The third membership meeting of the Railway Mail Service Library Foundation (RMSLF) was convened at 4:05 PM on Saturday, November 16th, 2019. Attendees were on-line via a FreeConferenceCall call-in telephone number. Frank Scheer – Secretary presided and there were three attendees: Ronald Albers, Mark Metz, and Frank R. Scheer. This constituted a quorum for the annual membership meeting.
A membership report was presented. Between the 2016 incorporation and September 30th, 2019, 107 member certificates have been issued.
Year in Review and Planning Ahead:
The principal projects for the year ahead are: Relocation of the Railway Mail Service Library collection from the depot to a new building; Repairs to the engine, drive train, and brakes of the 1967 Highway Post Office (HPO); Relocation of the HPO from Cloverdale, Virginia, and the 1931 Ford Mail Truck from Racine, Wisconsin, to the new vehicle preservation area; and, Applying for matching-funds grants or other donations of labor and materiel for the Paul Nagle Archives interior completion. There will be an appeal for one or more volunteers to assist with relocating items from the Boyce railway depot to the Archival Center which will commence after structure completion and continue during 2021. Other volunteer projects that can be undertaken are: Restoration and preservation work for the two historic mail vehicles; Monthly grounds-keeping of the set-back areas around the Archival Center; Sorting and cataloging the Railway Mail Service Library collection; Answering research requests for Railway Post Office history; and, Webpage maintenance and learning the digital file structure of the collection. A Ground-Breaking for the Paul Nagle Archives is tentatively planned for Saturday, April 25th, at 1 PM which coincides with the BRDF Morse Day. Current and newly-joined members can attend the cook-out after the first shovel-turning ceremony and view a Morse telegraph demonstration in the agents office, exhibiting railroad communications during the early 1900s. A one-day commemorative pictorial postmark has been approved. This postmark can be imprinted upon post cards purchased for fund-raising as well as your own mailable first-class items. There is also a table of Boyce town artwork offered by a Berryville artist.
A treasury report was the next topic. RMSLF funds are held in a Bank of Clarke County checking account that was set up for the Foundation during 2016. The savings account balance as of September 30th, 2019, was $82,021.46. The checking account balance on that date was $3,346.50. These amounts are predominately from the Paul A. Nagle bequest. The funds received as membership dues and donations have been used to pay expenses for preparation and submission of a site plan for the Nagle Archives to the Town of Boyce and County of Clarke Planning Commissions.
Utility expenses as well as the real estate taxes are covered by the annual lease for the resident of the former telephone exchange building which faces East Main Street. The Paul Alfred Nagle bequest will cover most of the construction expenses. My own donation or loans to the foundation for a closed-in structure will close any funding short-fall. More importantly, your active interest in preserving the Library collection will assure its continuing as a cornerstone of postal and railroad history research.
Ronald Albers, chair of the nominating committee was unable to attend but submitted a list of nominations for RMSLF Directors to Frank Scheer. The nominees were:
Ronald Albers Quinton Barker Fran Barker Frank Scheer Vacant Vacant
Additional nominations from attendees were requested but none were presented by the attending members. Ronald Albers submitted 13 proxies from Joseph Johnson, Jr., Henry Frick, Robert Majors, Jr., Andrew Mitchell, Donald Trump, Rodney Juell, Gerald Clearwater, William Strassner, James Stultz, Charles Torpy, Carole Torpy, Robert Grabarek, and Joseph Gomez which were voted in favor of the directors slate. A vote of members attending the meeting approved the nominations by acclamation.
The newly-elected Directors will hold their annual meeting during January 2020. At the meeting, Directors will determine which will fill the two-each one-year, two-year, and three-year terms. They will also vote on who will fill the President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer positions. One person may fill two offices, such as Vice President and Secretary. The current Board of Directors and Officers will complete their incumbencies on April 30th and be replaced by the 2020 officers on May 1st. The 2020 officers will hold their offices until April 30, 2021.
