SMD Draft Meeting Minutes – 8 November 2020

Minutes submitted by Clerk Harvey Heyser

Division members met remotely on the internet using the Zoom platform.  10 or 12 were present.  The Superintendent convened the meeting prior to the published start time to allow for any attendees having trouble with the Zoom connection time to try logging in multiple times.  After some socializing, Superintendent Jerry Skeim called the business meeting to order shortly after the 2 pm start time.

20.11-1 Paymaster’s Report:  Paymaster Ray Price was not present to report.  [Shortly after the meeting, Paymaster Price reported to the Officers that the Division has $3808.09 in its bank account, the same amount as in last month’s report.]

20.11-2 Clerk’s Report (Meeting Minutes):  The attendees dispensed with the reading/summary of the minutes (previously distributed by e-mail).  Alex Polimeni made the following motion (second by Bill Wilson):

Motion:  That the draft Minutes for the October 2020 meeting be approved as submitted.  The motion passed unanimously.

Old Business:

20.10-4 2021 Mini-Con: The Superintendent reminded attendees that Chair Pete Clarke (not present) had indicated his unwillingness to schedule an event for Spring 2021 because of uncertainty about the pandemic situation.  Attendees were reminded of Chair Clarke’s hope that the Mini-Con will remain a face-to-face event with numerous opportunities for informal interaction (rather than a virtual event).  The Superintendent urged the Division to double down on remote interactions for the time being and on the SMD’s virtual presence (web site, blog, Facebook, etc.).

20.10-7 Virtual Raffle:  Paymaster Price has volunteered to handle the financial aspects of the raffle including a PayPal account.  The Division has little collective experience with on-line raffles.  Bill Martz has some experience, which he will share with the Superintendent.  Anyone else, who has such experience, should also contact the Superintendent.  A tentative date of April 2021 was discussed (rather than Christmas/New Years 2020, which is too near). No decision was made.

20.10-8  Brochures:  No report from Bob Johnson.  [On 11-19-20, he reported he would be placing the brochure holders/brochures at Main Line hobbies, HobbyTown of Frederick, the museum in Frederick (if they are open), the hobby shop in Mt. Airy, and (possibly) the Train Room in Hagerstown.  He may also consider the WM Historical Society location in Hagerstown.  He needs a contact.]

New Business:

20.11-3 Wheel Report Deadline:  For the Winter issue, the deadline is November 15, 2020.  Editor Tom Fedor expressed interest in having photos of things members have been working on during the pandemic.

20.11-4 Regional Conventions:  The next MER Convention will be in Hunt Valley, outside of Baltimore.  There is a link to to convention web site on SMD’s web site.  It is understood that the cancelled 2020 Carolina convention will be rescheduled for 2022.

20.11-5 SMD Blog:  Members were encouraged to subscribe to the blog for e-mail alerts.  Following questions about posters to the blog (unknown to attendees), Webmaster Fedor pointed out that posting is open to anyone.  (The unknown poster turned out to be a member of an operating crew.)  Currently, the blog features photos of Jay Beckham’s layout.

Adjournment:  The Superintendent accepted a motion to adjourn.  The next meeting will be held remotely in December (second Sunday at 2 p.m.).  Members will be notified by e-mail.

Following the meeting, there was no clinic.  Superintendent Skeim is planning for clinics following future meetings.  Members were encouraged to volunteer to give clinics.

ALERT – MER email SCAM

Mid-Eastern Region

By Kurt Thompson, MMR, President, Mid-Eastern Region, NMRA, Inc.

November 10, 2020

My fellow Mid-Eastern Region members:

It is November and we are approaching the holiday season which is a time of happiness and celebration and gift-giving. Sadly, someone is practicing to be the Grinch and is trading on the good name of the Mid-Eastern Region and me, as your President.

The MER has been struck by a scamming artist. The person has taken all the email addresses on the MER website and then masquerading as me, asked almost all the MER staff and the Division Superintendents to buy gift cards in support of a charitable cause. The culprit makes it sound very convincing. So much so that several members have called me and others have emailed me to verify the email as spam.

I will not forward the email here. Suffice to say, the closing salutation is incorrect and doesn’t carry my usual ending. Also the reply email address is not my official email address at all. When in doubt, let your mouse hover over the email address and look at the actual return address. It should be president@mer-nmra.com. If it’s not from the email address, it is not from me!!!

As President of the MER, I will never ask you to purchase gift cards or donate money to a cause, other than your donation to the MER itself. The MER is a 501(c)3 organization which means we can accept donations and they can be treated as a tax benefit to the donor. The MER does not make donations outside the organization.

The MER will take measures to strengthen the security of information on the website. 

If you ever receive an email purportedly from me as the President of the Mid-Eastern Region that asks you to purchase and mail gift cards, please stop and consider the nature of the request. It will be fraudulent. If you still question or feel that there may be some truth to the request in the email, feel free to call me on my cell phone which is listed on the MER webpage and in the NMRA Magazine.

If I don’t answer the phone call immediately, please leave me a message and DO NOT make any purchases based on the email. I will call you back within 24 hours. No purchase has to be made in haste that waiting 24 hours will cause the world to fail.

Wishing you a happy holiday season. May you and yours enjoy it.

Wheel Report Submissions Needed

Your Wheel Report needs photographs of current model railroad projects in progress or completed in this calendar year, 2020. Big or small; email a photograph and short description to Tom Fedor at southmoutaindiv@gmail.com.

Since we don’t regularly gather in person for meetings, operating, or work sessions, as inspiration I would like to feature your work in the winter edition of the newsletter.

