Author: smdnmra

After skipping the December meeting due to
the lack of a host we will be returning to our
regular meeting schedule for the rest of the
2023 – 2024 program year.

Believe it or not, it is already time to start thinking about the 2024 – 2025 program year. First up on planning for next year is the election of officers. Normally the slate of new officer candidates would be read at the March meeting and voted on during the April meeting. Since our annual mini-con meeting is always held in April we need to move that process up, read the slate during the February meeting and vote at the March meeting. Therefore, I am issuing a call for volunteers at this time to run for the positions of:

• Superintendent (president)
• Clerk (secretary)
• Paymaster (treasurer)

These are the only elected positions in the division. There are numerous other unofficial positions who voluntarily serve at the pleasure of the Superintendent.
Not listed is the position of Assistant Superintendent. I would like to re-establish this position as both a back-up for the Superintendent and to serve as a membership coordinator.
If you would like to run for an elected position or be considered for one of the volunteer positions, please let me know southmountaindiv@gmail.com before the February meeting.
Remember – this is your division, and your help is needed to make it work.

Draft Meeting Minutes – October 8th 2023

Division members met in-person at the home of Larry Daily near Shepherdstown WV. Approximately 12 were present.  After admiring Larry’s layout and socializing, the Superintendent welcomed everyone and called the business meeting to order around 3:00 p.m.

• Paymaster’s Report:  Alex Polimeni reported on Ray Price’s behalf that the SMD bank balance remained unchanged at $3,669.71.
• Clerk’s Report (Meeting Minutes): The September meeting minutes were never distributed and thus could not be approved by motion or acclimation.
• Superintendent Bob Johnson thanked Larry Daily for hosting.

Old Business:

• Superintendent Bob Johnson congratulated Larry Daily on a superb layout and supporting website, specifically recognizing his faithful replication of a prototype railroad. Larry is new to the Division and opted to host his second ever meeting.
• Bob Johnson raised the issue that the Division is still paying for a ZOOM subscription with no plans to resume using it; suggest he may call a board meeting to decide what to do with the account.
• Bob Johnson stated that we still do not have hosts for November, December or January meetings without returning to a host we visited last year. Suggestion was made to reach out to Paul Mahoney to host.
• Concern was also raised that we have not typically had clinics after meetings, either. Grant Berry commented that it’s great practice for the Mini-Con.

New Business:

• Bob again asked for volunteers as he’s looking for a membership coordinator to join the advisory committee. Their role would be to reach out to new members and those whose membership is about to expire.
• Bob also asked for meeting host volunteers as November, December and January’s meetings do not have hosts.
• Bob addressed the need to begin planning the Mini-Con. Grant Berry raised the concern that with Division member Brian Greenawalt’s passing, the Mini-Con will need a new volunteer to handle the Make and Take clinic.
• A question was raised about a projector; Bob clarified that we have a projector screen but not a projector, as the Division’s projector disappeared with former Superintendent Jerry Skeim’s passing. Discussion about purchasing a replacement was shelved as Bob volunteered his projector and other members said they can provide a projector if needed.

Adjournment:

The Superintendent accepted a motion to adjourn around 4:00pm. The next meeting will be at Steve King’s home near Waynesboro, PA.

Draft Meeting Minutes – November 12th, 2023

Division members met in-person at the home of Steve King near Waynesboro, PA.  Approximately 11 were present.  After admiring Steve’s layout and socializing, the Superintendent welcomed everyone and called the business meeting to order around 2:50 p.m.

• Paymaster’s Report:  Paymaster Ray Price reported the SMD bank balance is now $3,910.71 after a deposit of $241.00 by the Superintendent. (?)
• Clerk’s Report (Meeting Minutes): The October meeting minutes were never distributed and thus could not be approved by motion or acclimation.
• Superintendent Bob Johnson thanked Steve King for hosting.

Old Business:

• Superintendent Bob Johnson updated the attendees that he’s found and contacted a printer for the SMD brochures and will have a price by the next meeting.
• Bob updated attendees that we still do not have a December meeting host, but all other meetings have been accounted for. Bob called again for volunteers and stated that if we cannot find a host for the December meeting, it may be cancelled.
• The idea was presented that SMD has organized a membership Christmas dinner at a restaurant in years past. Discussion followed with Hagerstown presented as a central location for the Division.
• Alex Polimeni acknowledged failure to distribute the previous Minutes.
• Bob Johnson again appealed for a volunteer to join the Division advisory committee as membership coordinator.

New Business:

• Superintendent Bob Johnson informed attendees that he received an email from SMD member Gary Snook that Gary has a decal printer capable of printing white, and is happy to work with Division members who could make use of it.
• Bob also heard from long time Division member Reginald Bowman who is giving away a 50 year archive of model railroading magazines. Members are asked to follow up with Bob if interested; these will be trashed if not re-homed.
• Bob informed attendees that currently elected SMD clerk Harvey Heyser has informed the Advisory Committee that he has no plans to attend meetings through the ’23-’24 year. Bob would like to ask for volunteers for Clerk, either to complete the remainder of the ’23-’24 year or to run for office in the ’24-’25 year.

Adjournment:

The Superintendent accepted a motion to adjourn around 4pm, and asked host Steve King to speak about his railroad, who elaborated on how this was the fifth iteration of the Virginia Midland, and the first to be built free-standing. Steve has been adding more scenery to the layout and hosting regular operating sessions, and invited attendees and SMD members at large to participate in.

This was followed by a wonderful presentation about traction railroading of all sizes by new(ish) SMD member Grant.

There is no host for the December meeting at the time of these minutes, but the January meeting will be hosted by Dave Thalman near Winchester, VA.

First, I want to thank Larry Daily for hosting the October SMD meeting. Larry is a new member and stepped up right away by hosting. Larry’s layout is one of the few photo- realistic layouts I have ever seen. He is modeling a specific place and time, and many of the scenes on the layout are documented by photos of the actual locations which confirm his skill in recreating these scenes in miniature.

We still need a host for the December 2023 membership meeting. All of the rest of the 2023/2024 meeting venues have been spoken for. If you can host us in December please let me know as soon as possible. We are also looking for volunteers to present clinics at a number of the meetings. These mini-clinics add interest to the meetings and provide additional value to those attending. Any railroad prototype and/or modeling topic is fair game for a clinic. You don’t need to develop a “professional” presentation so don’t worry about your presentation skills.

Finally, we are looking for one or more volunteers to join the SMD management team. One position I would like to fill is a membership coordinator. This position’s duties would include new member recruiting efforts and welcoming new members to the Division. Again, if you think you might be interested let me know.