NER NMRA Annual Meeting Minutes, October 25, 2015

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NORTHEASTERN REGION OF THE NATIONAL MODEL RAILROAD ASSOCIATION Minutes of Annual Meeting, October 25, 2015

President John Doehring called the meeting to order at 10:01 a.m. in Ballroom C, Hotel ML, Mt. Laurel, NJ. Twenty-seven NER members were in attendance, being a quorum. (Sign-in sheet attached). This meeting came on the last day of the MER’s convention, The Delaware Valley Turn, Oct. 22-25, which the NER co-sponsored in lieu of having a convention of its own in 2015. Motion was made and seconded to 1) waive reading of the draft minutes of the Annual Meeting held on September 14, 2014 as previously posted on the Region’s website and 2) accept them as posted. The motion was passed without objection. Motion was made and seconded to 1) waive a reading of the Treasurer’s Annual Report for fiscal year ended June 30, 2015, that had been posted on the Region’s website and 2) accept the Report as posted. The motion was passed without objection. NER Audit Committee member Bill Barry reported that the NER Treasurer’s reports have been audited through the end of the last fiscal year and no exceptions had been identified. The Audit Committee will be auditing the NER Convention Treasurer’s reports and reporting at a later date on them. The Audit Report contained suggestions on changing the structure of NER financial responsibilities and a team is working on drafting recommended changes to the NER Bylaws and Executive Handbook to implement these suggestions. These suggestions will be in turn considered by the Board of Directors. Ken May reported that the 2014 NER Convention held in Palmer, MA, had a net profit of $1,810. The NER retained half of the net profit and the remainder was split by the two co-sponsors, the HUB and Nutmeg Divisions. John Doehring reported that Jeff Paston will succeed him as editor of The Coupler and that Mike Tylick will become Associate Editor. The biggest concern for newsletter editors is receiving sufficient submissions of content to include in issues. Bill Brown suggested all divisions forward issues of newsletters, when published, to The Coupler’s Editor or select an article to recommend to the Editor. John asked that all divisions submit items for the Events section of The Coupler. He pointed out that The Coupler devotes substantial space to promoting NER conventions. Given its space limitations, The Coupler cannot become a heavily focused “modeling publication,” but it can be a good instrument for alerting NER members to model railroad activities and events of interest to them. He hopes to see the NER support scheduling of events and to create a public calendar of events, along with links to all division calendars. Al Oneto reported on operations. While he was not involved in the MER convention, he offered his services. At next year’s NER convention, the Hudson-Berkshire Division’s Local Convention Committee will run their ops without his involvement. Al will be available to assist if called upon and will continue to promote OPSIG in the Region.

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Bill Barry reported that NER member Howard Dwyer won first place in the photo contest popular vote in the model photo category. For the NER convention next year, Bill will try to implement a video contest. Reports of the Contest Committee and AP chairs were deferred until after the formal meeting. Motion was made and seconded to accept all of the oral reports made. The motion passed without objection. President Doehring reported on appointments that he has made that have been approved by the Board of Directors. Kenneth “Chip” Faulter is the new NER Secretary and Bill Poor is the new NER Webmaster. The Secretary will provide prompt minutes for Directors to proofread and then have them published on the Region’s website so that NER members will be informed as to the progress being made in the Region. Transparency is important in a large volunteer organization. The NER website will be promptly updated and then relaunched with many new features. This will be supported by a team of volunteers who have offered to help. Greater access to members, ability to post photos and a “mobile friendly” website are among the goals of the new website. Any changes to the website will be accomplished without terminating any division’s website service that it may be getting under the current NER website arrangement. President Doehring has been searching for a candidate to serve the remaining term of the Vice President. This position is critical for backing up the President and also chairing the valuable ad hoc Division Leaders Committee (aka “Superintendents’ Forum” which customarily convenes twice per year). A person has stepped forward with interest to assume the critical position of NER Convention Committee Chair, a position now filled temporarily by President Doehring. There will be three conventions to look forward to in the Region in 2016: Port City Rails, May 19-22, in Saint John, NB, sponsored by the Maritime Federation of Model Railroaders and co-sponsored by the NER; 36th National Narrow Gauge Convention, September 7-10, in Augusta, ME, co-sponsored by Seacoast Division NMRA; and The Pacemaker NER Convention, September 15-18, in Albany, NY, hosted by the Hudson-Berkshire Division. The Garden State Division is “seriously considering” bidding for the 2017 NER convention, and The Little Rhody Division is similarly considering bidding on the 2018 convention, which they contemplate hosting in Newport, RI, in October. Notice was given that the Susquehanna Division of the MER is also likely to be hosting a regional convention in northeastern Pennsylvania in 2017 and planners of both regional conventions should be mindful of potential opportunities for collaboration as well as potential conflicts. President Doehring continued announcing appointments. Recently, Vin Gallogly has agreed to chair an ad hoc Investment Committee responsible for reviewing an investment proposal from the current manager of the NER’s investment account, as well as reviewing the current NER investment policy and arrangements. Recommendations from this ad hoc committee will be taken into consideration by the Board. The NER Membership Committee needs to be re-staffed

