The Future ?

Fri Oct 17 10:10:24 EDT 2014

Ed and all the others who have commented on the Vision Statement,

I and all of the other BoD members and officers appreciate the time that
members have taken to provide their thoughts on this issue. We also
appreciate the fact that you have provided suggestions and guidelines in
crafting a Vision Statement. At this point I would not venture a guess as to
what the BoD may decide is an appropriate Vision Statement.

Based on the various emails I have gone back to attempt to ascertain what
was the vision of the Clark's for a railroad when they purchased the AM&O
and Shenandoah Valley. My impression is we think of the N&W/Virginian as
railroads rather than as corporations that built railroads. I don't know to
what extent this affects a vision statement, but it does expand things to
consider.

A second consideration is at what point does "development" stop? How much
"regional development" did the N&W contribute to in the post-1964 period.
For that matter how much regional development did the N&W contribute to
after 1920? If we consider the entire span of the N&W up to 1982 should we
even consider the word "development." 

A third thought is did a region develop because the railroad was built or
did a developed region improve or increase industrialization because a
railroad was built through it. The Shenandoah Valley was well developed
before the Civil War, what effect did the building of the Shenandoah Valley
Line have on the increased industrialization of the Valley or was the
railroad intended to be a bridge line between the south and the north?
Perhaps the major effect was to bring Philadelphia and New York capital to
the Appalachian Region.   

A fourth thought is why did the N&W become a giant of steam?

And we haven't even discussed the Virginian. Perhaps corporations never even
considered development. What they considered was how to make money for their
investors.

Maybe the NWHS Vision should be something simple:

"NWHS will grow to be  the recognized, authoritative source for information
about the history of the Norfolk & Western and Virginian Railways and those
railroads contributions to global industrialization. 

Even simpler: "The vision of the NWHS is to be the recognized, authoritative
source for information about the history of the Norfolk & Western and
Virginian Railways and those railroads contributions to global
industrialization

Regardless of what is ultimately decided about a NWHS vision statement, the
fact that multiple members have participated in this email discussion is
what helps the NWHS grow. Members are encouraged to provide their opinions
on this issue. The BoD will meet on Oct 24 and the vision statement is one
of the 15 agenda items.

Alex Schust

From: NW-Mailing-List [mailto:nw-mailing-list-bounces at nwhs.org] On Behalf Of
NW Mailing List
Sent: Thursday, October 16, 2014 3:36 PM
To: NW Mailing List
Subject: Re: The Future ?

Alex,

Prior to retiring I had experience working on corporate committees
developing Vision and Mission Statements. Jimmy is dead on. Along with what
he provided by way of NS I looked up a couple of guidelines (on the net)
related to non-profit Vision and Mission statements that could add value to
the Society's process.  

http://nonprofit.about.com/od/nonprofitbasics/a/mission.htm

http://www.conscious-governance.com/Nonprofit-Executive-Articles/Steven-Bowm
an/creating-strategic-awareness-from-your-vision-statement.html

As for my 2 cents........as has been discussed the trackage of the original
N&W and Virginian certainly extended beyond the Central Appalachians but the
post-1964 N&W system stretched a significant magnitude beyond that.   While
being from SWVA I lived 8 years in Northeast Ohio due to AEP transferring my
father to Canton and from that experience I firmly believe there is
significant value for the Society to embrace, not ignore, the the history
and operations of Lake and Western Regions of the post 1964 N&W.  Jimmy's
revision -  in the development of the regions along their "Right of Way" -
would by default also include the post-1964 expansion of the N&W including
the trackage of the former NKP, WAB, P&WV, and ACY.  (I'm sure the Archives
have a lot of "stuff" relating to the expanded N&W too)  

There are many potential Society members that live in these areas that view
the N&W not as an Appalachian coal hauler but rather as a railroad that
served the agricultural and industrial mid-West hauling among other things
autos, auto parts, steel, manufactured goods, and grain.  We need to assure
we don't alienate them but rather reach out to them as a source of
stabilizing and even increasing the Society's membership. 

Ed Painter - Born in Bluefield from Narrows, VA and living in Dahlonega,GA 

On Oct 16, 2014, at 8:20 AM, NW Mailing List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>
wrote:

Jimmy,

A discussion of the vision statement has been placed on the Oct 24/25 BoD
meeting Agenda.

