Potomac Chapter National Railway Historical Society, Inc.
| Silver Spring B&O Station | |
| Present: | |
| Gordy Bjoraker, President Bill Holdsworth, Secretary Jay Creswell, Treasurer Rick Davidson, National Director |
John Sery, Director at Large Jerry Hott, Director at Large Bob Cohen, Director at Large |
| Absent: | |
| Marc Laborde, Vice President | Bill Hopkins, Director at Large |
President Gordy Bjoraker called the meeting to order at 8:10 p.m.
Bill Holdsworth distributed copies of the minutes from the last meeting. Directors approved the minutes as distributed.
Jay Creswell distributed the treasurer’s report. Directors discussed the money market account. Jay assured the board that the account is FDIC-insured. John Sery recommended that the chapter consider investing in gold bullion. Jay said that Maryland non-profits are not allowed to invest in commodities.
Directors discussed the holiday social. The chapter needs to recruit someone to take the lead on the event.
Directors decided to shift board meetings to Tuesday for 2012. The scheduled dates are February 7, May 8, August 14, and November 13.
Bill reminded directors about the hazardous weather policy, which follows Montgomery County's decision on its offices (not school events).
Directors approved a motion to set March 31 as the preferred date for the chapter banquet, with April 21 as second choice, subject to conflict with the Baltimore Chapter banquet and subject to restaurant availability.
Directors discussed the report of the bylaws revision committee. They discussed the changes and made suggestions. The committee will revise the draft and distribute it for review. The plan is to have revisions ready for approval by the board at the February meeting. Bill will talk to Clay about publication in the newsletter.
Directors discussed candidates for the small grant program. They agreed that restoration of B&M steam locomotive 3713 is a worthy candidate. Other candidates discussed include restoration of Pere Marquette #1225 and Historic Spencer Shops. Gordy urged directors to email him with suggestions..
The meeting adjourned about 9:55 p.m. One eastbound train and one westbound train passed during the meeting.
| Silver Spring B&O Station | |
| Present: | |
| Gordy Bjoraker, President Marc Laborde, Vice President Bill Holdsworth, Secretary Jay Creswell, Treasurer Rick Davidson, National Director |
John Sery, Director at Large Jerry Hott, Director at Large Bill Hopkins, Director at Large Bob Cohen, Director at Large Bob Bitzer, Mid-Atlantic Region Vice President, NRHS |
| Absent: | |
| None | |
President Gordy Bjoraker called the meeting to order at 8:15 p.m.
Bill distributed copies of the minutes from the last meeting.
Jay Creswell read the treasurer’s report. Interest income for the month was 73 cents.
Directors discussed the September 24 joint picnic. Bill and Chris Holdsworth will host. Jim Lilly is the Washington chapter contact. Because it is a joint picnic, we will need a second grill. Bill will ask at the membership meeting.
Rick Davidson presented Marc Laborde with a 25-year pin.
Bob Bitzer explained how the national board of directors and advisory council will work under the revised bylaws. Essentially the chapter’s national director position will disappear. National directors will be elected directly via regions and globally. Instead the chapter is invited to have a representative on the advisory council. Bob envisions that the advisory council meeting three times a year. Elected National directors cannot be chapter representatives on the advisory council.
Directors decided to form a committee to recommend by-law changes. Bill will lead the committee. Jay, Marc, and Bob Cohen volunteered to join. Bill will solicit an additional member at the membership meeting.
Directors discussed candidates for the small grant program.
Directors decided to meet November 9. At that meeting, the board will decide the pattern for board meetings in 2012.
Gordy acknowledged the need to select a nominating committee.
Directors decided not to plan a formal chapter event to ride the Roanoke excursion trains.
John Sery proposed an investment committee to explore alternative investment vehicles for a portion of the chapter’s reserve funds. Nobody else volunteered for the committee. John will report on his findings at the next board meeting.
Bill will investigate preparing an email address list. He will talk to Rick about how to collect information.
The meeting adjourned at 10:09 p.m. One eastbound train and one westbound train passed during the meeting.
On June 16, directors approved three motions.
1) That the Board of Directors accept John S. Small of Gaithersburg, MD as a member of the chapter.
