Potomac Chapter National Railway Historical Society, Inc.
| Zoom video conference with participation by: | |
Gordy Bjoraker, President |
Stephen Sery, Director at Large |
Gordy called the meeting to order about 8:05 p.m.
Bill made minutes of previous meeting available.
Jay reported that he had recently received a backlog of newsletter expenses from Clay Moritz. He said that he would email an updated treasurer's report after the meeting.
Directors discussed the small grants program. Jay recently mailed a $750 check for the Hagerstown & Frederick Railway Museum. Directors discussed the Stewartstown Railroad as a potential candidate. The historic South Side Depot in Petersburg is a focus of restoration efforts. Jay will investigate the situation.
Board members discussed recent membership meetings. Stephen and John reported that they had trouble with the Zoom recording for the August program and were unable to make it available on YouTube. Bill said he had the Zoom recording for October meeting and would share it with John and Stephen.
Bill has reserved the EOB cafeteria for the holiday social December 18. At that meeting we should query attendees about the Zoom vs. in-person schedule for the 2024. We will likely continure the practice of quarterly in-person meetings, unless there is sentiment for change.
Membership renewal looms as a big task for Jay and Rick.
Directors discussed the upcoming election.
Gordy suggested that the chapter should sponsor a RailCamp attendee in 2024. He suggested that we discuss it at the February meeting.
The group agreed on a board meeting schedule for 2024: February 13, May 14, August 13, and November 12. Each is the second Tuesday of that month.
The meeting adjourned about 9:15 p.m.
| Zoom video conference with participation by: | |
Gordy Bjoraker, President |
Stephen Sery, Director at Large |
Gordy called the meeting to order about 8:00 p.m.
Bill made minutes of previous meeting available.
Jay distributed the June treasurer's report in advance of the meeting.
Directors agreed that the Hagerstown & Frederick Railway Historical Society would be a good candidate for a $750 small grant. They have opened a museum in the former Boonsboro trolley station. The grant will support their plan to place two original 65lb H&F rails in front of the station where the platform track once was present. The check should be sent to the National Road Heritage Foundation, which plans a larger museum next door.
Board members discussed the recent picnic. Gordy authorized a $100 donation to the Baltimore Streetcar Museum.
Directors discussed future membership meetings and the request to increase the frequency of in-person meetings. For 2024 directors will propose to hold Zoom meetings in January and February, and then alternate between Zoom and in-person for the balance of the year. Directors will seek member feedback at the September meeting.
They agreed to keep the Holiday Social on December 19 and try to reserve the EOB auditorium for the event. The Rockville Library is unavailable. Jay and Bill will follow up.
Board members discussed Bill's proposal to shrink the size of the board of directors. He is concerned that the chapter could have trouble filling positions in the future. Other directors didn't see the need to make a change. They did raise the possibility of lowering the quorum requirement from six to five. The group agreed to table the discussion.
Gordy plans to ask Bennett Lichtman and Ted Xakellis about serving on the nominating committee at the September meeting.
Directors approved Garret Nicholson of Silver Spring as a member. He is a retired architect.
Board members discussed a possible day trip. They mentioned travelling to Staunton to photograph N&W #611 on the Buckingham Branch, the Chesapeake Beach Railway Museum, and Walkersville Southern.
Directors agreed to meet for lunch 2:30 p.m. November 5 at Hershey's Restaurant, 17030 Oakmont Ave, Gaithersburg, MD 20877.
The group agreed to reschedule the next board meeting for 8 p.m. November 6 via Zoom. Bob and Penny will be out of town for the orginally scheduled date.
The meeting adjuourned at 9:11 p.m.
| Zoom video conference with participation by: | |
Gordy Bjoraker, President |
Stephen Sery, Director at Large |
| Absent: Rick Davidson, National Representative | |
Gordy called the meeting to order about 8:21 p.m.
Directors voted to recommend that the membership approve a $5,000 donation to Montgomery Preservation in support of their efforts to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the opening of the B&O Metropolitan Branch with an excursion train between Silver Spring and Brunswick May 29.
Directors discussed creating a flyer for distribution to excursion passengers to promote the chapter. Directors embraced the idea of offering a free introductory membership to passengers. These introductory members would have associate status until the end of 2023.
Bill made minutes of previous meeting available.
Jay distributed the treasurer's report in advance of the meeting. He gave a brief summary and answered questions.
Board members discussed recent membership meetings. At the March meeting Bill liked being able to take advantage of the built-in projection equipment in the Council Office Building Lecture Hall. Board members agreed that Ira Silverman's Amtrak presentation via Zoom at the April meeting was very successful.
Directors discussed future membership meetings. At the in-person September meeting, Bill and Stephen will try to make Gordy's slide show availabe via Zoom. Bill will reserve the Rockville Library for the December meeting.
Jay said that the chapter currently has about 70 members and associates.
Directors liked the idea of participating in the Baltimore Chapter's summer picnic again. They agreed to defer our next banquet to 2024.
Jay suggested that we gather face to face for a future board meeting and combine it with lunch or dinner.
Jay suggested that we organize a day trip to a local rail attraction. Ideas mentioned were the Everett Railroad, East Broad Top Railroad, Western Maryland Scenic Railroad and Walkersville Southern Railroad.
Directors agreed to reschedule the next board meeting for 8 p.m. August 14 via Zoom. Gordy will be out of town for the orginally scheduled date.
The meeting adjuourned at 9:28 p.m.
On February 21, 2023 directors passed two motions:
Voting in favor were Jay Creswell, Bill Holdsworth, Bob Dixon-Gumm, Rick Davidson, John Sery, Gordy Bjoraker, Chuck Greene, Penny Dixon-Gumm, and Stephen Sery..
| Zoom video conference with participation by: | |
Gordy Bjoraker, President |
Chuck Greene, Director at Large |
Lacking a quorum, no official business was conducted.
They agreed the chapter should continue the practice of holding in-person membership meetings quarterly and via Zoom in the intervening months.
On January 30, 2023 directors passed a motion to approve Paul Kelley as a new chapter-only member.
Voting in favor were Jay Creswell, Bill Holdsworth, Bob Dixon-Gumm, Rick Davidson, John Sery, Gordy Bjoraker, Chuck Greene, and Penny Dixon-Gumm.
