June 2015 President’s Report

“Nice job”, “great work”, “you look terrific” and “thank you” are phrases that indicate appreciation, complement, or verbal award. Human nature seems to say we all appreciate some form of award. Recognition or certificates presented for school graduation, achievement in sports, proficiency in music and success in business, and we get a warm fuzzy feeling and a sense of accomplishment. When Bill Britt and Art Slothower completed restoration work on the Pennsylvania Railway Post Office Car, the Danbury Railway Museum was the recipient of an award of merit presented by The Connecticut League of History Organizations. We proudly and prominently display this recognition within that railcar.

Sometimes we as individuals, or as an organization, receive awards without even being aware we are candidates. Early this May the Danbury Railway Museum received notification that we were a winning recipient of the Certificate of Excellence for the year 2015 presented by TripAdvisor. TripAdvisor is a nationally recognized and independent travel site which offers over 225 million travel reviews and has over 340 million monthly visitors. Many of the visitors to restaurants, hotels, resorts and places of interest submit their personal impression, rating and experience. As of this date, the Danbury Railway Museum has received approximately 68 reviews. Last month we commented about how we did with regard to the StEPs program. So…how did we do with the TripAdvisor reviews since they started in 2008?

Excellent: 29

Very Good: 21

Average: 16

Poor: 2

Terrible: 0

Oh! Did I mention we also received the Certificate of Excellence from TripAdvisor in 2014? We did! How did we do it? It starts when our guests walk through the front door. A warm welcome and friendly greeting make a great first impression! A short list of the facilities and services the Museum has to offer are provided to our guests: Displays and exhibits inside and outside the Station, interesting and unusual equipment in the yard, train rides, guided tours and a fully-stocked gift shop. However, it comes down to our all-volunteer staff. Friendly and personable front desk people, helpful and knowledgeable docents and a dedicated and professional train crew all contribute to a Disney-like, organized visitor experience. Our volunteer staff, directors and officers continuously strive to enhance, improve and stimulate our guest relations.

Thank you to all the guests who visited and gave us favorable reviews! Join us and hop aboard, it’s a fun ride!

On behalf of the DRM, Wade W. Roese