Voting in favor of the motion: Gordy Bjoraker, Jay Creswell, Jerry Hott, Rick Davidson, Bill Holdsworth, Bob Cohen, and Marc Laborde.
2) That the Potomac Chapter hold their annual picnic on Saturday, Septebmer 24, 2011 at the Gaithersburg City Hall Park from 3:00 to 6:00, which we've had reserved for several months. The charge wil be $8.00 for each adult (12 and older) guest. Alternatively each adult guest should bring a covered dish item (salad, desert, or side dish) sufficient to serve 6 to 8 adults.
Voting in favor of the motion: Gordy Bjoraker, Jay Creswell, Jerry Hott, Rick Davidson, Bill Holdsworth, Bob Cohen, and Marc Laborde.
3) That the Board authorizes that the Chapter’s existing Legacy Treasury Direct account with the U.S. Treasury be converted to a Treasury Direct account. All banking transactions involving this account will be handled through the Chapter's SunTrust Money Market account. The Chapter Treasurer shall be the Chapter's designated representative for managing the Treasury Direct Account, pursuant to the Treasury's regulations governing this account. At any time, the Board may direct that the account be closed and may change the Chapter's designated representative or associated bank account for the Treasury Direct account.
Voting in favor of the motion: Gordy Bjoraker, Jay Creswell, Jerry Hott, Rick Davidson, Bill Holdsworth, and Marc Laborde.
| Silver Spring B&O Station | |
| Present: | |
| Gordy Bjoraker, President Marc Laborde, Vice President Bill Holdsworth, Secretary Jay Creswell, Treasurer Rick Davidson, National Director |
John Sery, Director at Large Jerry Hott, Director at Large Bill Hopkins, Director at Large Bob Cohen, Director at Large |
| Absent: | |
| None | |
President Gordy Bjoraker called the meeting to order at 8:08 p.m.
Jay Creswell discussed the 2010 financial report.
Bill distributed copies of the minutes of the last meeting.
Regarding RailCamp, John Sery urged advertising in the local paper for candidate to sponsor. He said that he would call the editors of the Journal.
Directors approved a motion to continue sending a newsletter to Karl Helft, a charter member of the chapter, even though he has allowed his membership to lapse.
Directors discussed the picnic. They agreed to have a joint picnic with Washington Chapter. Directors agreed that Gaithersburg was the preferred site. September 17 or September 24 are the preferred dates.
Jay reported that the town of Vienna is planning a 150th anniversary celebration of the Battle of Vienna, which has been described as the first tactical use of railroad in warfare. Directors authorized Jay to represent the chapter at a steering committee meeting for the event.
Bill Holdsworth reported that Richard Edwards gave him a box of books that belong to the chapter.
Directors decided to keep the books, rather than sell them. Bob Cohen will take them to the locker. Because of the books' potential value, they should be locked in the cabinet with the Flack collection.
Directors agreed to leave the 2011 schedule for board meetings unchanged. Remaining meeting dates are May 18, August 10, and November 9.
Jay reported that he has hit a snag in transferring the phone to Robert and Penny Dixon-Gumm. Verizon won’t transfer the current number, because the Dixon-Gumms live in Rockville. Directors didn't see a problem with the chapter getting a new phone number.
The meeting adjourned at 9:19 p.m. One eastbound train passed during the meeting.
On January 23, directors approved Jay Creswell's motion to set the price for the 2011 Chapter banquet at $40.00 per person.
Voting in favor of the motion: Jay Creswell, Jerry Hott, Rick Davidson, Bill Holdsworth, John Sery, and Marc Laborde.
Justification: We need to act on setting the price so Clay can get the order form in the February PRN. We have a shorter time to sell tickets this year since the restaurant has set the deadline for the final count on the day after our March meeting so it is very important to get the publicity out ASAP.
The price is the same as charged last year. We made a modest surplus at that price last year. However, this year we will have to pay the speaker's travel expenses, $150-$200, so there is a risk we could lose approximatley that amount. The restaurant charge is $37.88 per person and our fixed expenses (favors, etc) is about $2.00 per person. We could raise the fee to a higher amount to cover the travel expense, but doing so might cost more in attendance than it would recover in additional coverage for the fixed cost.