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and organized. One of its assignments is staffing the NER display at the train show in W. Springfield, MA. He hopes that the Committee will recruit a team to represent the NER regularly at events like this in the future, with participation by all divisions. Another role for this committee is to help distribute news on a regular basis to the NER’s divisions. Ken May is the contact person for the upcoming train show in W. Springfield and he noted that free badges to the train show may be obtained for those who volunteer at least 3 hours, but requests must be submitted by December 15. The Nominating Committee can serve an important, regular role as developer of new leadership in the NER. The current Chair is Thomas Wortmann. President Doehring has asked every division to nominate at least one person to join this committee. The ad hoc Strategic Planning Committee under the leadership of Steve Erickson will be engaging members of the NER to determine a vision and strategic plan for it, reaching out to all groups for input. All of the NER committees can use Go To Meeting or similar conference calling services to eliminate the challenges of travel for members from various parts of the territory serviced by the NER. President Doehring gave the members gathered his own hopes as to the future of the NER. He advocated for a vision that the NER would be the “biggest and best region in the land.” He noted that NER members live in the area of the country with many great modelers, the longest history of railroading, and a large number of resources to call upon. With these attributes, the NER should be more emphatic in its strategies and plans, which should help keep people from drifting away from the NMRA. He listed five initiatives to consider:

1. Share resources among members and divisions within the area served. 2. Enhance regional conventions. NER conventions are central to what the NER does for its

members. The NER needs to build teams to make it easier for divisions to host future NER conventions.

3. Support the Achievement Program even more. Make the NER’s AP “one that really rocks!”

4. Assist the NER divisions. No division should have to learn everything from the ground up.

5. Neuter the controversy about the “value” of NMRA membership. No one should ask in the future “what do I get for $66?”

President Doehring’s suggestions elicited many supportive comments and suggestions from the members present. At the end of the discussion, he suggested that a team of 50 people working at the NER level (the “nifty fifty”) could make a major improvement in the experience of NER members, with possibly 3 to 4 people working at goals now being addressed by a single person. This is a healthier way to share responsibilities and prepare for turnover in leadership roles. Motion was made and seconded for adjournment. The motion passed unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 10:51 a.m. Respectfully Submitted by Peter McKenney, appointed recorder for the meeting in the absence of Secretary Chip Faulter.

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Immediately following the formal Annual Meeting, Ken May announced the NER members who had won awards in the contests of the Delaware Valley Turn. NER AP Manager Bill Brown, MMR, followed with announcement of AP certificate recipients during the past year. He thanked the NER’s division AP Chairs/managers for their work during the year. He announced that he will be succeeding Bob Hamm, MMR, as National Contest Chair within two years and will step down as NER AP Chair by that time. Copies of the contest award winners and AP certificate recipients is attached. ATTACHMENTS

1. Sign-in sheet 2. NER Model Contest Report from Delaware Valley Turn Convention by Ken May 3. List of NER AP certificate recipients in past 12 months

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NER NMRA Annual Meeting Minutes, October 25, 2015

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NER NMRA Annual Meeting Minutes, October 25, 2015

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NER Model Contest Report from Delaware Valley Turn Convention by Ken May The Mid-Eastern Region and the Northeastern Region held a joint Convention in Mt. Laurel, NJ on October 22 -25, 2015. The event was planned and executed by the New Jersey Division of the Mid-Eastern Region with the assistance of members of the Northeastern Region. The joint model contest was administered by the Contest Staff of the Mid-eastern Region, though I was present most of the time and took an active part in the proceedings. Three of our NER folks participated as judges and I performed the role of an alternate judge. There were forty-one models on the contest to be judged and fifteen of them were entered by members of the Northeastern Region. I was very pleased with the numbers and quality of the models entered. The contest was slightly different than our NER Model Contest last year in Palmer in that the contest was conducted using the NMRA National Contest rules – a practice I intend to implement next year in Albany in the NER. Implementing this change will make our contest consistent with most of the other Region Contests. While we merged the awards with the MER in this contest, our NER modelers did very well and received quite a few awards. Below is a listing of the awards presented to our NER modelers:

