Potomac Division Board Meeting
June 19, 2010
The
Potomac Division Board of Directors meeting was convened at 12:40 PM by
Superintendent Marshall Abrams at the Old Country Buffet in Fairfax,
VA. Martin Brechbiel served as host. Also present were Bill
Day, Mike White, Brian Sheron and Bill Demas.
Paymaster’s
Report - Mark Andersen submitted a report that the Division had a net
closing balance of $3286.39 after income and expenses and includes a
closing balance of $423.36 for the Module Crew. The minicon
realized a net of $60.00 after income, donations and expenses, $30.00
of which will go to Chesapeake Division, leaving a net profit of $30.00
and virtually achieving our goal of breaking even. Mark also
reported that due to the expanded edition, the Flyer postage now costs
$1.22 each to mail, but the Board voted for no increase in the
subscription rate since there were no more than 10 mailed paper copies
each edition.
Clerk’s
Report – Bill Demas reported the Division membership stood at 376
members including Railpass applications as of May 31 for a net increase
of 8 members since the last report on April 11.. He also reported
letters of appreciation had gone out to the South Columbia ministry and
other parties who participated to make the minicon the success it was.
Newsletter
– No deadline has been set for the next edition of the Flyer.
Mike will tell Martin the final number of paper copies of the Flyer to
print for postal mailing for each edition.
Layout
Tours – Brian Sheron reported no tour in July as the operations clinic
is scheduled for July 10. Rick White is scheduled for August 22
in Burke, VA. Mark will work the door. Andrew Dodge in
Olney, MD in September. Bill Demas will work the door. Brian also
reported Mike now has layout pictures to go on the website with the
tour write-up. Brian will schedule special interest events in
January, April and July. Layout tours will be scheduled for
February, March, May and June, and possibly one in January already
under consideration.
A P Program – Brian reported no new certificates were awarded since the last meeting.
Computer
Clerk’s Report – Mike White reported Contact List updating is
ongoing. Several new welcome letters to new members, including
Railpass applicants, were sent out. On the website, Mike
finalized the Helper Service page and developed and posted it on the
site, as well as continuing ongoing maintenance and updating.
Module
Crew – Mark Andersen submitted the next scheduled round of appearances
for the Crew. They will appear at the Lyceum in Alexandria on
August 14 & 15; Greenberg’s Train Show in Chantilly August 28 and
29; and Fairfax Station September 5 and 6.
Old
Business – Clinic - Martin reported the site for the classroom session
was secured at the George Mason Regional Library. Marshall
confirmed it would be at 1:30 PM, Saturday July 10. This clinic
will serve as a gauge to measure interest in future clinics and help
determine primary topics of interest. Marshall will send out a
broadcast reminder July 1 for this clinic. Bill Day will explore
the possibility of joining with the Vienna Club to”piggyback” on their
“guest conductor” series for future clinics. (Note: This has been
explored with Vienna and is not feasible at this time due to scheduling
and capacity). Marshall suggested Martin and Bill Day hold future
clinics on their respective areas of expertise (hands-on make ‘n take
and animation).
Helper
Service – Bill Day will send to Brian a paragraph regarding a Referral
List for the Helper Service page before submitting it for posting on
the website.
Walkersville Excursion – Marshall will invite South Mountain and Chesapeake Divisions to join us.
New
Business – Marshall proposed and the Board approved a new committee on
Program Coordination. Joint chairmanship is shared by Martin and
Bill Day. This committee’s first charge will be to identify and
compile a list of experts and their field of expertise, within the
Division and gauge their interest in participating in proposed future
clinics, and with proper information, determine when and where those
clinics would be held.
Mike
White will post a request for descriptive information from local
operating groups within the Division to begin cataloguing and adding to
the Operation page.
Record Backup – Members of the Board adopted a program of cross-storing their files.
2011
Minicon – Mark reported St. Matthew’s Church in Annandale has been
reserved for Friday, April 1 and Saturday, April 2, 2011. The fee
is $500.00. Marshall will invite all the neighboring MER
Divisions to attend.
The next meeting will be Saturday, August 28 at a time and place to be determined.
Respectfully submitted,
Bill Demas, Clerk