NMRA E-Bulletin News Mar-Apr 2017

NMRA E-Bulletin News 

March & April 2017

A few words from the President

MY REPORT FROM ATLANTA 

I would like to provide a quick summary of our mid-year Board of Directors meeting, held in Atlanta in February.  Why Atlanta?  Well, three Directors live in the area or very close, as does our Secretary; the hotel is very reasonable and ATL is an easy/inexpensive airport to reach even in winter.  We spent long hours in committee and planning meetings plus the BOD sessions.  We also got a lot done.

At this BOD session, we announced some exciting initiatives and updated others already underway.  The official minutes will summarize what was done but here are some of the items of interest to members and we are very excited about a wealth of member benefits coming your way. 

We are expanding our educational and informational resources for you. We are renewing our agreements with TrainmastersTV, Model Railroad Academy and Model Railroader Video Plus in which they've agreed to donate some of their outstanding educational videos to our online library.  These can be accessed through the Member Only video page on the website.  Free! 

We will soon be launching a new electronic newsletter linking you to some of the best of the articles, videos and information on the Internet. Also free.

And we are very excited about new and increased efforts to launch a major Member Discount Program.  We already have a significant number of rail attractions and museums offering discount admission for NMRA members.  Now we are expanding that program to potentially include hobby shops, manufacturers and perhaps craft stores and big-box retail stores.  Many organizations offer member discounts such as tie-ins to rental car companies or airlines.  We want to initially focus on vendors of interest to our hobby and to our members.  I expect this program to expand and over time become a significant reason to join or stay a member.

Similarly, our Model Railroad Visit Registry, a worldwide listing of model railroads and members you can visit on your travels, is well underway.  The format for the list and process is completed and we next will solicit willing members to list.  Soon, you will be able to find members on your trips you can contact and perhaps arrange a visit. That process is how, many years ago, a 16-year-old (me) met the legendary John Allen (a member) and visited the Gorre & Daphetid.

With the assistance of our Vice-President for Special Projects Gerry Leone and Marketing Consultant Christina Ganzer, the BOD agreed to development of a marketing plan, which will help us expand our membership base.  Based on the excellent work done by our Recruiting and Retention Committee, we also will emphasize retaining existing members in addition to expanding member benefits.  We recruit an impressive number of new members each year but lose as many if not more of those new members.  Some sadly due to death, but a large number who choose not to renew.  Working on new benefits and on retaining those new members will increase our membership numbers.

The BOD also adopted a modest but necessary dues increase of three dollars per year, effective for U.S. members on September 1st.  This dues increase, representing just 25 cents a month, is due to increased costs caused by long-term inflation.  We are aware of the challenges any increase brings but also recognize there has been no dues increase in six years.  Believe me, the first thing we look at is cutting costs and overhead.  Even with the best of intentions, costs do not always cooperate yet we held off increases for six years.  This modest increase also allows us the flexibility to work on the initiatives and programs that can deliver more benefits.  Dues only cover 80% of our costs and we seek non-dues funds wherever we can to keep your cost of membership as low as we can.  If you want to save, renew before September 1 at the old rate.

There was a lot of other business accomplished but I will let the minutes, to be posted after approval, and unofficial summary below speak to that. 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

Summary of the Winter BOD meeting in Atlanta, February 18-19

The winter Board of Directors meeting was held at the Drury Inn and Suites in Atlanta, Georgia, during the weekend of February 18 & 19 (with the Operations and Budget meeting being held the day before). Along with the Board members, officers, and department heads, several members of Atlanta's Piedmont Division also attended.   The NMRA Leadership team greatly appreciates their participation.

Please note that this is an unofficial summary of what took place at the BOD meeting. The official minutes, authored by NMRA Secretary John Stevens, will appear on the NMRA website, www.nmra.org.

Some of the highlights of the meeting included:

The Board discussed the continuing delays encountered with the "Magic of Scale Model Railroading" gallery exhibit at the California State Railroad Museum (CSRM).  President Charlie Getz reported that all of the delays have been the fault of the California legislature and the CSRM, not the NMRA.  He added that the CSRM now appears to be ready to move forward with the exhibit.  The Board voted to set a deadline of July 15 for the CSRM to have all legal documents and agreements prepared and signed.

The Board approved a $3 dues increase for U.S. members.  Because there hasn't been a dues increase for six years, this will bring dues back in line with the consumer price index, as specified in the Executive Handbook.  In addition, the extra revenue generated will help the NMRA pursue additional programs that will add more benefits to NMRA Membership (such as the Member Discount program), as well as additional opportunities for member education.  The dues increase will go into effect later this year.

