Chapter Bio
Originally started under the sponsorship of a local hobby shop chain - “Hungate's Hobbies” - as the “Hungate's Model Club”, HMC was organized as a collaboration of local modelers (especially Gordon Geiger) and the Virginia Beach Hungate's store manager, Ms. Kaye Davis. The early days were active with promoting the hobby through public 'demo days' (often in Virginia Beach's Pembroke Mall) in front of the store, club contests, swap meets and open competitions. As one of several active modeling clubs including the “Tidewater Auto Modelers” (TAMS), IPMS/Tidewater and other various railroading and “model shipwright” clubs, HMC developed a rather unique culture influenced by the multitude of other groups members also supported. This influence made for a very lively bunch indeed in spite of regular turnover from active-duty military members leaving on new orders. Another challenge, as for so many clubs, was obtaining a regular meeting place, with meetings being held variously in the local public library, at a member's work space, a member's garage, in empty Mall storefronts and finally, at a member's church community room. To date, using church spaces has proven the most reliable, though the specific church used has changed over the years.
Membership reached a high point in 1998 with many folks rediscovering the joy of model building, something that was always emphasized by the club as per the club motto “Creating, Learning, Sharing”. Local professional modeler David Meriman had a major influence on the club through his participation, individual encouragement & high quality presentations of advanced modeling techniques. Many members have followed his example and share their skills and experiences for the benefit of all, participating in club and public “Demo Days” and seminars aimed at publicizing the club and modeling in general.
Since the 1996 IPMS/USA National Convention, HRSM has served as a primary 'volunteer partner' with IPMS/Tidewater in supporting five national & two regional conventions. This reflects the close ties between the two chapters, which also share a significant number of members.
The club continues to follow the core creed of sharing & learning to the present day with a high quality website and a Facebook group as outreach through the Internet, bringing the club into the current age of networked communications and collaborative content.
