NMRA E-Bulletin News July-August 2017

NMRA E-Bulletin News 

July & August 2017

The NMRA Turntable is our newest electronic publication and it promises to bring exciting internet content to your email inbox.  Every month our dedicated volunteers will be scouring the web looking for interesting, informative, entertaining model railroad content.  We'll gather those links, give you a summary, and compile it into one, short, monthly e-newsletter.  The NMRA Turntable will find things you'd never find on your own, will save you a bunch of web surfing time, and will put content you'll like at your fingertips.

Just like a railroad turntable, the NMRA Turntable will present you with a wealth of tracks that can take your model railroad interests in any number of new directions!

Exciting news on the Gallery Exhibit and Library!

It's been a long process but I'm happy to announce that the long-promised Gallery Exhibit ("Exhibit") and Kalmbach Memorial Library ("Library") move are finally underway.  The Exhibit was first proposed over a decade ago.  Benchmark Publications' publisher and MMR Bob Brown once said: "To attract people to our hobby, you must show them what we do."  We know from the success of Train Shows and the World's Greatest Hobby campaign, such public exhibits work well and inform and excite the public about our hobby.

Implementation delays were due to a problem that involved CSRM's parent agency, the California Department of Parks and Recreation. Apparently, DPR, for noble reasons, did not spend all of its appropriations, retaining those funds in a reserve account but not reporting that to the Legislature.  The resulting "scandal" ended up in a widespread change in management.

Fortunately, the new managers were as interested and committed to the Exhibit as were their predecessors, and after much patience and entreaties, CSRM management worked out all of the obstacles preventing final approval and in late June, we finally received the long-promised agreement authorizing the Exhibit.  The BOD approved this agreement in an unanimous electronic vote.

The agreement could not be more fair nor inclusive.  I am happy to report all of the elements I have described or represented over the years are included.  There is no cost to NMRA for the space provided and utilities/outside maintenance will be performed by CSRM.  We will be responsible for interior maintenance, which we prefer.  We will own the exhibit, which can be moved and used later in a permanent Museum. Although they no longer do so, CSRM has agreed to administer our Library and as promised will:

"... allow members of the NMRA to have access not only to the NMRA collection but also to the CSRM Library and collections within that library under the Library's current policies and procedures."  (Para 3C)

To ensure access, we have agreed to fund a partial position at the same cost as our former librarian, to ensure good access for our members and handle any attendant Exhibit maintenance.  CSRM has also pledged to negotiate:

"the extent and nature of any solicitation messages or graphics, which can be displayed to explain to the public the purpose of the gallery Exhibit and the future plans of the NMRA toward a permanent museum. The Parties also anticipate CSRM's Museum Store may carry merchandise items related to the gallery Exhibit.  Such items could include, but are not limited to, publications, graphics, books or products which might be of interest to the public." (Para 6)

We are also able to use any CSRM artifacts as part of the exhibit and storage space will be provided us to refresh the Exhibit as needed. Truly, the parties agreed that it is of mutual benefit to establish this Exhibit "...which will provide educational and interpretive visitor services, and complement CSRM's existing Small wonders 'The Magic of Toy Trains' exhibit". (Recitals)

So what?  Well, CSRM and Old Town Sacramento is the 6th most popular tourist destination in California, with the museum attracting over 600,000 paid entrants a year.  Many of those visitors are seniors and children.  It took World's Greatest Hobby 10 years to attract a million visitors, an excellent record.  The Gallery exhibit will be exposed to a million visitors in less than two years!  Those visitors will see and experience a world-class exhibit of the best of our hobby and some of our history.  This Exhibit is not the Howell-Day Museum but is a taste of what that museum might contain.  With tie-ins in the Museum shop, interested visitors will be able to find literature and resources about model railroading and the NMRA.

I can think of no better marketing tool for our hobby.  We could not buy this space or exposure at a world-class museum like the CSRM for any price, but the space is free.  We provide the exhibit, which we will own.  Yes, the exhibit price is daunting.  Yes we need your support and tax-deductible donations.  But with those dollars help ensure a future for our hobby and renewed importance for the NMRA.  There are so many benefits to this effort, it would take many columns to describe them.  Suffice to say, we are on our way.  We expect the Gallery Exhibit to open by Summer of 2018.  The Library should be open and functional later this Fall.

We value your membership and your feedback.  Whether you agree or disagree with me, we always welcome your thoughts, insights and comments.  As I always say.....those are my thoughts.....what are yours?

Charlie

Board of Directors meeting in Orlando

2018 Slate of Candidates and Nominations by Petition

By John Stevens

NMRA Secretary

2018 Election Slate of Candidates

President:

Pete Magoun

Vice President-Special Projects:

Gerry Leone

Vice President-Administration:

Clark Kooning

John Stevens

At-large Director North America:

Jim Gore

Mike Mackey

Eastern District Director:

Bob Hamm

Walton Liles

Pacific District Director:

Peter Burrows

Dion Koch

Robert Peterson

Message from the Secretary

Normally, the Secretary oversees the election process through the By-Petition phase, the ballot preparation process, and the ballot processing phase.  Since the Secretary is a candidate for one of the positions listed above, that responsibility has been passed down to the Assistant Secretary, Rick Coble.  Any questions about the election process should be forwarded to Rick at rvcoblenmra@gmail.com.

Nomination By Petition

The nomination process is now closed for those members who wished to submit their names to the nominating committees for consideration for the positions up for election in the 2018 election.  Members who wish to run for one of these positions who missed the nomination process deadline or did not wish to be subjected to the decisions of the appropriate nominations committees may submit a petition placing their name on the ballot.  Requirements for submitting by petition are contained in the EHB in Sec A 10.1 Paragraph 3 Nominations, Ballots, and Voting which can be found on the NMRA website.  All submissions by petition shall be received by the Assistant Secretary NMRA at rvcoblenmra@gmail.com no later than September 1, 2017.

New Member Model Railroad Directory Launches

By  Christina Ganzer Zambri

NMRA Marketing Consultant

The NMRA is excited to announce the launch of our newest member benefit, the Model Railroad Directory!

Have you ever been curious if there are NMRA member layouts near you that you could visit?  Ever been on vacation and wondered if there are any layouts nearby?  Ever wanted to talk to other modelers about a different scale than you're modeling, or a particular prototype you're interested in?  Want to attend an op session, but not sure if there are any close by? Well, these questions and more can now be easily answered right from the Members Only section of our website, www.nmra.org.

Thanks to a group of dedicated volunteers, NMRA members have access to our new Model Railroad Directory, where you can search for layouts based on location, scale, railroad and other descriptions, as well as add your own layout to the Directory (as long as it is an operating home or garden railroad). Members can even include their own websites, photos, videos, and much more.

To access the Model Railroad Directory, visit www.nmra.org, log-in to the Members Only section of the site, click on "Member Home," and then on "Model RR Directory." Once there, you will have all the information you need to search for layouts or add your own. Who knows what you might find just down the road from you?  We urge you to join in the fun and connect with your fellow NMRA members!

Region and National Conventions 

(Only those Regional conventions occurring in the next three months are listed)

Jul 30-Aug 6:  National Convention, Orlando, FL

Sep 14-17: North Central Region, Grand Rapids, MI

Sep 16-17: Australasia Region, Adelaide, South Australia

Sep 21-25: Pacific Southwest Region, San Bernardino, CA

Newest Master Model Railroaders

Ron Einarson, MMR #593,  TLR

In Future Issues of NMRA Magazine

TrainFest Photo Contest

Model Railroad Directory

Hojack Line Crossing Shanty plans

"Mini-Meets"