First, I want to thank those of you who are faithful in checking in monthly. It is greatly appreciated. Those I need to hear from are: Cheyenne Co. - Karla Mahlberg who has not checked in the past two months. Broomfield Co. - Julie Miller Baca and Rio Blanco - Maggie Stewart Las Animas - Sandi Barber Rio Grande - Linda Simpson Clear Creek - Mike Irwin Lake Co. - Mike Irwin Then, I got an email today that left me with a lot of mixed feelings. I will only send bits and pieces of the email and the person sending it is not from Colorado. "There is too much well funded competition out there. We used to be it and now we are yesterday's news. The crap that USGenWeb did is partially to blame but it is also a function of being out of date. Volunteers don't have the funds to do massive databases." "Thanks for asking. I don't know anyone [useful] who would be interested. They are dropping fast - age, illness, etc. We probably have 25% adoptable at this point." This left me to thinking today and trying to find replacements for these counties is becoming impossible. They have moved on with the new technology. I would like to see a roll call from all states as to what their vacancy is. I have a lady interested in a county and still trying to work it out, had another one interested but didn't know beans about web pages. I agree with this person that we are now a lot older than when we started. Life is playing on our times, there are illnesses and all that goes along with getting older. I have been trying to bring in young blood new people to carry on. I would like to hear your thoughts and thoughts on recruiting, or else I am going to have to back up and ask that some of us take on more counties to get them updated. I can't do them all and Billie has been helping. I am not asking you to adopt them but to at least work on the main pages of the sites that are up for adoption. I am not quite ready to retire from COGenWeb but I may have to take a leave of absence and would like Billie to step up to the plate to keep things rolling. I really haven't said anything but I am just finishing up radiation for skin cancer, now I think I have found some more, will get this checked tomorrow when I go in for my last treatment. I am falling apart.. as soon as my MRI is done, I will be having surgery on my cervical discs. I had C 4 & 5 fused 40 years ago and they are shrinking and C3 is in trouble and I am in 24 hour pain with this neck problems. I can't be on pain meds and try and think about what I am doing and pain meds really make me crabby and you get enough of that from me with out something else being added too it. Billie is very capable of handling everything... and I will let you all know when I am going to be out of touch for a while. My computer will be near but I will just have to see how I am doing. If you have any questions I am here. Gail

On 02/24/2012 03:45 AM, Gail Kilgore wrote: > Then, I got an email today that left me with a lot of mixed feelings. > > I will only send bits and pieces of the email and the person sending it is > not from Colorado. > > "There is too much well funded competition out there. We used to be it and > now we are yesterday's news. The crap that USGenWeb did is partially to > blame but it is also a function of being out of date. Volunteers don't have > the funds to do massive databases." > > "Thanks for asking. I don't know anyone [useful] who would be interested. > They are dropping fast - age, illness, etc. We probably have 25% adoptable > at this point." > This left me to thinking today and trying to find replacements for these > counties is becoming impossible. They have moved on with the new > technology. I would like to see a roll call from all states as to what > their vacancy is. I have a lady interested in a county and still trying to > work it out, had another one interested but didn't know beans about web > pages. > > I agree with this person that we are now a lot older than when we started. > Life is playing on our times, there are illnesses and all that goes along > with getting older. I have been trying to bring in young blood new people > to carry on. > > I would like to hear your thoughts and thoughts on recruiting, or else I am > going to have to back up and ask that some of us take on more counties to > get them updated. I can't do them all and Billie has been helping. I am > not asking you to adopt them but to at least work on the main pages of the > sites that are up for adoption. On one hand I can sort of see their point. Ancestry, and other big sites, have huge budgets and loads of "stuff" to get massive databases online. To bring this down to a manageable issue lets look at it like a "Mon-n-Pop" [ us ] with Wal Mart [ Ancestry, et. al. ] coming to town. How can "we" compete with the "Big Box". "We" don't have the buying power they do. "We" don't have the "deep pockets" [ budget ] they do. The issues just keep coming. The answer comes from Sam Walton himself. In his book he tells the "Mon-n-Pops" how to stay in business and even prosper when Wal Mart comes to town. As a general rule Wal Mart comes to town and builds a store with nothing else around it. Next thing you know every "Big Box" in the country starts popping up like weeds all around the Wal Mart store. Did you ever wonder why? [ rhetorical question ] The reason is, they read Sam's book. Next time your in a Wal Mart take a REALLY GOOD look at the shelves. Wal Mart is very good at what they do. BUT, they don't carry a large variety of any one kind of thing. The trick, that most "Mom-n-Pops" never learn, is to do what Wal Mart doesn't do well. Provide the kinds of things that Wal Mart doesn't. For many years I was Sporting Goods Department Manager at Wal Mart. Just down the street was an Academy Sporting Goods. I was the best salesman that Academy had [ I thought about going down there and asking for a raise *<]:oD ]. Here's the deal. We can't