In an effort to get a little ahead in planning for the WFGS Open House, here is a list of the committees needed to pull off the Open House and the 23 members who have already signed up for one or more committees. The sign-up list didn't make it all the way around during the December meeting so we will continue with sign-up during the January meeting. We will need a minimum of about 30 volunteers so we have a good start. This e-mail lists the committee descriptions and those already signed up. So you can review the sign-up sheet here rather than in the meeting to speed things along in January. We also need several people who are knowledgeable (or dedicated and persistent) in working with news media to begin getting word out on the Open House about a month before we do it in April. If anyone has an idea for a catchier, more descriptive name than Open House, let us know. "Escambia County Free Genealogy and Family History Day" or "Local Ancestor Hunt" just aren't getting it done. This first effort is a learning and testing effort so we are keeping it scaled down to local genealogy to see what kind of response we get and to test our ability to pull this off without getting in over our heads. The next time we do this the intention is to open it up to world-wide family history searches. That will take more resources than we have tested so far. But I, personally, think WFGS can go world-wide after this first local effort. Getting numerous computers on line and communicating reliably using the Bay View Community Center's WiFi is the biggest unknown at the moment. After getting a good suggestion, I have added a committee that wasn't on the initial sign-up sheet: American Indian and African American research. This committee will help track and give advice on research to Open House guests working these two areas. I am hoping that by using this WFGS List we can get information out better and faster between meetings and trade ideas among committees as we go so that committee meetings during our regularly scheduled WFGS meeting will be shorter and more productive. Keep in mind, too, that committees can come in early to meet before a WFGS regular meeting rather than meeting after the main meeting. We now have three WFGS meetings to go before Open House. Jerry Merritt WFGS Public Family History Day Sign-up Sheet Showing Members Already Signed Up 1. Steering Committee Coordinates activities of all other committees and is made up of the chairmen of those committees plus a few others. Members of this committee will also step in where needed to help other committees get things done in time. Jerry Merritt Ron Parks 2. Materiel Committee Gets all materials needed to hold the event – census lookup station signs, blank family group sheets, blank ancestral charts, handouts, coffee, doughnuts, etc. David Reinhardt Ellen Roston Rebecca Black Sherry Glorioso 3. Publicity Committee Gets the word out to TV, newspapers, Libraries, Internet about the event. Sets up TV interviews, writes letters to the newspapers, makes flyers for libraries, arranges interviews with news media on the day of the open house. No Sign-ups yet We really need some help in this area. 4. Welcoming and Documentation Committee Greets visitors, goes over what they have brought, and gets them started in filling out ancestral charts, etc. based on what they brought then takes them to the proper starting point for further research. Jennie Merritt Kathryn Wilkinson Barbara Ann Dean Pete Young 5. Census Lookup Committee Gathers together published census books, sets up the lookup area and helps visitors find their ancestors in our transcribed census books. Shows visitors how and what data to enter into their family group sheets and ancestral charts. Billye Cutchen Audrey Hall Sue Harper 6. Internet Lookup Committee Sets up computers to connect with on line research sites to find post 1885 census data. Works with visitors who don’t have info back to 1885 to find their ancestors in Heritage Quest, World Connect, LDS, etc. to get enough data to use the census lookup function. Bruce Rove (will help with refreshments too) Janet Myers Sharon Mosley 7. WFGS Member Research Contact Point (This is an optional function) Organizes an effort to get names of ancestors of WFGS members into an alphabetical listing to put visitors into contact with members researching their same families. Suzanne Weathers Ron Parks Ginny Deagan 8. Membership Committee (Another optional committee) Explains membership benefits and signs up visitors who want to join. Yolanda Falzone Pat Kerr Benny Klock Sharon Livingston 9. Additional Research Source Committee (Another optional committee) Puts together handouts listing further research sources and hands them out to visitors as they depart. Answers any final questions visitors might have. Yolanda Falzone Pat Kerr Sherry Glorioso Sharon Lucas 10. Ombudsman Committee (Another optional committee) Roams throughout the area answering questions, directing visitors to further research areas in the Open House area and filling in where needed to keep lines short. These people need to have a good understanding of the whole process. Jerry Merritt Ginny Deagan 11. American Indian and African American Research Newly added committee - no sign-ups yet