Potomac Chapter National Railway Historical Society, Inc.
On December 20 board members approved a motion to set the price for the 2018 banquet at $41.
Voting in favor were Jay Creswell, Bill Holdsworth, John Sery, Gordy Bjoraker, Bob Dixon-Gumm, Gordon Piscacek, Stephen Sery, and Rick Davidson.
| Silver Spring B&O Station | |
| Present: | |
Gordy Bjoraker, President |
Rick Davidson, National Representative
Stephen Sery, Director at Large Bob Dixon-Gumm, Director at Large |
| Absent: Carl Franz, Director at Large | Gordon Piscacek, Director at Large |
President Gordy Bjoraker called the meeting to order at 8:10 p.m.
Directors approved a motion to donate $1,000 to the NRHS Heritage Grants Program.
Directors approved a motion to schedule 2018 board meetings on February 13, May 8, August 14, and November 13.
Bill Holdsworth distributed minutes of the August meeting and subsequent activity.
Jay Creswell distributed the treasurer’s report. Jay said he would reserve the Montgomery Country Executive Office Building auditorium for 2018 membership meetings.
Directors discussed candidates for the small grants program.
Attendees reported that the joint picnic with the Baltimore Chapter was an enjoyable event. Directors discussed the possibility of having a spring chapter picnic in Gaithersburg or Virginia.
Bill reported that he would follow the format of recent years for the holiday social.
Directors reviewed plans for the chapter banquet. They discussed the need to set a price so that advertising can start in the January newsletter.
This year's election should be held at the upcoming November membership meeting.
Rick Davidson reported on the fall NRHS Advisory Committee meeting in Kansas City.
John Sery and Bill reported on the status of the storage locker cleanup. They disposed of 54 miscellaneous books at September membership meeting. Jay took 15 books to sell on eBay. Bill and John plan to dispose of the remaining 40 miscellaneous books at the December meeting. One-and-a-half file drawers contain chapter records from 1977 to 1997.
Rick reported the membership renewal process has begun. Total renewals so far: 33 regular members, 8 chapter only members, 4 associates.
The meeting adjourned at 9:26 p.m. Two eastbound trains passed during the meeting.
Membership meeting, Montgomery County Council Office Building
Present: John Sery, Bill Holdsworth, Jay Creswell, Rick Davidson, Carl Franz, Bob Dixon-Gumm, Stephen Sery.
Directors agreed that the chapter should contract for a buffet meal for the banquet at the Gaitherburg Hilton March 24, provided that the volunteer handling the banquet agrees.
On August 18 board members approved the following motion:
1. That the Board select the Hilton Washington North/Gaithersburg for the location of the 2018 Chapter banquet, to be held on March 24, 2018 from 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm. The dinner will be buffet style.
2. The Treasurer be authorized to execute the necessary contracts and make all reasonable and necessary payments to the hotel for the banquet, subject to the limits on Board authorized expenditures in the bylaws.
Voting in favor were Jay Creswell, Bill Holdsworth, John Sery, Gordy Bjoraker, Rick Davidson, Bob Dixon-Gumm, and Stephen Sery.
| Silver Spring B&O Station | |
| Present: | |
Gordy Bjoraker, President |
Rick Davidson, National Representative Carl Franz, Director at Large Gordon Piscacek, Director at Large Bob Dixon-Gumm, Director at Large |
| Absent: Stephen Sery, Director at Large | |
President Gordy Bjoraker called the meeting to order at 8:09 p.m.
Bill Holdsworth distributed minutes of the May meeting and subsequent activity.
Jay Creswell distributed the treasurer’s report.
Rick Davidson reported that the national organizaiton's October conference will be in Kansas City.
All arrangements are in place for the August 12 picnic.
Carl Franz reported that he is filing a claim with a local consumer protection agency concerning our lost $100 deposit at the Golden Bull restaurant.
Directors discussed the 2018 banquet. Steve Barry will be the speaker. In making speaker arrangements, we need to remember to keep Alex Mayes in the loop. Gordy wil ask Ted Xakellis to handle banquet arrangements. The Herndon Amphora and Bethesda Residence Inn were mentioned as possible venues.
Gordy will ask John Morris and Bennett Lichtman to serve as the nominating committee. Stephen Sery and Bob Dixon-Gumm are the directors whose terms end this year.
John Sery and Bill reported that they plan to begin working to dispose of the contents of the storage locker. They will visit the locker August 16. Those plans include:
Directors disussed other considerations in clearing out the storage locker. Among the ideas discussed:
Directors approved a motion to empowering John Sery and Bill Holdsworth to make decisions necessary to solve the problem of the storage locker.
Carl reported that he and John are updating the chapter membership roster for publication. Carl thanked Rick for supplying him with updated membership information.
Directors agreed that Bob Dixon-Gumm could relegate the chapter's old telephone to the status of a cat toy or trash it.
The meeting adjourned at 9:30 p.m. No trains passed during the meeting.
On July 15 board members approved a motion that the Board authorize a payment of $500 to the Baltimore Streetcar Museum for our participation in the August 12 picnic. The funds shall come from the Special Event Designated Gifts reserve.
Voting in favor were Gordy Bjoraker, John Sery, Bill Holdsworth, Jay Creswell, Rick Davidson, Carl Franz, Bob Dixon-Gumm, and Gordon Piscacek.
On July 1 directors approved a motion to extend an invitation to Steve Barry, editor of Railroad & Railfan magazine, to be the Potomac Chapter banquet speaker in 2018. The best date to set the banquet for would be March 24 with March 10 as a backup date.
