Notice of the Annual Meeting & Election of Officers
Thursday, November 16, 2023 at 7:30 PM
The Massachusetts Bay Railroad Enthusiasts, Inc. (Mass Bay RRE) will hold its Annual Meeting of Members at 7:30 PM on Thursday, November 16, 2023. The Annual Meeting will be held at the Union Church in Waban, 14 Collins Road, Newton, MA. At the meeting, members will elect Directors and an Alternate Director of Mass Bay RRE and a National Vice President of The Railroad Enthusiasts, Inc. (the "National RRE"), and conduct any other business properly brought before the meeting. All members of Mass Bay RRE as of Saturday, October 14, 2023 are encouraged to cast a proxy ballot and to participate in the Annual Meeting.
All voting will be done in advance by Proxy Ballot. The Proxy Ballot contains information for electing Mass Bay RRE Directors and for electing a National RRE Vice President. The Nominating Committee recommends a vote for the entire slate of candidates. All votes received by proxy will be cast at the Annual Meeting for the candidates as marked on the proxy ballot. If you wish to write in any names you may do so in the spaces provided on the Proxy Ballot.
All Mass Bay RRE members, including Additional Family Members, are encouraged to cast a Proxy Ballot for this important election. The on-line Proxy Ballot is accessed with the link below. A downloadable printable version of the Proxy Ballot is also linked below.
Mass Bay RRE encourages all members to cast their Proxy Ballot using the on-line form if possible. Use of the on-line form greatly simplifies the process of tabulating the proxy votes.
HOW TO VOTE BY PROXY:
ON LINE: The Board encourages all members to cast their Proxy Ballot on line. This saves us considerable time in tabulating the ballots! To vote on line, clink the link to the on-line ballot below. Proxy Ballots will be available on line until 11:30 PM on Saturday, November 11, 2023.
BY MAIL: The printed Candidate Information and Proxy Ballot may be downloaded using the link below:
You may also request a Proxy Ballot by calling 978-470-2066 or by mail to: PO Box 4245, Andover, MA 01810. If you are voting by mail, please mark, sign and date your Proxy Ballot as soon as possible, then mail it to: Mass Bay RRE Proxy Teller, PO Box 4245, Andover, MA 01810-0814. All mailed Proxy Ballots must be received not later than Saturday, November 11, 2023 (to give us time to tabulate the ballots).
Whether voting on line or by mail, you will need to include your member number to have your vote counted. Your member number is printed on the mailing label of your most recent Callboy or included in the body of the emailed Notice of Annual Meeting. If your membership also includes an Additional Family Member, that person can also submit a proxy by adding the letter "F" after the member number (example: if your member number is 9876, the Family Member would enter 9876F as the member number). Each member may cast only one proxy ballot, as determined by the Member Number.
HOW TO ATTEND THE ANNUAL MEETING
The Annual Meeting will be held in person at the Union Church in Waban, 14 Collins Road, Newton, MA. All current Mass Bay RRE members are welcome and invited to attend the Annual Meeting. The meeting will also be available for viewing (no active remote participation) via Zoom Webinar; no advance registration is necessary! To access the Zoom Webinar from a computer or smartphone, click the link below. (Zoom Webinar opens at 7:25 PM on Nov. 16)
The Zoom Webinar will be opened at 7:25 PM and the formal Annual Meeting will begin promptly at 7:30. Following general announcements and acceptance of the minutes of the 2022 Annual Meeting, the results of the proxy balloting will be announced and there will be motions to declare the winning candidates elected. Following the election, there will be a brief period for members to bring up any other business. The Annual Meeting will be adjourned not later that 8:00 PM so that the evening's program meeting can begin on time. The Annual Meeting will NOT be streamed on Facebook.
The November Third Thursday meeting program, '89 Years of Rare Mileage: Riding the Rails with the Railroad Enthusiasts' by Dave Brown, will be presented as a Zoom Webinar starting at 8:00 PM and will also be live-streamed on Facebook. This Zoom program will be a continuation of the Annual Meeting, using the same access link. An email with the sign-in link will also be sent about a week prior to the meeting.
