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NATIONAL
TATTOO ASSOCIATION
Thursday we started off in the registration area. It was good to see all those familiar faces, and the new ones too. You could see those new to our family exhibiting signs of anxiety as they filled out the necessary forms to enter their tattoos in the competitions. They were welcomed with big smiles and open arms! Thursday night was the infamous N.T.A. Welcome Party. This informal affair allows everyone to grab a bite to eat from the finely stocked buffet and to socialize. There was a stage set up for those who wanted to display their latest artwork. We were entertained by a group of lovely belly dancers headed by Deborah, wife of member Richard Staydohar. Friday morning was set aside to register those that arrived late, and then it was on to the tattoo competition. Those entering their tattoos into competition first needed to be screened, photographed, considered by the panel of artist judges and then lined up awaiting an escort to the stage for People's Choice judging. The N.T.A. convention is the longest running international tattoo convention and has been summarized as the "Academy Awards of Tattooing." Film crews from the Travel, Discovery and History Channels plus PBS and local television and radio stations were present to cover the event. Eleven countries were represented this year and the artwork displayed surpassed everything you might have thought was possible!
Did I mention that EVERYONE involved with the N.T.A. (a non-profit organization) is a volunteer? (There were 174 volunteers this year.) Most feel that this is the reason that our conventions are so successful and well respected. The stage was packed full of those who donated their time as pictures were taken. On to the awards? Not yet. We still needed to sell raffle tickets for the 50/50 drawing and all of the raffle prizes donated. The winning ticket was pulled and the 50/50 amount was $4435! The other part of the money was added to the Col. Todd Hardship Fund. This is an N.T.A. fund that is used to help out our members in times of need. Did I mention that we are a big family? We're almost to the awards. First, we had some items that were donated for our auction with the proceeds going to our hardship fund. There was everything from a 25th Anniversary N.T.A. special edition Exposed Custom Cycles motorcycle to paintings to prints to customized $20 bills and bobble heads of the N.T.A. board members. Lots of money was raised for our cause. We are a group that believes in giving back what has been given to you. Now it was time for the awards. The first awards given were to Guy, Carolyn and Jesse Martynuik for graciously volunteering to be our hosts. The next awards were given to those who have supported and promoted professional tattooing to the highest degrees. These included the Peter (Tat-2) Poulos Award (two recipients this year: Bill Funk and East Coast Al), the Terry Wrigley Award (Lyle Tuttle), the Elizabeth Weinzirl Award (Larry Happ) and the Bob Shaw Golden Age Award (four recipients; George Bone, A.W. Martofel, Pat Nunziata and Bev "Cindy Ray" Robinson). And, finally, it was time for the competition awards. There were 12 live categories (artist's choice and people's choice) with awards given to both the person wearing the art and the artist who performed the artistry. Only one category offers just one award and that is for Best Tattoo. Rich Ives from Pueblo, Colorado was, once again, the honored recipient of this prestigious award! Friday night ended with a ton of raffle prizes being given away, after which most of our tattoo family moved onto the casino and lounge areas. Saturday morning the booth holders set up and at 10:00 a.m. the crowds began to swarm the place. Artists from all over the world were offering their creative talents. Those not getting tattooed were busy collecting business cards and stickers or buying up T-shirts and other memorabilia. Twelve hours later, the buzz of the tattoo machines on the convention floor was finally starting to slow as the day came to an end, unless you were going to partake in more casino action! Sunday morning came early for most of us. The convention floor was again bustling with people anxious to get tattooed or just to be amongst some of the best artists and people in the world. Saturday and Sunday, those registered for the event were able to enjoy free seminars of continuing education on tattoo-related matters. Sunday afternoon was my turn to give a seminar entitled Tattoo Machine Maintenance. I had a new prototype left-handed tattoo machine and a high-tech microprocessor controlled tattoo power supply to show off, along with my slide show and hands-on demonstration. The evening led into a really big event, the annual N.T.A. Roast. I was the Roast Master of this fine event. Although I was honored to be roasted myself the last time we were in Reno, this time we were roasting Flo Makofske. As one of the founding members of the N.T.A., Flo was the first lady we've roasted. The all-male panel of roasters were eager to get their jabs in at each other and at Flo, who, of course, got back at them. After the roast, we moved the party to the casino and lounge areas where most of us were saying our good byes. This is oftentimes the most difficult part of the big ol' family reunion. As we were flying home Monday afternoon, we reminisced about all of the fun we had over that past few days. Ya know the old saying that you can't pick your family? Well, we did! Our next big family reunion (disguised as a tattoo convention) is March 10-13, 2005 in Miami, Florida. The convention will be Thursday-Sunday, and then Monday morning March 14, many of us will be boarding the Carnival Cruise Lines ship Fascination for a week of tattoo cruising! If you'd like to join this great group of people, be sure to check out our web site: www.NationalTattooAssociation.com. I hope to see you there! -Uncle Bud Yates
(UncleBud.com) |
That
family would be the over 800 registrants for the 25th National Tattoo
Association, Inc.'s Ò (N.T.A.) Annual Tattoo Convention.
This year, it was held at the Reno Hilton. The hotel/casino was
not new to us, as we had been there just three years prior. They
knew that our family was friendly, courteous, great tippers and
that we liked to party well into the next day! My lovely bride,
Aunt Brinda, and I arrived Wednesday for a meeting with our executive
staff and the hotel convention manager and respective hotel heads
of staff. Last minute clarifications and changes were made and we
were on our way.
After
the competition, everyone changed into his or her fancy clothes.
A delicious banquet dinner was served and then it was time for the
awards presentation. But wait: first we needed to remember those
that we had lost in the past year. Losing a family member is serious
business for us and although they are gone, they are never forgotten!
Next we needed to recognize those that had volunteered their time
to make the convention such a success.