February 21, 2023 - Meeting Summary

The San Diego S-Gaugers held the February club meeting at our clubhouse. Attendees were: Mike Forys, Ken Sadlock, Robert Graves, Scott Lewis, Raulf Polichar, Dale Minard, Don Briggs, Alex Sibbald, and Les Smith.

Introduction of New Faces / Show and Tell:

Mike Forys presented a pamphlet that advertises a train meet weekend in Hemet, Ca on April 15th and 16th. Mike also passed around the latest Lionel Catalog and S-Gauge tri-fold brochures describing the three variations. Dale Minard displayed the Spring Spree Boxcar.

Treasurer's Report:

Bob Graves reported that the club received visitor cash donations totaling $230.79 in January, the lowest amount for January in the club history. $67.80 of these donations came from our Venmo Account.

Standards Report:

Raulf Polichar presented miniature connectors which could be used for 12volt structure lighting. He also displayed a status indicator light stand that he constructed for our new "Y" switch.

Publicity Report:

N/C

Library Report:

The library has been updated through the end of 2022

Website Update:

N/C

New Clinics:

N/C

SN3 Addition Status:

N/C

Window Layout Success and Visitor Attendance:

From 1/14/2023 to 2/18/2023, the Window Layout Button 1 has been pushed 2,658 times and Window Layout Button 2 has been pushed 1,582 times for a total of 4240 times, or 260,459 times since Feb 2016 when we first installed one at Grossmont Center in May 2011 and 301,017 times since day one at Liberty station. We hit 300,000 on February, 21, 2023 and presented the young man who pushed the button with a train set. The Mall sent a photographer to record the event.

Old Business:

SN3 Layout:

N/C

Club Mural:

The Mural barn door has had orange paint applied.

Open House:

For our 15th anniversary open house on January 21, 2023, the Mall supplied a tent that was setup outside our clubhouse. Mike Forys setup our timesaver game inside it for visitors to operate. The game exhibited intermittent operation that was later traced to dirty contacts on the joystick. Raulf Polichar suggested future events could use battery power instead of 120vac to eliminate danger of visitors and shoppers tripping over cabling.

Window Layouts:

Mike Forys is working on the Liberty Loop Mesa and adjacent street.

New Business:

Lego Days:

The next Lego Build Day will be on February 25, 2023. The Mall has approved all 2023 Lego dates that Mike Forys submitted. These are the same dates as shown on our club calendar.

Future Events:

The next meetings will be on Tuesdays, March 21, 2023 and April 18th 2023 and will be held at our clubhouse and on Zoom.

Jurassic Park:

The park is complete and has been well received by visitors.

Train Time:

There is a train related movie at the Imax theater in Balboa Park. The admission is $10 on the first Monday of the month. The trip may become a club event if the members approve. More details will be forthcoming.

Operating Sessions:

The members discussed the possibility of modifying the main layout to allow for realistic train operations. It was suggested that we finish the SN3 layout and use it for operations as now it only functions as a static display. Dale Minard and Scott Lewis volunteered to look into what that would entail.

Youth Outreach:

The members discussed the club potentially hosting kid activities to bring youth into the club. The discussion was tabled until the next meeting, when members are expected to bring ideas.

Clubhouse:

The meeting was adjourned at 11:55 AM.