Dear Members of the Marin County Genealogical Society: I received my meeting notice this morning and it mentions there are still vacancies to be filled for the Society's upcoming elections. However, it does not mention which offices are in need of filling. Can someone please post which offices are still in need of a candidate? It is vital to any organization to have Officers and Board members rotate in and out of office, to give others an opportunity to be part of Leadership of the organization and to keep it viable. Many of the current officers have served their term and perhaps have served prior terms. Some have decided it is time to move on and let others have their turn. Others have obligations that preclude them from continuing on the Board as an Officer. Those of you that may be thinking that you might *someday* become more involved in the Society by participating as an Officer might consider that *now* would be a good time to come forward. Being on the board can be a rewarding experience. I am sure that the Nominating Committee would be pleased to hear from you. Also -- if you know of another member that may be qualified to serve as an Officer, please do recommend them to the Nominating Committee. It is important to the Organization to have others step forward. The Bylaws, as last ammended, do make room for sharing an office. It is possible, for example, to have Co-Secretaries. Please consider sharing office, if you have limited time but might otherwise be interested. As a California not-for profit Corporation with IRS 501(c)3 standing, it is important for the Society to have as many offices as possible filled in the next election. Sincerely, Lauren M. Boyd Past President Past 1st Vice President, Program Chair Marin County Genealogical Society

Dear Members of the Marin County Genealogical Society: When I wrote on this topic earlier, I asked for someone to post which offices are still in need of a candidate. My apologies to Esther and the Board-- I did not notice that on the back of the Meeting Notice there was the following message from President, Esther Kooiman: ....................... " Attention: Members For the first time in memory, we are missing candidates for the upcoming election of officers: President Second Vice President (program) Secretary Publicity and Hospitality. If these positions are not filled, there will be an incomplete governing board for MCGS and the future of the Society is in doubt. If you want your Society to continue, then you need to step forward and volunteer. Note our by-laws do allow positions to be shared. Please call Esther Kooiman* or Susan Trumbull*" ................... * I have not included Esther and Susan's telephone numbers in this post. Members will find them on the inside jacket of their Kin Tracer. At minimum, someone must come forward to fill the offices of President and 2nd Vice President. The office of Secretary is also one that needs filling, however, the others are a must fill. Publicity Chair and Hospitality Chair are appointments, not elected positions. Having been on the board previously, I know how difficult it becomes when faced with nominations and elections to find sufficient persons to come forward to fill the offices. However, now the Society is at a crucial stage with no one coming forward to "man the helm." If there is not a 2nd Vice President to plan the programs, there will not be any to offer. If you think you might want to try this out, Susan Trumbull, Emily Wilson and I have all held the position of (First Vice President) Program Chair and any one of us can give you pointers. It is not that difficult a job. One can plan all the presentations for the coming year in fairly short order. Then all that is left to do is to attend the meetings and follow up with the speakers -- provide directions, etc. Publicity chair is an important position in the Society. It does take a bit of time and doing, however, it is not an extremely difficult job. You either attend the Board meetings or be in contact to obtain the announcements to include in the meeting notice and the information for upcoming meetings. Information regarding the meetings is faxed to a list of local newspapers, perhaps emailed to others and perhaps to other Societies to include in their announcements. Stephanie can provide the latest version of what is included in this position. She has been doing a great job. Hospitality ensures that there are refreshments at each meeting - perhaps a bit more -- I am unsure if this position now also includes greeting folks at the sign in table. However, all it takes is a little bit of time and a friendly face. Which of you is ready to come forth? Are you prepared to see the Society to not see its 27th Anniversary? If no one comes forth, this may be the outcome. I would hope not, but an organization cannot continue if it does not have officers. There needs to be some effort put back in to the organization by the membership. It may be your turn. Give it some thought. The General Meeting is next Wednesday. It would be great to hear that the Board can announce a full slate of officers and go on with the election at the Annual General Meeting in April. All of the Officers terms end in May. I find that the more one puts into an organization, the more one gets out of it. I found my experience in leadership and volunteering with the Society to be very enriching. At minimum, I got to know the majority of the Society personally. There are many fine folk among us. Sincerely, Lauren Lauren M. Boyd Past President [2 terms] Past 1st Vice President - program chair [3 terms] Past Web Master, Chair web committee Founder, Past Librarian, CD Rom Research Library Founding Member, Computer Interest Group Marin County Genealogical Society List Administrator, [email protected]