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Superintendent’s Message

Written by Ken Liesse
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By Ken Liesse. Photo by Brian Liesse

Hello everyone. Since I’ve held this position for a month now, I thought it would be a good idea to introduce myself and let you know some of the things going on in the division (better late than never, right?). For those that don’t know, my name is Ken Liesse and I am the Superintendent of 4th Division (PNR/NMRA, etc.). I came to this job in a roundabout way: I had been working closely with Dennis Hill on some division projects at the time of his death this past spring. As Assistant Superintendent, Jim Byerley then took the reins as prescribed in the division bylaws. This left the position of Asst. Supt. open with the task of filling it up to Jim. He asked me to fill in, to which I agreed. At the BOD meeting in August, Jim stepped down as Superintendent, and again following our bylaws, I became Supt.

I am a Life Member of the NMRA and have been a member of the organization for over 30 years. I have served as a Director in 4D and was also on the committee that put together the 2004 National convention here in Seattle. Many of you have probably seen my clinics on painting and manipulating figures and I regularly attend both the Tacoma and Eastside clinics. I’m also a volunteer and member of the museum in Snoqualmie and a member of the American Radio Theater, a group that recreates old time radio programs.

Now that you a little bit about me, allow me to tell you about things going on around the division.

Ed Liesse, Ken Liesse, Sue Van Gerpen, Russ Segner. Brian Liesse Photo

At the BOD meeting last month, a motion was made on behalf of Director JJ Johnston (he was playing Grandpa in California at the time) to make a donation to the Northwest Railway Museum in Snoqualmie to benefit their ongoing education efforts. The monies for this came out of the 4D education budget. The following week, Education Chair Ed Liesse, 4D member and museum volunteer Russ Segner and I presented a check for $1000 to Sue Van Gerpen, the museum’s director of marketing. I recently received a very nice thank you note from Sue on behalf of the museum, thanking the 4D and all of its members for our gift.

It’s never too early to start thinking about volunteering for the Pacific Science Center show, which will again be held over the Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend in January. Frank Dekker and Jeff Moorman are always looking for help, so plan ahead and think about donating some time to this endeavor. It is, after all, 4D’s largest source of income for the year.

There are two other big activities coming up next year that you’ll want to put on your calendars: the joint PCR/PNR Regional convention in Medford, OR May 2-5 and the Narrow Gauge convention in Seattle, Sept. 12-15. PCR conventions by themselves often rival NMRA national conventions; the combined convention should be a humdinger. The Narrow Gauge convention, although not an NMRA function, is one of the biggest model railroad conventions in the country and attracts more than just narrow gauge minded individuals. Many 4D members will be showing their layouts for this convention as well as participating in other capacities. Both of these events have web presences  Visit the joint convention at http://www.pcrnmra.org/conv2012/ and the Narrow Gauge convention at http://www.seattle2012.com/.

That’s all for now, but you can expect to hear from me again.

Superintendent’s Message

Superintendent Jim Byerley Steps Down

Written by Ken Liesse
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By Ken Liesse

At the 4D Board of Directors’ meeting on Aug. 27th, Jim Byerley tendered his resignation as Superintendent. Citing personal reasons, Jim felt he could not fully commit to the position he took over upon the untimely death of our previous superintendent, Dennis Hill. Jim had intended to retire from his position as Assistant Superintendent at the end of this term, but plans on continuing 4D work with the West Side Clinic.

Per the 4D By-Laws, Assistant Superintendent Ken Liesse has become Superintendent and will fill out the remainder of Jim’s term. Ken has said he will not appoint a replacement Assistant Superintendent as John Salzetti’s term in that office starts in just a few days. Sherman Stevens and Jeannie Melvin have agreed to stay on as Treasurer and Secretary, respectively. No other changes to the Board or any Chair positions are anticipated.

Ken may be contacted at NMRAKen@liessefamily.net or 253-859-1335. The contact page on the 4D website will be changed accordingly.

