The PCA TX meeting began Friday, July 21 in Tyler, the Rose Capital of Texas, at
Happy’s Fish House, where 26 members gathered for dinner. Following dinner
members continued visiting in the lobby of the Staybridge Suites hotel.
Saturday morning, members convened next door at the La Quinta Inn and Suites’
Meeting Room to browse and buy weights brought by Guest Dealer Roger Jacobsen.
At 10AM, President Allen Boyd called the meeting to order welcoming 32 members
and four guests. Boyd, presiding over his first meeting as president, presented
roses to the members, and the Tyler Chamber of Commerce provided embroidered
rose stickers.
The financial and membership reports were presented. Membership stands at 79
individuals representing 12 states.
Our Scholarship Chair announced that artist Chris Sherwin, recipient of the
2016 Memorial Scholarship, donated two paperweights— a dogwood blossom weight
and a ladybug weight—for PCA TX to auction for the Scholarship Fund.
Five members presented summaries of their PCA, Inc. convention experiences.
All agreed that the convention was well planned and offered excellent programs
and events. In addition, the Naval Base, the Botanical Garden and the Chrysler
Museum of Art were great places to visit. Still, members said the best part was
the time spent with fellow collectors, artists, and dealers.
After the lunch break, door prize winners were drawn by a new member. Prizes
were donated the memebership and the Tyler Chamber of Commerce.
The annual silent auction was held including numerous weights donated by the
members that were downsizing their collections. For those weights, the entire
winning bids would be retained by PCA TX as a gift from them.
Roger Jacobsen, now in his 45th year as a paperweight dealer, gave a recap of
his early years as a dealer and his long friendship with Stuart Drysdale, the
founder of Perthshire Paperweights. Roger attended his first PCA, Inc.
convention in Chicago in 1973, served as PCA, Inc. Dealer Rep, founded the
New England PCA in 1977 and helped PCA TX get started in 1986.
Saturday evening, members enjoyed a delicious dinner at Spring Creek Barbeque
and more socializing—a joyful celebration of paperweights and East Texas.
