A Message From Your President

This being the first “Highball” of the New Year, it is generally fitting to talk about new beginnings and future plans.  However, those of us at the BR&CF find ourselves with heavy hearts.

The recent carnage in Los Angeles has resulted in at least one BR&CF member’s death that we know of at this time.  Other recent member fatalities included a 26-year old engineer who lost his life in a South Carolina train crash.  It is sobering to hear of such tragedies and our condolences go out to all those who lost loved ones in these and other incidents.

Please take care to keep your membership current so that if the unthinkable should happen, your AD&D benefit would somewhat lighten the burden of those you leave behind. 

On a brighter note, I would like to congratulate Larry Galati who, at the January Board Meeting, was appointed to serve as Assistant International President.  That position became available due to the recent resignation of O. J. Foisy.  Congratulations also to Ken Holman who was appointed to the Director’s seat vacated by Brother Galati.  We look forward to working with both of them. 

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Jerry Foisy for his years of dedicated service to the BR&CF.  He played an integral role in the decisions that were made in the Board Room over the last 12 years, and his presence at the BR&CF will be missed.

In closing, I remind you that the proxy packets will be mailed to all members of record in early March.  You can learn more about this important mailing inside this issue of the “Highball.”  Please exercise your right to vote in person or by proxy.

R. J. Myers

International President

Table of Contents

A Message From Your President

BR&CF Bids Farewell to R. C. White and M. H. Williams

17th Annual BR&CF Photo Contest Now in Progress

Photo Contest Rules

Helpful Hints for Taking Quality Photographs

Annual Meeting of the Members Scheduled for April 23, 2005

Traveling to Harrisburg for the Annual Meeting?

Appointments

Terminal President Appointments

Dates to Remember

BR&CF BIDS FAREWELL TO R. C. WHITE AND M. H. WILLIAMS

Our sympathy goes out to the families of M. H. Williams and R. C. White, both former BR&CF International Presidents.

R. C. White, of Chicago, Illinois, passed away on January 8, 2005.  Mr. White, who served as a Regional Sales Director and as Assistant International President before being elected to the office of International President, held the office of International President from 1978 until 1983.

M. H. Williams, a resident of Florence, South Carolina, passed away on November 12, 2004.  Mr. Williams served a five-year term as International President from 1983 until 1988.  Prior to that term of office, he served as International Secretary-Treasurer.

17th Annual BR&CF Photo Contest Now in Progress

Grand Prize  $300...Other Winning Entries $150

If you are a photography buff who has contemplated entering the BR&CF photo contest, now is the time to join in this friendly competition!  Send us your railroad-related photographs no later than July 8, 2005, and one of your entries may be selected for reproduction in the 2006 BR&CF wall calendar.

In addition to seeing your snapshot complete with photo credits in publication, you could win a $150 prize or perhaps even the grand prize of $300!

It’s easy!  Just follow the guidelines outlined in the “clip and save” Photo Contest Rules on this page and submit your entries so that they are received in the BR&CF principal office no later than July 8, 2005.

Photo Contest Rules

Eligibility: 

• All active BR&CF members throughout the U.S. and Canada (except Officers and Directors) are eligible to participate.

Deadline: 

• Entries must be received in the home office no later than July 8, 2005. 

Entry Requirements: 

• Active members may submit up to three original color railroad-related snapshots taken by the BR&CF member. Computer enhanced photographs will not be accepted. 

• Photo entries do not have to be of trains, but must be railroad-related. Your snapshot must be at least 3-1/2 " x 5" in size, and not larger than 8" x 10".  If your camera has a date option, turn it off so that the date does not show on your photo.

• Provide your name, address, member number or social security number and a brief description of the photograph (we recommend printing the information on an adhesive label and attaching it to the back of your photo).  Suggested captions are encouraged.

Judges: 

• Photo entries will be judged by the BR&CF Board of Directors during the July 2005 Board of Directors Meeting.

All photos submitted become the property of the BR&CF and cannot be returned.  Questions may be directed to the Principal Office.

Helpful Hints for Taking Quality Photographs

• Be sure your camera lens is clean.  That barely noticeable speck of dust becomes much more evident when the photograph is enlarged for reproduction in the calendar.

