What is the “Fact Sheet”, and why should each club have one “at the ready”? The “Fact Sheet” is an MS Word document. It contains information regarding your club that is displayed to the modeling public on the IPMS/USA web site. In fact, and this is important, the “Fact Sheet” is a reflection of that information. 

If the information displayed on the “Fact Sheet” is incorrect, than its incorrect on the IPMS/USA web site.  

This includes information about meeting locations, times, and dates. It includes information about and links to your club web site. 

The “Fact Sheet” contains other very useful information, but that information will not be used until the upcoming charter renewal cycle, so let’s wait to talk about that. Suffice it to say at this time that using your “Fact Sheet”, you will be able to determine your club’s charter renewal status, and what needs to be done to fix any problems.....all in under 60 seconds. No fuss. No muss.

Make sure it is correct...

Find and open your club Fact Sheet. If you can’t find it please ask me for a copy....its ok, you won’t be sent to the Principal’s office. Please look at the lines that provide your club’s meeting date(s), time, and location. On the other attachment that accompanied this instruction sheet (it’s a Fact Sheet for a fictitious club) I’ve highlighted this area in blue to aid you in locating the specific line items that I’m asking you to inspect. 

If the meeting information is correct then you’re done! You don’t need to report to your RC or to myself (Director of Local Chapters) that the information is correct. We will make the assumption that all is well unless you say otherwise. Please skip to the last two paragraphs of this letter for an important message. 

If, on the other hand, any of your club meeting information is incorrect then we ask that you make corrections to the information and notify us.

How do you notify us (IPMS Director of Local Chapters & your RC) that the information is incorrect?

1). Edit the information directly on your Fact Sheet, save it, attach it to an email and send that email to your wonderful Regional Coordinator. The RCs need accurate information to help steer potential members your way so its important that you keep them “in the loop” when this information changes. They can forward the new info to me (Director of Local Chapters), or you can copy me when you send it to your RC. I will make the required changes to the master copy and send the corrected version back to you via your RC, or

2). you can provide the new information by simply typing it into the body of an email, and sending that email to your RC. Copy the Director of Local Chapters if you wish, but rest assured the RC will forward the info. As you can see the RC role has been expanding over the last two years, and that’s a good thing. It has made communication and coordination much more effective and efficient. 

You’re done! That’s it! Just check the meeting information, provide correct info if required, and get back to the modeling workbench.

Keeping Track Of Members

It is now time to take a look at the list of IPMS members that is displayed on your Fact Sheet. This list is very important. Your club, in order to renew its IPMS charter, must have at least five IPMS members in good standing within that list. Let’s take a look at the Fact Sheet for IPMS Passionate Patrons of Plastic. (The other attachment on this email) 

Look at the IPMS PPP Fact Sheet and find the “Chapter Officers:” subtitle. The list that follows that subtitle shows all of the members (and offices held by some of the members) for IPMS PPP. The label, “MAL” means “Member at Large”. 

Where does this information come from?

• The club must provide the member name. (While the IPMS membership application form has a field for the name of the local club to which the applicant belongs about 50% of the returned forms  do not show any data in this space)
• The Director of Local Chapters can supply the IPMS number if the club does not have that information and,
• The Director of Local Chapters will supply the expiration date.

What is the significance of this information?

• In order to renew your club charter, your club Fact Sheet must show at least five (5) IPMS members in good standing. The Membership Expiration Date column will show the expiration date for each member.
  • Without a lengthy explanation as to the reasoning.... just look at the expiration date. In order to be considered “active” for charter renewal purposes, the date for the member must be Oct 1, 2007 or beyond. Any date prior to Sept 31, 2007 means that the member in question does not meet the charter requirements and thusly, the club cannot renew the charter until the Fact Sheet shows at least 5 IPMS members in good standing.
  • Oct 1, 2007 and beyond? We are “go” for charter renewal.
  • Sept 31, 2007 or earlier? We have a “no go” for charter renewal.
• At a glance you can determine if your club will meet the charter renewal cycle requirements. Let’s take a little quiz to see if you have a handle on how to use this information. Look at the list of members on the IPMS PPP Fact Sheet and determine how many are “Go” for the 2008 charter renewal cycle, and how many are no “Go”. (Answer)

By now you are familiar with the layout of the Fact Sheet. You’ve seen it before. Here are the few points you need to know and remember about its use.

• You should have a Fact Sheet on file as of now. If you cannot find it please ask for another to be sent to you via email. Email me at dlc@ipmsusa.org and ask for a copy of the Fact Sheet. Please include the name of your club. (I can associate about 95% of you by name with your home club but sometimes I get brain cramps and having your club name right there in front of me on your email would be helpful.) My response time is under 24 hours.
• It is your responsibility to provide corrections, additions, and edits to your Fact Sheet on a frequent basis. In an email, you can tell me what needs to be edited, corrected, or added and I’ll modify your club’s Fact Sheet and return a revised copy to you. Again, my average response time is well under 24 hours. What are these corrections, additions, and edits that need to be made?
  • Officer elections- after a change in personnel, please provide me with a list of the new officers and the office they now hold. Don’t worry about their IPMS # or their expiration date. This is critical for the successful completion of the charter renewal cycle.
  • Chapter Contact- same as for the officers. Just let me know who the new guy is and his/her email address. This is critical for the successful completion of the charter renewal cycle.
  • Meeting info- This information is displayed on the IPMS website and needs to be current and accurate. If the time, date, or location of your club meeting changes, please inform me and I’ll modify the Fact Sheet, and update the information on the web site.
  • Local Club web url- IPMS provides a link to your club web site. If the link shown on the Fact Sheet is wrong, out of date, or non-existent then provide the exact url, as it should be entered in the address line on the internet.
  • Website Description- Please provide the text, exactly as you wish it to appear on the IPMS web site, and the Fact Sheet can make that happen.
  • List of members- You will notice on your Fact Sheet that there is a list of IPMS members. These folks are “registered” as members of your club in the IPMS data base.
    • If some modelers who are listed are not part of your club please let me know and I’ll remove their name.
    • If you have IPMS members in your club who are not shown on this list, provide their name to me and I’ll take care of their IPMS # and expiration date.

Finally, I am often asked how frequently the local club should update their Fact Sheet. I’d recommend that you update it when any of the bulleted items above come into play. 

Can you ask for an updated Fact Sheet even if no changes have taken place in your club?  Sure!! 

Who can I speak to if I have questions?   Email me at dlc@ipmsusa.org or call me at

210-681-7945 CST 

Thanks for all that you do for your clubs and for IPMS 
Dick Montgomery

IPMS Director of Local Chapters

*There are Five members of IPMS PPP are in good standing with IPMS as of Oct 1, 2007, and therefore, can count toward the five required IPMS members. * Back To Your Spot