Membership Handbook Revised June 2001

Table of Contents

Introduction
Articles of Incorporation
Bylaws
Code of Ethics
General Show Floor Rules
Show Facilities Standards
Administrative Show Rules
Exhibit and Judging Rules
Sample Show Forms
Grading Standards
Membership

The National Insulator Association ("NIA") was officially founded on July 7, 1973, at the 4th Annual National Insulator Show in Hutchinson, Kansas. For several years collectors had discussed the formation of a national organization, out of a desire to better coordinate locations for larger insulator shows in the United States. More specifically, collectors wanted a regional rotation of the largest of these shows which had come to be known as the Annual National Insulator Show.

Today, the NIA is involved with the coordination of three major insulator shows, one in each geographic region of the country. One of these three annual shows serves as the NIA Convention Show ("the National"), and it rotates among the three regions year to year. The NIA also sanctions the bottle and general hobby shows (often conducted by "local insulator clubs"), where insulator-collecting activity is more than incidental. The NIA Board has adopted several sets of rules and guidelines to assist in the administration and promotion of the larger shows. These rules and guidelines appear in this Handbook.

The NIA provides assistance to its members and promotes the insulator collecting hobby to the public. A quarterly newsletter, "Drip Points," keeps members informed of all Association matters. In particular, reports from the NIA’s Board Members and Committee Chairpersons keep the NIA’s General Members abreast of all aspects of the insulator hobby. Through a cooperative agreement, the roster of current NIA members is combined with the Annual Subscribers Directory for the commercial magazine, "Crown Jewels of the Wire." This Directory is published each October.

If you are not already a member, the National Insulator Association invites your membership and support. You can join by filling out this membership form.

As you will see from reading this Handbook, members of the NIA have certain privileges and are able to take advantage of certain services. NIA members are proud of their affiliation with a national organization, and the recognition it confers upon them. They are active and knowledgeable collectors, who are also sincere and considerate people. Although not all NIA members are active in the NIA’s various projects; NIA membership lends considerable support to the insulator-collecting hobby as a whole.

Next section: Articles of Incorporation

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Last updated June 17, 2001