Mini Newsletter Number 36.2 March 8th, 1990
THE CANADIAN MUSEUM OF FLIGHT AND TRANSPORTATION 13527 Crescent Road, Surrey, B.C. V4A 2W1 Phone # 531-3744 (After May 1st: 535-1115) Fax: 531-4293
STATUS OF QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER #37
The Spring, 1990 issue (#37) Is scheduled to be mailed about April 15th.
Thanks to those of you who have sent in articles, letters to the editor, and interesting “filler” items gleaned from just about anywhere, but we need more. Please keep them coming.
#37 will have lots of photos, both historic and current. The problems encountered with the screening process used for Newsletter 36 should be cured, and photos will again be crisp and clear.
We are still looking for someone to help produce the newsletter. It is a great deal of work, which at present must somehow be squeezed In amongst a lot of other, urgent work.
In the meantime, check over this “Mini” for current news and announcements of meetings and events to come.
MEETING/EVENTS SCHEDULE FOR 1990
Keep the following schedule handy as a reference to Museum happenings over the next few months:
- March 08 MUSEUM PLANNING COMMITTEE MEETING, ELGIN CENTRE
- March 22 WINGS & WHEELS MEETING (7:30 at the Museum)
- April 19-ANNUAL SPRING DINNER, ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING AT KEMPINSKY’S .
- May 06 SPRING YARD SALE AT THE MUSEUM
- July 14-15 “WINGS & WHEELS” .
- July 19-ANNUAL SUMMER BARBEQUE, GENERAL MEETING, AT THE MUSEUM
- July 29 THUNDERBIRD CAR MEET AT THE MUSEUM
- Sept 09 BRITISH & EUROPEAN CAR MEET AT THE MUSEUM
- Oct 18 ANNUAL FALL DINNER, GENERAL MEETING, LOCATION NOT YET DETERMINED.
Other events and any changes to the above schedule will be announced in the newsletter.
SPRING DINNER/ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
April 19
Kempinsky’s Bistro 1959 152nd Street, Surrey (in the Windsor Square Shopping Centre- the one with the clock.)
Bar opens at 6:00
Dinner at 7:00 (roast beef with all the trimmings)
AGM at 8:00
COST $12.00 PER PERSON
MAKE YOUR RESERVATIONS NOW!
Myra Danyluk will be phoning members, but there a few errors have sneaked into our computer, resulting In some lost phone numbers, so if you don’t hear from her by March 30, please phone 531-3744 for reservations as tickets are limited to 120.
The membership voted to hold only four meetings annually, in January, April (AGM), July and October. The April Annual General Meeting will be a dinner meeting, but business will be kept to a minimum so that members can enjoy a social evening Top item on the agenda is the election of a new Board of Directors. Refer to the section titled “WE NEED YOUR VOTE”.
WE NEED YOUR VOTE
The January 1990 “Mini” included a stuffer which asked for your assistance in correcting our mailing list, listed your membership expiry date, and included a Proxy so that you could vote at the Annual General Meeting if you cannot attend. The stuffer worked great and will be a feature of all future newsletters. If you won’t be able to attend in person, and you haven’t already sent in your Proxy, please do so now.
SPRING YARD SALE / BOOK SALE
This bright idea was dreamed up as a way to earn some extra money for the Museum, while at the same time give you a chance to clear out some of the stuff that you haven’t used or looked at for years, is taking up space in paid storage areas, or is just in your way. Those of you who are moving out of houses into smaller apartments might consider bringing superfluous items to the Museum to be offered for sale. The suggestion was that we provide the tables and the advertising, and you bring out your items, price them, and sell them, then donate the proceeds to the CMFT and receive a Tax Deductible Receipt for the amount the goods sold for.
It is also an excellent opportunity for the Museum to check out items brought in for possible value. to our permanent collection, or which may be of use in the operation of the Museum. Items removed from sale will be evaluated and are eligible for a Tax Deductible Receipt. Those items that have no value to the Museum will be sold, and the donor will receive a Tax Deductible Receipt for the amount items sold.
Handley Page Hampden centre section is now done, and work has started on the tail boom. Easy work, so offer your help.
Larry, of J & M Fiberglass.
