Our meeting for March 2026 will be on Saturday, March 21st at 10am. We hope to see you there.
The Board meeting originally scheduled for March 21st, after the monthly meeting has been postponed until the day of the April monthly meeting.
Attending in Person
Join us in Meeting Room A inside the Foster Family Community Health Center located in Traverse City, MI.
Use the main entrance on the north side of the building and proceed down the left-hand corridor to Meeting Room A (toward the end of the corridor on the right). Here’s a short video that shows how to get there.
Attending via Zoom Conference
If you’re not able to join us in person, we encourage you to attend via the following link to our Zoom conference call.
Topic: Division 2 Monthly Meeting
Time: Mar 21, 2026 10:00 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86995336667?pwd=7ajbuhbJgeVaNcW52aU62QNPMEyAsl.1
- Meeting ID: 869 9533 6667
- Passcode: 206561
If you’re new to Zoom video conferences, please refer to our guidelines on basic Zoom etiquette.
Agenda
Superintendent
- Welcome & Introductions – Superintendent & Newsletter Editor – Jens Hensel
Pending Actions from February
- Scheduled for May 1st – Paul: Make the detailed Google map with addresses available to registered attendees one week before the open house, and remove it after the event.
- Done – Paul: Post a picture of the open house sign on the invitation/website so attendees know what to look for.
- Jens: Make and distribute unified donation jug containers to each host for the open house.
- Board members: Develop plans/ideas for outreach to younger and new modelers, based on survey results, for discussion at the March board meeting.
- Al: Send letters/emails to new and delinquent members as discussed.
- Done – Paul (webmaster): Move the helper list spreadsheet to an online (e.g. Google Docs) version so all can edit in real time.
- Done: Send the shared online helper list URL to interested members so they can add themselves.
- Jens: Speak with Father Fred to get donation jug containers for the food pantries.
- David (Treasurer) and Paul (webmaster): Take offline discussion about setting up PayPal or Venmo account for electronic transactions.
- David Zolnerek: Send updated pike ad to Paul for editing (to add David’s name).
- Paul (webmaster): Edit David Zolnerek’s pike ad to include his name.
- Done – Paul (webmaster): Add the ground goop recipe to the clinic page on the website.
- All members: RSVP for the open house event if planning to attend as a visitor (not a helper).
- All members with old clinic materials: Email clinic PDFs, card decks, or recordings to Paul for the website archive.
Reports – Updates
- Superintendent & Newsletter Editor – Jens Hensel
- May Open House Discussion
- Website page is live.
- RSVPs currently stand at 54.
- Flyer for third-party display/mailing is done.
- Flyer contains QR code and web links for accessing the website page for open house.
- Discuss what groups currently have Flyers
- As the open house date approaches:
- Paul makes the Open House Google Map live and updates the website page for open house.
- Send out an email reminder to all RSVPs with:
- Open House Google Map link
- Recommended railroad for first visit.
- Signs:
- Jens gives one (1) to Keith.
- Jens buys one additional sign – David Zolnierek received a quote for one sign and will purchase it and give to John Campbell.
- May Open House Discussion
- Assistant Superintendent & Webmaster – Paul Anderson
- NMRA is asking each region to appoint a NMRA Brand Ambassador to help the divisions in the region to adopt the new NMRA brand guidelines.
- NMRA wants all divisions to adopt the new brand this spring.
- Our efforts for brand adoption are already complete.
- Added Spring 2026 newsletter to the website.
- Jens caught a missing link to the Division 2 website on the NMRA Regions page.
- Updated our logo on the NCR site.
- Corrected the link to the Grand Rails Division on the NCR site.
- Coordinated with NMRA webmaster to correct four of the NCR division website links on the NMRA Regions page.
- PDF Appreciation certificate
- I can edit the Concord Flyer example for our purposes.
- Do we have a PDF of the Michigan Central example? Discuss with T.J.?
- Jens suggests that a Tip of the Mitt — Division 2 mug might be more appreciated.
- NMRA is asking each region to appoint a NMRA Brand Ambassador to help the divisions in the region to adopt the new NMRA brand guidelines.
- Keith Aleo – Chief Clerk – Review current membership – Who has dropped, who was added and compare notes with Al.
- TC Yardmaster – T.J. Stratton – Verify pending clinics
- North Yardmaster – Michael McDougall
- Paymaster – Dave Zolnierek
- Trainmaster – Al Johnson – Review current membership – Who has dropped, who was added and compare notes with Keith.
- NCR Board – T. J. Stratton
- Achievement Program – Pete Magoun
- AP Certificates – Pete Magoun
- Other Division Business and Discussion
- Any other topics for the May 2025 Open House(?)
- Officers to review Survey and prepare discussion for action items for April Board Meeting
Clinic
- Craig Wilson will give a clinic on Ann Arbor Cabooses.
Break
Show & Tell
- Anybody who brought something interesting can show it off to the attendees. If you’re attending via the Zoom video conference, and your computer/tablet/phone has a camera, you’re welcome to present even when you’re remote!
Future Meetings
Looking into the crystal ball, and following our tendency to schedule monthly meetings on the third Saturday of each month, our upcoming meetings are as follows:
- April 18, 2026
- Clinic – Ralph Moxley – Ann Arbor Railroad layout
- May 16, 2026 – Open House
These meeting dates are best estimates until we post the official invitation (please check the Meetings archive). There are no monthly meetings during the summer months of June, July, and August.