Michigan LEGO® Users Group

Slide show by Tom Morse.

Meeting of the Michigan LUG was called to order at 12:08 p.m., Saturday March 12, 2011

Held at the Izakaya Sanpei Japanese Restaurant in Canton, MI.

In Attendance:

OLD BUSINESS:

— Review of Shows

• 45^th Ole Toys and Train Show, Jan 30, Redford. 10 members present!
• Art Center of Battle Creek, the month February. We received a thank you letter from the Art Center and they stated that they had 3x’s their previous attendance. 8’ x 30’ display.
• 41^st Annual Saline Train Show & Sale, February 20. Nerve racking drive home for everyone with the snow storm!

— Scot presented blank copies of the Mileage Reimbursement Form. An on-line version is also available on our MichLUG website under Club Documents.

— Jason has been re-working our website. He converted it to use WordPress which will make future changes to the site much easier. The Club appreciates all his time and effort.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

• Toledo Show tomorrow. Four members are participating. They provide tables.
• Brick Bash, Mar 19. Chris will pick up more chain and bring extra stanchions.
• EGGS’strvaganza, Southfield, March / April ? Chris will follow up. It is not restricted to a train layout. Chris is going to gauge interest in a medieval layout.
• Farmington Community Arts Festival, April ? Michele will follow up.
• St.Aidan Parish, Livonia, May ? Need update from Peter.
• Firelands toy/train show – Sandusky, OH, May 1^st. Not offering any reimbursement. Scot will follow up.
• Potter Zoo, Lansing, June 18^th- this is during Brick World. Non profit so no reimbursement. The contact at the zoo will come back with other dates and determine whether or not there is any money in the budget for expenses.
• Curious Kids Museum – St Joseph, weekend end of April/ beginning May. Jason sent out an email to gauge interest. Please respond if you want to participate.
• Roar on the River, Linden (around Flint) July 22-24, City festival. Would like a display with a river through it. Lot of interest. No new info until Monday or later.
• Livonia Library, end of July – We might not do it because they did not get the funding. Tom will follow up.

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NEW BUSINESS:

• Flikr membership

Jason has created a group in Flickr named ‘MichLUG’. It’s recommended that everyone attach their LEGO photos, allowing it to be a ‘one stop’ for our club pics.

The possibility of creating a club account for $25 annual fee for unlimited space (PRO) was discussed. Scot will follow up on reviewing ‘terms of use’ and the ability to have multiple login locations for one account.

• Raffle Items

Once we use up the last of the items from Peter (it is unclear at this point what is left), the option for a self funded raffle was discussed. A suggestion was made for charging $1 per ticket which then in turn would go to the next purchase. Michele will post a poll.

• Future Club Expenditures
  1. Train motors; Chris working out shipping costs with the seller
  2. Chain; Chris will purchase additional chain to accommodate multiple layouts and doubling the chain (see item below).
  3. New Cement buckets are required; Cement, polls, and T’s will be purchased. Several members have buckets to donate.
  4. Double chains (two heights); the club used to do it but one chain disappeared so it was discontinued. There was a club consensus to go back to double chain at heights 1’ and 2’.
  5. Trailer Maintenance; In the recent past, Tom has repaired electrical and Steve R did wheel bearings etc. Chris will check when this was last done and determine if the trailer is due for any maintenance.
  6. Table repair and replacements: The club currently owns 10 plastic tables (5’ x 2’ x 29” ht). Scot suggested using a plastic table for a 1”-2” drop section.
  7. Multiple Shows: Need to update our website with an accurate count of roads, ballasted track, trees, train motors, skirting, wood tables, and legs. Chris will inventory and update web site.
  8. Club Shirts: Club cost subsidized based on show attendance. It was agreed that for doing five shows the club would purchase a free shirt with logo ($15 maximum). Show participation will be counted starting Jan 1, 2011. It has been difficult in the past to agree on one color or style; therefore, any color, style, stitching or silk screening is acceptable.

• Future Meeting Locations:

Sharon’s step dad, who owns the Restaurant, has had his cancer return, so future meetings may be in jeopardy. Our July meeting will tentatively be scheduled for the restaurant with Chris’ house being the emergency back-up location.

• BRICK WORLD:

Need to register immediately!!! People are looking to share accommodations.

The next Meeting will be held at the LEGO Store in the Somerset Collection in Troy, MI, Sunday, May 15 at 6:00 p.m. The store and mall close at 6 on Sunday; members are welcome to come early and shop! Pizza will be provided by the store.

The meeting was adjourned at 2:00 p.m.

Other Misc:

• Jim Ulrich is still selling off a lot of his LEGO collection and brought boxes of sets and bags to the meeting. He will be bringing more to the next meeting. You can contact Jim through Sharon, if you want more information.