As of our 2009 General Convention Meeting on January 12, 2008, there were only 532 days (76 weeks) to go until we host the 55th TCA “Star Spangled” National Convention. This may seem like a long time, but we all know how quickly June 28, 2009, will arrive. Our current convention team has worked very hard to lay the foundation for a successful convention. This update will detail some of the highlights of their accomplishments. However, there is still much to do in 2008; some of these future activities will also be described for your information and hopefully to elicit your involvement.
The following are some of the major accomplishments of your convention team to date. These include:
• convention car offerings
• successful fundraising cars
• signed agreement with Open Road Tours
• initial contact with potential sponsors and displays
• initiation of general committee meetings

   Marty Wik, Convention Car Chair, has presented most of the convention car offerings at our Desert Division club meetings. Artwork for the two Lionel car offerings, the scale Grand Canyon Reefer and the S-gauge Hoover Dam transformer car, has been approved and the prototypes are being produced. The two MTH cars are the hot smoking salsa car and a Standard Gauge hopper with loads. Wait until you see the load names and Arizona theme colors selected for this special car. The artwork is being finalized and the prototypes will then be made. The Charles RO G gauge dynamite prototype car has arrived. Another one-of-a kind dynamite car will also be offered at the convention; many of our Tucson members should find this car very desirable. There is a K-Line by Lionel Kids Club offering. I will not spoil the surprise at this time, but don’t let it strike you…. A prototype is currently in the works.

   Peter Atonna, Fundraising Car Chair, spearheaded the design and successful sale of our Grand Canyon Railroad and Verde Canyon Railroad boxcar set. Pre-orders have closed for our second fundraising car, the Apache Beer reefer, and these cars are to be shipped in May of 2008. A 3rd fundraiser car will prove to be a special car with the theme aligned with our Convention. Lionel is currently doing the artwork and will then create a prototype.

    Our Convention Tour Chair, Gordon Wilson, has a number of spectacular tours to offer conventioneers. Arizona’s nickname, the Grand Canyon State, is derived from our #1 attraction. Convention attendees will be able to see this “Wonder of the World” by opting to take one of our offered tours, a round-trip excursion on the Grand Canyon Railroad, together with dinner at Max and Thelma’s restaurant at the depot in Williams. Just a bit south of the Grand Canyon, near Cottonwood, looms the spectacular Verde Canyon and the Verde Canyon Railroad, headed by two vintage F-7 diesels. Nearby, at Camp Verde, is the Out of Africa Wildlife Park, where visitors get to feed the giraffes and view the unique attraction, “Tiger Splash.”

   Also in northern Arizona, we have Sedona and Prescott. Sedona and the Red Rock Country are famous throughout the United States. We will be making available to our Convention guests a Jeep Tour of the area’s back country trails followed by lunch and shopping at Tlaquepaque. Prescott offers us the world-class Western Art Phippen Museum, coupled with visits to the collections and layouts of Ray Dextrase, Marlin Benson, and Peter Atonna. This excursion will include a catered “western cookout” lunch at the Atonna “Horse and Train Ranch” in nearby Paulden, AZ.

    To the south lies Tucson, Arizona’s second largest metropolis. A trip to the Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum, including lunch, will be followed by a photo stop at one of the most beautiful missions left over from Spanish days, Mission del Bac, Dove of the Desert. From there it is a short hop to the Toy Train Operating Museum, run by many of our members and colleagues in the Tucson area. This facility houses multiple layouts and operating displays.
Closer to our Convention Hotel, the J. W. Marriott at Desert Ridge, will be a Western Theme night at Pinnacle Peak Patio. Warning: This is an informal setting - wear a tie and suffer the consequences.

   On the railroad theme, we have garden railways, Maricopa Live Steamers, and layout tours. Many of the Arizona layouts have been featured in past issues of Classic Toy Trains magazine.
Throughout the Phoenix area are such facilities as the Heard Museum, a world-famous center for information about Native Americans; the Hall of Flame; Phoenix Science Museum; Chase Field, home of the Diamondbacks baseball team; University of Phoenix Stadium, home of the Arizona Cardinals; McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park; and over 200 golf courses in close proximity to our host hotel.

