The meeting was called to order on April 2nd at 1 PM by Club President Ron Miller.

The minutes for March were presented. A motion to accept as such was made by Bill Lancaster and seconded by Wiley Starnes. The motion carried and the minutes were accepted.

The Treasurer’s Report was submitted by Betty Neill. She reports we have 43 paid members. The remainder are delinquent and notices will be sent by Betty after conferring with Ron Miller.

Old Business

Bids to copy the print of the Temple Yard are $30, but we are still waiting for a downloaded file from Matt Zebrowski.

Mike Cleveland still has opportunities to conduct a clinic. He is currently contacting hobby shops for publicity and interested modelers. We need members to participate. The next open house on April 16th will feature a clinic on the “Basics of DCC” by Joe Pyland.

Joe Teakell presented an agenda item from last month’s meeting. He discussed a need for the club to review participation in outside shows. Betty discussed insurance ramifications concerning these activities, especially during transportation and we can expect the cost of the club’s liability insurance to increase.

Bob Alston made a motion to purchase the additional insurance, which will become due in July, at the cost specified, to which Bill Lancaster seconded. The motion carried. Immediately following the vote, Joe Pyland made a motion to accept Joe Teakell’s document as written, to which Howard Bell seconded. That motion also passed.

Jerry Johnson’s CentraMod sign efforts, and those of his Marketing Class, were in evidence as Earl Blanchette presented the new signs.  If you haven’t noticed, you should see they are first-class. Plaudits to Jerry.

Bob Alston presented the costs for a new CentraMod banner. He inquired as to our direction concerning this. Joe Pyland made a motion to table further discussions; Craig Lancaster seconded, and the motion passed.

New Business

New members Bob Johnson and Bruce Baker were introduced. Both model in HO Scale.

One of the hand carts on the Kiddie Layout wound up on the casualty list. Wiley Starnes presented the replacement cost and it will be up to the club if they want to proceed.

The raffle layout for this year’s Train Show appears to be “on track”. Track and cars have been donated by PufferBelly’s of Waco. He also donated a locomotive. Wiley suggested the club give PufferBelly a complimentary table at this year’s show. Wiley made a motion to offer a free table to PufferBelly, to which Bill Lancaster seconded. The motion passed.

The Temple Train Show will be held a week after our Show in September. A motion was made to have a second open house for this occasion. Richard Leonberger seconded and the motion passed.

Ron Miller suggested we place signs in the depot’s windows at strategic locations to advertise the club’s open house. This will be looked into.

It was discovered that the club’s PO Box addressee was listed as “Texas Train Festival”.  This was changed on the spot by the nice folks at the Post Office.

The meeting adjourned at 2:10 PM.

The meeting was called to order on March 5th at 1:05 PM by Club President Ron Miller.

The minutes for February were presented. A motion to accept as such was made by Bill Lancaster and seconded by Wiley Starnes. The motion carried and the minutes were accepted.

The Treasurer’s Report for February 2005 was discussed by Ron Miller and accepted.

Old Business

Jerry Johnson said we should have the logo sign in two weeks.

The plans for the Temple Yard circa 1940 are in disk form and should be sent to us by designer Matt Zebrowski.

New Business

Mike Cleveland discussed the Clinic Presentation. Topics should be given by 2 or 3 people for short duration working on advance notice. Joe Pyland requested the possibility of video taping the presentations. Joe Teakell suggested making public service announcements and inviting an outside audience, thus giving the club more exposure. We decided to try and present the first clinic in April 2005.

For the past two or three years, the N and 0 Scale members have been running module layouts at the Waco Doll show. They wanted to discuss the disposition of donations made for attendance at shows, and in general, for layouts traveling to various locales, and to establish rules of engagement at future shows.

Topics for discussion were:

1. Should the club vote on each activity as if it were a club function?
2. Use of club property.
3. Reimbursement of direct expenses incurred.
4. Whether donations should go to the club as a whole.
5. Insurance considerations.
6. Admission to function if limited to participants only and not the entire club membership.

After a lengthy discussion, Richard Zamudio made a motion essentially to present to the club as an agenda item for a future business meeting. Bill Lancaster seconded and the motion passed.

Kennedy Gauger inquired if the club would be interested in purchasing a type of pullover shirt for use by members, which would have the club logo and member’s name. He will check on prices and availability and report back to the club.

Dieter Hierzig reported that library books are available for check out. We also have 25 picture albums with over 6,000 slides available. He also mentioned that certain members have long overdue items which need to be returned to the library.

The meeting adjourned at 2 PM.

The meeting was called to order on February 19th at 11:07 AM by Club President Ron Miller.

The minutes for January were introduced. A motion to accept as presented was made by Joe Pyland and seconded by JC Fischer. The motion carried and the minutes were accepted as presented.

