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...an article from the Pacific Northwest Chapter NRHS July "Trainmaster" monthly newsletter:

     The June 20-26 Cascade Rails 2011 NRHS convention held in Tacoma and sponsored by the Tacoma Chapter is now in the history books.  Reports from the over 700 attendees passing through the registration area in the Hotel Murano indicated that the convention was a resounding success; as of the writing of this article it appears that the convention was also a financial success. 

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     Other publications like the NRHS News will give you an overview the convention, this article will focus on the herculean efforts contributed by Pacific Northwest Chapter members to make the convention a success.  These efforts began with the convention Planning Team.  From the beginning, Tacoma Chapter President and convention general manager Ed Berntsen asked for help from the PNWC and Columbia River NRHS chapters; both agreed that this was a worthwhile project and agreed to help.  PNWC Planning Team members included:  Mike Bergman, Bill Chapman, Keith Fleschner, Steve & Mary Hauff, Roger Sackett, Jeff Schultz, Tom Irion, Arlen Sheldrake, Trent Stetz, and John Tucker.  The Planning Team began meeting 1.5 years ago with day long meetings about every month, sometimes in Centralia and sometimes in Tacoma.  As the convention got close, twice a week multiple hour conference calls were held with the conference telephone bridge provided by PNWC member Mark Reynolds. 

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     These PNWC Planning Team members took on managing many convention tasks including bus coordination (Bergman), volunteer recruitment/assignment (Fleschner), treasurer (Tucker), Lunch at Paradise Lodge on Mt. Rainier & Woodinville Winery Tour events (Sheldrake), Seattle Traction Tour event (Irion), Northwest Railway Museum event (Sackett), Chehalis-Centralia Railroad event (Stetz), Mount Rainier Scenic Railroad/Tacoma Rail event (Fleschner),  graphic design (Stetz), seminars (Bergman), registrant goodie bags and contents (Schultz/Sheldrake), convention booklet layout (Hauffs), banquet program layout (Stetz), trip guide (two) layouts (Stetz), lapel pin and patch (Stetz/Sheldrake), convention apparel (Tucker), banquet manager (Chapman), printing coordination (Sheldrake), convention signs (Chapman), safety (Fleschner), seminar presenters (Steve Hauff and Bergman), hotel coordination (Chapman), press release (Schultz), and advertising (Stetz/Sheldrake). 

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    In addition to this extensive list of convention management responsibilities many PNWC members also helped out with specific functions such as car hosting, registration and photography.  Joe Harper was on the ground before, during and after the convention gathering footage for the convention video.  Car hosts on various trips included Judy Hall, Kent Hutchison, Arlen & Rita Sheldrake, Bruce Strange, Al Baker, Christopher Bowers & Ron McCoy, Jim Long, Jeff & Ali Schultz, Joe Mayer, Mark Reynolds, Karl & Ben Wescott, David Larson, Roger Sackett, David Cautley, and Randy Rock.   Registration desk helpers included Jim Fitzgerald, Kent Hutchens, Arlen Sheldrake, Keith Fleschner, and Trent Stetz.  Photo line brush cutting assistance was provided by Roger Sackett.  .

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     Major convention assistance also came from the Columbia River Chapter members Ed Immel and John Holloway.  Ed managed the three mainline excursions and John was the convention registrar; both major tasks and critical to the success of the convention.  This was the first NRHS convention to provide online registration. 

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     Another help came early in the convention planning stages with a start-up loan from PNWC to help the Tacoma chapter cover convention expenses until registration dollars began coming in.  This loan was paid back with interest.

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     And thanks to the many PNWC members who attended and enjoyed the convention. 

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