There’s one thing about electric trains. They make noise. A lot of noise. And they smell of oil, puffing smoke, and warm electrical devices. Add in the locomotive whistles and it was just toy nirvana.

We had hours of fun with those trains. And, then, five years later our family moved from Wisconsin to Washington. Mom wasn’t interested up in packing up all “that stuff” and Dad was busy preparing for his new employer. The trains were unceremoniously given to the preacher’s kids. Yes, half a century later, I’m still bitter.

Skip ahead to about 9 years ago. My family was busy setting up our Christmas tree, the Nutcrackers and snow globes, and the lights. Lots of lights. The house was festive and almost ready for the holidays. The last thing to be set up was a Lionel train around the base of the tree. I’d picked it up a few years earlier just for this annual purpose. Not nearly as cool as the earlier iteration, it was nevertheless loved by our daughter and hated by the cat. Our adult friends liked to play with it during parties, and – yes – it proved that I still loved model railroads.

A week or so after the holidays were over and all the decorations were being carefully re-packed, my daughter asked a simple question: “Hey Daddy, Can we keep the train set up all year?” My wife had a look of panic while I had the gleeful memories of 1960. “Of course, we can!”

So the two of us got busy building a table in the basement and the train, just a simple oval, had a year-round home. The two of us played together and had fun for the next couple of years. Then, my daughter grew up and focused her attention on art and music, shopping and getting through high school. I decided a hobby would be good for me so I kept playing with the train. And added a few cars. And a few more.

Today, I have a collection of Lionel trains dating back to 1946. Most are post-World War II, American-made gems. A few cars are valuable, the locomotives weigh a ton. I learned early that if I didn’t maintain some limitations, the train set could overtake the entire house. So I made it easy. Much of the rolling stock represents railroads where NACM BCS does business: the Pacific Northwest, Alaska and Hawaii.  When I travel on behalf of our association and have a little extra time, I seek out model train shops which are, sadly, a dying breed. But, when I find a good one, wow. I almost missed a flight once.

Today, we are living in a mixed up, constantly changing and very challenging world. Complicated issues facing our communities and nation cause angst among friends and family. There’s just a lot of pressure on all of us. Some is self-imposed; some beyond our control. Solutions often seem out of our reach.

 

Perhaps my little story will give each of us cause to take time this season to breath and be grateful for all we have in our lives.  Family, friends, health, careers and, yes, electric trains.  Who knows? Maybe we will find a solution that brings us back to a simpler or at least more thoughtful way of life. I hope so.

By the way; if you come by our office later this month, you can play with a train that’s under our office Christmas tree. It's a great lunch hour diversion.

In closing, I want to offer our ongoing thoughts, prayers and good wishes to our colleagues and friends in Alaska. Friday's earthquakes and continuing aftershocks have had a major impact on their personal and professional lives. NACM will continue to monitor the situation and let you know if there is any support that might be needed.

For all of us at NACM Business Credit Services, I wish you the happiest of holiday seasons. We’re grateful for your friendship and business, and look forward to our continuing relationship in the 2019.

In light of Friday's earthquakes in Anchorage as well as last summer's Hawaiian volcanic eruptions and western wildfires, I have heard from a number of our members over the weekend suggesting that we post links to Emergency Preparedness guidelines. Great idea, all!

I happen to live on a rural island near Seattle where, by necessity, our community takes this kind of thing seriously. I'm happy to share the following link with plenty of information. Additionally, King County Emergency Management has a good resource, so I've posted that link, too. Both have useful checklists to guide you through what you need to do to be ready for something we all hope will never happen. I hope you find this useful.

NACM Business Credit Services has a fairly thorough emergency and business disruption plan which is reviewed annually. If you want to know more, I welcome your call or email .

The goal has, and continues to be, supporting and enhancing the credit profession and the people within it. To date, more than $125,000 has been awarded all of which was given through past golf tournaments, auctions and charitable gifts from members.

We created the new Business Credit Foundation to facilitate further growth in our educational mission. There are two reasons for this. First, it made sense from an accounting and tax perspective to separate the scholarships from our regular business activities. There are also investment opportunities available to a tax-exempt organization that aren't possible for a C-corporation. Mainly, however, it provides a way for members to give back to the profession in a tax-deductible manner. If you or your company would like to make a contribution, we now have a great way to do it.

If you would like further information on the Business Credit Foundation, please contact Jon Flora at 206-973-5096 or drop an email .

Here's an easy way everyone can support the Business Credit Foundation. When you do your shopping through Amazon - during the holiday season or anytime throughout the year - you can designate the Business Credit Foundation as your charity of choice. NACM member Amazon will contribute .5% of each purchase to the Foundation. It won't cost you anything, you can still use your regular Amazon account, and although not tax-deductible for you, it takes no effort on your part other than clicking on the following button. Just click and it will guide you through the necessary steps. Once setup, you're good to go and will help our profession with every online purchase you make.

One helpful hint: Make sure you are using the smile.amazon.com address instead of just the regular Amazon URL. They look almost identical. But the "smile" version sends money while the regular one doesn't. We recommend pinning the correct URL to your task bar. Give us a call if you have any questions. Thanks for your support!

ALASKA HOLIDAY FORUM

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 4TH

EMBASSY SUITES, ANCHORAGE

Due to Friday's earthquakes, this event has been canceled. It will be rescheduled for early in 2019. A new date will be shared in a coming issue of e-news.

THE 3RD ANNUAL

HAWAII WINTER CREDIT FORUM

THURSDAY, JANUARY 24TH

HILTON WAIKIKI BEACH HOTEL

HONOLULU, HI

ALL NEW PROGRAMS AND SPEAKERS

The Hawaii Winter Credit Forum has become one of the "must-do" conferences of the year. It's appropriate for credit, finance and other management professionals. Whether you are located in Hawaii or the mainland, this year's presentations offer high value to management at all levels.

Airfares are reasonable and the hotel rate is just $189 per night. We've made the Forum affordable, so don't come alone. Bring your company associates!

SPECIAL NOTE: WE HAVE A LIMITED NUMBER OF HOTEL ROOMS AVAILABLE SO MAKE YOUR DECISION BY DECEMBER 10TH! CLICK ON THE BOX BELOW FOR MORE INFORMATION

Puget Sound Area

December 12

11:30 a.m. Tacoma Construction - Johnny's Dock

11:30 a.m. Food - Duke's Chowder House

December 13

11:30 a.m. Floor - Duke's Chowder House

December 18

11:30 a.m. HVAC - Duke's Chowder House

December 19

11:30 a.m. Food - Duke's Chowder House

Honolulu

Mele Kalikimaka!



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