The Treasurer’s Report for December 2004 and January were presented and discussed. The December report included locksmith expenses for repair of the lock to the front door. Ed Neill explained how to operate. The reports were accepted. Betty Neill then presented the budget for 2005. She explained each line item. Bill Lancaster made a motion to accept the budget. JC Fischer seconded and the motion carried. The 2005 budget was accepted.

Old Business

The snack list for 2005 is posted in the kitchen.

The contract for the 2005 Train Show has been executed.

Mike Cleveland discussed clinic development. He mentioned the possibility of needing a small amount of funds from time to time for operation. The members agreed to consider on a case-by-case basis.

Dan Ladd presented proposed costs for completion of CentraMod display signs. Bob Alston asked to present an alternative at the next meeting.

A rather impromptu discussion of future meetings for business and run dates began, and whether to have two Saturday meetings and mix in the business meeting. Betty asked that we include cleaning the depot during one of the meetings. Consensus seemed to settle on the first Saturday as a good day for the business meeting. Bob Alston made a motion to designate the first Saturday of each month at 1 PM as the business meeting followed by cleaning and a work session. The third Saturday of each month would be for the presentation of clinics and to have open run sessions for the public. Snacks will be served on Run Day. Craig Lancaster seconded and the motion carried. This schedule will start with the March business meeting at 1 PM on March 5th and Run Day on March 19th.

New Business

JC Fischer has a list of his books, posted with Dieter, for loan to members. The museum also has blueprints for Texas railroads and a large color print of the Temple yard, circa 1948. If there is enough membership interest, we will check out the cost of printing copies.

It was discussed placing flyers at regional train shows. If you are going to a train show, take some flyers to hand out.

Lyle Benson, of Georgetown, donated many boxcars in HO Scale to the club. There were all Texas & Pacific with no duplicate numbers.

The meeting adjourned at 12:20 PM.

Note

Business meetings will be held at 1 PM on the first Saturday of the month; Run Days on the third Saturday

The meeting was called to order on January 15th by Club President Ron Miller.

No copies of the November meeting minutes were available.

The Treasurer Report was unavailable due to Treasurer illness.

Old Business

Ron reported to the club that he had awarded Ernie Hansberry his plaque. The club received the folloing letter from Ernie:

TEXAS ELECTRIC RAILROAD
FORT WORTH, TEXAS 76116

HO SCALE, WE GO WHERE THE BIGGER BOYS CAN’T
Soon to be grading the ROW and laying the track

CENTRA-MOD RR CLUB:

Thank you so much for the award. There are many who certainly deserve it more. I accept it with much humility and pride; proud of the work that has been accomplished mostly by all of you. I envision our RR will someday rival Jolm Allen’s “Gorre & Daphetid”, which exists only in photographs.

Again, thank you so much – it was a wonderful surprise.

Sincerely,

Ernie Hansbearry
Chief Gandy Dancer

New Business

The refreshment list for 2005 was made available for sign-up. Members were reminded that it is SNACKS only.

Remember that club dues are now being accepted for this next year.

Dieter Hierzig has completed the library inventory and catalog for finding magazine issues and articles. He requested that these materials not leave the building.

A motion was made by Bill Lancaster for Train Show table prices to be increased to $30.00 per table. Those vendors that sign-up for tables and pay at the Show will receive a 10% discount on the regular table rate. The motion was seconded by Ed Neill and carried.

A motion was made by Mike Cleveland to form a committee to develop clinics to advance the hobby. The motion was seconded by Bill Lancaster and carried. Mike Cleveland volunteered to be co-coordinator for the clinics.

Discussion was opened about adding another run day, setting dates for business/work days, clinic/run days, or leaving things as is. A motion was made by Ed Neill to have a business Meeting at 11:00 AM followed by Run Day at 1:00 PM on February 19th as a trial for possible change to the current schedule of events. The motion was seconded by Ed Underwood and carried.

Dan Ladd was asked to investigate the purchase of possibly two CentraMod signs for display.

Members were reminded that if they visited other train shows to please pick up flyers for the Temple Model Train Show and place those at the other show registration tables.

Members were remined to be sure and check the lock and key as you enter and exit. It can be a little tricky and should be checked by everyone entering or leaving while using a key.

News was shared that member Buddy Burke had reportedly had a heart attack and was doing okay.

Sadly, we learned of the passing of Nita Moore.

The meeting was adjourned by the President.

The club membership converged on the ATSF Depot on Friday, December 10th for a Christmas Dinner and gift exchange. Before dinner, Ron Miller requested that the January 2005 meeting be rescheduled for Saturday, January 15th. A large portion of the membership will be participating in the Waco Train Show January 7-9.

A motion to that effect was made and seconded, and carried by the membership. The first meeting for 2005 will be conducted at approximately 11 AM before commencing Run Day on January 15th.

During dinner, Life Memberships were presented to Ernie Hansbearry and Howard Bell for their years of dedication to Centra Mod.