If you want to have your convention shirt to wear at the convention you need to place your order by Thursday, August 13th. That is the last date that shirts can be ordered and picked up at the convention.
We will take orders during the convention but their cost will include shipping cost and will be delivered after the convention.
There will be a Silent Auction at the convention again this year where you can sell your old treasures and buy that special something that you have been searching for for years.
All of the details are available on the Auction Page and will be printed in the Timetable. The process is pretty much the same as always, but with one major exception.
Due to specific process at the NMRA Headquarters and their need to get ready for the convention itself, the NMRA has announced that effective immediately, all Convention Merchandise will no longer be available through the NMRA Company Store web site. We have implemented a Temporary Company Store Page on the PDX web site to continue selling items such as shirts, pins, patches, books and of course the convention cars.
Please note that sales of Tours and all Meal Functions will also cease on July 24th on the NMRA Company Store site, followed by all registrations on July 30th. We will not be able to continue to sell registrations, tours, or meals after those dates. All of these will be available at the convention itself, once it starts, but if at all possible, please purchase all of your registrations, tours, and meals before the cut-off dates. We will send out another reminder before each cut-off date.
In addition to this main web site, there is now a second "mobile friendly" site that will display well on small screens such as smartphones and tablets.
It is not a local app that is installed to your device, so it does require a network connection to the web site. This should not be too big of a problem for most people, as there will be free WiFi throughout the hotel, and many people already have a data plan for their phones.
Join us for an informal get together in a nice little park across the street from the DoubleTree convention hotel. We’ve rented the park for a couple hours and will provide Haagen-Dazs ice cream for you to enjoy while you catch up with old friends and meet new friends. The Host Committee hopes you will join us for this fun event and kick off to our convention.
Just a reminder to all that the final early registration period with reduced fares ends June 30th. The rates will go up to their full fares as of July 1. Primary Registration will be $159.00, and Companion and Family Registration each will be $80.00.
There is still time to get in at the reduced rates using the online registration process on the NMRA web site:
Convention Updates are sent out to everyone that has registered for the convention and supplied a valid email address, plus those that have signed up from the web site. Past Updates are available on the "Updates" page.
With each mailing, I get a number of delivery failures due to bad email addresses. I have been able to resolve a few, but many remain unresolved, which means that those people are not receiving these Updates.
In addition to the regular activities of the National Convention, the convention also provides an opportunity to further involve yourself in the activities of the NMRA and the running of the convention. Because the convention is operated completely on the work of volunteers, a significant number of individuals stepping forward to assist will make the convention more enjoyable and beneficial to all attendees. Most of the volunteer jobs are administrative in nature and require as few as two hours of dedicated effort. Many regular attendees volunteer year after year because they get a great kick out of helping make the convention a success.
Please consider giving some of your time during the convention to help out. Details of what Jobs are available, and how to go about offering your time are available on the Volunteers page.
