NCS North Central Chapter in KC

Every year my “local” chapter of the National Cartoonists Society, the North Central Chapter, has a meeting/conference chock full of guest speakers and general cartoonist’s shenanigans. This year our chapter chairman is Oliver Christiansen, better known as wacky Hallmark card super artist Revilo, and the chapter meeting is taking place in his hometown of Kansas City this Saturday, November 3rd. As such, I will be traveling to KC tomorrow to take part in the festivities.

I say “local” chapter with quotes because out chapter is anything but local. There are so many cartoonists in the upper east coast area that there are no less than six chapter within about a 400 mile radius. Our chapter covers from the Rocky Mountains east to the Mississippi River and from the Dakotas southward through Oklahoma, encompassing Minnesota, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, the Dakotas and Oklahoma. Whew.

Since Kansas City is hometown to both Hallmark and Universal Press Syndicate, this year’s speakers hail from both sources… and it’s a good lineup.

• Stacey Lamb– Master Artist, Hallmark Cards
• David Mowder– Senior Artist, Hallmark Licensing
• John Wagner– Master Artist, Hallmark Cards, Creator of “Maxine”
• Bob Holt– Creator of Hoops and Yoyo

And the special main speaker will be

• Lee Salem– President and Editor, Universal Press Syndicate

Universal is one of the biggest cartoon syndicates, publishing such heavyweights as Doonesbury, Cathy, For Better or Worse, Garfield, Foxtrot and many others.

This is a great group of speakers, and as I know next to nothing about the greeting card business it should be fascinating.

Local chapters of the NCS are terrific sources of networking and getting to know cartooning as a career. You do not need to be a member of the NCS to be a member of a local chapter, and in most cases the chapter’s events are open to those with an interest in cartooning as well as professional cartoonists and illustrators. If you have an interest in cartooning, check out the NCS local chapter list and contact them to get info about any events in your area.

In the meantime, it’s BBQ this weekend in KC!