The meeting was called to order on February 7th at 7:24 PM by Club President Bill Lancaster. The next Run Day will be February 15th.

The minutes for January were introduced. Beverly made a motion to accept and was seconded by Michael Hiersig. The motion passed and the minutes were accepted.

The financial statement for January was read and accepted.

Betty presented the budget for 2003. A motion to accept the budget was presented with modifications to the amount for utilities made by Bob Alston. It was seconded by Richard Leonberger and the motion passed.

Old Business

Betty suggested a standing budget committee be formed consisting of one member from each of the three scales plus the Treasurer. Bob Alston made a motion accordingly, and Wiley Starnes seconded. The motion passed. Current Budget Committee members are Joe Teakell (N), Mike Ross (HO), Earl Blanchette (Lionel), and Betty Neill.

Dr. Dan presented bids for the Depot signs (logo and banner). A motion was made to accept the bid from the contractor who could install the sign at the earliest date. Beverly made the motion and Ed Neill seconded. The motion passed.

The Raffle Layout finally found a home at the Ronald McDonald house.

The Kiddie’s Layout has been refurbished by Earl Blanchette, Wiley Starnes, and Richard Leonberger. It looks professional and runs great. Thanks for all your hard work.

New Business

Guests at the meeting included Joe Pyland, and Roger and Lana Schmidt.

The membership committee has met and established new guidelines for general membership. A motion was made by Dieter Hiersig and seconded by Dr Bruce Koehler to accept these guidelines. The motion passed.

It was decided to review the by-laws once again to determine our ability to regroup under the 501(c)3 concept to give us more flexibility. The board of directors will take this up soon.

The meeting adjourned at 8:30 PM.

The meeting was called to order on the January 3rd at 7:05 PM, by Club President Bill Lancaster. The next business meeting is February 7th and the next Run Day is January 18th.

Minutes for last meeting were not available.

The financial statements for November and December 2002 were reviewed and accepted.

The End-of-Year financial statement was made available to the membership. An Ad Hoc committee was formed, one member from each scale, to meet with Betty Neill to formulate a budget for 2003. Members volunteering were Joe Teakelly (N), Mike Ross (HO) and Earl Blanchette (Lionel). A meeting was called for January 18, 2003 at 10:30 AM.

Old Business

We have not yet received an electric bill. Betty Neill has been assured that: 1. We are receiving electricity, 2. We are using it, 3. TXU has our correct mailing address, and 4. They cannot tell us how much. It was suggested we keep in mind an appropriate amount to cover the cost.

N Scale and Lionel will attend the Waco Winter Train and Doll Show on January 10th and 11th.

Dues are due for 2003.

Beverly presented has an estimate for our outdoor sign including installation.

New Business

A proposal was made to fix our interior lighting in the Baggage Room by adding fluorescent lights. A motion was made to improve the existing light fixtures by Richard Zamudio and seconded by Kennedy Gauger. The motion passed.

Bob Alston has requested to host the LSR of the NMRA. He wishes to use the depot building with the club’s permission. The club agreed.

It was mentioned that the Great American Train Show (GATS) has once again scheduled a show with the same dates as our 2003 show. Bob Alston called the GATS Coordinator and related details of his conversation with the membership.

The fact that we need a Train Show point of contact was mentioned.

Howard Bell is scheduled for surgery on January 13th.

HO members will place an order for Digitrax equipment in the next month. The club will consolidate the order and mail a single check to Loy’s Toys for the purchase.

The meeting adjourned at 7:50 PM.

The meeting was called to order on August 2nd at 7:10 PM by Club President Bill Lancaster.

The minutes for the last business meeting were approved as presented.

Betty Neill distributed the Treasurer’s Report and it was approved as presented.

Old Business

Ed Neill said the American’s with Disabilities Act (ADA) rules state a disabled person “must be able to enter unassisted”. That leaves us with three choices for the building:

1. Expand the sliding door so it will open all the way.
2. Fill-in with a single door and panels on either side.
3. Put in a pair of doors.