Sounds like a great idea where everyone wins, doesn’t it? But only two or three people have responded. Perhaps the reason is that the prospect of lugging the stuff out, and then having to sell it as well, is not everyone’s idea of a fun way to spend the day.
If that indeed is the problem, simply bring in your sale items and we will do all the work, but it will be impractical to give you a tax deductible receipt except in the case of items of high value.
Who has an unused garage or shop that could be used to store the material as it comes in until the day before the sale? Please phone if you have some space – preferably in the White Rock or Crescent Beach area.
We need lots more books if it is to be a success. Books can be on any subject, hard cover or soft cover, new or old. Please bring them in any time. While the sale was originally slated to be a separate event, it is logical to hold it at the same time as the YARD SALE.
We will need help to price and to sell the items. Please phone in your offer. It can be a lot of fun, and a sale such as this can be the source of much needed revenue for the museum.
Some of the Museum’s duplicate library books (aviation theme only) will also be included in the sale.
Phone Jane Robinson 536-3287 evenings, or Rose Zalesky at 531-3744 days.
USED MAGAZINE SALE FEB. 17
In spite of terrible weather, the sale went ahead as scheduled, and a few dollars were earned for the Museum. Special thanks to Susan Rowntree and Myra Danyluk who ran the event.
HANDLEY PAGE HAMPDEN
The centre section is now complete, and work is now in full swing on the tail boom. The project is still in Jerry Olsen’s shop in downtown Vancouver and he and Fred Garcham are the mainstay of the operation. Ray Brown, Bert Prothero, John Gilmore and Varis Smiltnieks pitch in when they can.
More help is needed. It isn’t hard work, and nobody is easier to work with than Fred. We get offers to help restore alrplanes, but when we suggest that they work on the Hampden, nothing happens, except that a few people do go down to chat with Fred. If you’ve made an offer to work on airplanes In the past, and have been told there isn’t anything doing at the present time, it isn’t so any more. The Hampden project is very much alive, and needs your help. Phone Fred Gardham at 681-6886 evenings, or Fred or Jerry at 687-6805 days.
FREE MEMBERSHIP EXTENSION OFFER
The membership recruitment offer stands until April 19, and is an easy way to extend your membership at no cost. Recruit a Friend ($10) and get 3 months added to your membership, get 6 months by recruiting a General membership ($20), or get 6 months for a Family ($30), or a whole year for a Lifetime ($300).
MEMBERSHIP RENEWALS ROLLING IN
The great majority of members renew annually. with some now in their 13th year. Thanks to all of you. Your membership helps make your Museum strong and increases the chances of obtaining funding for the coming move to the new location.
NEW HOMESITE AT CLOVERDALE
Thanks to the many people who have worked so hard to prepare reports and other documents which we find are needed in the long process towards applying for available grants to help build the new facility.
FIRST STEPS TAKEN IN HOMESITE FUNDING
While we have been able to identify one or two Federal government programs that might be a source of funds to assist the Museum in building the new facility, qualifying for funding under the program is a long and arduous procedure.
The first step, writing up terms of reference for a needed study, has been taken, with the document delivered to the appropriate department on March 1. Many thanks to Robert Ballantyne who not only unravelled the mystery of just what was expected of us, but shepherded the Board and the rest of us through the process.
The 1989 Wings & Wheels wrap up dinner meeting last fall. Planning for the following year’s event starts here.
WINGS & WHEELS MEETING MARCH 22
The planning and preliminary work for Wings & Wheels begins in September, and gradually increases as the date approaches. The event gets bigger and better year by year, but requires ever more work. This year an added feature will be the Surrey Chamber of Commerce “Up, Up, and Away” balloon event which will feature releasing of helium filled balloons, and weather permitting. hot air balloons will be on site.
While up to 200 volunteers turn out to help out on the two days of the event itself, people are needed to help work with exhibitors, arrange for services, events, door prizes, promotion, yard cleanup and equipment repair and servicing, organizing the food service and organizing volunteer shifts and food, and much more.
If you’d like to help out, please attend the meeting. Bring your ideas and be prepared to take some responsibility in organizing the event. Meeting will start at 7:00, at the Museum.
Mark the date on your calendar. March 22,
JOB OPPORTUNITY
Permanent full or part time restorer needed. Must be mechanically inclined, capable and adaptable, and willing to learn. Previous aircraft experience helpful but not mandatory. Salary negotiable.
