December 2005 President’s Report

By Ira Pollack

This month I’d like to wish you good health and best wishes. I’m also hoping your holiday season will be good with all of your wishes coming true.

I’d like to update you on a project that has taken a long time to happen; in fact, it has been a dream of mine which has come true. I’ve always felt very strongly about publicizing our Museum - letting the public know what we have to offer and especially where we are located. I had written and communicated some months ago with the Connecticut State Department of Transportation requesting signage on I-84 to indicate our Museum location and the proper exits to take to reach it. (Earlier in the year, the state had erected a small directional sign at the end of the exit ramps of Exit 5 and Exit 6 off I-84 which were a big help if visitors already knew about our Museum, and also which exit to take off of the highway.) To make a very long story short, the DOT has graciously placed two very large brown “Point of Interest” signs at exits 5 and 6 on the highway. This was a wonderful surprise because I had been led to believe that they could be a long time in coming. This is a great step for the Museum’s publicity. We have already seen some of the results during the few weeks since their installation. There are approximately 20,000 vehicles passing through Danbury on a daily basis. I am sure that this new signage will increase our attendance. Several guests have noted in our visitors log book that they found the Museum by chance, just by seeing these signs while passing through on the highway.

I’d like to extend my sincere thanks to John Carey and Joe Ouellette of the Connecticut Department of Transportation and the Mayor of Danbury, Mark Boughton, for their support and success in this long-awaited project.

The next time you visit the Museum, try looking at our guest book. There are people coming here from many states and all over the world. In 2005, through October, visitors writing in the log book had traveled from 38 states and 13 countries. In 2004, over 20,000 people visited our Museum. It was very important that we have directional signage. They have made many positive comments about what we have and do here at the Museum. These are the things that make the efforts of us volunteers worthwhile.

We have reached a time of the year when we reflect on the current year’s achievements and assess how close we came to reaching the goals that we set for the Museum at the year’s onset. We extend appreciation to our family and friends for the love, giving, sharing and friendship that they gave during the year. This has happened throughout the year at the Danbury Railway Museum. Although, as with any organization, there are times of disagreement and frustration that some goals take more time to reach than we want, I ask that members look at the positives of what we accomplished this year. Look at all of our new friends and the eager faces of our visitors. Look at yourselves and be proud of who you are and what you did to make us grow that much more this year. Thank you all once again for your support and your help. I look forward to working with you once again in the upcoming New Year 2006.