A message from Hays T. Watkins

A Message from Hays T. Watkins

As Chairman of the newly established 490 Club, let me encourage you to pledge your support to the C&OHS now for the next year at the $20 or $10 per month levels, or more, if you can.

Establishment of this regular giving program will very much enhance the ability of the Society to carry on its operations and more fully attain some of its longcherished goals, goals which I have affirmatively supported.

Because I believe in the Society, and believe that it has a genuine chance to develop as a professional history organization, going far beyond the usual railroad-society model, I have made a cornerstone donation. The C&OHS has already demonstrated this capacity and has become recognized as a primary source by many important organizations outside of its membership circle, including such organizations as Disney, the U.S. Postal Service, the Brookings Institution, the Federal Reserve Bank, the National Geographic Society, National Public Radio, the History Channel, the Smithsonian Institution, and Sony Records, to name only a very few.

Like all history organizations, the C&OHS cannot support itself without outside help in the form of gifts. The membership has always been very forthcoming in lending this assistance, but now the need for help is more critical than ever. At the same time, the method of pledging a small amount monthly gives everyone a better chance to contribute, in an easy and very concrete way, to the support of the group.

It is encouraging to hear about the plans that the Society has to upgrade the accessibility of the drawing and photo collections, catalog new accessions, and increase its ability to serve the membership and the public. The Society is on the right track, and the infusion of your donations and pledges will change the signal from "Approach Slow" to "Clear," or "High Green."

It is a pleasure for me to chair this new effort and I will be in close contact with Society management to explore new avenues for additional support outside the organization as well, but we must rely on you, the bedrock membership, for the foundation. Please join me with your pledge today!

-Hays T Watkins Chairman Emeritus, CSX Corporation (former President, C&O and Chessie System) Chairman, OHS 490 Club

Copyright Chesapeake and Ohio Historical Society, Inc. Jan 2001
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