• Turn off your camera’s date option.

• Position the subject of your photograph as you would like it to appear in the calendar.  Your entries are not altered for publication.

• Put the sun behind you!  Shadows can sometimes enhance a photograph, but often they cause the picture to be too dark for reproduction.

• If you are using a digital camera and printing your own photographs, we encourage you to use quality photo paper.

• Label your photograph carefully.  We recommend writing the required information on an adhesive label and then affixing it to the back of your picture.  Make sure the ink doesn’t bleed onto the photo behind it.

• Protect your entries for mailing with a lightweight piece of cardboard, and seal the flap of your envelope carefully so it doesn’t adhere to your snapshot.

Annual Meeting of the Members Scheduled for April 23, 2005

Your Proxy Packet Will Soon Be Coming Your Way!

In early March, each BR&CF member of record will receive a proxy packet in preparation for the Annual Meeting.  This proxy packet will contain a notification of the Annual Meeting, a BR&CF financial statement and a proxy card. 

Since a quorum of the entire membership must be represented in order to conduct business at the Annual Meeting, you are strongly encouraged to read the contents of the packet, complete your proxy card and return it to us in the envelope provided.  It must be received in the BR&CF principal office in Harrisburg no later than April 13, 2005 .

In addition to conducting the usual business, there are three positions up for election this year -- the offices of Assistant International President and Assistant International Secretary-Treasurer, as well as one Director’s seat.  Candidates’ profiles may be viewed on the BR&CF website at www.brcf.org.  Once you have gone into the home page, select “Members” and then select “Officer and Director Profiles.”

The Annual Meeting will commence promptly at 10:00 a.m. on April 23, 2005, in the BR&CF principal office in Harrisburg.  As a BR&CF member, you are welcome to attend the Meeting.  However, if you think you may not be able to be present, it is very important that you exercise your right to vote by proxy.   

Traveling to Harrisburg for the Annual Meeting? 

Once Again, the world-renowned Spring Carlisle Collector Swap Meet and Corral is scheduled to be held in the neighboring community of Carlisle, Pennsylvania, on the same weekend as the 2005 Annual Meeting of the Members. 

Hotels in the Harrisburg area are often booked well advance of this huge event, which makes it difficult to find accommodations.  The BR&CF has, therefore, reserved a block of rooms at a local hotel, which we are holding for members who would like to attend the Annual Meeting.  Just give us a call.  You will, of course, be responsible for your own expenses, so please be prepared to provide your credit card information when you call. 

If you’re traveling to Harrisburg for the Annual Meeting, you might want to extend your visit to take in some of the local attractions, which include the Railroad Museum in Strasburg, the Gettysburg battlefields, the National Civil War Museum in Harrisburg, the Pennsylvania Dutch Country in nearby Lancaster County and, of course, Hershey Park which is only minutes from the Principal Office.

Appointments 

K. E. Holman, Director  

L. V. Galati, Assistant International President

At the January Board of Directors Meeting, the Board appointed Larry V. Galati to serve in the position of Assistant International President, which was vacated by the recent resignation of O. J. Foisy.  While it was difficult to see Mr. Foisy leave the Board, we wish him all the best in his retirement. 

Kenneth Holman, of New Caney, Texas, was appointed to fill the Director’s seat vacated by Mr. Galati’s appointment to the office of Assistant International President.  Mr. Holman has been a BR&CF member since 1972 and serves as Terminal President of Terminal 283 in Houston.  We look forward to working with Mr. Holman in his new position.

Terminal President Appointments

Effective January 1, 2005

Kevin R. Williams

Terminal #389

Dupo, Illinois

Dates to Remember

March 1, 2005

• Deadline for Receipt of Luther G. Smith Scholarship

• Applications and All Required Documentation in the

• Principal Office

April 13, 2005

• Deadline for Receipt of Proxies in Principal Office

April 18, 2005

• Board of Directors Meeting in Principal Office

April 23, 2005

• Annual Meeting of the Members at the Principal Office in Harrisburg , PA

July 8, 2005

• Deadline for Receipt of Entries in BR&CF Photo Contest

July 18, 2005

• Board of Directors Meeting in Principal Office

• Selection of Photo Contest Winners