Unfortunately, a good portion of our members are either retired or the kids have left the nest-and I agree that the timing for the International was a little late in the summer. I have to fly my wife home from Vegas, because she has to be back at work on the 28th of August.
Next year the International will be held in Dearborn, MI, in June. The following year, it looks as though the chapter I head up, Cedar Valley Thunderbirds, will host the International in Cedar Rapids, IA. As you can imagine, I'm already working on that one! AMT/Ertl is based here-we are thinking of commissioning a special 2004 Thunderbird model from them. This is Grant Wood country (the artist who painted "American Gothic"), and we have the famous "Field of Dreams" baseball diamond up in Dyersville-yep, the one from the Costner movie! We also have the Mississippi Riverboat Museum in Dubuque, and a nice little sidewheel steamer that does dinner cruises on the river. The local shopping mall is interested in having the Concours located both inside and outside. To top it all off, we have the Amana Colonies about 20 minutes from CR, with great food and shopping. I'm looking forward to the opportunity to host the IC here in Iowa!
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