Name Model Category Award

Thomas Oxnard B&M Mogul #1475 Steam Locomotive 2nd Place

Mark W. Moritz 40 ton Ore Car Freight Cars 1st Place

Thomas Oxnard Maine Shellfish Refrigerator Car Freight Cars 2nd Place

Thomas Oxnard 36’ Rail and Tie Car Non-Revenue Car 1st Place

Howard P. Dwyer 120 ton Steam Wrecking Crane Non-Revenue Car 2nd Place

Howard P. Dwyer Boom car Non-Revenue Car 3rd Place

Mike Evans Whitehall NY Coal Tower Structures 2nd Place

Thomas Oxnard Squam Lakes Woolen Company Structures 3rd Place

Richard Walz Waterfront Display 1st Place

Stephen Ascolese Fuel Depot Display 2nd Place

Richard Walz won Best in Show with his Waterfront Scene, Mark W. Moritz won the Hub Division Award for the 2nd highest point total, and Stephen Ascolese won the Sunrise Trail Division New Modeler Award. I want to thank all those who participated in the contest and who made it a very great success. I would like to thank Bob Dennis, Steve Perry and Tom Wortmann for serving as judges. I look forward to another exciting contest in Albany next year. Start working on your models now. Kenneth May Model Contest Co-chair

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AP Report by Bill Brown, MMR AP Awards by Division Seacoast – 11 Garden State – 9 Little Rhody – 9 HUB - 7 Sunrise Trail – 4 Nutmeg – 2 Central New York – 1 Hudson Berkshire – 1 Metro North – 1 Green Mountain – 1 Hudson Valley – 1 Award Winners

Name Town State Award Division

Drew James Baldwinsville NY Electrical CNY

Fred Dellaiacono Oakland NJ Scenery Garden State

Fred Dellaiacono Oakland NJ Electrical Garden State

Fred Dellaiacono Oakland NJ Structures Garden State

Robert Dennis Staten Island NY Volunteer Garden State

Robert Dennis Staten Island NY Electrical Garden State

Robert Dennis Staten Island NY Golden Spike Garden State

Fred Dellaiacono Oakland NJ Civil Garden State

Bruce De Young West Milford NJ Civil Garden State

Bruce De Young West Milford NJ Master Model RR Garden State

Glenn Glasstetter Richmond VT Scenery Green Mt

John Doehring Pepperell MA Volunteer HUB

Andy Reynolds Brewster MA Volunteer HUB

Arthur Ellis Bedford MA Volunteer HUB

James Van Bokkelen Amesbury MA Civil Engineer HUB

Charles Stevens Plymouth MA Assn Official HUB

Gerald Covino Hollis NH Golden Spike HUB

Gerald Covino Hollis NH Assn Volunteer HUB

William Rooke Plattsburgh NY Author Hudson-Berkshire

Justin Maguire Barrington RI Author Little Rhody

Susan Osberg Coventry RI Structures Little Rhody

David Dekonski No Providence RI Electrical Lit Rhody

David Kiley Swansea MA Golden Spike Little Rhody

Justin Maguire Barrington RI Civil Little Rhody

Brian Osberg Coventry RI Structures Little Rhody

David Dekonski N Providence RI Volunteer Little Rhody

Brian Osberg Coventry RI Scenery Little Rhody

AP Awards by Category Master Model Railroaders – 3 Association Volunteer – 10 Civil Engineer – 5 Scenery – 5 Electrical Engineer – 4 Structures – 4 Author – 4 Chief Dispatcher – 2 Cars – 2 Association Official – 1 Golden Spike - 6

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Susan Osberg Coventry RI Scenery Little Rhody

Scott Russell Sandy Hook CT Volunteer Metro North

Jeff Hanke Cheshire Ct Volunteer Nutmeg

Van S Fehr Avon CT Volunteer Nutmeg

Rick Mills Berwick ME Golden Spike Seacoast

Erich Whitney Derry NH Dispatcher Seacoast

Keith Shoneman Acton MA Scenery Seacoast

Mike Grahame Stratham NH Golden Spike Seacoast

Mike Grahame Stratham NH Volunteer Seacoast

Robert Bennett South China ME Cars Seacoast

Robert Bennett South China ME Structures Seacoast

Robert Bennett South China ME Author Seacoast

Lucien Champagne Kennebunkport MA Golden Spike Seacoast

Thomas Oxnard Exeter NH Chief Dispatcher Seacoast

Thomas Oxnard Exeter NH Master Model RR Seacoast

David Metal Melville NY Civil Engineer Sunrise Trail

Ed Koehler Bayside NY Author Sunrise Trail

David Metal Melville NY Cars Sunrise Trail

David Metal Melville NY Master Model RR Sunrise Trail