   Speaking of our host hotel, we have over 40,000 square feet of display space available for our Public Area. The rooms at the J. W. Marriott are synonymous with pure luxury. Aside from the plush bedding and over-sized rooms and bath areas, each room has a patio or balcony, a 27” flat screen television, and equipment for wireless Internet. Surrounding the 900-room facility are roughly 6 acres of water, ranging from slides to a Lazy River for tubing. Throughout the resort are nine restaurants, and less than a quarter of a mile away is the Desert Ridge Mall and its collection of stores and restaurants. Dannie Martin, our Hotel Liaison, has been working with the Marriott to ensure we have adequate facilities available to us. We expect Marriott to have identified a Hotel Coordinator very shortly so we can finalize menus and costs of our Welcome Party and Convention Banquet.

    Paul Wassermann, our Display Chair, has begun talks with key train manufacturers to entice them to display their products, provide some of their products for table prizes or auction items, participate in demonstrations/seminars/auctions, and make monetary donations to support the Convention. Paul has also spearheaded our E-bay activity, which has been a very successful means for raising funds for the convention. To date, the convention team has raised almost $7000, 40% of which has been via the E-bay auctions.

    We began our General Committee meetings in June 2007. The meetings are held at the Jaycees Hall, typically at 7:30AM prior to the club meeting. On days when the Desert Division BOD meets at the Jaycees Hall, the general meetings are held after the Division club meetings. All members are welcome to attend and participate in these meetings.

     I would like to welcome Brad and Diane Martin to our convention team as the co-chairs for the Convention Store. They will be busy this year acquiring items for us to sell at the Vermont Convention in June and York in October. I would also like to welcome Ed Georgevich, who has volunteered to chair the Trading Hall and Loading/Unloading activities. They complete the final recruitment of our convention chairs.
A round of appreciation is extended to your convention chairpersons:
• Convention Co-Chairs – Bill Mack and Ed Micale
• Treasurer – Chet Henry
• Events/Tours – Gordon Wilson
• Registration – Chris Allen
• Recording Secretary – Christie Wilson
• Convention Cars – Marty Wik
• Hotel Liaison – Dannie Martin
• Displays – Paul Wassermann
• Banquet – Angelo Lautazi
• Publicity – Gordon Wilson
• Fund Raising Cars – Peter Atonna
• Web Site – Angelo Lautazi
• Convention Store – Brad and Diane Martin
• Security – Art Triant
• Kids Club – Thomas Plies
• Auctions – Bob Johnston
• Trading Hall & Loading/Unloading – Ed Georgevich
• Photographer – Jonathan Peiffer

Each of your chairpersons welcomes your help and involvement in the Convention effort. Please don’t wait to be asked to step forward to offer assistance in an area of your interest and/or expertise. We will need the active participation of many if not all club members for a successful Convention.

The following is a brief list of the key activities that need to be completed in 2008:
• present the status of our convention planning activities at Vermont 6/08 and York 10/08
• manufacture convention prototype cars, present offerings, and initiate sales at Vermont 6/08, display prototypes at York 10/08
• initiate publicity and sell convention items at Vermont 6/08 and York 10/08 – we will have tables available to us at each venue
• finalize and sign all tour contracts - 3/08
• finalize JW Marriott convention needs including Banquet and Welcome Party menus/costs - 3/08
• sign security contract - 6/08
• develop web site and have available by 1/01/09
• develop registration package and convention program by 9/08, send to national guidelines chair by 11/01/08
• finalize convention displays and develop layout plan - 10/08
• finalize sponsors and donations - 10/08
• purchase convention store items to be sold in Vermont, York, and the Convention – throughout 2008
Hopefully these updates are providing you with an idea of the level of effort it takes to put together a successful Convention that will be an exciting and memorable experience for TCA members and their families. Join with us to create the memory.

Ed Micale
Co-Chair