<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40"> <head> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> <meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 15 (filtered medium)"> <style></style> </head> <body lang="EN-US" link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72" style="word-wrap:break-word"> <div class="WordSection1"> ACCRS HO Members,<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Here are the minutes from this month’s HO business meeting.<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Recent Show Statistics<o:p></o:p> In our General Meeting, John noted that for this year’s Alameda County Fair, we had about the same number of visitors per day as last year. Donations per visitor were slightly down this year, but not by much.<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> For the last Good Guys show, visitors per day and donations were also about the same as last year (slightly up this year). Saturday was the best day.<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> HVAC Update<o:p></o:p> We haven’t seen much activity with our HVAC installation yet. Gary is in contact with the Fairgrounds electrical team and we are still in their queue. The biggest delay is due to other priority projects on the Fairgrounds, including upgrades to accommodate the new horse racing events coming this Fall. We’re hopeful to see some progress before our next show in November.<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Junior Member Accompaniment<o:p></o:p> In our General Meeting, Gary reminded us that all Junior members (full and potential) must be accompanied by a parent or legally responsible person at all times. This is a California Law, and is there to protect organizations like ours. This particularly affects the HO scale, which has several Junior members. The parent must be with the Junior, and not outside or sitting on a bench.<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Proposed Bylaw Change – Junior Member Minimum Age<o:p></o:p> In our General Meeting, there was a motion to consider a change to the ACCRS Bylaws. The change would raise the minimum age for Junior members from 12 to 14. The matter is now open for discussions in our upcoming monthly meetings and will be voted on at some point in the future. There are some aspects of the proposal which need to be worked out.<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> To change the Bylaws, a vote of 2/3 of the full membership is required (not just those present at any one club meeting). The bylaws provide for absentee ballots, if the required number of members are not present at a meeting.<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Watch for further information on this proposal and be prepared to vote on it.<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Trainmaster Awards<o:p></o:p> At our recent Annual Summer BBQ in August, Jorg presented several yearly Trainmaster Awards. The members recognized this year are Miguel Fregoso, Jere Ingram, Joel Clark, and Indigo McClellan. Their names will be added to the Trainmaster Awards plaque that hangs on the Dispatch Tower. Congrats!<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Good Guys - August<o:p></o:p> Although we had some operational problems on Saturday, we had a good show with over 1800 visitors. We heard from the Good Guys folks, and they definitely want us open on Fridays for their shows. (There was some discussion on this prior to the show.) The layout experienced some sluggish performance issues on Sunday, but running the Cleaning Train mid-day made a big difference.<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Show Operations Reminders<o:p></o:p> Once again, a reminder to always clean the Cleaning Train locomotive wheels and all the pad cars prior to each show day’s run. If 2 members help with this, it can be done quite quickly. <o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Also, a reminder that we still have an HO Operations requirement that each member runs with a cleaning pad car in each consist. We realize that this may be difficult with some trains, particularly with passenger trains, but it is a requirement.<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Lastly, another reminder that during a show, we are there to run trains only. There are to be no cameras on the layout, no picture taking while running trains, and especially there is to be no interference with mainline operations. Fridays are for “play”; do what you want when we are not running a show. Show days are for running trains only.<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Next Shows<o:p></o:p> Our next show is the Good Guys in November and the Great Train Show in December. Until then, we have several projects going in scenery and electrical.<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Freight Yard Refurb<o:p></o:p> The electrical team has continued the rehab of the Freight Yard track problems. The 30� crossover on the Freight main at the exit of the Freight Yard has been removed. We should not need to use the Freight Yard bypass any longer. The rehab will continue with cleanup and repair in this area.<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Groups.io Signup<o:p></o:p> We are still trying to get everyone signed up on Groups.IO. This is the only way we can guarantee that you receive all email messages. There are also club documents and our club’s events calendar on the site. If you or someone else in our club is not signed up, please contact me for instructions. <o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> That’s it for this month. Thanks again to all our regular participants. See you soon!<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> -Wayne<o:p></o:p> ACCRS HO Assistant Trainmaster<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> </div> </body> </html>