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.
