NMRA, NCR Div. 2 – Board Meeting
December 20, 2025
Meeting Started at 9:00am – Note: The Foster Family Community Health Center opens at 9am on Saturdays. Consequently, early-birds that tend to arrive at meetings early had to wait at the door until 9am. We need to keep this in mind if we schedule subsequent Board Meetings before the normal monthly meeting.
Agenda
Open Items and Discussion points for the Dec 20 Meeting:
Jens
May 2026 Open House:
- Make it a 2-day event?
- Saturday for NMRA and Sunday for all other invited guests?
- Age limit for guests?
- Provide beverages and snacks for NMRA Members on Saturday?
- Times open?
- Review literature sent out. Comments?
Paul
- Review new Division and NMRA Logos; revised website.
- Review Survey Results.
- Action Items needed based on Survey Results.
- Add agreed upon Open House Forms to be added to the Website.
- Future Website Expenses?
- Artwork required for Certificates of Appreciation.
Keith and Al
- Review the Certificates of Appreciation or other ideas; Mug, T-shirt??
T.J. and Michael
- Have we contacted Dave Capron for our April Clinic? If not, we need a backup. (How about Ralph Moxey’s Ann Arbor RR?).
- Location and type of AV Equipment that is available in Gaylord.
David,
- Has the Debit Card been activated? Paul says that it did not work when trying to purchase software for our website.
All
Open discussion and any other topics that you think you would like to discuss.
Meeting Summary
Quick recap
The board meeting focused on planning an upcoming open house event, which will be held on Saturday, May 16th from 10am to 5pm, replacing the regular division meeting. The event will be open to the public by invitation, with information distributed through the Traverse City newcomers group. The board discussed age restrictions for attendees, deciding to allow children but require supervision, and agreed to collect voluntary donations for Father Fred’s food pantry and LCN (Leelanau County) Food Pantries. They reviewed a new map design for the open house and discussed logo updates to align with NMRA branding guidelines. The conversation ended with a review of survey results about member engagement and preferences, which will inform future activities and initiatives.
Action Items
- All board members: Review the survey results and come up with action items based on the survey findings for future division activities (e.g., clinics, outreach, etc.) to be discussed at a future meeting.
- Paul: Update the open house map to include parking information and switch Al’s marker to blue (Father Fred) for donations.
- Paul: Prepare a still image of the open house map for early public sharing, then switch to an embedded, live map with addresses about a week before the open house, and disable access the day after the open house.
- Paul: Throw together a design for new, standardized open house signs for all participating homes, including updated logos.
- Someone (Jens?): Print new open house signs.
- Paul: Add parking information to the online map to remove the need for the separate parking info sheet.
- All board members: Consider and decide on appropriate signage/language to remind visitors (especially families with young children) about “look but don’t touch” expectations at open houses.
- Paul: Distribute the aggregated survey results on the division website for all members to review.
Open House Event Planning
The group discussed hosting an open house event, deciding to hold it on Saturday, May 16th in place of our usual division meeting. They agreed to invite 800 members from the Traverse City newcomers group, requiring RSVPs and sending out event details via Matter. The team also decided to relax the age limit policy, allowing children under 10 to attend with adult supervision, despite concerns about children touching exhibits, as survey feedback emphasized the importance of involving young people in the hobby.
Model Railroading Engagement Strategies
The meeting discussed strategies to engage people in the hobby of model railroading, focusing on targeting individuals aged 35 and above, including those who are retired or about to retire. It was noted that the cultural shift away from commuter trains has changed the demographic of potential hobbyists. Modular layouts were suggested as a more attainable option for budding enthusiasts who are not yet retired. The group decided to host a free open house event on Saturday from 10 to 5, with voluntary donations to Father Fred’s food pantry. Snacks and beverages will not be provided, as the event is now open to everyone, not just NMRA members.
Open House, Logo, Survey Results
The board discussed several key topics including open house planning, logo updates, and survey results. For the open house, they decided to create a map with home addresses hidden until a week before the event, then switch to an interactive version that can generate navigation directions on the fly. The board approved a new logo design that includes the Upper Peninsula, and agreed to use a blue color scheme on the website. They also reviewed survey results showing high satisfaction with NMRA benefits and local events, with members expressing interest in cost reduction and greater outreach to younger modelers. The board was assigned homework to develop action items based on the survey results before the next meeting.