The following information has been provided by the candidates for Officer and Director of Mass Bay RRE. Please mark your selections on the Proxy Ballot. To vote for the entire slate of candidates, check the box at the top of each section.
CANDIDATES FOR OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS OF MASS BAY RRE
(Terms ending 11/30/2025)
Name: Alan MacMillan, Jr.
Home: Rockport, MA
RRE offices Held: Director (2021-), Mass Bay RRE Award Committee (2018-)
Age: 77
Mass Bay RRE member since: 2014
A career railroader, Alan retired after over 44 years of service, mostly as a locomotive engineer for 6 different railroads, including the B&M, Amtrak, and MBCR. He's also a 34-year member of the Rockport Conservation Commission (12 years as chair), a singer in the Cape Ann Symphony Chorus; and a private pilot with both single engine land & sea ratings. He's ridden trains in 8 countries on 3 different continents. Alan enjoys hiking, is an avid photographer, and is also a frequent contributor to Callboy. As a lifelong railroad enthusiast, he wants to help the organization survive. His particular interests include excursions, events, and railroad preservation.
Name: Bob Popovac
Home: Walpole, NH
RRE offices Held: Director (1978-)
Age: 65
Mass Bay RRE member since: 1978
Bob is a professional railroader on the Vermont Rail System, with significant responsibilities for the operation and maintenance of VRS's passenger train program. He has taken a lead role in the operation of Mass Bay's train excursions as Trip Director. When not on the rails, Bob is an avid skier.
Name: John Sacerdote
Home: Bloomfield, CT
RRE offices Held: (none)
Age: 73
Mass Bay RRE member since: 2022
John is the owner of Placement Technology, a hardware/software company for employment agencies. He is CIO of a publicly-traded search firm headquarterd in Dallas, TX. He is currently President of the Amherst Railway Society and for 20 years has been the Show Director of the ARS Railroad Hobby Show, the largest train show in the east, responsible for all aspects of the show's planning and operation.
CANDIDATE FOR ALTERNATE MASS BAY RRE DIRECTOR
(2-year term ending 11/30/2025)
Name: Sue Sample
Home: Plantsville, CT
RRE offices Held: Director (~2003)
Age: 68
Mass Bay RRE member since: 1991
Sue Sample has had many occupations, including tourist railroad engineer, conductor & volunteer. Her hands-on railroad experience adds to insight; she also has interest in the historical aspects of railroading. She is a frequent car host on RRE excursions, and wants to encourage new members of all ages.
CANDIDATE FOR National Vice-President of The Railroad Enthusiasts, Inc.
(the "National RRE") (1-year term ending 11/30/2024)
Name: David Brown
Home: Andover, MA
RRE offices held: National Vice-President, Acting Treasurer
Age: 76
Mass Bay RRE member since: 1981
Dave is Mass Bay's current RRE National Vice-President of The Railroad Enthusiasts, Inc., and is the RRE's Acting Treasurer. In that role he has kept the National RRE alive and protected its assets, although the organization has been moribund for years. The future of the organization and its assets must be resolved eventually. Dave is currently President of Mass Bay RRE and edtor of the Callboy, among other things.
We encourage all members to cast their Proxy Ballot on line instead of mailing the proxy ballot to us. Voting on line will greatly simplify the ballot tabulation process by reducing the number of paper proxies that must be hand-counted.
Proxy Voting Instructions
Whether voting on line or by mail, you will need to include your member number to have your vote counted; it’s on the mailing label of your most recent Callboy or included in the body of the emailed Notice of Annual Meeting. If your membership also includes an Additional Family Member, that person can also submit a proxy by adding the letter "F" after the member number (example: if your member number is 9876, the Family Member would enter 9876F as the member number). Each member may cast only one proxy ballot, as determined by the Member Number.
Note: We suggest that you open the proxy form in a new browser window.