Superintendent’s Message

General Meeting Notice

Written by Ken Liesse
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Ken Liesse

There will be a general meeting of the 4D membership immediately preceding the Tacoma Clinic this coming Thursday, June 9th. The purpose of this meeting is to approve the 4D budget for the coming year. We don’t anticipate the meeting to last too long and we’re grateful to the Tacoma Clinic for allowing us the time to take care of this important division business. All 4D members are invited and encouraged to attend this meeting.

The Tacoma Clinic is held in the Pierce County Library building, 3005 112th St. E., Tacoma WA.

Superintendent’s Message, Tacoma Clinic

Ballots for Directors

Written by Ken Liesse
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By Ken Liesse

Due to the passing of 4D Superintendent Dennis Hill, the process of getting ballots in the mail for the open Board of Director positions was derailed. The ballots are back on track and will be in the mail this week. Please read the instructions for the ballot carefully and return them according to the deadline printed on the ballot.

There are three positions up for election: Assistant Superintendent, Director Position One, and Director Position Three. Rob Jones and John Salzetti are running for Asst. Supt., while Al Lowe and Ethan “Stu” Rogers are seeking reelection for Director Positions One and Three respectively. Space for write-in candidates is available for all three races.

Superintendent’s Message, ,

Dennis Hill Passes

Written by Ken Liesse
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Ken Liesse

Click for larger image

It is with deep sadness that I report the passing of 4D Superintendent, Dennis Hill. Dennis was stricken with an aneurysm in his abdomen earlier today and rushed to the hospital. Unfortunately, he had lost a lot of blood before his first surgery at 11:00 and the doctors could do nothing else for him. Dennis passed away at 5:50 this evening.

Please keep Dennis and his wife Diana in your thoughts and prayers. Diana plans a memorial service this summer, during warmer weather.

News, Superintendent’s Message

Accepting Nominations

Written by Ken Liesse
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By Ken Liesse, Nominations Chair

Once again, it’s election time in the 4th Division. This year, there are openings for three offices: Assistant Superintendent, Director Position 1, and Director Position 3. Current Asst. Supt. Jim Byerley has indicated that he will not seek another term in his office.

Your Nominating Committee is seeking individuals who would be willing to run for any of these offices. If you would like to run for one of these positions, please send a brief statement about your candidacy to any of the three members of the Nominating Committee: Ken Liesse (NMRAKen@liessefamily.net), Dave Liesse (NMRADave@liessefamily.net), or Ed Liesse (EELiesse@aol.com). If you prefer to submit your statement via USPS, please send it to the 4D Nominating Committee, P.O. Box 5072, Kent, WA 98064. This statement must be signed and should include your qualifications, why you are running, and an affirmation that you are willing to run for the office. We will accept a full name printed at the bottom of an electronic communication as a signature. Statements not including a signature will not be accepted.

As stated in the 4th Division By-laws, these nominations and statements should be in the committees’ hands by March 1st. However, by Board action at the February 26th meeting, this deadline has been extended to March 31st.

Superintendent’s Message, ,

4D Election Results are In

Written by Al Lowe
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Bobj Berger, 4D Ballot Chair

The 2010 election results are in. Congratulations to Dennis Hill, re-elected 4D superintendent and to JJ Johnston, re-elected to the Board of Directors.

The ballot count was done the evening of July 9th at Al Carter’s home. Tabulation was done by Bobj Berger, with callers Max Maginness, MMR #315 and Al Carter. All are NMRA-PNR-4D members in good standing.

58 ballots were received before the deadline. 11 were deemed ineligible as no member name or number were provided, including no return address or other information.

Vote Totals:

Superintendent

Dennis Hill: 46
Write-in   0

Director #2

JJ Johnson:46
Write-in: 0

Again: congratulations and good luck in the coming year!

