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Potomac Chapter 2024 Board Minutes

Minutes of 2024 Directors Meetings

Potomac Chapter National Railway Historical Society, Inc.

May 14, 2024

Zoom video conference with participation by:

Gordy Bjoraker, President 
Bill Holdsworth, Secretary

Stephen Sery, Director at Large
Chuck Greene, Director at Large
Rick Davidson, National Representative

Not participating:  
John Sery, Vice President
Jay Creswell, Treasurer
Rick Davidson, National Representative
Bob Dixon-Gumm, Director at Large
Penny Dixon-Gumm, Director at Large

Gordy called the meeting to order about 8:10 p.m.

Bill made minutes of previous meeting available.

The meeting lacked a quorum. Directors discussed issue, but approved no official actions.

Directors discussed recent meetings:

Directors discussed future meetings.

Stephen has obtained an alternate Zoom account that will be used for the June meeting.

Bill raised two options for the December holiday social. The Executive Office Building cafeteria has become expensive, over $300. The Rockville Library is cheaper, but a little smaller and a little less convenient. He will poll other directors.

Rick reported that the chapter has 46 members, but that might not include PayPal renewal Jay has handled.

Directors agreed that the chapter we should try to recruit an attendee for next year's Railcamp.

Directors agreed to shift the next board meeting from August 13 to July 30.

The meeting adjourned at 8:31 p.m.

February 13, 2024

Zoom video conference with participation by:

Gordy Bjoraker, President 
John Sery, Vice President
Bill Holdsworth, Secretary
Jay Creswell, Treasurer

Stephen Sery, Director at Large
Chuck Greene, Director at Large

Not participating:  
Rick Davidson, National Representative Bob Dixon-Gumm, Director at Large
Penny Dixon-Gumm, Director at Large

Gordy called the meeting to order about 8:08 p.m.

Bill made minutes of previous meeting available.

Jay reported that he is trying to resolve a small discrepancy before finalizing the year-end financial reports. Once he resolves the issue he will distribute the reports via email. He said the chapter's deficit for the year was about $8,000. The operational deficit was about $3,000. The other $5,000 can be attributed to our donation to the excursion train celebrating the 150th anniversary of the B&O. Metropolitan Branch.

Directors discussed the small grants program. Jay recently mailed a $750 check for the Hagerstown & Frederick Railway Historical Society acknowledged our $750 donation. The situation with the historic South Side Depot in Petersburg is uncertain, so it didn't seem like a good candidate for a grant.

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.

Directors discussed recent membership meetings. Renting the EOB cafeteria for the holiday social cost $300, which is high. John suggested that we consider the Silver Spring Station as an alternative. We will discuss further at the next meeting.

Directors discussed future meetings. Bill has reserved the COB Lecture Hall for March, May, July, and September. Because Bill will be in Europe for the June meeting, directors thought the chapter should pursue getting its own Zoom account, using the chapter's Gmail account. Bill will investigate the cost. (Post-meeting information: Bill's Pro plan costs $150 annually. A 50% discount is available for non-profits, but it might not be worth the hassle.)

There is an issue with Zoom recordings, when Bill both runs and records the meeting. The small gallery view in the upper right hand corner appears in the recording, which isn't ideal. Maybe a setting can change that. If Bill has advance notice, he can try recording the meeting on his laptop, while running the meeting on his desktop.

Jay reported the membership is down to approximately 55 with the most recent round of renewals. That's down from about 70 last year. Jay will distribute a roster to the board. Gordy said that the Perryville Chapter has been very successful using Facebook to promote membership.

Board members discussed sponsoring a RailCamp attendee. RailCamp East is scheduled June 23-29. It will be headquartered at the University of Delaware in Newark, DE. Tuition in 2023 was $1,575. The application deadline is April 1.

Directors approved a motion to ask the membership to authorize up $1,750 to sponsor a 2024 RailCamp attendee, providing that the board can find a suitable candidate.

Directors briefly discussed a banquet, but reached no conclusion.

The next board meeting is scheduled for May 14. We may need to reschedule the August 13 meeting.

The meeting adjourned about 9:15 p.m.

Business conducted via email

On January 9, 2024 directors passed a motion to schedule in-person membership meetings in March, May, July, September, and December 2024.

Voting in favor were Jay Creswell, Bill Holdsworth, Bob Dixon-Gumm, Gordy Bjoraker, Chuck Greene, Rick Davidson, and Penny Dixon-Gumm.