The writing of this article brings me great sadness as the news of the passing of one of our old friends and longtime Chapter member Ron Stubblefield came to me. Ron passed away late on Sunday afternoon, August 8th after suffering through several illnesses for the last couple of years. He will be missed by all of us for his great wit and humor, knowledge, kindness, and real humanity. Ron was 66 years old. Our condolences go out to his family and friends and his wonderful wife, Kay.

At the last meeting we discussed and voted on an issue that will change some things that we have done for awhile. The January, 2011 issue of the PennyRail will be published primarily in an email version in an attempt to rein in some of our ongoing costs. For any member that does not have access to a computer we will still publish a printed copy and make it available to them. There is no problem for us doing this and we don’t want to make a burden for any member. All we ask is that you contact Bill Thomas and request a printed copy. For those of you that have a computer or can see the PennyRail on one at home, library, or through a friend or relative, you will be amazed at how different the publication looks when it is in full color and at a higher quality. It can be easily stored or printed out, also.  For those of you who would like this service please provide Bill with your current email address so that he can update your file. Again, we wish to make everyone satisfied so please let us know how you like this idea.

Along with this change, I have asked Wally Watts and Bill Thomas to develop some idea of our annual costs so that we may be able to reduce our Chapter dues with the coming new year. We will discuss their ideas at the nest meeting. Also, as the Chapter decided, please keep in mind that we have changed the date of the fall Crofton Picnic to Saturday, Sept. 25 to coincide with the 25th Anniversary Celebration of the Chapter to be held on Monday, Sept. 27th.   Dr. Ross will be attending this meeting which should be a fun time and there will be a meal provided for us that night.  So, I will be anxiously looking forward to seeing all of your smiling faces at our next meeting on Monday, August 23 at the Center in beautiful downtown Madisonville, Ky at 7pm.