Announcements, Meetings

MARK YOUR CALENDAR – MARP’s 40th Annual Meeting is Sept. 14, 2013

It’s Our Birthday!

imagesCA6TE8WKThis fall the Michigan Association of Railroad Passengers is celebrating 40 years of providing assistance to passengers, advocating for expanded and improved passenger train services in Michigan, and supporting preservation of historic railroad stations.

To mark this milestone, a number of special presentations are scheduled for our 40th Annual Meeting on Saturday, September 14, 2013, at Durand Union Station, 10:30am – 2:30 pm.

A postcard announcement of the meeting will arrive in your postal mailbox in a few days. Prompt return of the postcard, enclosed in an envelope along with your check, will be greatly appreciated. This will assure that a lunch is ordered for you and for any guests you plan to bring with you.

All who have enjoyed TRAINS Magazine over the years will be enlightened and entertained by our keynote speaker, Kevin P. Keefe. Mr. Keefe has his roots in Michigan and has played a key role in the success of Kalmbach Publishing’s TRAINS Magazine, where he serves as Vice President-Editorial.

John DeLora, who assembled a group of like-minded individuals back in 1973 to found The Michigan Association of Railroad Passengers, is rifling through his slides and papers to give us a look back at the challenges and successes of these four decades of MARP and passenger trains in Michigan.

Tim Hoeffner, head of Michigan’s Office of Rail, has been invited to update us on the exciting projects that are moving us forward into the next four decades.

Thinking big, we have also invited Joseph C. Szabo who heads the Federal Railroad Administration. We’ve been told, he looks forward to opportunities to meet with folks near his Midwest home.

Remember, too, that we are collecting your stories and any artifacts, memorabilia, or photographs that document MARP’s activities over the years. Let us know what you have and we’ll figure out a way to display and share it at the meeting. Reply to marprail@yahoo.com if you have something to share.

Wishing Us All A Happy Birthday!

Michigan Association of Railroad Passengers