Construction shots:	Benchwork | Scenery | Finished Scenes
Layout:	Trackplan & Specs | History & Notable Dates
Misc:	The Road to MMR | Articles I've written | Favorite links | Durango & Silverton  RR Shots |About Me

"Association Volunteer"

This is the final certificate I earned (on January 16, 2005), and unfortunately, there's nothing really to show here.  The certificate is awarded based on the amount of time you've volunteered to the NMRA, one of its Regions or Divisions.

The NMRA website has a long list of activities that qualify for this certificate. Please visit www.nmra.org for the full list, because there are a lot of ways you can easily volunteer time, including hostinga  layout tour and being a Boy Scout merit badge counselor.  I'll just list the ones that pertained to my case:

You must have served actively on one or more NMRA committees (National, Regional, or Division) long enough to accumulate sixty (60) certified time units (TUs). The TUs you receive for various types of service are listed below:

Active satisfactory service as a Region committee Manager, or on a National committee: 2 TUs per month.

Active satisfactory service as a Region committee member, a Division Officer or committee Manager: 1 TU per month.

Active satisfactory service as a Division committee or board member: 1/2 TU per month.

Editors of an NMRA publication shall receive credit at the rate appropriate for committee Chairmen at the same level.

Service as a Division officer or director (other than at the Regional level): 1 TU per month.

Official judges at NMRA sponsored model contests (including non-rail) shall be given time units for such service at the contest only (not monthly), as a one-time service credit per contest as follows:

b. Regional Contest Judge 2 Time Units

c. Division Contest Judge 1 Time Unit

In my case, I volunteered to edit the Twin Cities Division's quarterly newsletter, The Crossing Gate, in April of 2003 -- which earned me 1 Time Unit per month.  In the case of our Division, the newsletter editor is also a board member (1/2 TU per month).  I also volunteered to maintain the website for the Division, earning 1 TU per month.

In October of 2004 I volunteered to edit the Thousand Lakes Region's quarterly newsletter, The Fusee, which earned me an additional 2 time units for the three months remaining in the year.

I also served as a judge at several Division-sponsored NMRA model contests and also at the Thousand Lakes Regional convention model contest in 2004.

When it all added up at the end, I'd earned 61.5 Time Units, enough to qualify for this certificate.

I'm currently still editing both newsletters and am still webmaster of the Division's website at www.twincitiesdivision.org .  You can see a copy of The Crossing Gate in PDF form by visiting the website and clicking on "The Crossing Gate" link.  A PDF copy of The Fusee is slated to be published on the Regional website at www.thousandlakesregion.org sometime in the near future.

Back to the BVrr homepage