ICGA President’s Message

Messages from the President March 2025

Spring Thoughts for ICGA and Collectors

Welcome to the latest issue of the ICGA Carnival Pump. Hopefully this issue dinds you safe and sound and enjoying the last month of winter before spring dinally brings us warmer weather, more sunshine, and the realization that we are getting close to the next ICGA Annual Convention, which will dind us sharing a Mega Convention with the Heart of America Carnival Glass Association. ICGA was formed 58 years ago and HOACGA was formed 53 years ago, and since they were created, we have seen several carnival glass clubs and associations come, have great success, and then fade out over time. Bringing these two historic groups together for the Mega Convention feels like fate, history and a really great time. I really hope to see you there in Missouri!

We chatted about the convention back in the Decem-ber issue of the Pump, and this issue has a registration form and the convention schedule. It’s very important to make your hotel reservation and send in your registration as we are getting in registrations from both groups and the excitement is really high. It’s always a worry that we sell out the hotel and people can’t dind rooms, so eliminate that possibility by getting in those reservations. And by registering, we know you are coming so we can make sure to cook enough food, etc. 😉

Another thing to do is let Gary Sullivan know if you are bringing some plates for our big plate display. We are trying to put together the biggest, most diverse display of carnival glass plates ever at a convention. Every year I watch the Richard Cinclair seminar on carnival glass plates that happened way back in the early 90s when I was starting to collect carnival glass. It’s one of those seminars that I feel very fortunate to have seen live (I saw pieces in that seminar that really drove my collecting choices for the next few decades). It’s pretty eye opening for me to realize that we lost Richard early in 2025, and yet all the plates that he showed and discussed in that seminar over 30 years ago are still out there, still as beautiful as ever, and sitting in collections around the world. Richard was one of the best ambassadors in carnival glass and he will always be missed. But through this seminar at the MegaConvention, hopefully we are picking up his mantle and inspiring new generations of collectors like he inspired me all those years ago.

Speaking of picking up the mantle, one thing all of us can do going forward is to share our experiences and knowledge in carnival glass to new collectors. I feel like one of the best ways to do that is to write it down and send it in to ICGA’s most excellent Pump secre-tary, Barb Chamberlain, to use in an issue of the Pump. Even a few pictures and some information can be the basis of a great newsletter story. And that story can come in very handy for someone looking for carnival glass (or information on a piece of carnival glass they have come across or were given). Knowing how to dind out information about carnival glass can make the difference between a collector and someone who just sells or throws it out.

I wish you the best of springs. I really want to share spring with you in Missouri. And then we can share our knowledge and pictures and experiences with so many new collectors. We have all been the bene-diciaries of so many amazing things in the carnival glass world and it’s our responsibility to give it to those that will come after us.

See you in Columbia!!

Brian