By this time I am sure you have realized that we were not able to schedule a summer activity for the Division. Several options were under consideration but none of them worked out. That failure notwithstanding, it is time to get back into our regular monthly meetings. The first of the program year will be held on Sunday, 08 September.
This coming program year will be a pivotal year for the Division. You are probably tired of hearing this from me but if we do not get more people stepping up to manage the Division and host meetings it may be necessary to declare the Division inactive as of the end of the June, 2025.
This will be my third year as Division Superintendent, and I have already announced that I will not take a fourth year. Our current Clerk (secretary), Alex Polimeni has been serving in various positions for over 8 years and I am sure he would like a break also. In addition to the officer positions there are a number of other supporting officials, named by an incoming Superintendent, that need to be filled. None of these positions require a great deal time or effort but they are all important.
Remember – this is your Division and it cannot function without your support.
Finally, we need hosts for our monthly meetings. Last year it was a struggle to find hosts for the eight meetings that were held. Several of the meetings held last year were repeat locations from the previous year. Generally, we would prefer to have a minimum of two years between visits to any given layout and ideally, we would like to see a three year break. The first two
meetings of this year (2024 / 2025) are two year repeats and as of this writing we do not have any volunteers to host any additional meetings.
Mid-Eastern Region Convention Planning
We have been officially asked to host the 2027 MER convention. The membership voted at the May 2024 meeting to accept this invitation (assuming we are still an active Division). Under the current convention protocols the MER handles a significant portion of the work involved. I would like to form a small (3 to 4 people) exploratory committee to investigate available facilities, possible prototype tour activities, etc. If you would like to participate in this endeavor please contact me at southmountaindiv@gmail.com as soon as possible.
Wheel Report Feature Articles
As previously noted, Alex Polimeni is now working with Division membership (and others) to develop feature articles, layout photo tours, written clinics, etc. to supplement the basic Wheel Report announcements. Please consider reaching out to him at southmountaindiv@gmail.com to provide content.
Remember – this is your Division and it cannot function without your support.
This is your Division and we need your help with Wheel Report features.
Hosting Meetings – another reminder!!
2024 – 2025 program year needs additional meeting hosts.
Remember – this is your Division and it cannot function without your support.
If you would like to host, please let me know. We try to avoid back-to-back repeat visits. So if you have never hosted, if it has been over a year since you did, or if you just want to show off your recent layout progress, then reach out at southmountaindiv@gmail.com.
Registration is now open for Piedmont Junction, the 2024 Mid-Eastern Region Convention, in Durham, North Carolina at the Marriott Raleigh-Durham Research Triangle Park the weekend of October 17-20, 2024, with four full days of model railroading activities.