of 56 Clubs Bulletin, compiled and contributed by members of "Yahoo D-56 Group" and sent in by Lincolnland 56ers.)

Law 1 – Available space will decrease in direct proportion to the size of your collection. "What do you mean I can’t use the dining room table? I’ll buy you a set of TV trays – with village scenes painted on them!"

Law 2 – When you run out of space, build up!

Law 3 – When you have it all finished – even the wiring is done and that final extra "cutesy" has been put in – you find one more box of buildings that you forgot about.

Law 4 – The bulb in the hardest spot to reach is the first to go out – repeatedly – but not until you are finished with the display!

Law 5 – Last year, when you packed up all the buildings in their boxes, you found a few flags/signs that you forgot to put in the boxes. You placed them in a safe place. Now that you are setting up again, you have no idea where you put them!

Law 6 – The trees and/or people in the back of the display get knocked over by the wandering cat.

Law 7 – You vow to complete the village in your spare time BEFORE the family gathering and/or open house deadline. Then you find out your spare time has been limited … but the deadline keeps approaching.

Law 8 – You think you have enough foam for the WHOLE village. Then you find out THERE IS NO MORE FOAM – and you have buildings without platforms.

Law 9 – All your friends and family ignore your pleas for assistance, then become critics when it’s done: "Why did you put that THERE?"

Law 10 – Your spouse and other family members complain to you about the mess you are making as you create your Masterpiece. Then they invite all their friends and the neighborhood to see THEIR village!

Law 11 – It’s never completely finished. No matter what, there’s always something that is a "must have". Even if you do not get another piece to add, you can always find some way to "improve" on what you have already created (i.e., just one more streetlight would make the street perfect).

Law 12 – People always ask, "What happened to your hands?" the entire month of December. (Burns from hot glue are hard to hide – even paint doesn’t help.)

Law 13 – No matter how little space you have left, it will be "just enough" for one more building. (As justified in the store.)

Law 14 – Just when you are "done", one of your best friends buys you a piece for the village, knowing how much you will love it. And, you do. Then you look and say, "It can go there, but I need to move this building there, which means that building has to move there …."

Law 15 – But, IT’S ALL WORTH IT!

(Re-printed from the National Council of 56 Clubs Bulletin, contributed by West Coast 56ers in British Columbia)

For the NP Mini Donut Factory – use Cheerios to make a path or paint some of the Cheerios to look like donuts and litter them around the building. Or you could make donut posts by using a tiny dowel and stacking Cheerios on the dowel.

Hyatt Regency, Reston, VA

Aug. 4-7 SRG 2005 – North Pole South

D-56 Gathering, Quebec City

Quebec, Canada

Don’t forget to pay you 2005 dues. See page one for more information.

Paid membership is 173 members, 45 individual and 64 families.

Remember, wearing your club shirt and name badge at our meetings earn you extra door prize tickets.

Mary Joe Zettle
35801 C.R.
Eustis, FL 32736
351-483-2836

Larry & Maria Treadwell
treadwl@comcast.net

Bob Obenland and Gene Armeno

If you have not already received your new club pin, you can get it at the meeting.
The new pin is free to existing members, and will be given to new members when they join the club. However, if you lose your pin, or want additional pins, they are available for $3.00.

Any Village Landlord member interested in selling or buying any D56 item can now give us the information and we will place it in the next Village Press. Please keep it to a minimum of information on what you have to sell or want to buy and how you can be contacted. Please send your information:

There will be no charge for these ads.

Remember all dealers are always welcome at any of our meetings and free to inform us of your events to be in our Dealers’ Corner.

Holiday Celebrations is having a Spring event on Saturday, March 5^th from 10AM to 5PM. They will have lots going on all day – food, fun, prizes, and you will be able to save 15-50% off your entire purchases that day. Prizes will include gift certificates to restaurants, etc.

For dealers wanting to advertise in the Village Press, ads are $60.00 per year (6 to 8 newsletters per year). Ads are business card size and can be your business card or any other artwork you would like that size. Please fill in the form and send with your check to:

(MEMBERSHIP YEAR IS FROM JAN 1 TO DEC 31) All information is confidential and used for club purposes only.

Please fill out application and return along with the membership fee of $15.00 per person or $25.00 per family.

NAME:___________________________________

ADDRESS:_______________________________________

CITY:____________________________________________

STATE:________________ZIP:_______________________

HOME PHONE #:___________________________________

E-MAIL:__________________________________________

WHEN DID YOU START COLLECTING? __________

WHAT DO YOU COLLECT?

__ Seasons Bay

__ Dickens’ Village __ Christmas in the City

__ New England Village __ Snow Village

__ Snowbabies __ Snowbunnies

 __ Winter Silhouette __ Little Town of Bethlehem__ Other_________________

Would you be interested in hosting a Christmas House Tour for club members in December or January?

__Yes __No __Possibly __Need more information

What would you be interested in seeing more of this year at the meeting?

__Display Techniques __Guest Speakers __Social Events __Workshops __Other

Comments_______________________________________________________________________________

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The Village Landlords