Summary of Board of Directors Candidates for 2022

September 28, 2021

There are four candidates for the three BOD positions. In alphabetical order they are:

 

Geoff Anthony, William Bryk, Dave Kotsonis and Jim Seroskie

 

The biographies and phonographs they submitted are below.

 

Bruce Campbell, Nominating Committee

 

 

My journey with model trains started quite young. My parents bought an HO layout at an auction when I was 5 or 6 with some furniture. Unfortunately, it was put in the basement, and we got some rain and it ruined the layout, but unknown to me some buildings and rolling stock as well as a loco were saved. I had seen the layout but never got to use it. My next-door neighbor had an American Flyer layout which I got to see and play with under supervision, and I was hooked. He had a lot of the operating accessories like the talking station, coal loader, and the gang car. At age ten my father and a friend built an HO layout for me out of the Atlas blue layout book a simple oval with a couple of switches, but they were remote controlled, and I was having a blast. 2 years later we moved to Maine and I had to leave it behind because we had no room for it, I saved the original Mantua mike that came with auction layout and I still have it.

Model railroading went on hold till after I got married, I bought some trains from a friend’s father and the joined a club in Portland called the Atlantic Union Terminal and learned a lot about track laying and wiring, as well as making a few lifelong friends. I joined the Eastern Maine Model Railroad Club in 1986 and help build the building for the club in 1992. I joined the NMRA in 1990 and went to Pittsburgh that year for my first national convention. I have been to 3 more since then. I am the past president of the Eastern Maine RR club as well as the current treasurer. I have edited the Switch Tower for the past 5 ½ years.

In the past because of my location, I live in Blue Hill 2 .5 hrs. travel time to anywhere at least, I have been reluctant to stand for office as I did not feel that I could contribute. Now with zoom meetings and being semi-retired that obstacle has been overcome. I want to give back to the hobby that has brought me friends, enjoyment, and a desire to develop more skills and knowledge. I see an uptick in the hobby and want to encourage that and grow the hobby. As an organization we need to reach out to youth, and I see the Faulter Fund as a tool to achieve that. I also have taken my portable 4 x 8 to the Blue Hill Fair the last couple of years to achieve that goal of giving the hobby wider exposure to the public. Together we can do this. Thank you for your consideration

 

 

 

William Bryk lives in Antrim, New Hampshire. As with many of us, his interest in model railroading was piqued by a Lionel 027 4x6 layout built for him by his father. He was active some years ago in the Bay Ridge Model Railroad Club, a O scale operation with outside third rail a la Frank Ellison. Before that, he belonged to the Staten Island Model Railroad Club, whose members operated on each other's layouts.

He is presently an armchair model railroader. While he respects the modelers of all eras, like the Irish writer Flann O'Brien he is "a hardened and bigoted steam man."

The Camelbacks and USRA freight cars rest in his closet, awaiting their inevitable return to service after he clears his office, having recently retired from the active practice of law.

Aside from a lifelong interest in railroads, he is a horseman, taking riding lessons on Monday afternoons when not recovering from those moments when the ground comes up to meet him. Also, every other Thursday evening he attends meetings of the Antrim Town Planning Board, to which he was elected unopposed because no one wanted the job and several town officials asked him to stand because Bill seems sane and intelligent.

The hobby has given more to him than he has to it. He’s concerned about the aging of the involved, whether in small town politics or the hobby of model railroading. He will gladly serve the Seacoast Division as director. He will attend all meetings, particularly if they are conducted by Zoom, and promises to speak as little as possible and only when strictly necessary.

 

 

 

For those of you who do not know me I am a 72-year-old retired Postmaster working for the USPS for thirty-seven years. I have been married for 51 wonderful years to my wife Nancy. We have two sons and five grandkids. Not like my two sons, the grandkids love to run the trains.

My interest in trains started when I was in High School, buying a used train set that was advertised in the local paper. That layout was on a four by eight piece of plywood, mounted on two sawhorses. I am now on by forth layout which is twenty-two feet by thirty that and was featured in the May 2004 Model Railroader. The layout has been on the Tour de Chooch for the past twenty-five years and has also been open to many different rail road events.

I am seeking a second term on the Board of Directors. This past term, along with my fellow board members has been unusual and taxing dealing with the Covid Pandemic. While we have not been able to meet in person, we have turned to Zoom meetings, which have worked out very well for us. This is a credit to all board members to be able to find new ways to adjust and to keep the division moving forward.

With my varied background in model railroading as well as my life experiences dealing with people and being on many boards and study groups over the years, I feel I can be a continuing asset to the BOD.

If re-elected, I not only look forward to working with my fellow BOD members, but my fellow members of the Seacoast Division as well, continuing to keep the Seacoast Division of the NMRA as great as it is.

 

 

 

I've been a model railroader off and on for 60 years. Currently modeling in On3

I am a retired electrical engineer/manager with Lockheed Martin. Living in Amherst, NH

I'm on the board of directors of the Guild of NH Woodworkers (https://www.gnhw.org/) where I also am the editor of the Journal (magazine), the designer and site administrator of the website, membership chair and edit/maintain the Guild YouTube channel.