NOMINATING COMMITTEE
Someone is needed to recruit people for a new Board, and present a recommended slate of nominations to be voted on at the AGM on April 18. A retired (or retiring) Board member, who is familiar with the workings of the Museum and its plans for the future is best, but anyone with a will to seek out and recommend the best people for the job can serve on the committee. Ideally, two or three people should make up the Committee.
There are 15 positions to be filled. While most of the current Directors who are eligible to run for another term can be expected to allow their name to stand, others have served their three year allowable term and must step down for at least a year, which means that several new Directors must be recruited.
Phone Rose at 531-3744 if you are willing to head up or serve on this committee.
CHECK YOUR MEMBERSHIP EXPIRY DATE
Check your address label (its on the stuffer), and send along your dues if it has expired or is about to. Make any corrections to your name and/or address, as well.
Your membership carries a number of benefits, including a 10% discount on most items in the gift shop, free admission to the Museum during open season, and to special events, and of course, you receive the newsletter and other mailings.
We’re always looking for ways to improve the services and benefits included in your membership, and your ideas on all the workings of the Museum are sought and welcomed.
The Museum is on the threshold of great change. It will become a major attraction that will draw visitors from all over the world, and will inevitably be different in some ways, yet the hope is that we can still retain the present friendly and dynamic atmosphere. Volunteers have always been and will continue to be the backbone of the Museum, but paid professional staff will be required as well.
The Lansdowne Mall display Feb. 7-10 featured Archie Fraser’s SE5a model, Maxse Tayler’s Stinson SR5 model, the “Women in Aviation” exhibit, and site plans for the new facility at Cloverdale.
Yes, we do need a new home, so that airplanes like the Tiger Moth can be sheltered from the weather
Long time, valued members have helped to make the Museum the success that it is today, while new members bring fresh ideas and new contacts. All of us, working together, can make the Canadian Museum of Flight and Transportation all that we ever dreamed it could be..
NEW SENIOR’S BOOK PROJECT
Arnold Feast needs two more members to complete the required Board of 10 seniors to operate a New Horizons project to complete and publish a book based on the interviews carried out in 1985 under the Pioneer Profiles project. If you’d like to work on the project, or to sit on the Board, call Arnold at 946-5062 or Rose at 531-3744.
NO MORE JOB CREATION PROJECTS!
We’ve been advised that Rose Is too tough on trainees, and no more funding will be recommended by the Development Officers. The summer youth employment “Challenge” program will likely also be included, and this will really hurt, as we, like many tourist-oriented facilities, rely heavily on students to handle the influx of visitors over the summer months.
While the object of the Canadian Job Strategy is to improve skill levels of participants, sponsors are not to become dependant on the projects for survival. There is no doubt that the help provided by participants under the scheme is very welcome, as it is to other Non Profit organizations, many of whom could not survive without it.
Many participants have been hired over the years when projects ended (usually by the Zalesky family on behalf of the Museum), but have eventually left for higher paying jobs elsewhere. The financial drain in the face of minimum self- generated income precludes hiring full time people at this time.
What it means is that we will be calling on members, more than in the past, to provide volunteer services. Falling a greater response, we will have to cut back virtually all of the “Museum” functions and services, and concentrate on the revenue producing facets.
NEWSLETTER EDITOR WANTED
We still need someone to take over all or part of the production of the newsletter. A knowledge of “Ventura” desktop publishing would be a real asset. Call Rose at 531-3744.
FUNDRAISER STILL WANTED
Salary is good for the right person with a proven track record. Serious enquiries only to Rose Zalesky at 531-3744 or mail or FAX your CV to 531-4293.
NOTICE TO OWNERS OF HAULING VEHICLES
We are in great need of some large vehicles (vans, trucks, trailers) that we can borrow for such times as we need to move mall displays, pick up donated artifacts, etc. We would like to hear from any of you who would be willing to place your name and vehicle on a “Loan some Wheels” list. We would be grateful for the loan of the vehicle with or without driver, and there would be no obligation to help with the loading. Please contact: Rose Zalesky (531-3744, days) or Mike Gatey (538-0694, eves.)