Potomac Chapter National Railway Historical Society, Inc.
| Montgomery County Executive Office Building | |
| Present: | |
| Jay Creswell, Treasurer Bill Holdsworth, Secretary Rick Davidson, National Representative |
Jerry Hott, Director at Large John Sery, Director at Large Carl Franz, Director at Large Gordon Piscacek, Director at Large |
Directors approved a motion to set the prices for the banquet at the Golden Bull Grand Cafe as:
On November 27 directors approved a motion to recommend that the Potomac Chapter banquet be held in the Seville room of the Golden Bull Grand Cafe restaurant in Gaithersburg, Maryland on Saturday, March 28, 2015. Time and cost per person to be resolved at a later date by the board either meeting in session or by an email vote.
Voting in favor of the motion: Carl Franz, Bill Holdsworth, Rick Davidson, John Sery, Gordon Piscacek, and Marc Laborde.
| Silver Spring B&O Station | |
| Present: | |
| Gordy Bjoraker, President Marc Laborde, Vice President Jay Creswell, Treasurer Bill Holdsworth, Secretary Rick Davidson, National Representative |
Jerry Hott, Director at Large John Sery, Director at Large Carl Franz, Director at Large Gordon Piscacek, Director at Large |
| Absent: | |
None |
|
President Gordy Bjoraker called the meeting to order at 8:05 p.m.
Bill Holdsworth distributed copies of the minutes from July meeting.
Jay Creswell reviewed the treasurer’s report. Directors discussed the bank fees.
Directors discussed the chapter picnic September 27. Those who attended agreed that the picnic went well.
Jay suggested a Saturday in March for the banquet. Director agreed and authorized him to pick a date.
Carl Franz has gotten a quote from B&H for a new digital projector. Jay will place the order. Carl said the projector should be delivered in 3-4 days. Jay will hand off the projector at the membership meeting.
Jay and Bill briefed the directors on membership. Bob Dixon-Gumm and Bill have completed the mailing list. The next step is to prepare the renewal form/letter.
Directors discussed the situation with the national organization, but there is no firm news. Rick Davidson will attend the November 15 national board meeting in Tennessee.
Directors approved a motion to recommend that the membership release the $20,000 in chapter funds committed to the large grant program, which has been inactive for 20 years.
Board members discussed reactivating the finance committee to evaluate the chapter’s committed funds and consider an investment policy.
Directors voted to meet January 13, March 10, and May 5 during 2015. Then they will decide whether to revert to quarterly meetings for the balance of the year.
Board members discussed the catalog for the Flack slide collection. Carl volunteered to follow up on the issue.
Directors discussed the storage locker. John Sery and Carl volunteered to inventory the contents. Bill gave a set of keys to Marc Laborde.
Jerry Hott reported that restoration efforts have been successful for the depot at Rural Retreat, VA.
Carl challenged each director to submit a quarter-page idea for improving the chapter at the next board meeting.
The meeting adjourned at 10:13 p.m. One eastbound train and two westbound trains passed during the meeting.
On August 14 directors approved a motion to recommend that the membership membership add the following text to Article XI of the bylaws.
Voting in favor of the motion: Bill Holdsworth, Jerry Hott, Gordy Bjoraker, Carl Franz, Jay Creswell, John Sery, Marc Laborde, Gordon Piscacek, and Rick Davidson.…A motion to approve an amendment to the bylaws must receive: (1) a majority of the votes cast, and (2) the votes in favor must represent at least 10 percent of the membership, voting either in meeting or by mail ballot.
On August 1 directors approved a motion to recommend that the membership approve the text below as a replacement for Article X of the bylaws.
At least 10 percent of the Chapter membership or 10 members, whichever is greater, shall constitute a quorum for conducting business at a Chapter meeting.
Voting in favor of the motion: Bill Holdsworth, Carl Franz, Gordon Piscacek, Gordy Bjoraker, John Sery, Jay Creswell, Marc Laborde, and Rick Davidson.
| Silver Spring B&O Station | |
| Present: | |
| Gordy Bjoraker, President Jay Creswell, Treasurer Bill Holdsworth, Secretary Rick Davidson, National Representative |
Jerry Hott, Director at Large John Sery, Director at Large Carl Franz, Director at Large Gordon Piscacek, Director at Large |
| Absent: | |
Marc Laborde, Vice President |
|
President Gordy Bjoraker called the meeting to order at 8:01 p.m.
Bill Holdsworth distributed copies of the minutes from May meeting.
Jay Creswell distributed a year-to-date report through June 30 with a comparison of this year with the same period for 2013. He discussed some of the trends with expense and revenue. He suggested reviving the finance committee. Carl said he would contact Bob about the locker key.
Silver Line opening: Bill reported the three people participated in the chapter event to ride on the first day.
Directors discussed the chapter picnic September 27: Carl Franz and John Sery suggested that the chapter provide a better variety of food. Directors agreed to evaluate after this year's picnic.
Board members discussed the purchase of a new digital projector. Carl supplied background information on the technology. Carl and John recommended the Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 3020. They supplied an estimated budget for the recommended accessories.
Directors approved a motion to recommend to the membership that it authorize the board to spend up to $1900 on a new Epson PowerLite 3020 digital projector and peripherals. Those peripherals will include a microphone, a microphone preamp, video and audio cables, computer cables for both Windows and Macintosh computers, a carrying case, and a Blu-ray player.
