Potomac Chapter National Railway Historical Society, Inc.
| Zoom video conference with participation by: | |
Gordy Bjoraker, President |
Rick Davidson, National Representative |
| Absent: Carl Franz, Director at Large | |
Gordy called the meeting to order about 8:05 p.m.
Bill distributed copies of the minutes.
Jay distributed the treasurer's report in advance of the meeting. He reported two major items of expense:
Directors approved a motion concerning upcoming membership meetings.
Gordy authorized Bill to spend up to $80 food items for the holiday social. Bill will try to allow people to participate in the Pub Quiz via Zoom.
Jay will continue to monitor the availability of the Executive Office Building auditorium.
Bill would like to consider occasional, in-person, mid-day, weekday meetings. It would enable those that don’t like driving at night to attend. He will pursue the idea with Alex.
YouTube recording of the membership meeting programs have varied in popularity. The top three:
The banquet is still on track for the afternoon of March 19 with Kevin Keefe as the speaker. Jay hopes to nail down the menu options and pricing in time for the January newsletter.
Jay is getting ready to mail the renewal notices. Our membership took a significant hit last year. He may send an invitation to re-jion to those that didn't renew last year.
Directors agreed that Doug Scott doesn't need to renew because he joined during the second half of 2021.
Rick said that Southern California is the leading candidate for the 2022 NRHS convention.
Directors agreed to hold the election of officers at the November membership meeting. The board will act as the nominating committee because of the problems created by the pandemic. Gordy, John, Bill, Jay, Rick, Bob and Stephen all agreed to run for re-election.
Board members discussed candidates for the small grants program.
Directors agreed to hold the election of officers at the November membership meeting. The board will act as the nominating committee because of the problems created by the pandemic. Gordy, John, Jay, Bill, Rick, Bob, and Stephen agreed to run for re-election.
2022 board meetings are scheduled for February 8 (via Zoom), May 10, August 9, and November 8.
The meeting adjourned about 8:56 p.m.
On September 22, directors passed a motion to approve Kevin Keefe as speaker for the 2022 Banquet on March 19. His travel expenses will be covered in line with the Chapter's bylaws. Specifically, since he may be traveling by air or train, we may pay for his expenses for two overnight stays if required by travel times.
Voting in favor: Jay Creswell, Bill Holdsworth, Bob Dixon-Gumm, Gordy Bjoraker, Rick Davidson, and Penny Dixon-Gumm.
| Zoom video conference with participation by: | |
Gordy Bjoraker, President |
Jay Creswell, Treasurer |
| Absent: Rick Davidson, National Representative; Stephen Sery, Director at Large; Carl Franz, Director at Large | |
Gordy called the meeting to order about 8:05 p.m.
Bill distributed copies of the minutes.
Jay distributed the treasurer's report in advance of the meeting.
Directors approved a motion to hold the banquet March 19, by a vote of 4-1 with one abstention. The vote followed a discussion of options. We need to arrange a program.
The group discussed the issues surrounding hybrid meetings. Bob said he would talk to Jim Kleeman about the technical issues. Jay said he might be able to help. In the meantime, the chapter will continue with Zoom meetings through November.
Bill said that he can't host the October meeting. He will recruit a substitute.
Jay would like to see us reach out to Zoom participants and invite them to join the chapter. Bill said he will try to capture the Zoom log file for the next membership meeting. The log might have email addresses.
John said that he has a copy of Jerry Hott's 8mm films. He has started editing them to make a chapter program.
Bob said that he has part of Jerry's slide collection.
The meeting adjourned about 9:18 p.m.
The board held a brief meeting in advance of the membership meeting.
Directors approved a motion to postpone the chapter banquet that had been scheduled for September 25.
Directors approved a motion to hold the August, September, and October membership meetings via Zoom. If we can resolve the issues associated with a hybrid meeting, we can hold an in-person meeting at the same time. Bill Holdsworth with the sole dissenting vote.
| Zoom video conference with participation by: | |
Gordy Bjoraker, President |
Bob Dixon-Gumm, Director at Large Penny Dixon-Gumm, Director at Large Stephen Sery, Director at Large Carl Franz, Director at Large |
| Absent: Rick Davidson, National Representative | |
Gordy called the meeting to order about 8:05 p.m.
Jay distributed the treasurer's report in advance of the meeting.
Director agreed to continue using Zoom for the June, July, and August membership meetings. If Montgomery County opens reservations for the EOB auditorium, Jay should feel free to reserve for in-person meeting for September and afterwards.
John reported that he has created a Potomac Chapter YouTube channel. He edited the last three membership meeting programs and posted them there. Bill will link to the channel from the website.
Directors approved a motion to hold a lunchtime banquet September 25. Directors agreed with Carl's suggestion to recruit someone from the East Broad Top or the Strasburg Railroad for the program. Carl will contact Alex Mayes.
Bob suggested that the chapter consider the Lackawanna Cut-Off Historical Committee for a future small grant. The group is trying to create a rail musuem in the Greendell Station. Because they don't have a lease yet, Bob thought it might be premature to give them a grant now. He will monitor the situation.
Directors approved a motion to allocate $600 to digitize about 1,000 feet of Jerry Hott's 8 mm film. Carl owns the films. Carl and John will select which films to convert. They expect the process to take four weeks. The goal is to evaluate that selection to determine whether the remainder has any value and should be converted. John expects to post the converted material to the chapter's YouTube channel.
Carl updated the group on Jerry's health and the effort to clear out his house.
Directors approved a motion to increase the annual appropriation for small grants by $2,000. The normal amount is $1,500, plus any funds available from designated gifts. The goal is to assist regional rail organizations that have suffered in the pandemic.
Directors agreed to shift the next board meeting to from August 10 to August 3. The meeting will use Zoom software.
The meeting adjourned about 9:20 p.m.
On April 30, directors approved a motion to accept Andrew Roberts as a member of the Potomac Chapter, provided he holds a current NRHS membership. Otherwise, he should be accepted as an Associate. He has paid his dues.
Voting in favor: Jay Creswell, Bill Holdsworth, Bob Dixon-Gumm, Gordy Bjoraker, Carl Franz, Rick Davidson, Penny Dixon-Gumm, John Sery, and Stephen Sery.
| Zoom video conference with participation by: | |
Gordy Bjoraker, President |
Rick Davidson, National Representative Bob Dixon-Gumm, Director at Large Penny Dixon-Gumm, Director at Large Stephen Sery, Director at Large Carl Franz, Director at Large |
Secretary Bill Holdsworth called the meeting to order about 8:10 p.m. after some difficulties with Zoom.
Bill reviewed the minutes of the August meeting.
Jay distributed the treasurer's report in advance of the meeting. He said that he will distribute a revised 2020 annual report.
Regarding the banquet, directors decided to defer any action until the next board meeting. The pandemic situation may change by then. If we decide to go ahead, we would contact Kevin Keefe about his availability as a speaker.
Directors concurred on holding membership meetings via Zoom through May.
Rick didn't have renewal statistics at hand, but thought about 75% of members had renewed.
Rick reported that Tony White is the new national vice president. The national organization is still hoping to hold the convention during August in Milwaukee.
The next board meeting is May 11.
The meeting adjourned at 8:51 p.m.
On January 11, directors approved a motion to accept Steven Beningo as a member of the chapter. He lives in Derwood. He is a Transportation Analyst.
Voting in favor: Jay Creswell, Bill Holdsworth, Bob Dixon-Gumm, Gordy Bjoraker, Carl Franz, Rick Davidson, Penny Dixon-Gumm, John Sery, and Stephen Sery.
