Serendipitous Convention in Norfolk - This Week!
Sometimes, the best vacations are the ones that are planned at the last minute. The most spontaneous vacations can sometimes be the best ones. There is still time to sign up and attend our 42nd Annual convention at the Marriott Waterside Hotel in Norfolk VA, July 23-28. During convention week, we will be accepting membership applications and convention registrations at the LCCA registration desk located in the Marriott Waterside hotel. If you cannot attend for the entire week of our convention, make it a three day weekend get-away trip. There are plenty of fun and interesting activities planned for the latter half of our convention. Members will have an opportunity to see and hear Lionel make a number of presentations.
There is the fun and entertaining Get Acquainted Party Thursday evening, July 26. This is a very casual get-together with live entertainment intended for our members to meet each other and have some cut-loose fun. On Friday, July 27, Lionel will be conducting their annual two hour seminar about new Lionel products. Members will have an opportunity to see, hear and talk with representatives of Lionel. This year we are proud to be hosting an exclusive Q&A session with Lionel CEO Jerry Calabrese. Stay tuned to our website
www.lionelcollectors.org for more details.
Then on Saturday, July 28, there are all kinds of exciting and fun activities planned for the entire day. This will be a very busy and fun day. Over 200 boy and Girl Scouts will be on-site to earn their model railroading merit badge. OGR's own Ed Boyle is hosting a seminar pertaining to S-Gauge trains. There is a tour going out to Paul Sharp's facility where he has two impressive S-Gauge operating layouts, a massive collection of AC Gilbert and of Modern American Flyer trains and accessories. Paul has an extensive collection of automobiles, neon signs, arcade games, movie items and musical instruments.
At 9:00 AM on Saturday, we will be conducting two free clinics for convention members. Lionel's Mike Reagan will be conducting a demonstration on how to use the Lionel Command Control and Legacy products. Local member David Cohen (RM 30349) will be hosting an "Amusement Park Accessories from Milk Carton" how-to-build clinic. This clinic should be fun for members of all ages. Ed Brooks (RM 30866) will conduct a "Repair Hints for Postwar Lionel Locomotives, basics of Cleaning, Repairing, Restoring and Maintenance" clinic at 10:15 AM. This will be very worthwhile for our members who have an interest in the older post-war Lionel Trains.
OGR's Ed Boyle will be conducting an S-Gauge presentation at 10:15 AM. This will be a great opportunity for OGR forum members to get together and meet with each other face to face. This presentation will be recorded and portions may be re-broadcasted on our Website and OGR's forum.
Our train show is open Friday evening 6-9 PM (July 27) for our convention attending LCCA members. Then on Saturday morning 8-9 AM, the show will be open to LCCA members only. We then open our doors from 9:00 AM -3:00PM to the general public. The train show is free for all attendees, but we will be accepting donations at the door to benefit the local Ronald McDonald House Foundation. Your donations will be very much appreciated and will go toward a very worthwhile cause.
Every year we conclude our convention with our Saturday evening banquet. This is more of a semi-formal event with great food, silent auction and LCCA presentations. If you have never been to an LCCA banquet, then I suggest you try one. Every guest will walk away with Lionel Train product prize. One lucky winner at each table will win a rare, desirable, collectable LCCA convention banquet table prize.
So if you haven't made your plans to meet with fellow members in Norfolk, there is still time to do so. We welcome you and we know you will have a great fun time. We hope to see you in Norfolk.
Alphonse A. Kolis
Immediate Past President and Special Events Manager