SLVSME's roots trace to 2011 when Mr. Abbey teamed up with the Alamosa Family Rec Center to offer the clinic "how to build and fly a model rocket". The model rocket clinic was a success. Subsequent clinics sold out season after season, but getting supplies in the San Luis Valley was difficult.

In 2012, Big Valley Hobbies was established for the sole purpose of supporting the Rec Center model rocket clinic. Big Valley Hobbies operated out of The Green Spot at 711 State Ave from 2012 through 2014, providing a location for local families to pick up model rocketry supplies for the Rec Center clinics. 

Over a couple of years, the model rocket clinic grew to three and four sessions per season including Intermediate and Advanced Youth Rocketry. We flew our rockets at the Rec Center soccer field for a couple years, and kept our equipment in the Rec Center. Later we moved to Dan Russel's Pit in order to have more room, and to be further away from the airport. The earliest local rocket families were the Abbeys, Coles, Hupes, Torrs, Trujillos, Garcias, Clarks, Kreps, Wilsons, Hansons, Tsus, and Areallnos. Under the philosophy of "Don't do for a scout what a scout can do for himself", the rocket kids ages 6-14 all worked together on cutting, gluing, sanding, painting, measuring, testing, and flying their rockets. Unsurprisingly, all of these kids have grown up into very capable young adults.

In 2015, Big Valley HobbyTown officially opened it's own storefront at the Villa Mall. 

In order to succeed, a community needs regular activities and a consistent place to meet. The rocket club was hosted by HobbyTown and began holding regular meetings and rocket-building nights in the HobbyTown Rec Room. The rocket clubs SCORE of Pueblo and COSROCS of Colorado Springs donated equipment and a storage trailer. The San Luis Valley Rocketeers FB site was created.

In 2016, the SLV RC Racing Facebook site and group, organized by Ryan Fritz and Dustin Franzen, began to organize periodic indoor carpet races and outdoor dirt races. In addition to Ryan and Dustin, the Coopers, Coles, Abbeys, Adams, Clarks, and several other families began racing. They brought their kids, who learned how to repair and maintain their cars including mechanical work, soldering, upgrades, and batteries.

In 2017, the San Luis Valley Model Railroad Club began construction of a train layout in the  HobbyTown Rec Room. This group was formed around the Abbeys, Coles, Shawcrofts, Henions, Clarks, Soffels, and Fransens. Soldering, painting, wiring, carpentry, and scenery work came with building the railroad. 

Also in  2017, the San Luis Valley RC Air FB Site was organized by Luis Alvarez and the Soffels. Through a little local networking, SLV RC Air got permission to fly on the dirt strip behind the Monte Vista Movie Manor.  "Just check in with the front desk when you arrive, and no gas engines before 9am please" were the instructions.

2018 - the Rocket Club moved to the Garret Pit in northern Conejos County. This change moved the rockets away from town and the local airport, plus it provided MUCH more land to use. Landowner Rocky Southway was so supportive of the rocket club and it's activities with local youth that he donated the use of his property, machine grading, plus gravel to build what would later become a nationally-recognized model rocket launch field. Alamosa County jumped in and graded an access road and a fire break around the site. The Alamosa Local Marketing District supported with signage and marketing help. Rocket clubs from Pueblo and Colorado Springs donated equipment. That year the rocket club's youth outreach activities reached 150 kids, all of whom built their own model rocket for flying at the field. Please note that the pit area is totally off-limits unless a scheduled rocket launch is running.

2019 - HobbyTown's landlord increased the store lease rate by 66%, canceled the lease for the Hobbytown-paid-built-and-maintained race track property in the lot behind the building, and increased the rent for the Rec Room (where the SLVSME groups, Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts, Dungeons and Dragons, Magic the Gathering, Warhammer, and 4-H Robotics Club were meeting) from $50 per month to $3000 per month.  HobbyTown couldn't afford that, Mrs. Abbey was fighting breast cancer, and so after lots of tears and prayer the Abbeys decided to close the store. Unfortunately this would displace the clubs and groups that had grown up around the store.  

Almost as if on cue, the City of Alamosa released it's Downtown Redevelopment Plan. After reviewing the plan the Abbeys changed course, mortgaged everything they had, and bought a run-down building at 709 Main St. The building was structurally solid, but a mess. A small group of paid workers led by Dustin Fransen of Knotheads Woodworking plus dozens of volunteers jumped in and begin scraping, painting, tearing off the roof, ripping out ceilings, cleaning windows, building railings, fixing toilets, and installing HVAC. In 90 days flat the crew made a new home for their clubs, their activities, and the store. New lighting was installed in the mezzanine, a DnD Dungeon was painted and outfitted, an RC Carpet track was built, the model railroad was moved into the mezzanine, gaming tables were installed, RC Crawler course was started, and the Scouts found a new home at Cornerstone Church of Christ in Monte Vista. 

It was an incredible display of community, teamwork, and support for each other, the respective hobby clubs, and the store that hosts it all. 

The space opened up Jan 3, 2020......

2020 - Covid Happened. The store had to close almost immediately after re-opening, and the modeler groups went on hiatus. The space would not have survived except for the support of the San Luis Valley DRG, SLV Federal Bank, the Boys and Girls Club (who were working to find activities for their locked-down-at-home youth).  

As a result of lockdowns and distancing requirements, the clubs quit meeting for the majority of the year. The Rocket Club had been preparing to host a national-level rocket launch in May of 2020 which was postponed. 

2021 -Things started turning around. Lockdowns focused family's attention into their homes with more time spent on their family, their kids, and each other. The Rocket Club, the Model Railroad Club, SLV RC acing, and SLV RC Air were combined into a single non-profit entity: The San Luis Valley Society of Model Engineers (SLVSME). Organized in this way, the various clubs could stretch it's dollars further when working on their projects. 

In RC Air with some help from Alamosa County and Soffell Bee Farms, the air strip out by the Del Monte Gun Club was equipped with new signage, a windsock, tables, and was re-graded.

In RC Racing, a carpet track was built in HobbyTown complete with an electronic timing system. 

In Rocketry, the National Association of Rocketry National Sport Launch was held, bringing over 200 model rocketeers from around the nation to the Valley for high power rocket flying.

In Model Railroading, the railroad was expanded along the mezzanine east and south walls, a new digital control system was installed, and membership grew. 

2022 - SLVSME added a new wireless launch control system to the rocketry field, a storage trailer, and a solar system to charge the launch equipment between uses. The scouts helped fix up the trailer. AnB Solar Solutions donated a bunch of equipment and help install it. A new game room was completed in the HobbyTown building, and the game tables were upgraded. The Railroad Division expanded it's layout with two new peninsulas. RC air got a prep table. 

2023 SLVSME supported an Eagle Scout project to build an outdoor RC dirt racetrack at Cole Park in the City of Alamosa. The Rocketry division hosted National Association of Rocketry's National Sport Launch West, pulling in even more rocketeers than 2021. 2023's airspace waiver from the FAA was increased from 15,000' to 52,000' enabling larger and more powerful rockets. The rocket club also attended AirFest in Argonia, KS as a group.