I am writing this letter to bring you up to date on a situation that effects some of you directly, and the Society as a whole. As you may know, the Ontario & Western Railway Historical Society Inc. has had quite an evolution since its inception in 1963. Originally being formed as the Ontario & Western Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society, it later merged with the Ontario & Western Technical Historical Society in order to consolidate the interest both groups had in the NYO&W Ry. This group continued on as a chapter of the NRHS until 1978 when it changed its corporate name to the present name as listed above, and identified itself as an "affiliated chapter" of the NRHS. We do not know the reason for this change.
 
    As a separate and stand alone organization, the O&W R.H.S. continued for thirty years to offer membership in the NRHS, and to collect and process dues on their behalf right up until present day. This, we have done for no gratuity or benefit, and have willingly and graciously done for the sake of railroad history preservation. After all, isn't that what we are all about?
 
    As you may, or may not know, the O&W R.H.S. has been, and is a group run entirely by volunteers. These passionate and enthusiastic members volunteer their time and talents to attain Society goals. We have all come to enjoy the publications, web site and yearly events that membership affords at such a reasonable cost. This can only be achieved by those members mentioned above. For this, I am truly grateful.
 
    The O&W R.H.S. has accomplished many things in its life, and has grown by leaps and bounds. The quality of our products speak for themselves, and many core and active members have experienced a level of fraternity, if you will, among its members. Unlike the O&W R.H.S., the NRHS has not had the good fortune of willing volunteers to work in the various fields of its operations. This is a sad occurrence, one that has forced the NRHS to outsource some of its services. Most recently, as early as the Fall of 2007, the NRHS contracted out its membership services to a firm known as Fernley & Fernley, located in Philadelphia, PA. This firm is now paid by the NRHS to process its dues.
 
    For the past twelve months, the O&W R.H.S. and the NRHS entered into a transition period, which was agreed upon by both parties. From our standpoint, the transition period was rough, to say the least, with many problems and difficulties experienced by our Membership Chairman, Ray Pinglora. Ray has served in this capacity for many years, and has stepped up in many areas to take care of our Society’s needs. Ray was good enough to give this some time to work itself out. However, with Fernley & Fernley in control of NRHS membership; stipulations, deadlines, duplicate and triplicate work, and computer software were unfairly demanded of Ray. Ray finally reached a point where he could no longer continue a working relationship with Fernley & Fernley, and asked to be replaced. Unable to replace him, I, as President, could not allow an outside Society to influence the operations of the O&W R.H.S., nor could I stand idly by while a valued volunteer such as Ray became increasingly upset and frustrated with
the work he so graciously volunteered to do. By the way, Ray is the recipient of the 2006 John Hobbs Chryn award , which is given to the  Member of the Year.
 
    In the Spring of this year, I reached out to the senior officers of the NRHS, in hopes of rectifying this situation, and to work out an agreement between the two Societies by which we could continue to collect membership dues on behalf of the NRHS. Ray and myself put forth a proposal, or compromise, that would work for both groups, thus allowing the O&W R.H.S. to continue to offer its members the opportunity to join the NRHS. After many weeks of consideration, the NRHS, and Fernley & Fernley refused to make any concession. Therefore, a decision was reached by the O&W R.H.S. Board of Trustees to discontinue accepting memberships for the NRHS.
 
    What does this mean to you? Well, if you are not a member of the NRHS, nothing will change. If you are a member of both the O&W R.H.S. and the NRHS, very little will change. The option to join the NRHS through the O&W R.H.S. will no longer be available. The membership dues we process will be for O&W R.H.S. membership only. The NRHS will now bill you directly. By now, you should have received a letter from them, notifying you that your NRHS membership status will change to "At Large". There will be no change in the dues structure, as there was no discount for maintaining dual membership. Your dues to the NRHS will simply be sent to them directly.
 
    The Ontario & Western Railway Historical Society is disappointed in the rigid approach of the NRHS, and deeply regrets that a working relationship could not be achieved. We have, and will continue to support the preservation of railroad history, and promote railroad travel. If you have enjoyed your membership in the NRHS, then I encourage our dual members to maintain that membership.
 
    To all of my fellow O&W R.H.S. members, I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. I hope you can appreciate the efforts that were made by our Officers and Trustees in avoiding this outcome, but I trust this change will not effect your desire to maintain your membership in the Ontario & Western Railway Historical Society. We are nearly 700 strong, and we will continue our dedicated commitment to provide to you the quality membership experience you have
come to know.
 
Sincerely,
George S. Shammas
President, O&W R.H.S.

George's dream came true when he met the Godfathers of Heavy Metal, Judas Priest at the PNC Bank Arts Center on 8/9/08.