Northern Utah

NORTHERN UTAH - DIVISION 15

The Northern Utah Division is now 3 + months into a new management style and procedures. Thus far our general feeling is that things are going really well.

We adopted as our Division motto 'Fun, Learning & Fellowship' at the outset. In fact, that motto was pirated from the Utah Society of Railroad Modelers (USRM) a prior 100% NMRA Club. In everything that we do as a Division, we strive to remember and embrace these key rules.

Early on we recognized a need to bolster attendance at our Monthly Events. We have tried several different things to accomplish that goal. They are:

1. As per Charlie Getz, we now have “Events” not monthly “Meetings.”

2. We provide some snacks at the end of the Event

3. I send out a reminder the week of the Event (Gary’s suggestion)

4. We hold a small raffle during each event—perhaps 6 or 8 donated “prizes.”

5. We have dramatically shortened the business part of the event & extended the clinic.

6. We have tried to have our programs much more interesting with a lot of “Hands On” stuff. People want to do things not hear a lecture.

7. We start on time & end on time!

8. Our Membership Manager is there to greet people and to sign them up. We recognize each new attendee and make it a point to be friendly.

9. We are including a “Member Help” section to assist in problems.

10. We have our Marketing Manager prepare a profession looking PowerPoint presentation for the Event leader.

11. We rotate the Event “Conductor” through the Board of Directors to avoid hearing the stale sounding Superintendent over & over.

We also recognize that the Northern Utah Division is here to help clubs & members within our boundaries. We are taking steps to insure that happens. Some of the things we are trying include:

1. Establishing much stronger communication with each of the clubs. We have three 100% NMRA clubs and we are attempting to capitalize on that. We include notes on each club in our newsletter, the “Promontory Post.”

2. We have instituted many changes to make the newsletter more friendly and up to date.

3. We are building a Division Skills Inventory which lists a member for each of the specialized model railroading skills.

4. We continue to emphasize our Division Operations Group (DOGs) which meets each month. We are now working on building a group identity by having members purchase a DOG golf shirt.

5. We are putting a massive effort into the Wasatch Rails 2015 Train Show. We recognize that this is a great advertisement for the hobby & our Division. We learned things from last year’s train show and will improve the show this year!

6. We are delighted to have been selected to host the 2019 NMRA Convention & Train Show. We are busy forming committees and recruiting volunteers already. We are pushing the convention at every juncture as we know that it will put us on the map! One of our primary early actions is to write letters to the editor of the various hobby magazines, perhaps praising the magazine (e.g. the new Railroad Model Craftsman) and signing it with our name and the caption “Northern Utah Division, NMRA – Host of the 2019 National Convention.” To date several letters have been published!

So, we have a decent start to what will become a great Division. Will we make it? Yes, we will. We need to involve more of our membership. We need to keep things light and interesting. We need to get the word out that this is the World’s Greatest Hobby!

Respectfully,

Jack Chase

Superintendent

Northern Utah Division of the NMRA