A motion was made, seconded, and carried for Ed Neill to research these choices and find the least expensive option.

Ed reported on his research of insulation materials. He said ISO board is the best. We would need 1-1/2″ or 2″ thick board. He noted it only comes in 4’ x 8’ lengths. Ed will bring samples of each to the next meeting for examination by the membership. A decision will be made at that time.

Bill Lancaster noted that the club is setting up at the Temple Mall at 9:30 PM right after the business meeting. We were allotted a very limited space. As a result, the only portions to be displayed are the raffle module and an N Scale layout. They will be about 4’x8’ each.

Bill Lancaster reported on the Sign Committee. Althought Dan Ladd is in Ireland, he told Bill he talked with Ken Cicora. There will be no preconditions on the sign. To be effective, we need a minimum size of a 4’ X 8’. The membership wants the sign committee to research options and make recommendations.

Harold Trammell reported he will be meeting with a Good Sams Club RV group on August 14th and asked permission to give them a tour of the depot. This was approved.

New Business

The club now has a microwave thanks to Kennedy Gauger.

Bill Lancaster reported that Mary Erving would like to visit at our next business meeting.

The new Librarian is Dieter Hiersig. He will organize the materials in order to make them more useful to the membership. One of the things he has planned is to make cards for the books so we can track when they are checked out and returned.

Carl Johnson put up a “Do not want to do” list and asked members to sign up so he can make appropriate duty assignments for the Train Show.

Advertising for the Show was discussed. Ellen Trammell will call Annie Adams to see if she still has contacts to get an announcement in the Troy newspaper.

Bob Alston led a discussion regarding a number of requests by vendors for a one-day setup. The decision was to only allow that option as a last resor if tables remain unsold, and to charge the vendor the full two-day price but to assign them locations that will make their exit less noticeable.

The meeting adjourned at 8:15 PM.

The meeting was called to order on July 12th at 7:15 PM by Club President Bill Lancaster. The next business meeting will be on August 2nd and the next Run Day will be July 20th.

The minutes for June were introduced. Beverly Flentge made a motion to accept as read and the motion passed.

The financial statement for June was read by Betty Neill and accepted.

Old Business

College for Kids – This is a no go at this time. There were not enough participants to justify the class. Another attempt will be made next year.

The exhibit scheduled for August at the Temple Mall is confirmed. We will set up the first and second weekends of August (3-4 and 10-11). The space is 25’x25’, so we will only be able to use the raffle layout and a small N Scale layout unless something else can be arranged.

New Business

It was suggested that shades be hung on the windows. Someone suggested as an alternative using slats or curtains. A motion was made to check prices, availability, etc. Joe Teakell will research and report back.

Ed brought up the issue of installing insulation in the baggage room.

It was suggested that as light bulbs burn out, they should be replace with brighter bulbs. The current bulbs are for museum-type use and are not as bright as normal bulbs.

The television used with the drive-in module is missing. It is fairly certain that it was brought over from the old location, but has not been seen since. If anyone knows of its location, please let Betty know.

Someone inquired as to the feasibility of installing a billboard outside the depot with the Centra Mod logo. We will form a committee to investigate the associated expenses.

Train Show report:

• All layouts are lined up and ready to go at this time.

• We need publicity and pre-sale tickets will help in this area. The bank which sponsored our previous raffle layouts will do so again this year. Ed Neill mentioned the possibility of having Drayton McLane co-sponsor.

• Mike Ross asked the club if they wanted to add two additional cars to the raffle layout – one passenger car and a cattle car. This would extend the cost of the layout to over $500 plus any expenses Ed has. The club agreed to the addition and the cars have been added and are on the layout.

• Only 128 tables have been sold for the show so far. Hopefully, this is not indicative of waning interest in the hobby.

The replica layout of the Santa Fe Depot is still in limbo. We are trying to settle on a location. It would be approximately 20’x25’.

The meeting adjourned at 8:20 PM.