(NOTE: Minutes presented here are paraphrased summaries of discussions and comments of meeting participants. Only statements with quotation marks represent exact quotes. Content and phrasing of the Minutes is subject to final approval by the board of directors.)

Board members present:
Wendell Goodwin
Eric Hadder
Tom Paradis
Jerry Snow
With club members present. Ryan Gallagher is currently in the Reserves, called up for national duty.

Meeting called to order at 8:00 PM at the Clubhouse

1. Cancellation of regular board meeting Scheduled for July 29, 2003.
Paradis commented that three of the five board members would not be present for the scheduled meeting the following week, so the Club would have to conduct as much business tonight at this special meeting, in preparation for the County Fair.

2. Purchase of Baseball Hats.
On Tuesday, July 15, the Board voted to purchase 36 baseball hats for club members, at a complete purchase cost of $413.64, at a cost of $11.49 per hat. At this meeting, the entire Club will be asked to vote for the proposal. Ten hats have already been pre-paid for by various club members, bringing the total club cost down to $293.64. Treasurer Snow assured the club that enough funds exist in the club account to pay for this order. Paradis explained that much of the cost would be made up through two different methods, first through sale of hats at the upcoming County Fair, and second through continued purchases by club members.
 Discussion ensued about the number of hats we should sell at the fair. Some members felt that the hats would sell well at $15, and that if we ran out, what were the options for ordering more? Others felt that the hats would not sell very well, but that we would try it this year, and if it worked out, we could order more for future fairs. The basic consensus (not voted formally) was that we would sell some hats at the fair this year for $15 a piece, at a small profit for the club. Jerry Snow and John Lovely were recognized for their efforts toward the design and ordering of the hats.
 Motion was made and seconded to hold a Club vote on the hat proposal. Vote passed by unanimous approval, 11-0. Treasurer Snow agreed to place the order a day or two later so that plenty of time would be allowed for the delivery of our order.

3. Planning for the Fair
 Paradis opened discussion about the report from the Fair Planning Committee, regarding this year’s Welcome (Hospitality) Tent and other interactive ideas. The shift schedule for the Fair was handed out to club members, and a sign-up sheet posted on the bulletin board. Members were asked to fill up the sign-up sheet within the next month.
 Discussion ensued about the Raffle. Despite the initial plan to forego the raffle this year, it was determined that we could acquire donated sets of train tickets for the Grand Canyon Railway and the Verde Canyon Railway for use during a raffle. These businesses normally would not donate $35 for an ad car anyway, so this money will not be “lost” by having them donate the tickets. The Club agreed to hold the raffle with minimal manpower, by displaying the raffle box prominently, and by having Club members occasionally mention and promote the raffle from the tent.
 Paradis noted that the County is allowing us to use the area immediately to the east of the building, at the exit door, for a garden railway display or other activities. Member Cluck advised that we ask the County to improve the troubling exitway for strollers and/or wheelchairs. Currently, the path outside the building is a little rough. Paradis agreed to bring this up with the fairgrounds people, as well as trying to keep any noisy machines and chain saws away from our tent area.
 With two tents planned side by side out front, there will be room for one or more portable layout displays. The current plan is to use the club’s 4X8 layout under one of the tents for public use, under supervision. Member Lovely volunteered a Live Steam display, Officer Petrarca will check on the possibility of setting up a temporary G-scale layout, and V.P. Hadder will check on the possibility of displaying a steam engine’s throttle control lent by the G.C. Railway. Member Baughman volunteered to supply a small TV/VCR pair for showing videos including the Club’s intro video to model railroading supplied by the World’s Greatest Hobby campaign. Other discussion ensued about ideas for the fair, and Paradis noted that we may not be able to accomplish all of them, but there will be plenty to do and to experiment with this year. One priority, however, will be to implement Member Jutte’s idea of boarding passes (or “railroad tickets”) to hand out to people as they enter the building, welcoming them to our railroad. These “passes” would hold club information on them and serve as a souvenir of sorts for visitors. This will be a promotional tool for the club as well as a method to enhance the visitor experience.
 Paradis noted that this year’s “theme” for the county fair would be “100 years of flight,” so ideas were bantered around about how to incorporate some airplaine/rocket models into our own layout. This is not considered to be a major priority, however, for our specific operations.
 Another plan is to create a tape cassette with short announcements about the club history, membership information, and occasional train songs. Several members discussed the idea of bringing in a workable sound system/tape deck to accomplish this. A couple members volunteered to be the “voices” on the tape.
 Officer Petrarca answered questions about HO railroad operations for the fair, and the trend is to consider operating with the Club’s new DCC system. Petrarca answered questions about the feasibility of DCC and the ease of training and manpower needs. He seemed to satisfy all  major concerns. Using DCC would not require any more people to operate the layout than the past DC system. The board and Petrarca agreed to hold at least one clinic prior to the fair to train club members on the new DCC system.

4. Decal sets for the MPL
 Member Lovely has produced a sheet of MPL decals on the computer, including logo and road name. He obtained a price per sheet from a decal company, and opened discussion about what other decals might go onto the sheet. Various ideas were supplied.

5. Vote on New Member: Gary LeVan
 Gary has been attending club members regularly since January, 2003 as a friend of Bruce Petrarca, and Paradis did not have his completed membership form present at the meeting. Paradis asked the club if there was any objection to voting on his membership this evening, and then having him sign the application form at a later date. There was no verbal objection among members. Member Cluck motioned to accept Gary as a new club member as of tonight, and V.P. Hadder seconded. Club voted in favor of motion unanimously, 11-0.

6. Crossbuck Signs
Paradis asked for volunteers to construct two simple RR Crossing signs for entrance and exits to the layout for the fair. Various ideas on how to accomplish this were discussed.

7. New/Old business
Petrarca commented on the Ad Train plans for the Fair, and mentioned that there will be a thankyou letter going out to all sponsors after the fair. There should be 2-5 cars “to sell new” to replace businesses that are no longer in business. The call went out to club members to search for a few new sponsors. Petrarca was recognized for helping out to manage the Ad train sales and other financial aspects pertaining to the Fair.

Meeting adjourned at 8:50pm.