DIRECTORS LETTER:

From the Director JOHN ROTSART:

Moving Toward the Post 9/11 Era

 

At the of June Fiscal Year '07 closed with record earned income, $527,000 up almost 12% over FY '06, which was a record itself at the time. Doug Myers the Executive Director of the San Diego Zoological Society at the June '07 meeting of the Balboa Park Cultural Partnership stated that '06 was the first normal year for San Diego Zoo’s attendance since 9/11. The Model Railroad Museum and several other directors agreed with Doug's comments in reference their own institutions.

 

The Double Mezzanine Double Whammy

The museum not only survived the down period, but launched two giant construction projects, the Library Mezzanine and La Mesa Model Railroad Club’s Don and Gretel Mitchell Mezzanine. Together they cost more than a half million dollars. The SDMRM Library money was provided by a state grant thanks to California Senator Denise Ducheny’s sponsorship that was an Assembly member in 1999 when the grant was funded.

 

La Mesa‘s Tehachapi Mezzanine

The La Mesa Model Railroad Club members did their own fund raising. This is a quite an achievement in itself. They voted in a monthly dues assessment plus raised the dues rate on all classes of club membership with the idea that about 25% of the cost of the mezzanine would be provided through dues. Once the fund raising started in earnest, several members donated significant sums of money to the project to take advantage the museum’s tax-exempt status.

 

Two of members even created challenge grants, a common devise in fund raising circles. The challenger usually dares his audience to raise enough to meet the challenge, and as a reward the grantor usually pledges to give twice as much as the amount of the challenge. In both cases the challenges were fulfilled. I was thrilled to see our members and their relatives rise to the occasion with more money flowing into the museum to fulfill the dream of the Tehachapi Pass.

 

Just after this same intense construction was completed period in December '03, the museum was granted full American Association of Museums (AAM) accreditation. SDMRM, and it is still the only the only railroad theme in the USA that has earned this honor.

 

Now both HO (1/87 actual size) clubs are hurrying to complete more of their exhibits before the National Model Railroad Association’s (NMRA) national convention meets in Anaheim July 13 through 19, 2008. The official bus tour of the museum is scheduled for Tuesday, July 15 all day long. If history is any guide, the clubs will put on a dazzling show for the nation next July.