Voting in favor were Gordy Bjoraker, John Sery, Bill Holdsworth, Carl Franz, Bob Dixon-Gumm, Gordon Piscacek, and Stephen Sery.
On June 7 directors approved a motion to accept Thomas Lavender and his wife Deborah Rothstein of Takoma Park as chapter members.
Voting in favor were Gordy Bjoraker, John Sery, Bill Holdsworth, Jay Creswell, Rick Davidson, Carl Franz, Bob Dixon-Gumm, and Gordon Piscacek.
| Silver Spring B&O Station | |
| Present: | |
Gordy Bjoraker, President |
Rick Davidson, National Representative Carl Franz, Director at Large Stephen Sery, Director at Large Bob Dixon-Gumm, Director at Large |
| Absent: Gordon Piscacek | |
President Gordy Bjoraker called the meeting to order at 8:05 p.m.
Bill Holdsworth distributed minutes of the February meeting and subsequent activity. Bill said he is exploring converting the chapter website to WordPress and finding a different host.
Jay Creswell reviewed the treasurer’s report. The chapter lost about $500 on the banquet. Carl Franz said he will pursue collecting our $100 deposit from the Golden Bull.
Directors approved a motion to recommend to the membership that we change the name of the “Permanent Reserve” to “Reserve Fund” and lower the designated amount to $50,000.
Voting in favor were Gordy Bjoraker, John Sery, Carl Franz, Bob Dixon-Gumm, Bill Holdsworth, Rick Davidson, and Stephen Sery.
Voting against was Jay Creswell.
Rick Davidson reported on membership renewals:
Total Members & Chapter Only Members: 92
Total Associates: 12
Rick has volunteered as a RailCamp counselor this year in Delaware. Rick said no decision on the site of the 2018 national convention. They are looking for another vendor to handle dues renewal.
Rick reported that the national organization is making changes with its collections. They are in process of digitizing all back issues of the NRHS Bulletin. The book library is being donated to a location in Dallas. The film library is housed in Phillipsburg. All 8 mm silent films have been digitized. They are working conversion of 8 mm films with sound and 16 mm films.
Directors discussed the chapter banquet. The lack of a written agreement may have contributed to this year's problems. This year we should gather restaurant suggestions for the August board meeting and prepare criteria for whoever volunteers to organize the banquet. The board will have to ratify the restaurant selection and price points.
Directors approved a motion to hold a joint picnic with the Baltimore Chapter August 12.
Directors approved a motion to appoint John Sery and Bill as a committee to develop a plan to dispose of the contents of the storage locker. They are empowered to dispose of anything with no material value.
The meeting adjourned at 9:41 p.m. One westbound train passed during the meeting.
| Montgomery County Executive Office Building | |
| Present: | |
Gordy Bjoraker, President |
Rick Davidson, National Representative Carl Franz, Director at Large Gordon Piscacek, Director at Large Bob Dixon-Gumm, Director at Large |
Directors approved a motion to shift the location of the chapter banquet to Pulcinella restaurant, set the new price at $41, and authorize the committee to make necessary arrangements. The chapter will honor any tickets purchased at an earlier lower price.
| Silver Spring B&O Station | |
| Present: | |
Gordy Bjoraker, President |
Rick Davidson, National Representative Carl Franz, Director at Large Gordon Piscacek, Director at Large Bob Dixon-Gumm, Director at Large |
President Gordy Bjoraker called the meeting to order at 8:13 p.m.
Bill Holdsworth distributed minutes of the November meeting and subsequent activity.
Jay Creswell distributed copies of the treasurer’s report, including year-end and five-year summaries. Directors discussed the $500 annual cost and limited utility of the chapter phone line.
Directors approved a motion to terminate the chapter's commercial phone line. Jay suggested termination should coincide with the publication of the March newsletter. John Sery, Carl Franz, and Bob Dixon-Gumm volunteered to have their phone numbers listed as points of contact in the newsletter and on the website.
Directors approved a motion to nominate Stephen Sery for the vacancy on the board. The election will be held at the March membership meeting. The vacancy was created by the resignation of Ira Silverman.
Directors discussed the membership roster. Many members who weren’t listed roster didn’t know why they were omitted. John is contacting members one by one to determine their preference, with the idea of producing an updated version.
Rick Davidson reported on membership renewals so far:
Rudy Volin is eligible to receive his 70-year pin from the NRHS. Directors approved a motion to allow Rudy and his wife to attend the banquet at no cost.
Carl reported the the Baltimore Chapter has scheduled their picnic for August 12. They have extended an invitation to the Potomac Chapter to participate.
Carl said that he talked to Marc Laborde about his research into the establishing a railfan camera. He will send information to Carl.
Carl circulated a photo book published by the Akron chapter. The publisher was Arcadia. If the Potomac Chapter is interested, there is virtually no up front cost.
Rick reported that the national convention will be held June 20-24 in Nashville. The 2017 Heritage grant program is starting up.
Directors agreed that the holiday social was a success.
Directors discussed the chapter banquet. Carl described the effort required to make a video slideshow of the program, should anybody in the chapter wish to do so.
Gordy reported that no small grants were made at year end. None of the candidates discussed turned out to be suitable.
Directors agreed to reschedule the next meeting for May 2.
The meeting adjourned at 9:40 p.m. Two eastbound trains passed during the meeting.
