I'm glad this calendar/ fund raising discussion has come round to the structure of the INPCRP. Some of us have been talking about this recently. While it would be nice to have money for cemetery projects, the structure needed for a 501c3 organization could be a burden and go against the grain of some of us independent minded preservationist. I do think that we need more structure than we have. We have made great strides this summer. Having Brad come on as webmaster & update the website has made a world of difference. When Lois resigned, she broke down the State Coordinators job description into 3 parts-webmaster- spokes person to do PR & work with the Legislature - list monitor. We need to think about where we want to go & what positions we need to get there .We have 2 new County coordinators, but most of the 92 counties are not covered. We need more visibility, that's what the t-shirts and requests for letters to legislators,and county prosecutors is about. Most of the state doesn't know we exist. Having some organization is helpful when we go to the Legislature. Education is needed in these areas: 1 cemetery care, maintenance, & repair guidelines for Township Trustees, Cemetery Associations & the people they hire. 2 preservation project guidelines for Boy Scout & Girl Scout Councils, schools ect. 3 cemetery visitation guides for libraries, & genealogy societies. 4 recording methods for County Recorders . 5 cemetery law for the general public Maybe we could joint venture some education material with the IN Township Association, IN Historical Society, Historic Landmarks Foundation, or DNR-DHPA. Other ideas I have heard: more workshops & work days more school projects like Rhonda Stoffer & Jessica Felix are doing work with the Ball State Landscape Architecture & Historic Preservation program meet with IN Prosecutors group create a Hall of Fame for restored cemeteries vandalism response info for cemeteries reunion for workshop people Scott talked about doing a book of restored cemeteries So what about any of this? Theresa [email protected] wrote: As one who has been a member of this list for longer than I care to remember, I can add a little insight into some of this discussion. No...not about the nude illusions, but about the fundraising. Quite frankly, as a cemetery board member myself, I think it would be a hoot, but not very profitable! And please don't think I'm disrespectful...all of my ancestors are dead and I have a great deal of respect for them. I also believe that those people whom I had fun with in life I can still have fun with in death...especially when I recall those fun times as I drive or walk through my cemetery on my regular visits and as I talk to them along the way. In fact, the Newton Co. Historical Society is planning their first ever cemetery walk in my cemetery...Riverside Cemetery here in Brook, Indiana on Oct. 23rd. I will be the tour guide while portraying our community's first undertaker. I plan on having plenty of tasteful fun playing that role! But that's not my point here. Many times over the course of the last six or so years that I've been here, this idea of fundraising or formalizing our organization comes up and is discussed. As Jack and Lois will probably recall, we always come back to the notion that staying 'informal' offers the best opportunity for us to remain successful without too many other requirements placed on the volunteers. The expense of the not for profit paperwork and the subsequent requirements always seem to make it less worthwhile. The second thing is what are we going to raise money for? We obviously couldn't raise money to restore cemeteries as the need is too great throughout the state. Maybe bringing awareness about our plight? But aren't we making pretty good headway in that regard as well without expending much money? Then there's electing officers, holding meetings, blah blah blah...and I'm sure everyone else on here is an officer in too many organizations now and sure doesn't need any more meetings. So I guess what I'm saying is fairly simple. This is a great list...there's a bunch of great people on here....these people do a great job of working to protect our pioneer cemeteries in Indiana...and we're making progress albeit slow at times... so why ruin a good thing? Let's just continue sharing ideas, tips, hints, and success stories so that we can all keep making progress in our own communities one tombstone at a time. And a little fun along the way isn't disrespectful...unless that's me on that 2005 calendar! Kyle D. Conrad, Secretary Riverside Cemetery Association ==== INPCRP Mailing List ==== THIS IS A CEMETERY ----- "Lives are commemorated - deaths are recorded - families are reunited - memories are made tangible - and love is undisguised. This is a cemetery. "Communities accord respect, families bestow reverence, historians seek information and our heritage is thereby enriched. "Testimonies of devotion, pride and remembrance are carved in stone to pay warm tribute to accomplishments and to the life - not the death - of a loved one. The cemetery is homeland for family memorials that are a sustaining source of comfort to the living. "A cemetery is a history of people - a perpetual record of yesterday and sanctuary of peace and quiet today. A cemetery exists because every life is worth loving and remembering - always." --Author unknown -- Seen at a monument dealer in West Union, IA --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Address AutoComplete - You start. We finish.