Read more in the winter edition.

SMD Draft Meeting Minutes – 11 October 2020

Minutes submitted by Clerk Harvey Heyser

Division members met remotely on the internet using the Zoom platform.  The Superintendent convened the meeting one hour prior to the published start time to allow for any attendees having trouble with the Zoom connection time to try logging in multiple times.  After some socializing, Superintendent Jerry Skeim called the business meeting to order shortly after the 2 pm start time.

20.10-1 Paymaster’s Report:  Paymaster Ray Price reported that the Division has $3808.09 in its bank account, the same amount as in last month’s report.

20.10-2 Clerk’s Report (Meeting Minutes):  Because of computer problems (letting the smoke out), Clerk Harvey Heyser was unable to access his copy of the draft minutes.  Paymaster Price read the draft minutes for the September meeting (previously distributed by e-mail).  Ron Polimeni made the following motion (second by Alex Polimeni):

Motion:  That the draft Minutes for the September 2020 meeting be approved as submitted.  The motion passed unanimously.

There was general agreement among those present that the SMD dispense with reading of the draft minutes in future.

Old Business:  None brought up.

New Business:

20.10-3 Remote meetings:  Superintendent Skeim notified attendees that remote meetings on the internet using the Zoom platform will continue for the foreseeable future.  Meeting dates will continue to be the 2nd Sunday of the month.  Members expressed appreciation for a first reminder 2 weeks before and a second the Friday before the scheduled meeting.  Editor Tom Fedor will post the dates on the SMD blog, and Alex Polimeni will post on Facebook.

20.10-4 2021 Mini-Con: In response to a question about delaying the date of the event because of pandemic concerns, Chair Pete Clarke made the following points:

  • He indicated he had been in contact with Brian Wolfe on Mainline Hobbies.
  • He asked attendees if they would give in-person clinics in a crowded hall if the situation in the spring is what it is presently.  The response was generally negative.
  • He pointed out that trying to set up a spring 2020 event was likely wasted effort considering what we don’t know at this time.  He expressed his opinion that effort will be best spent keeping the SMD strong and functioning at this trying time.  (Helping Mainline Hobbies, creating content for the Wheel Report, and posting remote clinics (show and tell like the informal Mini-Con ones) on the SMD blog/Facebook pages were suggested.)
  • Holding the Mini-Con outdoors was suggested but was not favored because of unpredictable weather, the difficulty of providing for power needs, and inability to hear presentations.
  • Summer 2021 was suggested.  Chair Clarke indicated a willingness to consider that possibility if the current situation improves greatly and quickly.  A possible summer 2020 flea-market (not at Blue Ridge Summit) was also briefly discussed.
  • Chair Clarke will begin planning for the 2022 Mini-Con in March/April of 2021.  He reminded all of the importance of Mainline’s mailing list for getting the word out.

20.10-5 Strengthening the SMD:  Members pointed out that a stronger internet presence now will help the SMD face the electronic future.  Several members reported on their positive experiences with virtual NMRA events (NMRAx).

20.10-6 Virtual Mini-Con:  In light of NMRA virtual events, a virtual Mini-Con was suggested and discussed.  Recorded clinics could be compiled for internet viewing.  Chair Clarke reminded everyone that the in-person interaction is one of the most important qualities of SMD’s Mini-Cons.

20.10-7 Virtual Raffle:  Members suggested holding a virtual raffle to support Mainline Hobbies.  Paymaster Price volunteered to handle the financial aspects of the raffle including a PayPal account.  No decision was made.

20.10-8  Brochure:  Bob Johnson reported the brochures have not been distributed and volunteered to do so (with a brief inserted notice of the upcoming remote meetings).

20.10-9 Remote Clinics – Equipment, Resources, etc.:  A desire to have more than just looking at each other’s faces was brought up.  Remote clinics and layout visits were suggested.  Attendees mentioned interest in more sharing of what we are doing.  In answer to a question, Alex Polimeni discussed recourses available to members for making remote presentations, including speaking to the camera and the screen-share function of Zoom (button at the bottom of the Zoom screen).  Following adjournment, Dave Thalman made a presentation demonstrating some possibilities.  He reported using his i-phone both walking around and mounted on a phone tripod (available on-line for $15 to $20).

20.10-10 What other groups are doing:  Attendees reported on virtual clinics and events held by other groups (both NMRA affiliated and not) and of how those interactions have aided in dealing with the isolation brought on by the pandemic.

Adjournment:  The Superintendent accepted a motion to adjourn.  The next meeting will be held remotely in November.  Members will be notified by e-mail.

Following the meeting, Dave Thalman made a presentation including a video of recent progress on his layout and a discussion of his efforts to complete background scenery.  He reminded everyone of the potential for damage to fragile foreground structures as a result of trying to reach over and around them into the more distant areas of a layout.  That fact encouraged him to do scenic work this summer. 

Dave also discussed his signaling plans using sensors (to change the lights to red when a train passes) and timers (to reset them to green after a given time interval).  That approach will greatly simplify signaling his 4-track mainline.

Mount Clare Junction Update

THE 2021 NMRA MID-EASTERN REGION MODEL RAILROAD CONVENTION

The first monthly Mount Clare Junction newsletter has been released. Visit mtclarejct.com for more details and to sign up for future announcements.

The Mount Clare Junction team is interested in hearing from you. Click here to send us a message and let us know what you want to see and learn during the event.

Stay safe. Wear a mask. Socially distance.

Together we can be together in 2021.

[Post adapted from the MtClareJct.com newsletter. -ed]