Some of you researchers out there might be interested to know about this effort and try to support it in anyway you may be able. Leigh Leigh C. Eckmair, Historian/Archivist Town of Butternuts & Village of Gilbertsville The Local History Collection The Gilbertsville Free Library Gilbertsville, NY, 13776 librarian@stny.rr.com http://www.gilbertsville.com/Library.htm -------Original Message------- From: Luella Krahl Date: 10/07/05 12:04:35 To: Town of Bristol Subject: - revision #2 NYSCOGO is initiating a second year of work to secure legislation to reduce the cost for genealogists searching and copying vital records in New York State. A major event in this process will be a press conference to be held at 9:00 am on Wednesday, November 2, at the Ontario County Historical Society in Canandaigua. Assemblyman Brian Kolb, the sponsor of this legislation, has arranged this press conference. Invitations will be sent to media organizations, both print and TV, in the greater Rochester and Finger Lakes area. At this conference there will be an opportunity to present petitions, resolutions and letters requesting legislation to limit the cost of searching and copying vital records for genealogists. If your society or organization has not passed a resolution or collected signatures making this request, please do both and send copies to Ron Krahl before November. If you are not affiliated with an organization, please drop Ron a note or e-mail making this request. In addition to providing a written statement in support of the bill, which has been introduced, Assemblyman Kolb will make some brief remarks followed by statements by several genealogists about the value of this legislation. Photos and news releases will then be sent to additional media outlets in the areas represented by the genealogists participating in the conference. Assemblyman Kolb already has a rationale NYSCOGO has developed in support of this legislation. He would like some specific brief quotes (one sentence of two short ones) from genealogists to possibly include in his written and oral statements. If you can think of something succinct that would play well, please send it to ron@krahl.org. If we feel the press conference has been successful. Assemblyman Kolb will arrange for additional conferences in other parts of the state. Other activities planned to gather support for this legislation include: a.. Arranging for the bill to be introduced into the Senate. a.. Visits by individual and small groups of genealogists to their legislators to encourage their signing on as cosponsors or multisponsors of the bill, or at least being willing to vote for it, a.. A lobbying day when genealogists from across the state will gather in Albany to visit a number of assemblypersons and senators to discuss the merits of this legislation with them. We have Assemblyman Kolb's whole-hearted support for this bill. By November we hope to have an equally supportive Senator on board. Making this bill become a law is going to require a major effort by all of us. As we move towards the opening of a new legislative session we will be in touch with you to tell you how you can help.