The Member Discount Program was discussed at length, with the Board deciding to put it at the top of the priority list.  In addition, a Board member will now be assigned as leader of every project, and is responsible for either completing the project him/herself, or making sure the project gets completed by a volunteer on time and on budget. There will be monthly progress reports on each of the projects.

CFO Frank Koch will re-issue the multi-part explanation of NMRA financial strategy and policy that was last distributed in 2013.  It will appear in an upcoming issue of NMRA Magazine and will also be on the NMRA website in the next few months.  Members should remember that the previous year's (2016) actual results and the audit results will not appear until after the Summer BOD meeting in August.  The financial results for 2010-2015 are already on the website.  There are multiple reports on the website that go far beyond the requirements of the IRS for non-profit corporations, however we've been advised that additional detail becomes either too specific for personnel privacy reasons or is business confidential based on contracts.

The Board approved a recommendation by Vice President/Special Projects Gerry Leone, to institute a "President's Award for Service to the Division" as a way for National NMRA to recognize contributions by individuals in Divisions.  Every year Board members and officers will nominate one person from each Region to receive this award, which recognizes outstanding and long-term service to a particular Division in that Region.

At Large North American Director Peter Youngblood made a presentation on Retention and Recruitment containing several recommendations for new NMRA programs.  Each of the programs will be announced as they're ready to be implemented.

Digital Action Group leader Gerry Leone presented a concept and electronic mock-up of a monthly model railroading digital news roundup newsletter which will be emailed to all NMRA members who have not opted-out of receiving the NMRA eBulletin.  The newsletter, named "The NMRA Turntable," will contain links to interesting videos, blogs, and stories found all over the internet.  The maiden issue will be sent out sometime within the next few months.

Secretary John Stevens reported that the Central District Director election was conducted both electronically (via Election Buddy) and traditionally (via letter).   The electronic voting is being completed without problems.  He stated that his intent was to conduct next year's At Large Worldwide Director election electronically.  The election committee will attempt to contact members who have no valid email address registered with the NMRA to have them either register or update their email address.

The Magazine Index project is now on the NMRA IT Team's official agenda.  IT Team member Scott Povlot cautioned, however, that the revamping of the NMRA Company Store is higher on the team's priority list and is a large undertaking.

Western District Director Stephen Priest reported that manufacturers are now beginning to produce LCC-compatible products.  Upcoming issues of Railroad Model Craftsman will contain a series of LCC "how-to" articles to both increase LCC understanding and generate demand for more products.  He also reported that RR-CirKits, Inc. is a leading manufacturer of LCC products and offers NMRA members a 15% discount.

In preparation for developing a marketing strategy, NMRA Marketing Consultant Christina Ganzer led the Board in a several-hour discussion on Saturday evening to define the NMRA's role in the hobby, and identify target audiences and messages.

Because state laws have finally changed, the Board decided to hold regular video conference meetings.  This will give them additional time to discuss topics in depth and make decisions throughout the course of the year, rather than just at the two face-to-face Board meetings each year.   Prior state laws prohibited the Board from making decisions in any manner except face to face.  The new law requires the Board to be unanimous in its decisions when voting in an electronic medium.

Meetings and Train Show coordinator Bob Amsler reported that registration numbers for the Orlando convention are on-track for this point in the convention year.

Results of the Regional Advisory Council

Director Election

By John Stevens, NMRA Secretary

The Regional Advisory Council (RAC) Director election opened Saturday, December 10, 2016 and closed at the end of the day Tuesday, December 20, 2016.  After votes were tabulated, Steve August was re-elected RAC Director.

The election was run using electionbuddy, an online voting system, which sent email to all RAC members at the opening of the election on December 10. The announcement included a unique voting key and instructions. 

Ballots were submitted by 16 of 18 RAC members.

The Regional Advisory Council Director is the voice of each of the NMRA's 18 Regions on the NMRA's Board of Directors.   If your Region has some special concerns or questions, address them to Steve August.

Region and National Conventions 

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

May 5-7:  Niagara Frontier Region, Kitchener, ON

May 18-21:  Mid-Central Region, Louisville, KY

May 18-21:  Mid-Continent and Thousand Lakes Regions Combined Convention, Ames, IA

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

Master Model Railroaders

#584 - Grant Knowles, NFR

#585 - Jim Wanlass, RMR

#586 - Charles Mason, SER