Russ Reopell
I’ve been collecting Heisey Glass since 2002, when my partner at the time came home with a box of “dirty” glass that was purchased to resell. I thought “Who’s going to want that stuff?” and headed out to run errands. When I came back an hour later, this beautiful sparkling glass was arranged on the dining room table, and I was hooked. I got involved in the local study club and there I was introduced to people that knew so much about Heisey Glass. Jack and Maezene Walker got me hooked on my two big passions – candle holders and smoking items. The craftmanship and ingenuity of the many designs, shapes, sizes, and colors never ceased to amaze me.
It wasn’t long before trips to Newark became a regular occurrence, attending auctions, conventions, and soon, not just attending but helping any way I could with the annual Spring Auction and Convention. For a time, I also assisted in selling Heisey. Our local club hosted the annual All-Heisey Glass Show for many years, and I always looked forward to all these Heisey collectors and dealers descending into the greater Washington D.C. areas for a weekend of fun, fellowship and Heisey finds.
Over the years, I’ve volunteered for many duties associated with annual Heisey activities including maintaining the original Heisey Web Site and serving as the first Heisey Technology Committee Chair. I assisted in getting the Auction catalogue online and searchable and posting the results online. I’ve helped set up the annual auctions, decorated during many conventions and volunteered when I could. I spent multiple years as the chair of the All-Glass Show and Sale at conventions and helped to set up and participate in Vivian & Percy Moore weekends. Most recently I was asked to and agreed to serve as the Chair of the Website Committee.
I’m very committed to getting new blood interested in Heisey Glass, using new technology while keeping in mind that many of our members are technology challenged. Coming up with new and exciting ideas to raise money for the organization to sustain itself while targeting not just the current membership, but also appealing to collectors of all kinds has always been a goal of mine. If elected, I will help to bring new ideas to HCA, work to improve the technology used to expose HCA to the internet and continue to explore opportunities to increase membership and help the organization thrive.
