Karen Peden - NCC Region Rep IX

My name is Karen Peden. I hold the position of Region IX NCC Rep.

Some of you know me but for those that don't, I have been a collector of Dept 56 villages since 1987.

I am a member of the Village Idiots which consists of 82 member families at the present time, That's roughly 140 individual members from across the USA but is based in Oregon. The club is celebrating it's 16th year. I have held several positions in the club and am currently the NCC Club Rep.

Ours is a very active social collectors club and would welcome anyone interested in our D56 addiction.

I collect North Pole and Snow Village actively but have several smaller collections such as Seasons Bay, LTOB, All Thru The House and Disney.

In 2001 my husband and I had a building constructed for a permanent display and I am working on it, slowly but surely.

I have a web site showing progress: http://kpden.tripod.com/index.htm

Please welcome Karen as your new Region Rep.

Linda Windham - NCC Region VIII Rep

Linda's Original Snow Village collection began in 1978 with a small white church that she saw under the Christmas tree at a local florist. The next year she looked for other houses but the florist no longer carried them. Several years later when she found another dealer she purchased two houses to go with the church. The next year her husband, Mike, found four town pieces while on a trip to Texas A&M. Their addiction to collecting town pieces began. They create a "permanent" town display in their home that is left up year-round. They have added enough houses to balance out the town and begin building their displays in October of each year. They also create vignettes to display seasonal themes. She says, "There is always part of the village up in our home". They collect only Snow Village and the related Halloween, Valentines, and Easter pieces.

Linda recently retired after 34 years in education as a high school teacher and a middle school counselor. They first joined a collectors club after moving to Ocean Springs, Mississippi from Southeast Texas. They are charter members of the Noel 56ers of the Mississippi Gulf Coast where she served as Recording Secretary and Newsletter Editor for seven years. They also belong to the Jubilee 56ers of Mobile, Alabama. After 13 years in Mississippi her husband took a job in Houston and they now reside in Cypress, Texas. As soon as she knew where they were moving Linda located the two Houston area D56 collectors clubs on the NCC Website and contacted their NCC representatives. They joined the Villages by the Bay and the Texas Townspeople. The NCC rep. for Villages by the Bay moved and Linda was elected to take her place. They enjoy meeting new people and through the D56 collectors clubs they have made a lot of friends and have had a lot of fun. They enjoy attending Gatherings and volunteering with the NCC with the most recent being "The Spirit of 56 on the Bay" held in Green Bay, WI. Linda and Mike felt being able to participate in the NCC sponsored Alaskan Cruise in 2002 was a wonderful opportunity and regretted not being able to make the Panama Cruise this year.

Please welcome Linda Windham as your new NCC Region VIII Rep.