Letter to ALL TORONTO RAILWAY CLUB members
Dear Friends,
I trust this letter finds you and your families well as we all try to cope with the effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic.
We have all felt the tremendous impact of this once in a lifetime phenomenon. It has been a year that we all will not likely forget. The TRC, as well as many other clubs and associations have had to unfortunately navigate through these challenges and make the difficult decision to suspend most events for 2020, under the guidance of government and medical agencies, in an effort to limit the spread of COVID-19.
As we continue to remain vigilant and act safely in all interactions, we know that it will not be an easy start to 2021 however, with the encouraging medical progresses, we remain hopeful of a prosperous 2021, and we can’t wait to see you all face to face!
December 4th, 2020, was scheduled to be our 86th Annual Dinner at the Royal York Hotel. The Annual Dinner is our premier annual event, that truly displays the caliber of our collective endeavors to connect rail industry leaders and celebrate on our achievements. Sadly, for the first time since World War 2, we were unable to hold our Annual Dinner. The cancellation of the Annual Dinner, combined with the cancellation of most of our 2020 events, was difficult for the Club, but necessary to ensure the safety of all our Members.
As we reflect on the year 2020, many of us adjusted to working from home and are becoming proficient in participating in Teams & Zoom calls. Some of us continued to work on rail expansion projects as the network continues to grow, but learned about the importance of social distancing, wearing a mask and using hand sanitizer. Some of us were affected by operational slow downs as ridership dropped off, and unfortunately, many have been laid off work. There have been many challenges unseen before 2020. However, we are fortunate that much of our industry has remained very active and many of us continued working.
Although we were unable to host our usual program of networking events this year, I am pleased to inform you that through our Toronto Railway Club Scholarship program we have awarded six candidates, with a $1,000.00 scholarship to apply towards their continued education.
The 2020 TRC Scholarship winners are:
- Haley Lavoie-Moore
- Kevin Thom
- Rachel Humphrey
- Sara Padovan
- Spencer Wilson
- Viktor Hohlacov
Congratulations to all of our winners!
We are also honored to have the support of a dedicated group of sponsors, as without your continuous commitment, we would not be able to plan and offer the quality of events our members expect and appreciate. Our sponsors are listed on the TRC website. Our gratitude is endless, and we look forward to being able to host Toronto Railway Club events again in 2021 and onwards.
Although the ongoing spread of the pandemic makes it necessary to cancel some of the TRC events in early 2021, we remain hopeful that the spread will start to decline, and with the roll out of a vaccine, we will soon be able to resume operating our networking events.
You will receive your TRC membership renewal reminder this week, and we encourage you to purchase a membership for yourself and your team; the cost is only $25.00 plus HST and Memberships can be purchased on our website @ Torontorailwayclub.com
As restrictions are lifted, we look forward to seeing you all in person and not on a video call!
We wish you and your families a safe and joyful Holiday Season and all the best for a happy and prosperous 2021.
Sincerely,