NMRA POTOMAC DIVISION BOARD OF DIRECTOR'S MEETING
September 18, 2016
Meeting called to order at 12:30 pm at the home of Tom Brodrick. Present were Brian Sheron, Superintendent, Tom Brodrick, Paymaster, Bill White, Clerk, John Paganoni, Board member. Marshall Abrams, Senior Assistant Superintendent, participated by telephone.
The minutes from the May 21, 2016, meeting were approved..
Program Reports
• Layout tours: no tours in October because of Timonium & MER Convention Gary Eames volunteered to host a tour in November and Ken is finalizing a date with Gary. Two tours are set for December. Jim Kinder will assist Ken Wilson in planning future tours.
• Achievement Program: Ernie Little’s package on scenery has been reviewed and forwarded to the National.
• Paymaster: other than the 2016 Minicon receipts and expenses reported at the last meeting, there was a disbursement to $38.06 to Brian Sheron for donuts and cookie
purchases, and $233 to Tom Brodrick for pizza, coffee and soda purchases. The layout tour sign purchases are pending.
• Flyer: the next issue is in good shape with several articles ready; Marshall is waiting for notices of future layout tours.
• Webmaster: Bill Mosteller reported no problems at this time.
• Op Sessions: may be terminated for lack of participation. Brian will query Bill Mosteller on possible future activities.
2018 MER Convention
Brian and Tom are working with Ken Ychwenker from Conference Direct on finalizing a contract with the Rockville Hilton. Even with a room guarantee provision the hotel is charging $1500 for convention space on Friday and Saturday (free Thursday set-up time) plus $250 for a small room and $500 for a large room on Sunday.
2017 Minicon
Tom tentatively reserved St. Mathews for the Minicon. The tentative date is March 18. Tom will send an application for the 18th. Marshall will prepare a Flyer article seeking clinic suggestions and other help.
Old Business
• Layout Disposal: Marshall is looking for people with disposal
experience to provide input for the article
and will put a notice in the Flyer.
• Outreach: to be continued.
• Excursion: possible trip to Pennsylvania Railroad Museum in Altoona was discussed, but no action taken.
• The question of annexing counties in VA &
WVA not included in a Division’s territory is still under review. Brian
will check with Bob Price for membership information in certain
Virginia and West Virginia counties bordering on the PD for possible
future inclusion in the Division.
• Bylaw Revision: Bill’s
draft of proposed revisions was extensively reviewed and commented
on at the meeting. Bill will incorporate all of the agreed-upon changes
and reissue a draft prior to the next Board meeting in November.
Assuming the Board is satisfied with the proposed revisions, Marshall
will send them to the membership for review prior to asking the
membership to vote and approve them at the Spring business meeting.
• Computer Clerk: The request put out to fill this position has not generated a response.
New Business
• Board Nominations: Jessie Cantrill has resigned from the Board. Ed Rosado has agreed to serve the remainder of Jesse’s term and was unanimously elected to the Board. Illness prevented his attendance at the meeting.
• The Board agreed to approve the business meeting minutes shortly after their submission to the Board. This decision will eliminate waiting until the next Board meeting to approve the previous meeting’s minutes and will result in a more timely notice to the membership of the minutes.
Next Meeting
November 12, 2016, at Marshall’s house.
Action Items:
➢ Finalize contract with Rockville Hilton for 2018 MER Convention: Brian/Tom
➢ Check with Bob Price on members in adjoining VA and WVA counties: Brian
➢ Send approved May 21 minutes to web master: Bill
➢ Incorporate suggested changes into by-law revision draft and distribute to Board for review prior to next Board meeting in November. Bill
➢ Check with Bill Mosteller on the future of Op Sessions: Brian
➢ Send application to St. Mathews for 2017 Minicon: Tom
➢ Prepare an article seeking Minicon help: Marshall