The 2014 National Show!  July 3-6, 2014   Farmington, NM

The 45th National insulator show was held in Farmington, New Mexico at the McGee Park Convention Center.  Tommy Bolack was the show host.  This was one of the most unique National shows held.  Tommy provided the show tables, the awards banquet and two days of food at the show for free.  Although Farmington is somewhat isolated, the National was very well attended.  The excitement surrounding Tommy's Electro-mechanical museum,  wildlife museum, and personal insulator collection was a significant draw.  There were also 22 quality displays on a raised area in the hall.  Dealers reported excellent sales and there was a great selection of both glass and porcelain available.

This was a unique national in that it was run for four days.  This gave extra time for attendees to see all that was available at the Bolack experimental farm and ranch.  The Ranch has a fantastic wildlife museum including beautifully done displays of animals, birds, fish and insects from around the world!  The electromechanical museum consists of three giant pole barns filled with historic artifacts combined with outdoor displays covering several acres.  Tommy also opened his house for collector visits - the house contains the bulk of his insulator collection along with many other rare and fascinating items.

The Saturday night awards banquet was very well attended and in addition to the numerous display awards there were several significant NIA awards given out:

NIA hall of fame was started in 2012 - here are the 2014 Inductees:

• Dora Harned

• Ralph Hemingray

There were two Lifetime Memberships (The NIA's highest award) presented:

• Charles & Sandra Irons (Milford, DE)

• Tommy Bolack (Farmington, NM)

There were also two outstanding service award presented:

• Kevin Jacobson (Pheonix, AZ)

• Bob Scafe (Merritt, British Columbia, Canada)

At the conclusion of the NIA general meeting was the announcement of next years National show.  It will be held in Sandwich, IL with Jason & Daniella Townsend and Bob Stahr as the show hosts.

An excellent assortment of glass and porcelain was available at the show.  Here are some examples: 

For more details on this great show, check out the links below.

• The National Show

• The Displays

National shows are unlike anything else in the hobby.  It is the one time of year where collectors from across the globe get together and meet.  

Return to the National Insulator show page