A regular meeting of members/directors of The Western Michigan Society for Industrial Heritage was held at 7:00 pm, at Coopersville Farm Museum, Coopersville, Michigan on 22 September 2003.

1. Secretary/Treasurer Cok called the meeting to order at 7:15 p.m.
   
   Roll call was taken. Members present: Duane Bowman, Mary Chubinski, Philip Cok, Fred Florshinger, Russ Osterhart, Cindy Timmerman and Carl Sinke. Five members present satisfies quorum requirement (5 required). Jim Winslow, member applicant also was in attendance.
   
   Mary Chubinski was asked to preside over the meeting and presented the agenda for the meeting.
   Upon motion made (Osterhart), seconded Bowman), and approved, the agenda for the meeting was passed as presented
   
2. Treasure's Report
   Treasurer Cok presented Year-to-date Income & Expense and Y-T-D Balance sheet reports. Balance sheet shows $876.59 in the Money Market account. Upon motion made (Osterhart), seconded (Sinke), and approved, the treasurer's report was accepted as presented.
   
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3. Membership
   Sec. Cok reported the application via check for the family membership of Jim & Carol Winslow. Jim was introduced to the group. Jim is presently on the board of directors of the Pennsylvania Technical & Historical Society (P.T.& H.S.) and has formerly held the position of president and vice president. Jim is also a contributing author to the Pennsy Tech & Hist. Soc. Newsletter, The Keystone.
   Upon motion made (Florshinger), seconded (Osterhart), and approved, the family membership of Jim & Carol Winslow was accepted
   
   The rolls of the Society now show 15 current members. Ten annual individual memberships, two lifetime memberships, and three family memberships.
   
4. Approval of minutes
   Minutes of the previous meeting of 18 August 2003 was presented for approval.
   Upon motion made (Florshinger), seconded (Osterhart), and approved, the minutes for the 18 August 2003 meeting were approved as presented
   
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5. By-laws Update
   Secretary Cok reported no further progress on the by-laws.
   
   Member Winslow reported that the P.T. & H.S has an "organizational membership" category. Proxy's not returned or represented in person automatically are transferred to the Treasurer to cast those votes. The P.T.&H.S. has 3200 members of which only 500 to 600 attend the annual meeting.
   
6. Menasha Project.
   Secretary Cok reported West Shore Services has informed him that the manager of this project is presently working out-state. When he returns, a report will be forwarded on the full accounting for this project. We will continue to hold the check from West Shore Services until this information is received and a final decision can be made on how to handle this situation.
   
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7. Handicap Car Project
   A). By/Sell agreement. Sec. Cok and Pres. Hanenburg to meet to knock out an "official" buy/sell agreement with the DuPilka's.
   
   B). Marketing Materials.
   B) 1. Carl Sinke sent out nine copies of the first draft of the marketing flyer to potential lead donors for feedback. He also showed a copy to Anthony Diekema who reported, "It looks good."
   
   B) 2. We are holding on mass producing the flyer while awaiting approval from the California State Railroad Museum to use their photos in the "Before/After" photo comparisons.
   
   B) 3. Sec. Cok requested Jim Winslow to query his contacts with the Pennsylvania Historical Society for an original floorplan and the possibility of additional photo availability (historical or re-conditioned) for this plan type.
   
   B) 4. Member Winslow presented his first draft of a historical overview of the car he will be submitting to the P.T.& H.S. newsletter. Publication will be at least six months from now.
   
   B) 5. For major donor presentations, an 8.5 x 11", indexed & bound document will be prepared that includes additional supporting documentation.
   
   B) 6. Mary Chubinski will draft a receipt for membership dues and/or donations to reflect the non-profit donation benefits/requirements per her foundation connections and forward it to Secretary Cok.
   
   B) 7. In connection with membership dues, discussion about member benefits for membership was discussed. Samples from the California State Railroad Museum were referenced. Possible discounts on the C&M train would be a nice benefit. Coordination of such benefits needs to be brought before the C&M Board of directors. Tom Chubinski was going to do this but due to poor health, has not yet proposed this to the C&M board.
   
   B) 8. Sec. Cok reported he and Tom Chubinski have collected photos, historical articles relating to the Pullman Company for marketing purposes and archival photos for reference materials.
   
   B) 9. Cindy Timmerman reported she is collecting names from C&M info requests for a mailing list.
   
   B) 10. Discussion was held on obtaining our own, unique domain name. Sec. Cok will research the name possibilities. Upon motion made (Timmerman), seconded (Florshinger) and approved, it was agreed to authorize Sec. Cok to obtain an appropriate domain name for multiple years not to exceed $150.00.
   
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   C) Fundraising
   Possible sources were discussed. Area Agency on Aging, United Way Innovation Grants, GR Foundation, Steelcase Foundation.
   
   Grant application form from the North American Railway Foundation (NARF) was reviewed. All information requested is on-hand with the exception of a "audited financial statement." Sec. Cok will contact Spoelman, Hoving & Felt about cost to provide such a statement.
   
   Cindy Timmerman will contact local politicians to ask for assistance and information on grant possibilities.
   
   It was reported that the Muskegon Railroad Historical Society had received a "block grant" from the City of Muskegon.
   
   D). Promotions
   D) 1. Fred Florshinger suggested moving the PRR to the siding next to the Hardware store and post a sign and/or banner next to it.
   
   D) 2. Discussion was held on a donation recognition plaque based on donation size.
   
   D) 3. Cindy is currently working on partnerships with media and will discuss incorporating cooperative joint ventures.
   
   E). Cleanup/Protective Measures
   E) 1. Members Cok and T. Chubinski cleaned out the interior in a work session Sept. 9. Most of the broken glass panes were also removed.
   
   E) 2. No progress has been made in closing up the PRR car to protect it from further deterioration and/or vandalism. Fred Florshinger reported he had a work session scheduled for second weekend in October and would have a work crew available to board up the windows. At the July board meeting authorization was given to spend up to $100 on materials needed to do this.
   
   E) 3. Fred reported he has suppliers lined up to donate materials to renovate running gear & brake materials. Fred volunteered his time to obtain final CTO&S certification.
   
   E) 4. Discussion was held regarding paint scheme. It was suggested to be historically accurate to use the Pullman green/black colors as the care was originally deployed. This will blend well with the current C&M paint scheme yet still be slightly unique.
   
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8. Next Meeting
   The next meeting of the Western Michigan Society for Industrial Heritage will be 20 October 2003, 7:00 p.m. at the Coopersville Farm Museum.
   
   
9. There being no further business, upon motion made (Timmerman), seconded (Florshinger) and approved, the meeting was adjourned at 8:26 pm.

The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Industrial Heritage Society membership is Monday, 20 October 2003. The meeting will be held at the Coopersville Farm Museum, 375 Main St., Coopersville Michigan at 7:00 pm. All members are encouraged to attend.