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O SCALE KINGS President's Letter July, 2005 Dear O Scale Kings Members: This is to update you on what has transpired for the O Scale Kings (OSKers) since my March letter. Below I discuss our new status as a corporation, and forthcoming elections. There is also a very important notice about unpaid dues on the next page. Please read it carefully. While writing this letter, I realized that we have accomplished some significant goals. I'd like to review those for you, and also offer some thoughts about the challenges in front of us. Our objective is to foster and grow 2-rail O scale. John Smith started the OSKers in 1999. Since then we have accomplished the following:
It has been frustrating to me that I don't have the time that it seems is needed to properly run the OSKers. Now
that the BOD and its committees are starting to function, spreading the work among more people will mean that
more of it will get done. We are all volunteers, so no one is going to be able to devote full time to their
responsibilities. I ask your support of and patience with those who are working to help us meet our goals.
I believe that the most important promotional opportunity we have is at train shows. The people there are
interested in model trains. Many of them will already be model railroaders. The person who stops at an O scale
display is curious, and probably is receptive to learning more about O scale. How do we seize the opportunity and
run with it? The Publicity Committee's assignment is to:
NMRA O Scale 2-Rail SIG Newsletter
All OSKers members automatically become members of this SIG (but not members of the NMRA). NMRA members who join
the SIG also join the OSKers. See a previous newsletter where this was discussed. The people who make OSK happen: Forest Trent is our very capable secretary. Bob Plageman is your Treasurer. Contact information for all of us is provided above. Others who contribute are: Jay Beckham and Clark Thorp, who jointly maintain our web site (www.oscalekings.org); Ted Byrne, is the coordinator for the 2-rail O Scale Special Interest Group (SIG) in the NMRA (more about this below); Jim Canter, Bob Lavezzi, and Kenneth Nesper, Jr., who worked with Dan Mason to develop our by-laws; Joe Giannovario, publisher of O Scale Trains, who has offered to provide printing services; Russ Kress, who along with Lew Pardee and Lou Lukash are developing an introductory video about 2-rail O scale; Guy Krivanek developed a system for his note taking at the meetings that will provide continuity from meeting to meeting (a copy can be had by sending an LSSAE to me); Bill Louie who is leading the effort on the primer; and Chris Lane of Model Railroading, who prepares the artwork for our semi-annual co-op ads.
Thank You! to everybody who helps out. Incorporation and Committees Our incorporation is now complete. O Scale Kings, Inc. is a Georgia corporation. Many thanks to Dan Mason who worked so hard on the Articles and By-Laws. By the way, I misunderstood the process when the March letter was written. The process is that the Articles of Incorporation are approved. Then the Board of Directors (BOD) meets to discuss and approve the by-laws. When that approval is complete and the state of Georgia notified, the corporation officially comes into existence. The BOD had a telephone conference meeting and approved the By-Laws with one minor change. Dan submitted the By-Laws to the State of Georgia and as of June 1 we became an official corporation. At the O Scale National Convention I read the By-Laws to those in attendance at the meeting. I really appreciate the patience of those who sat through the reading, which likely was very boring to some; the good news is that it won't be repeated. Those present voted to accept the By-Laws. The By-Laws require an Elections Committee, and provide for other committees as the BOD determines. The Elections Committee members are: George Wallace, chair, Bob Lavezzi, and Rod Miller. (Per the By-Laws, the President is a member of all standing committees). The Publicity Committee was established. The members are: Jim Canter, chair, Bob Lavezzi, Bill Louie, Dan Mason, and Rod Miller. If you are interested in serving on either of these committees, please contact the committee chair. If you would like to work with the BOD on other activities please contact me. Dues
Dues are on a calendar year basis starting in January; each year's dues become payable January 1. When are meetings held and, outside of meetings, how do we communicate Meetings of the OSKers are held at the O Scale West meet in February, the Chicago March Meet, the annual O Scale National Convention, and the Indianapolis meet. Meetings can be held at other meets if OSKers members at those meets want to take responsibility for organizing and conducting the meetings. A record of the discussion is very desirable; it should be sent to the Secretary. This letter will be issued at least annually. There is an Internet chat group (oscalekings@yahoogroups.com). Elections
According to our By-Laws, in odd-numbered years, the Secretary and two Directors are to be elected. In
even-numbered years, the President, Treasurer, and the other Director are to be elected. Normally our election
cycle starts January 1 with nominations and is time lined so that results will be known at the O scale National
Convention. However, because we weren't incorporated until June, this year we are starting late. Forest, our Secretary, is willing to step down if someone else wants the job; he will continue if no one else runs for the job. If you are thinking of nominating yourself or someone else for this job, please be aware that above average computer skills are required for the maintenance of the membership roster; you should talk to Forest in order to validate that your skill set is sufficient to maintain the roster. The other primary functions of the Secretary are to record and publish minutes of the BOD meetings and to assist with elections. Bob Lavezzi and George Wallace agreed to be the two directors whose positions are up for election. Both Bob and George would like to continue as Directors; they will be on the ballot along with any others who want to run for a director's position. If you want to nominate yourself and/or someone you know, please get your nomination to Forest Trent by September 30. Nominations must include a statement of interest and qualifications. Forest's address is to the right of this column. More Contact Info
NMRA SIG Contacting Us Here is how to contact the officers. If you need to contact any of the other people mentioned in this newsletter, please mail your letter to them Care Of Forest Trent.
President: Rod Miller
Secretary: Forest Trent
Treasurer; Bob Plageman
Delinquent Dues Alert!
568 people have joined the OSKers since its inception. 168 are current with their dues. The year through which according to our records your dues have been paid is shown next to the Member Number on the first line of the address label that got this letter to you. Normally dues have to be kept current, e.g., unpaid past years' dues must be paid along with the current year's dues. To encourage those in arrears to get current with their dues, I am offering a one-time amnesty on dues: if you pay your dues for 2005 before the end of this year, you will not have to pay unpaid dues for years prior to 2005. Of course, after this year, dues will have to kept current. Payment of 2005 and 2006 dues at the same time may be simpler that two separate payments. Those whose dues for 2004, 2005, and 2006 are unpaid by January 31, 2006 will be dropped from our roster and from future mailings! If you have paid our dues and our record is incorrect, please let Forest know. If you haven't paid your dues because the OSKers is not doing what you want or expected, please let me know. This is your organization and I want it to work for all of its members. |