There was no old business remaining from the 2019 Annual Membership Meeting. Attendees did not identify any topics as new business. Adjournment was moved by Ronald Albers and seconded by Mark Metz. A unanimous vote followed and the meeting ended at 4:15 PM.
Respectfully submitted
Frank R. Scheer Secretary
A membership report was presented. Between the 2016 incorporation and September 30th, 2019, 107 member certificates have been issued.
Year in Review and Planning Ahead:
The principal projects for the year ahead are: Relocation of the Railway Mail Service Library collection from the depot to a new building; Repairs to the engine, drive train, and brakes of the 1967 Highway Post Office (HPO); Relocation of the HPO from Cloverdale, Virginia, and the 1931 Ford Mail Truck from Racine, Wisconsin, to the new vehicle preservation area; and, Applying for matching-funds grants or other donations of labor and materiel for the Paul Nagle Archives interior completion. There will be an appeal for one or more volunteers to assist with relocating items from the Boyce railway depot to the Archival Center which will commence after structure completion and continue during 2021. Other volunteer projects that can be undertaken are: Restoration and preservation work for the two historic mail vehicles; Monthly grounds-keeping of the set-back areas around the Archival Center; Sorting and cataloging the Railway Mail Service Library collection; Answering research requests for Railway Post Office history; and, Webpage maintenance and learning the digital file structure of the collection. A Ground-Breaking for the Paul Nagle Archives is tentatively planned for Saturday, April 25th, at 1 PM which coincides with the BRDF Morse Day. Current and newly-joined members can attend the cook-out after the first shovel-turning ceremony and view a Morse telegraph demonstration in the agents office, exhibiting railroad communications during the early 1900s. A one-day commemorative pictorial postmark has been approved. This postmark can be imprinted upon post cards purchased for fund-raising as well as your own mailable first-class items. There is also a table of Boyce town artwork offered by a Berryville artist.
A treasury report was the next topic. RMSLF funds are held in a Bank of Clarke County checking account that was set up for the Foundation during 2016. The savings account balance as of September 30th, 2019, was $82,021.46. The checking account balance on that date was $3,346.50. These amounts are predominately from the Paul A. Nagle bequest. The funds received as membership dues and donations have been used to pay expenses for preparation and submission of a site plan for the Nagle Archives to the Town of Boyce and County of Clarke Planning Commissions.
Utility expenses as well as the real estate taxes are covered by the annual lease for the resident of the former telephone exchange building which faces East Main Street. The Paul Alfred Nagle bequest will cover most of the construction expenses. My own donation or loans to the foundation for a closed-in structure will close any funding short-fall. More importantly, your active interest in preserving the Library collection will assure its continuing as a cornerstone of postal and railroad history research.
Ronald Albers, chair of the nominating committee was unable to attend but submitted a list of nominations for RMSLF Directors to Frank Scheer. The nominees were:
Ronald Albers Quinton Barker Fran Barker Frank Scheer Vacant Vacant
Additional nominations from attendees were requested but none were presented by the attending members. Ronald Albers submitted 13 proxies from Joseph Johnson, Jr., Henry Frick, Robert Majors, Jr., Andrew Mitchell, Donald Trump, Rodney Juell, Gerald Clearwater, William Strassner, James Stultz, Charles Torpy, Carole Torpy, Robert Grabarek, and Joseph Gomez which were voted in favor of the directors slate. A vote of members attending the meeting approved the nominations by acclamation.
The newly-elected Directors will hold their annual meeting during January 2020. At the meeting, Directors will determine which will fill the two-each one-year, two-year, and three-year terms. They will also vote on who will fill the President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer positions. One person may fill two offices, such as Vice President and Secretary. The current Board of Directors and Officers will complete their incumbencies on April 30th and be replaced by the 2020 officers on May 1st. The 2020 officers will hold their offices until April 30, 2021.
There was no old business remaining from the 2019 Annual Membership Meeting. Attendees did not identify any topics as new business. Adjournment was moved by Ronald Albers and seconded by Mark Metz. A unanimous vote followed and the meeting ended at 4:15 PM.
Respectfully submitted
Frank R. Scheer Secretary
