Fw: World's Greatest Hobby club update

["Steve Wise" <swise@aoot.com>]

FYI:

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Club" <Club@maillist.kalmbachmail.com>
To: <ttat@aoot.com>
Sent: Saturday, December 08, 2001 10:34 AM
Subject: World's Greatest Hobby club update


> Hello,
> 
> I'm writing to bring your club up to date on the World's Greatest Hobby
> program. We appreciate your support as a group going workshops for new
> hobbyists, and we want to let you know what's being done to make use of
> and back up your participation. I'll be sending you these updates
> periodically, and I'll be your contact for questions and assistance. If
> for any reason your club ever has to leave the program, all you'll need
> to do is let me know by mail or e-mail.
> 
> So far we've been processing your applications and building a database
> to support the campaign's assistance directory. When this is online,
> prospective hobbyists will be able to visit the World's Greatest Hobby
> web site at greatesthobby.com and use the assistance directory to find a
> club where they live that offers help for beginners. We'll also use the
> assistance directory to answer requests for help received by mail or
> telephone. While we hope that you'll be able to offer workshops on a
> regular basis, we understand that your participation is voluntary and
> your schedule will be up to you. 
> 
> To support you in making these presentations we're preparing a club
> assistance kit that will include suggested outlines for your
> presentations, tips on public speaking and conducting workshops,
> background information on model railroading to help you answer
> questions, and ideas for local publicity.
> 
> The kit will also come with copies of the World's Greatest Hobby
> booklet, and you'll be able to request additional copies to distribute
> to your audiences from Kalmbach Publishing's Customer Sales and Service
> Department.  You can e-mail your requests to
> <mailto:customerservice@kalmbach.com>. Be sure to mention that you are a
> World's Greatest Hobby participating club and tell us how many copies
> you'll need.  Please plan ahead and allow at least two weeks for
> delivery.
> 
> The club assistance kit will include two videotapes. The first will be a
> 15-minute videotape introduction to the World's Greatest Hobby that you
> can use as a visual aid in your initial presentations. It will feature
> the campaign's celebrity spokesperson,actor Michael Gross, and give your
> audience a chance to see the color,action, and excitement of our hobby.
> 
> The second will be an hour-long tape showing how to build a basic
> 4x8-foot HO layout. You can present it as a complete program, but it
> will also be divided into segments that you can use in a series of
> workshops. Both tapes are scheduled to be
> completed by February, and we'll send out the kits with the videos at
> that time.
> 
> (Future projects include a slide show and a PowerPoint presentation that
> you'll be able to use instead of the introductory video in situations
> where they will
> be more appropriate.)
> 
> Completing the kit, you'll be receiving a supply of WGH logo stickers
> for the participants in your workshops. When we send the booklets we'll
> include copies of a feedback form for participants to return, to help us
> fine-tune the program and collect names for World's Greatest Hobby
> mailings. Everyone who returns the form will be entered in a monthly
> drawing to
> win a new train set.
> 
> In the meantime, we encourage you to use any opportunities you can find
> or make to help spread the word about the World's Greatest Hobby. You
> can request booklets at any time, so if you can set up your own
> workshops right now or do anything else to promote model railroading,
> please go ahead. We know that some of you have already gotten started on
> your own, and we think that's great.  And let us hear from you about
> what you're doing. We'll share success stories with the group and
> address any problems that arise.
> 
> We've found that many individuals in participating clubs have also
> volunteered as World's Greatest Hobby ambassadors, to present talks
> about our hobby and help spread the word at trains shows in their
> cities. Anyone one in your club who'd like to do this can go to the
> greatesthobby.com Web site and sign up online.
> 
> Finally, I'd like to leave you with some idea of the support the World's
> Greatest Hobby campaign has already gathered. The program has financial
> support from Atlas Model Railroad Co., Bachmann Industries, Digitrax
> Inc., Kalmbach Publishing Co., Kato USA, M?rklin Trains, Micro-Trains
> Inc., and William K. Walthers Inc.  The Model Railroad Industry
> Association is promoting the campaign to its member companies and
> managing the funds contributed by the financial sponsors. The money is
> being used to produce videos, booklets, the club assistance materials
> I've described, and other supporting materials for ambassadors and
> retailers. It's also paying for a public relations firm to do media
> promotions for the World's Greatest Hobby.
> 
> Other publishers are contributing by carrying World's Greatest Hobby
> advertising in their magazines, including Canadian Railway Modeller,
> Model Railroading, Model Railroad News, N Scale Railroading, Railroad
> Model Craftsman, and Ztrack. Greenberg Shows, the Great American Train
> Shows, and many individual shows such as the Amherst Model Railroad
> Society's Big Train Show in Springfield, Mass., will have World's
> Greatest Hobby booths and displays.  Nearly 200 hobby shops will also be
> presenting workshops for beginning model railroaders, and we have more
> than 500 ambassadors ready to talk to clubs and civic organizations.
> 
> And we have 300 participating model railroad clubs, with more
> applications coming in all the time. Model railroading has always
> enjoyed the benefit of great grassroots support from its hobbyists. This
> campaign will build on that support and help extend its reach. We're
> counting on groups like yours, and you have our deepest gratitude and
> respect.
> 
> Thank you very much,
> 
> Andy
> 
> Andy Sperandeo
> Executive Editor
> MODEL RAILROADER Magazine
> 262-796-8776, ext. 461
> Fax 262-796-1142
> <mailto:asperandeo@mrmag.com>
>