The Choice Is Yours

One of the high points of yesterday's session of the Board of Directors meeting was nominations for officers. The election will take place in September and the ballot will be in that month's issue of the National Headquarters News.

Here is a list of candidates and the offices for which they are vying.
President-elect:
William E. Miles, Jr.
Richard C. Clement
Vice president:
Paul Edgar
Ronald Stowell
Secretary:
Hope Danielson
Sarah Reed Lavinus
Treasurer: William J. Kotek
Investment Committee: Robert C. Hazlett, Jr.
All these folks are long time members of TCA and well qualified to fill the office they seek.

Please be on the lookout for the ballot that will be included in the September National Headquarters News. This is your organization and it is important that your voice be heard in choosing those who will lead it.

The Real Challenge

Treating all members fairly is a challenge for any membership organization. The Board and employees face this on a regular basis.

In yesterday's session at the Board of Directors meeting a motion to reduce the size of Board was discussed. The motion was defeated and much of discussion revolved around the fair representation of all the members.

I will urge everyone who attends a National Convention to take the time to watch part of the Board of Directors meeting. It really is time well spent.

A Correction

In my last posting I talked about Fed Claasen who volunteers to work registration at the National Conventions. I misspelled Fred's name and I wish to apologize.

Old Friends Everywhere

Getting There

Considering the amount of indignity inflicted on airline passengers by the federal government and the airlines, my trip to Denver is smooth. Arrival is on time but getting from the airport takes almost another two hours.

The Westin

The lobby at the Westin is overrun with TCA'ers. It is like Old Home Week as I see people I have not seen since the April Eastern Division Meet in York and some not since the last Convention in San Antonio. I also get to see, once again, one of the things that make this such a great organization. People renewing old friendships, sharing photos of children and grandchildren or talking about that train that remain "the one that got away." Some are lined up awaiting the arrival of buses that will take them to one of the many excursions planned by the Rocky Mountain Division Convention Team.

Registration

Registration runs smoothly, a not unexpected event. I encounter Fred Claussen who volunteers to work Registration at every National Convention. Fred lives in Alabama but does not see distance from the site of the Convention as a barrier to volunteering.

I am pointing this out, not so much to honor Ferd, he really does deserve some sot of recognition in my opinion for this commitment, but to point out that there are opportunities to participate if one really wants to do that. The staff at the NBO is small for several reasons. One of them is because so many people in TCA are willing to donate some time to making the Association function. If someone wants to get involved I can provide a long list of names, telephone numbers and E-mail addresses.

We are Outta Here!

Harry Kalas, Philadelphia Phillies announcer, uses that phrase to call a home run. I am using it to say I am off for the National Convention in Denver, CO.

As I said in my entry on 11 June, you really should drop in at the Board of Directors meeting if you are attending the convention. My guess that anyone who does so will find it an educational experience.

Thomas and Friends

Well, another successful eight day Thomas the Tank Engine event is history. Hosted by our neighbors, the Strasburg Rail Road, the event drew thousands of parents and especially children to the Strasburg area and your museum.

Fear not, he will return for another eight day visit in September and for those who look farther ahead, Thomas will also visit in December for three days.

The NTTM On the Road

The Road Show

Father's Day weekend saw a group of dedicated volunteers offering train races to visitors at the Dutch Wonderland Amusement Park. This was part of the park's first ever Fly, Ride and Drive event. Also helping out were Jane Boyce, TCA Director of Development and your Operations Manager.

Dutch Wonderland

This amusement park is geared toward families with younger children. The rides are mostly non-threatening and not designed to scare the wits out of children under the age of ten or twelve. The Park mascot is a dragon named Duke. I found this out when I asked a park employee if their dinosaur was named Bruce. she was not amused.

Fly Ride and Drive

The premise of this event was to involve other attractions with a transportation theme in an interactive event at this popular family oriented amusement park located in the heart of Lancaster County. The NTTM crew succeeded admirably with the train races. While most of the participants were younger children a few adults got in the act and had a better time than they anticipated. They also discovered that racing is not as easy as it looks.

Thank You

My thanks to the Education and Museum Committee volunteers who gave up part of a Saturday or Sunday to introduce a lot of children and their parents to the exciting world of toy trains.

Convention Gear Up

The National Convention begins in a bit less than two weeks in Colorado. We will be right outside of Denver. Two things take place at a TCA National Convention. The members have an opportunity to see an exciting area of the country and sample what life has to offer there. The Board of Directors meets for their annual face to face meeting to examine Association policy and guide the organization through another year.

I am urging all those attending the convention to visit the Board meeting to see their Directors at work. While you are at the meet on Friday and Saturday stop by the National information table and say Hello to Nicole, Jane and of course, me. We are always eager to meet our members and their families.

It is all new to me.

Introduction

Well, not really, as I have been writing reports, papers, ad copy, articles, captions and other "stuff" for a long time. This is something different. As we go along, this will develop and change and I think that will be interesting for me and the few who read it.

Purpose

It is all part of giving TCA a bigger and more professional (I hope) Internet presence. Over the past two years a great deal has been accomplished to bring the Association into the 21st century. What everyone saw as the on line face of TCA, http://www.traincollectors.org/, was transformed into a portal for a family of websites. I would encourage you to visit them. Each one allows participation for members and nonmembers alike, albeit at different levels in some cases.

Challenges

This entire endeavor is proving to be more challenging than originally expected, at least by some, and at times I am one of them. We are pressing on and we hope to be adding additional benefits to being a member of TCA.

Knowing how busy I am in my work as your Operations Manager these questions might arise, "Why a blog when most of our members do not have computers? Don't they take a lot of time?"

When one reads that 80% of all the homes in the U. S. have at least one computer the perception that TCA members are not among them would be far fetched. Yes, we do have some people who do not like computers, ATM machines, credit cards or some of the other things that are common in modern life. One must realize that those folks are a definite minority and that minority is shrinking.

We currently have approximately 10,000 E-mail addresses on file in the membership database. That is one third of the total membership. We suspect that a significant number of the remaining 20,000 have access to both E-mail and the Internet on a regular basis. We really need that group to submit their E-mail address to us because we want to upgrade the way the Association communicates with its members.

We need to be honest here and admit that a newsletter that comes out 5 times a year, a Directory that comes out once a year and a quarterly magazine are no longer the best ways to communicate with a far-flung membership. By using E-mail and a News and Events page on a website, in this case http://www.tcamembers.org/, we can inform members of changes and opportunities that will benefit them.

As for the second question, Yes, blogging can consume large amounts of time and, frankly, I do have other things I need to do and like to do. So, do not think there will be something here every day.

The Future

I will take advantage of this at some very specific times. One will be the National Convention where I hope to convey to those not there what happens at one of the real fun events hosted by TCA. For those of you who have never gone to a convention, I strongly urge you to reconsider. A convention affords an opportunity to see an interesting city and the surrounding area. You will get to meet other TCA members and build friendships that will last a lifetime.

Well, duty calls. More later.