Alex Schust

From: NW-Mailing-List [mailto:nw-mailing-list-bounces at nwhs.org] On Behalf Of
NW Mailing List
Sent: Wednesday, October 15, 2014 8:23 PM
To: NW Mailing List
Subject: Re: The Future ?

Alex,
    Doing away with the fluff and keeping to the subject at hand, which is
the Vision Statement of the N&W HS, maybe we should look at the definition
of "Vision Statement".
One reads, and I feel that this is universal:

"A vision statement is a declaration of a company's goals for the midterm or
long-term future. Ranging from one line to several paragraphs, a vision
statement identifies what the company would like to achieve or accomplish. A
good vision statement provides the inspiration for the daily operations of a
business and molds its strategic decisions. Aspirational in nature, vision
statements lay out the most important primary goals for a company."

Looking  at the N&W HS vision statement one more time:

"Over the next 20 years we intend to implement the steps necessary to
establish and maintain the Society and its 
Archives as the recognized, authoritative sources for information about the
history and operations of the N&W 
and VGN railways and their respective places in the development of the
Central Appalachian region and in the 
development of rail transport in general. As our resources permit, we intend
to put in place up-to-date, proven 
research technologies to make our collections available to the wider history
and research communities." 

This clearly discriminately targets the "Central Appalachian" region. In
essence, separating it from the rest of the N&W/VGN systems and making it
the aforementioned "primary goal". This is in direct contradiction to your
item number 4 below.

Now, let us look at the NS' vision statement:

"The NS vision: Be the safest, most customer-focused, and successful
transportation company in the world."

Nowhere in the NS statement do I see any one area singled out. In fact, it
clearly states "in the world."

So again, I submit to you that something along the lines of the way I have
changed the N&W HS Vision Statement below is more in keeping to the vision
that we should be keeping.

"Over the next 20 years we intend to implement the steps necessary to
establish and maintain the Society and its 
Archives as the recognized, authoritative sources for information about the
history and operations of the N&W 
and VGN railways and their respective places in the development of the
regions along their "Right of Way" and in the 
development of rail transport in general. As our resources permit, we intend
to put in place up-to-date, proven 
research technologies to make our collections available to the wider history
and research communities." 

Sincerely yours,
Jimmy Lisle

On 10/15/2014 12:24 PM, NW Mailing List wrote:

Some particular points:

1)     Any member of the NWHS is eligible to present their candidacy to be
on the Board of Directors or an officer of the NWHS. If elected by the
membership any member can than become part of the "powers that be"  and make
decisions that affect the direction of the NWHS. Three BoD members are
elected every year and we are always looking for candidates. Additionally
officers are appointed every year by the BoD from those who step forth and
volunteer to serve.  

2)     When you deal with history it is hard to assume that Event B would
not have happened if Event A did not happen. If Event A did not happen there
may have been an Event C that caused Event B to happen. As an example the
N&W chartered the Guyandotte & Tug River (Event A) in 1903 to get from
Clarks Gap to Wharncliffe via Pineville (Event B). By 1907 the route was
surveyed and all of the right-of-way was acquired, but the railroad was
never built. Pineville(Event B0 was developed because the Virginian (Event
C) extended its railroad from Mullens to Gilbert.     

3)     The N&W/Virginian had more effect on the development of the Central
Appalachian Region than any other region, but if the N&W had not done it
some other railroad probably would have simply because of the mineral
wealth.

4)     The vision statement does not give precedence to one region or
another, but does recognize the prominent role the N&W/Virginian had in the
Central Appalachian Region, The added statement "and in the development of
rail transport in general" has equal weight in the vision statement.

5)     The attached region map defines the Appalachian Region. In 2009 the
region was divided into subregions. The 2008 Subregions Map shows the
counties in each state defined to be in the Appalachian Region.  

6)     In reality the NWHS does not concentrate on one region or another. We
publish what volunteers choose to produce. The data items we enter into the
data base are what we find when we open the boxes on the pallets. It would
be difficult to say that all of the mechanical and structural drawings,
photographs, and other data items are regional directed.  

7)     I expect that many members have different interpretations of what is
published and we always appreciate members suggestions.

Alex Schust

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