With many thanks to all of you who helped make it happen, I am happy to announce that the first meeting of the Cameron County Genealogy Club was a huge success with 19 people in attendance! With Friday's fire and the weather, this turnout was much more than we were expecting. In addition to the folks who joined us today, we have received applications from about 30 people who do not live in the area, but who are interested in being a member of the Club and take part in the information exchange that will take place. So we are effectively starting with about 50 members! The meeting started at 1:00 with everyone filling out applications. The information on the applications will be compiled into a database of surnames being researched by the members. This information will be made available on the website and at each meeting. It will also be included in a roster of members that will be made available to the membership in a couple of months. We went around the room and introduced ourselves and talked about the surnames we were researching. I know of at least one connection made, as a couple of people realized they were researching the same names. Expertise ranged from seasoned genealogists to folks just starting out. We anticipate that there will be a variety of topics covered in future meetings to be of use to everyone. We decided on the name "Cameron County Genealogy Club" with a unanimous vote. It was decided that this name was concise and described what we were all about with out further explanation. Thanks to all who submitted ideas for the name. Don Hefright and I touched on a variety of topic through out the meeting- from how to use a Research Log to ideas for future meetings. We talked about our vision for the Club and what could be possible collecting and transcribing data. We talked about future field trips to museums, Family History centers and more. It was also mentioned that an annual event was a popular "to do" item on the application. Don prepared several useful hand-outs including a 4 page list of interview questions to be used in talking with relatives. Business matters included an offer from Don Hefright and I to be co-coordinators of the Club for the first 6 months or so, at which time we would see what further organization would be required. Everyone seemed to like the idea of holding a raffle to offset copying costs and other incidental costs in lieu of dues. Today's raffle was a copy of "Whining Saws and Squealing Flanges". It was won by Chuck Jordan. It was also decided that the first Saturday of each month would work for everyone. The next meeting will be April 5th at 1:00 at the Library. The meeting adjourned at 2:10, but many stayed on for about another half hour visiting with each other. All in all I think that everyone enjoyed themselves and I expect to see most of them back in April. I also anticipate about twice the number of folks for the next meeting as word gets out and the weather clears for the long distance folks. At least one member drove over an hour to be with us today! A special thanks to Wendy Davis for taking notes during the meeting! I would like to thank Don Hefright for all of his help in making this idea come to life. I truly appreciate his partnership and his ideas. I would like to thank the folks at the Barbara Moscato-Brown Memorial Library for their enthusiasm about our project and for the use of their excellent meeting room. I would like to thank Bob Hooftallen, editor of the Echo, for his support and his excellent article about the formation of the Club. It was a huge help in getting the word out. I extend an open invitation to those of you reading this to come join us in April! Mike Wennin Come Visit the Cameron County Genealogy Project! http://www.rootsweb.com/~pacamero