Board members discussed the need to recruit a nominating committee.
The meeting adjourned at 10:10 p.m. Two eastbound trains passed during the meeting.
| Silver Spring B&O Station | |
| Present: | |
| Gordy Bjoraker, President Marc Laborde, Vice President Bill Holdsworth, Secretary |
Jay Creswell, Treasurer John Sery, Director at Large Jerry Hott, Director at Large |
| Absent: | |
Rick Davidson, National Representative |
|
President Gordy Bjoraker called the meeting to order at 8:15 p.m.
Bill Holdsworth distributed copies of the minutes from the February and April meetings.
Jay Creswell said he didn't receive the April bank statement early enough to prepare a treasurer's report. Bill described the process he is using to verify the treasurer's report on a quarterly basis.
Directors agreed that the chapter banquet was successful. They discussed the chapter picnic scheduled for September 27.
Board members discussed upgrading the chapter's digital projector. John Sery's previous recommendation was the Epson Powerlight 935w for $1200. He said a higher resolution model would cost about $300 more. Jerry Hott asked about the cost of a replacement bulb. Jerry suggested a matching donation program for the purchase. Other directors thought that impractical. Directors agreed to delay the purchase until Jay consults with a friend on this topic.
Directors approved a motion to spend $450 to purchase Directors and Officers insurance for 2014 as part of the national program through New Castle Insurance. The vote was five to one in favor.
Board members discussed matching grant program for the restoration of steam locomotive N&W #611. Directors are inclined to await another milestone to initiate another program.
Directors approved a motion to nominate Gordon Piscacek as a replacement director to fill the vacancy on the board created by the resignation of Bob Cohen. The vote was five to one in favor.
Board members discussed development of a new process to collect chapter dues. Jay suggested having a committee meeting in June. Jerry suggested handling national dues for some members. Bill will try to arrange a meeting.
The meeting adjourned at 10:09 p.m. Three westbound trains and two eastbound trains passed during the meeting.
| Conference call | |
| Participating: | |
| Gordy Bjoraker, President Marc Laborde, Vice President Bill Holdsworth, Secretary |
Jay Creswell, Treasurer John Sery, Director at Large Jerry Hott, Director at Large |
| Not participating: | |
Rick Davidson, National Representative |
|
President Gordy Bjoraker called the meeting to order at 8:05 p.m.
Directors discussed the options for filling the vacancies on the board of directors. They also considered election procedures.
Directors approved a motion to nominate Penny Dixon-Gumm as a replacement director to fill the vacancy on the board created by the resignation of Bob Cohen.
Board members discussed the need to develop a new process for chapter dues collection. They also discussed the need to create a new chapter directory.
Directors talked about possible dates for the picnic. September 20 and 27 seem like good candidates. Jay Creswell will investigate and get back to Jerry Hott, who will try to reserve Gaithersburg City Hall park.
The meeting adjourned at 9:00 p.m.
On March 18 directors approved a motion to nominate Brian Obert as a replacement director to fill the vacancy on the board created by the resignation of Bill Hopkins.
Voting in favor of the motion: Gordy Bjoraker, Jay Creswell, Bill Holdsworth, Marc Laborde, Jerry Hott, and Rick Davidson. Voting against: John Sery.
| Silver Spring B&O Station | |
| Present: | |
| Bill Holdsworth, Secretary Marc Laborde, Vice President Jay Creswell, Treasurer Rick Davidson, National Representative |
Bob Cohen, Director at Large Bill Hopkins, Director at Large John Sery, Director at Large Jerry Hott, Director at Large |
| Absent: | |
Gordy Bjoraker, President |
|
Secretary Bill Holdsworth called the meeting to order at 8:06 p.m.
Bill distributed copies of the minutes from the October meeting. Directors approved a motion to accept the minutes as submitted.
Jay Creswell distributed a treasurer's report, including year-rend summary reports. The deficit for 2013 was $3,730.
Jay reported that arrangements for the chapter banquet March 29 were complete.
Directors discussed the cancellation of the January membership meeting and whether the chapter should revise its inclement weather policy. Jay said that he had registered for email alerts from Montgomery County. He thought the snowstrom predicted for January 13 might illustrate the usefulness of those alerts.
Discussed the implications of the national organization's new policy on dues collection:
Directors are concerned about the potential burden on the chapter and the impact on members who aren't used to doing business online. Jerry Hott suggested that chapter offer to handle the national dues payments for members who can’t pay electronically. Rick Davidson is awaiting more detailed information from the national organization.
Rick reported on the status of 2014 renewals vis-a-vis 2013:
| 2014 (as of February 11) | 2013 |
Members with Digital PRN: 35 Total Members who have renewed is 73. |
Total Members who had renewed in 2013: 101 Total Chapter Only Members who renewed in 2013: 19 No Chapter Associates in 2013. |
John Sery suggested following up with those who have dropped their membership to determine the motivation.
Bill Hopkins said that he plans to renew as an associate, which will means that he will be stepping down as a director.
Bill Holdsworth said he had a quotes for directors and officers liability insurance and a fidelity bond. Directors asked him to get more detailed information.
John recommended the Epson PowerLite 935W as a replacement for the chapter's current video projector. He said that the Epson model offers a nice balance of features at a good price, $1,199. John said he would email further information about the model.
The meeting adjourned at 9:35 p.m. One westbound train and no eastbound trains passed during the meeting.
