Page 26 - September October 2016

Retirement Letter from Steve Park
Hello ! It is my intention to retire from my position as the British Region Achievement Program manager and I have notified President Mike Arnold of this. With this in mind I think it would be sensible for me to stand down at the coming convention, following any formal actions which may occur at the AGM in October. In the meantime I will try to complete outstanding certificates as "work in progress" for completion by the end of the convention. I shall also decline my name being proposed for any future vacancies which may be suggested. I am by no means the oldest Region member, neither am I the longest- serving on the "seniority list" .
However I joined on New Year's Day 1971 and attended London's National convention the same year. That event was the result of a bid by Region Officers to the National organisation some years earlier in the 1960's. "London 1971" generated much kudos for British Region and opened many doors. "Birmingham 2022" must surely do the same. I think I have been in "continuous employment" since 1973 when Len Firth persuaded me to become the printer of the Region "Roundhouse". I wish he was still here to thank for creating a future which neither of us could possibly have anticipated. At the moment it seems ironic that back then the UK (and National in the USA) were both agonising about how the NMRA would develop within the EC. Move forward 40 plus years and that topic is now in reverse, waiting for someone to apply some steam or maybe even wave a flag. In the intervening 43 years or so the hobby has changed dramatically. Today it is scarcely recognisable as our grandfathers' hobby. British Region is no longer simply an overseas and distant relative of an inaccessible family. I attended San Diego in 1974 and eventually sat down with them as British Region Trustee in Denver in 1977. Cheap trans-Atlantic flights with Laker Airways eventually led to its demise, but the original trans-Atlantic "stand-by" conditions helped create the 1978 Airline Deregulation Act and the controls imposed by the Civil Aeronautics Board in the US were abolished soon after. The spin-offs from that short era were immense.
At that 1977 meeting I became much more aware of the Achievement Program (AP) and have been involved with it since, effectively as the British Region AP Manager. During that period I have guided to Master Model Railroad (MMR) status members in the UK, the Netherlands , Germany, Luxembourg and Sweden. Others are still "in the pipeline". Members have also earned almost 300 Achievement Certificates, 310 Merit Awards and 100 Golden Spike Certificates. The AP is not a quick fix; I know is not for everyone. The associated paperwork may be a burden to some, but help and guidance is always available. Commitment and perseverance are essential but the individual satisfaction is there for all to see at certificate presentations. In addition I was "Roundhouse" printer for several years, became Region Vice President-President-Past President in the 1970's and followed that as Region Secretary for many years, serving almost a score of administrations. During this time the Division structure was established, A4 replace quarto, the Roneo printer was pensioned off. This released real-estate for a model railway layout but remains a project still unfulfilled. Professional printing firms then began producing "Roundhouse" so helping to create the quality magazine compiled by editor Martin. In and amongst all that, with the Firth family, I managed to organise a Region Convention, "Garforth 1984", memorable if only for the two freezing night-time fire evacuations of the hotel, slightly "bested" by the event at the Grand Hotel in Brighton on the Saturday. Additionally I was a stand-in Contest Chairman for one year in the current century.
At National level I was Region Trustee for several terms, Eastern Vice President for four years, and became the first Atlantic Director. For more than a decade I made routine visits every six months to the Contact Group NMRA in Utrecht. I gained for British Region in consecutive terms the National "Quota Buster" Award for the most significant membership gains in any of the 17 Regions. I think the stock of BR was enhanced during my tenure. My Honorary Life Membership
26 ROUNDHOUSE
(HLM) was awarded at Portland OR in 1994. During this period of "service overseas" I missed attendance at only three meetings; a personal hospitalisation, one for Noleen, and one for our son's wedding.
The Australia Britain
Canada (ABC) group gained
increasing independence
during this time including
reductions in several
elements of those Regions'
dues. My biggest
satisfaction came as a
Trustee during the time the
NMRA put together the
whole universally-branded
and accepted DCC concept
the world enjoys today. A
Technical Committee put together the operating "nuts and bolts" and codified the theory and practices but it was the Trustees who created finance and steered the project. We convinced several Company Chairmen and Technical Directors of a bunch of European model railway manufacturers in Fuerth and Nuremberg that DCC was 'do- able' and the future, even though for them it was a business-changing event. And we did it in their own boardrooms, in their own languages and according to their own business protocols. The generosity of Bernd Lenz is gratefully acknowledged.
In the UK I was an invited observer to the NEM Technical Committee visit to York in 1997. At the NRM they represented approx. 47 European railway modelling countries based on mandatory club membership with single member representation, with a committee of a few figureheads. Unable to sanction any promotional material, or publish Standards in anything but German and French, and unwilling to authorise translation and publishinginto English, so the idea of planned co-operation withered on the vine.
Perhaps this inability to reach common ground did the NMRA a favour? At home I hosted many of the visiting NMRA "Names" on their visits "from across the pond". I usually photographed them in the same location in the NRM; quite a "Rogues Gallery"! As an O scaler I got a special kick out of a visit from John Armstrong. Many of the friendships from those meetings endure today.
To all those members who have supported me in years gone by I thank you for doing so and wish you well for the future. I have tried to help wherever possible. Collectively I feel that the NMRA generally moves with the times very well, but parts of its administrations are definitely ponderous. My congratulations to all those who have had some success within the AP. Please keep promoting the idea.
My thanks go to Noleen, who has acted as my receptionist for countless phone calls, played hostess for a string of visitors, been a keeper of many confidences and acted as chauffeuse to airports. She has supported me all the way, the whole time. She has attended every Region convention since 1973, even when our elder son was in hospital she put in an appearance. The last convention we both missed was "Isle of Man 1972" when we could neither get ferry or flight that would accommodate my shift pattern. I retired from salaried work 24 years ago with an intention of building the next model railway. That concept seems to have been Mission Impossible so far. At present I am tracking down relatives of donors of former Contest trophies. The journey so far has been very interesting, with many unexpected diversions and some wonderful fellow travellers. At every journey's end there is a new beginning. So "Cheerio for Now".
Have fun - see you at the next meeting! Steve Park October 2016