News, Superintendent’s Message

From the President’s Desk

Written by Al Lowe
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Jack Hamilton

You are no doubt aware that I was a candidate for the position of NMRA Western District Director. Those elections were held in April and the results are in. I have been notified that I was successful in my bid for that position and will assume the Directorship at the NMRA Annual Board meeting in July. I want to thank each and every one of you who placed your confidence and trust in me through your vote. I promised to be the members Director on the NMRA Board and I will keep that promise.

In order to accept the NMRA Director position, I must step down as your PNR President. I do so with reluctance and some degree of sadness. I have thoroughly enjoyed working with what I consider to be one of the most active, interested, and energized group of individuals that I have had the honor to serve. Your individual Division Superintendents are “pick of the litter” folk and we are all very fortunate to have them in leadership roles. The individual Committee Chairs have performed well beyond reasonable expectation for normal all volunteer groups. They simply “took charge and marched off” to get the job done. Your Region has been much better because of their individual efforts. The stalwarts of the Region, who actually get the day to day stuff done, Dirk Kruysman our Treasurer and the Office Managers, first Steve Prevette and now Ed and Gay Liesse, are exceptional in every aspect and make contributions to the success of the Region that few understand. I will miss the enjoyment of working with them.

Our Vice President, Walt Huston, the quiet power of excellence in both modeling and leadership will now assume the role of leadership for the Region. I know Walt well and have worked with him over a number of years. You can expect that his exceptional leadership and understanding will continue to move the region forward and that service to the members will remain the hallmark of PNR. I will remain available to assist Walt in any way that he may desire.

I want to extend my personal thanks to each and every member of PNR for their participation, interest and support of Division and Region activities. I greatly appreciate the courtesy and assistance you have extended to me. You have made the job of being your President fun. We have something very special here in our very large corner of the world because you made it special. You are showing the way for others in the hobby. Keep up the good work. Thank you!

Cascadian International 2010

The PNR 2010 convention Host Committee has undergone some shifting around of positions and is now totally invested in bringing you a premier event in September. If you have not already done so, now is the time to make plans to attend and to register. The convention is September 16-18, 2010 at the Embassy Suites Hotel, Lynnwood, WA (12 miles north of downtown Seattle). It is especially important for our Canadian members to make sure that they have the appropriate documentation to cross the border. See 4dpnr.com/CI2010.htm for additional information.

Contest Regulations

As many of you who attended the Edmonton 2009 Northern Lights convention are aware, we tried some different things with respect to Contest and Achievement Program. They appeared to be successful. In addition, NMRA National Contest Chair Bob Hamm has been revising the national contest rules and general approach to try to increase interest in the membership. John DeSteese (your PNR Contest Chair) and I (in my role as AP Chair) have reviewed and revised our PNR Contest policies and rules to more closely align our general approach to National and to incorporate our process for AP and Contest to maximize benefit and opportunity for our members. We intend to use the revised policies and rules at the 2010 Convention in order to “proof” them and to iron out any wrinkles. The “interim” policies and rules should be posted to the web site in the very near future.

Elections of PNR Officers

I cannot stress how important your participation is in this essential process. When only 5 or 10 percent of the members participate in election, and when finding candidates is worse than getting your wife to let you buy a new engine, we all suffer. This is our organization but more important it is your organization. In addition to elected positions, a few of those who have served in appointed positions have indicated their intention to move back to actual modeling (what a concept!). The new President and his Board will need individuals ready and willing to step up to those positions of responsibility. A lesson I learned a long time ago is: if you want things to be better, you have to be willing to work for that change. The adjunct to that rule is that it is always easier to bring about change from the inside rather than the outside.

NMRA 75th Anniversary Convention in Milwaukee

This is a repeat because it deserves repeating. Our NMRA celebrates its 75th year in operation in 2010. The National Convention in Milwaukee in July is looking to be both a super event and a great party. If you have been to a national convention in the past you might consider this as a very good way to do it again and enjoy the celebration. If you have never been to a national, going this year will certainly give you talking points and bragging rights for some time to come. Convention information is in the February Scale Rails and on the NMRA web site. Give it a look.

Superintendent’s Message