Gerry Leone, NMRA Communications Director

After several years of work by incoming NMRA Secretary John Stevens, all U. S. Region boundaries are now defined by state and county boundaries instead of zip codes. This will help keep boundaries stable as the U. S. Post Office redefines zip code areas.

Michiana Division co-founder Jim Six, college professor and experienced education expert, has agreed to lead a team charged with developing a standardized clinic format to help ensure consistency and uniformity for clinics made available to Divisions and Regions. The format will be based on one currently in use in the Michiana Division.

Following the recommendation of Standards & Conformance Department head Didrik Voss, MMR, the Board directed that all eight DCC-related Recommended Practices now become NMRA Standards. Further, in the future the issuance of a Conformance Warrant is not to be influenced by Recommended Practices but will be based solely on adherence to applicable NMRA Standards.

President Charlie Getz appointed outgoing president Mike Brestel to replace Larry DeYoung, who retired as publisher of NMRA Magazine. Charlie also announced thatMike has also agreed to serve as assistant to the president to ensure a smooth transition between administrations.

Chief Financial Officer Frank Koch reported that the attendance of the National Train Show inGrand Rapids was the fourth-best ever. Saturday’s attendance exceededSacramento on the same day. Three more booths were sold at Grand Rapids thanSacramento.

Looking ahead to next year’s convention in Atlanta, the Peachtree Express team reports that it’s putting the finishing touches on a series of short videos featuring selected layouts that will be on tour during the convention. The videos will be posted to YouTube and will be able to be accessed from links on http://www.nmra2013.org

The Peachtree team is also proud to announce that there will be a number of Civil War-related tours – both rail-related and general interest – as well as a “Civil War track.”

And it’s not too soon to plan for the 2014 convention! The Cleveland Convention’s website is now up and running and taking registrations at http://www.2014cleveland.org.