Hard to believe, but it’s time again for us to start work on
the 2001 Steam and Gas Engine Show Directory. By the time
you are reading this letter, all of our ‘packages’ will be
in the mail, asking our contacts for the vital statistics
(what’s, wheres and whens) for the next round of engine shows.
If you are a part of a group planning a new event that we don’t
know about, please contact our advertising department so you can
get into the directory-we want to list every engine event we can
find out about!
And while we’re on the subject of shows and our contacts, we
want to salute the many people whose names we see on the listing
forms year after year. We count on these reliable contacts to give
us our information, and we feel certain that they provide the same
dependability for other tasks that require their attention! No show
can have enough of these people, and each club must cultivate new
volunteers who will carry on. Remember that sometimes those areas
of engine collecting that you might personally disparage may
provide some of the volunteers you most need. Not everyone can
invest in a Rumely Oil Pull or an industrial-sized stationary
engine. Some of your dedicated future volunteers may emerge from
the lawn mower or garden tractor areas where young collectors can
still get a toehold.
Every year, more shows celebrate their 25th and even 50th
anniversaries. It’s the dedication of the volunteers that
enables these proud traditions to be maintained.
And since we’re just wrapping up the ‘season’ of
2000, we thought we’d say once again that if you have
complaints about a show or shows you’ve visited this year, try
to find a way to get your constructive criticism to the folks who
can do something about it, rather than disparaging the show to
everyone you see!