compete with Ancestry, et. al., so we need to identify what they do best and look for the things they don't. "WE" have to provide the goods and services that Ancestry doesn't. "WE" have to find ways to get our message out, that "we" are here and what "we" provide, in ways that don't require major budgets. "WE" have to work smarter, not harder. "WE" have to go that extra step, provide a better "shopping experience" for our visitors. As for the recruitment issue..............I don't know what the answer is. There has to be some way to find those people interested but I don't have the cure all for that. > > I am not quite ready to retire from COGenWeb but I may have to take a leave > of absence and would like Billie to step up to the plate to keep things > rolling. I'm not ready for you to retire either. I'm sure everyone feels that way. I'm not Gail, and I've kind of stirred the pot a bit lately, but with everyones forbearance I will do what I can to keep things rolling if you have to step back for a bit. I do firmly believe that this group, CoGenWeb, belongs to all of us. That every member should have their say and majority rules. Not always the best but the only fair way to have it. > > I really haven't said anything but I am just finishing up radiation for > skin cancer, now I think I have found some more, will get this checked > tomorrow when I go in for my last treatment. I am falling apart.. as soon > as my MRI is done, I will be having surgery on my cervical discs. I had C > 4& 5 fused 40 years ago and they are shrinking and C3 is in trouble and I > am in 24 hour pain with this neck problems. I can't be on pain meds and > try and think about what I am doing and pain meds really make me crabby and > you get enough of that from me with out something else being added too it. > > Billie is very capable of handling everything... and I will let you all > know when I am going to be out of touch for a while. My computer will be > near but I will just have to see how I am doing. <blushing> Thank you for the kind words and vote of confidence. > > If you have any questions I am here. -- “The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government lest it come to dominate our lives and interests”. - Patrick Henry - _ _... ..._ _ _._ ._ ..... ._.. ... .._

To bring this down to a manageable issue lets look at it like a "Mon-n-Pop" [ us ] with Wal Mart [ Ancestry, et. al. ] coming to town. How can "we" compete with the "Big Box". "We" don't have the buying power they do. "We" don't have the "deep pockets" [ budget ] they do. The issues just keep coming. The answer comes from Sam Walton himself. In his book he tells the "Mon-n-Pops" how to stay in business and even prosper when Wal Mart comes to town. I see your analogy... I look at it this way, based on your example. When I am just doing my random searches or looking for leads, I do use Ancestry ALOT. However, when I want to drill down and really get some dirt on the lead, I go to the counties or the different countries of GenWeb. I have found much more based on the resources listed there, than the information found on Ancestry. I don't trust all the information on Ancestry because so much of it is generic and unsourced or just gathered from others work. It's like the difference in me going to Walmart for groceries when I am making meatloaf or macaroni and cheese versus when I go to a specialty shop to make some of my Hungarian ethnic favorites! I do believe that we (as genweb volunteers) put so much heart and soul into our sites and it shines through! My thirteen cents worth. (Inflation, ya know!) Sandi Las Animas

Sorry, I was on a research trip the beginning of the month and forgot to check-in. I will use this as a late check-in for February and early check-in for March. Julie Miller, CG Broomfield, Colorado GenWeb Coordinator http://www.cogenweb.com/broomfield/ ----- Original Message ----- From: "Gail Kilgore" <gail.kilgore@gmail.com> To: "cogen" <COGEN@rootsweb.com> Sent: Friday, February 24, 2012 2:45 AM Subject: [COGEN] Check-In's > First, I want to thank those of you who are faithful in checking in > monthly. It is greatly appreciated. > > Those I need to hear from are: > > Cheyenne Co. - Karla Mahlberg who has not checked in the past two months. > Broomfield Co. - Julie Miller > Baca and Rio Blanco - Maggie Stewart > Las Animas - Sandi Barber > Rio Grande - Linda Simpson > Clear Creek - Mike Irwin > Lake Co. - Mike Irwin > > Then, I got an email today that left me with a lot of mixed feelings. > > I will only send bits and pieces of the email and the person sending it is > not from Colorado. > > "There is too much well funded competition out there. We used to be it and > now we are yesterday's news. The crap that USGenWeb did is partially to > blame but it is also a function of being out of date. Volunteers don't > have > the funds to do massive databases." > > "Thanks for asking. I don't know anyone [useful] who would be interested. > They are dropping fast - age, illness, etc. We probably have 25% adoptable > at this point." > This left me to thinking today and trying to find replacements for these > counties is becoming impossible. They have moved on with the new > technology. I would like to see a roll call from all states as to what > their vacancy is. I have a lady interested in a county and still trying > to > work it out, had another one interested but didn't know beans about web > pages. > > I agree with this person that we are now a lot older than when we started. > Life is playing on our times, there are illnesses and all that goes along > with getting older. I have been trying to bring in young blood new people > to carry on. > > I would like to hear your thoughts and thoughts on recruiting, or else I > am > going to have to back up and ask that some of us take on more counties to > get them updated. I can't do them all and Billie has been helping. I am > not asking you