Summer 2023 President`s Letter

Greetings Seacoast Members,

Summer is almost over and for the first time ever, I didn`t have to water the yard. I`m sure you`ve had a lot of rain as well. It helped the water bill immensely. On the down side, the AC has been on almost non-stop. I don`t even want to see the next electric bill.

Seacoast Division Board of Director Activity

I`m about a week late with this letter, but it`s for a good reason. We`ve had a lot of things going on that needed the Board of Directors` approval and we couldn`t put together a quorum at the Aug 31 BOD meeting. Without a quorum of Directors, we can`t vote. So, I wanted to wait until the Special BOD meeting Sept 7 had occurred and several important things were approved.

As you know Dave Kotsonis has stepped down as a member, Director, and Treasurer of the Seacoast Division on Aug 31. I discussed this in my letter to you on Aug 7. We all wish Dave the best and thank him for his years of service to the Seacoast Division.

Prior to Dave`s departure, Jim Seroskie and Jay Ehlen worked with Dave to successfully complete an audit of the Treasurer`s books. The post audit Treasurer`s report shows $6,630.79 in the General Fund and $9814.73 in the Faulter Fund.

Fortunately Jim Seroskie and Jim Gore, MMR, stepped up and volunteered to be the Treasurer and Director respectively. As president, I nominated them for appointment to these positions and the Board of Directors approved them on Sept 7.

I am happy to report that the Seacoast 2025 NER Exploratory Committee received many volunteers for the vacant 2025 NER Local Committee positions at the meeting on Aug 30. Based on filling the Local Convention Committee Co-Chair positions, the Exploratory Committee recommended that the Seacoast Division host the 2025 NER Convention in Concord, NH.

A letter that I sent out on August 30th which reported the results of the meeting.

On September 7th the Seacoast Division Board of Directors approved the recommendation of the Seacoast 2025 NER Exploratory Committee that the Seacoast Division host the 2025 NER Convention in Concord, NH. It`s now official! Please remember, we still need volunteers to help with the Local Convention Committee and sub-committees.

The third major outcome of the September 7th BOD meeting was the approval of the application for funding submitted by the Southern Maine Model Railroad Club (SMMRRC). Based on the recommendation by the Chip Faulter Fund committee, the Board of Directors approved the granting of $3500 from the Chip Faulter Fund to the SMMRRC.

Finally, on September 7th the BOD approved the slate of candidates for the three Director positions that will open up on Januiary 1, 2024. The slate of candidates is made up of Will Everitt, John McHugh, and Glenn Mitchell.

Summer 2023 Event (Excerpts for Tage Erickson`s Report)

The Seacoast Division held its 2023 Summer Event at the Great Falls Model Railroad Club this past Saturday, July 15, 2023, in Auburn, Maine. We had 16 members show up in person and 7 members that viewed the Event via a Zoom meeting. The Event was recorded and was subsequently edited by Jim Seroskie. The Event recording is now available for viewing on the Division YouTube site at the addresses below:
NMRA Seacoast Division on YouTube
Seacoast Meeting - Summer 2023 on YouTube

This is a brief list of the presentations:
Up On The Roof by Tom Oxnard MMR
Scratch-Build a DCC Command Station for $70 by Will Everitt
Swing Bridge Construction by Victor Hand
Demonstration of movable layout section that can be in any of 6 different stations by Bob Bennett
Progress on the Fort Fairfield Branch of the BAR - Lessons Learned by Peter McKenney
Show, Tell & Ask

For more details of the Summer 2023 Event, see Tage`s full report or watch the event on youtube.

Seacoast Fall 2023 Event

The Seacoast Division Fall 2023 Event will be held on October 28, 2023 at Stratham Fire House in Stratham, NH at 10:00. Watch for the Event notice. Jay Ehlen is organizing the event.

Concord Model Railroad Club Show

The 37th Annual Concord Model Railroad Show was held on August 20, 2023 in Concord NH. Tage Erickson and I manned the Seacoast NMRA table and had a good time. Several Seacoast members stopped by. The Concord Show had a good turnout, reportedly back up to pre-Covid levels.

Other Upcoming 2023 Shows and Events

The NER Convention, Cannonball Express 2023, will be held in Uniondale, NY, October 5-8, 2023. Enrollment is open at the Cannonball Express web site. I will be attending along with several other members. The NER conventions are a great opportunity to see and operate on many great layouts near the convention venue. There is always a great line-up of clinics as well. It`s not too late to sign up - I hope to see you there.

Respectfully Submitted,
Glenn Mitchell
Seacoast Division NMRA President & Director

Published: 19 September 2023