to adopt them but to at least work on the main pages of the > sites that are up for adoption. > > I am not quite ready to retire from COGenWeb but I may have to take a > leave > of absence and would like Billie to step up to the plate to keep things > rolling. > > I really haven't said anything but I am just finishing up radiation for > skin cancer, now I think I have found some more, will get this checked > tomorrow when I go in for my last treatment. I am falling apart.. as soon > as my MRI is done, I will be having surgery on my cervical discs. I had C > 4 & 5 fused 40 years ago and they are shrinking and C3 is in trouble and I > am in 24 hour pain with this neck problems. I can't be on pain meds and > try and think about what I am doing and pain meds really make me crabby > and > you get enough of that from me with out something else being added too it. > > Billie is very capable of handling everything... and I will let you all > know when I am going to be out of touch for a while. My computer will be > near but I will just have to see how I am doing. > > If you have any questions I am here. > > Gail > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > COGEN-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes > in the subject and the body of the message

Gail, I'm sorry you are feeling down about this. I will see about recruiting in my area (at the historical society, genealogical society, the cemetery association). Do we have a facebook page for COGENWEB? That might be another way to get people interested. I wish there were more young people that enjoy this kind of work. I positive though that if you need help with the other counties or special projects, we would all be more than happy to help. Are there any current special projects that maybe some of us can help with? You are more than capable of leading us and have done a great job. My feeling is, we are hear because we want to be, and we love helping others with the things that places like Ancestry can't help with. And when you think about it, it will take FOREVER for Ancestry to go through all of the records, photographs and memories that we have gone through and publish on the websites. Ancestry in a sense has mainly employees that publish these records, they don't have people go to every single cemetery, historical and genealogical societies in the state, like what we do. In my sense, we have many more opportunities to succeed above Ancestry and I know we can do it because we are all so very dedicated. I take examples from other counties' websites (thank you all by the way) and you know what? I see so much more love and dedication put into these websites than Ancestry could ever put into theirs. Well those are my thoughts, thanks for listening! :) Thanks, Matthew Prythero -----Original Message----- From: Gail Kilgore <gail.kilgore@gmail.com> To: cogen <COGEN@rootsweb.com> Sent: Fri, Feb 24, 2012 2:49 am Subject: [COGEN] Check-In's First, I want to thank those of you who are faithful in checking in monthly. It is greatly appreciated. Those I need to hear from are: Cheyenne Co. - Karla Mahlberg who has not checked in the past two months. Broomfield Co. - Julie Miller Baca and Rio Blanco - Maggie Stewart Las Animas - Sandi Barber Rio Grande - Linda Simpson Clear Creek - Mike Irwin Lake Co. - Mike Irwin Then, I got an email today that left me with a lot of mixed feelings. I will only send bits and pieces of the email and the person sending it is not from Colorado. "There is too much well funded competition out there. We used to be it and now we are yesterday's news. The crap that USGenWeb did is partially to blame but it is also a function of being out of date. Volunteers don't have the funds to do massive databases." "Thanks for asking. I don't know anyone [useful] who would be interested. They are dropping fast - age, illness, etc. We probably have 25% adoptable at this point." This left me to thinking today and trying to find replacements for these counties is becoming impossible. They have moved on with the new technology. I would like to see a roll call from all states as to what their vacancy is. I have a lady interested in a county and still trying to work it out, had another one interested but didn't know beans about web pages. I agree with this person that we are now a lot older than when we started. Life is playing on our times, there are illnesses and all that goes along with getting older. I have been trying to bring in young blood new people to carry on. I would like to hear your thoughts and thoughts on recruiting, or else I am going to have to back up and ask that some of us take on more counties to get them updated. I can't do them all and Billie has been helping. I am not asking you to adopt them but to at least work on the main pages of the sites that are up for adoption. I am not quite ready to retire from COGenWeb but I may have to take a leave of absence and would like Billie to step up to the plate to keep things rolling. I really haven't said anything but I am just finishing up radiation for skin cancer, now I think I have found some more, will get this checked tomorrow when I go in for my last treatment. I am falling apart.. as soon as my MRI is done, I will be having surgery on my cervical discs. I had C 4 & 5 fused 40 years ago and they are shrinking and C3 is in trouble and I am in 24 hour pain with this neck problems. I can't be on pain meds and try and think about what I am doing and pain meds really make me crabby and you get enough of that from me with out something else being added too it. Billie is very capable of handling everything... and I will let you all know when I am going to be out of touch for a while. My computer will be near but I will just have to see how I am doing. If you have any questions I am here. Gail ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to COGEN-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message