Subject: PRA - WHAT WE ARE DOING TO ACCOMPLISH OUR MISSION > Dear Gene, > > Thanks for your prompt response to my concerns. You have always personally > been helpful and courteous. > > But I am still seeking an answer to my question regarding the status of my > cousins' Grp. 30 (old Grp 11) research submitted in the past. And is it even > possible to access information on file without waiting for a CD that might > or might not be available in the future (for which my family possibly did > the research)? > > As far as submitting, I have not had the time over the last few months to > finish entering into FTM, even for my own use. In the interim, I discussed > the topic of submissions with one of the aforementioned cousins, and it > occurred to me that my efforts would be redundant if the information were > still on file, since they did the original work. Yet it seems clear from > some of the discussions on the forums that much of what I have is unknown by > those who should be in the know. > > I suspect that I will be encouraged again to submit, submit, submit. But as > my cousin said to me, what was the point of her paying dues and working for > those MANY years if another close cousin and member can't at least verify > the existence of her research through the organization. > > Cari > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Gene Pennington" <[email protected]> > To: <[email protected]> > Sent: Tuesday, January 04, 2000 8:07 AM > Subject: [PRA]: PRA - WHAT WE ARE DOING TO ACCOMPLISH OUR MISSION > > > > Cari: > > > > Thank you for your recent message concerning the many problems facing the > > PRA. You have identified some of the biggest problems challenging the PRA > > right now. How does the PRA (a dedicated group of volunteers I might add) > > collect, index, store, retrieve, publish and share genealogical > information, > > respect everybody's rights and still accomplish our mission? > > > > To meet these challenges, the PRA has six (6) projects currently underway > > that we hope will help us accomplish our mission. > > > > 1. The John French Master File (JFMF). A collection of about 67,000 > names > > maintained in a database. This database comes from GEDCOM files and > > genealogical reports submitted by PRA members. We are working hard to > > publish this information in a format that will make it accessible to our > > members. Eventually we hope to be able to publish it on our web site and > on > > a CD. The Family Group Leaders are presently collecting and updating > > information from their Group members to update the JFMF and their Group's > > description and summaries. > > > > 2. PRA Index (PRAINDEX). A huge project undertaken by the PRA and headed > > by Bobby Pennington. This project has scanned AND INDEXED all of the > > Pennington Cousins' Couriers and almost all of the Pedigrees. This > program > > allows the user to search for a name and then find the Courier and/or > > Pedigree volume and issue that contains the information. We hope to soon > > complete the scanning of all of the Pedigrees. In the mean time, we will > be > > publishing this program to distribute on a test CD to our Family Group > > Leaders. > > > > 3. The PRA web site at www.penningtonresearch.org . By posting > information > > on our web site, we hope to better inform our members and researchers of > > information about the Pennington family. We hope our web site will > > eventually become the primary source for researchers to find and retrieve > > information such as the JFMF, the PRAINDEX and documents from the PRA > > Libraries (including the Courier and the Pedigrees). > > > > 4. CD Publishing. We are in the process of publishing a CD containing a > > genealogy report for each PRA Family Group that has a Group Leader, a > GEDCOM > > file for these groups AND the PRAINDEX program. We hope to publish and > > distribute this CD soon. This test CD will be distributed to each Family > > Group Leader for their use and evaluation. Once the evaluation is done, > the > > PRA Board will decide if we should publish more CDs. If more are > published, > > they will decide how many to publish and to whom they should be made > > available, etc. > > > > 5. PRA Library. Currently copies of the Pedigrees are stored at several > > public libraries around the United States. In addition, several members > are > > fortunate enough to have a complete set of the Pedigrees. Once the > PRAINDEX > > program is distributed, it is hoped that more members will be able to > access > > the Pedigrees by either visiting a nearby library or by contacting a > > volunteer who will perform the look up for them. One of the projects on > my > > "to do list" is to build an index system for the thousands of books, > > letters, newspaper clippings, genealogical reports and other documents in > my > > filing cabinets and bookcases. This invaluable material has been > > accumulated over the years by former Research Directors. It is an > > incredible resource that needs to be maintained and made available to our > > members. I am receiving documents now as members send me their material. > > > > 6. The Pennington Pedigrees. This great publication is undergoing a > major > > transition as we enter the new millennium. The Board recognizes that many > > of our members are not on the Internet and rely entirely on the Pedigrees > > for their information about the PRA and the Pennington surname research. > > The Board is committed to publishing our information in BOTH printed and > > electronic formats to ensure we reach all of our members. The Board has > > determined that the Pennington Cousins' Courier and the Pedigrees will be > > combined and the Pedigrees will be published three (3) times a year. Our > > new Editor, John Pennington, is committed to helping the Pedigrees become > a > > viable and informative publication. The Research Committee has been > working > > closely with John to ensure more articles are published. > > > > As you can see, the PRA is working very hard to accomplish its' mission > and > > solve the problems you identified. Along the way we are besieged by a > > number of significant problems (such as the copyright issue) which cause > > delays while they are addressed. > > > > Many of our members are very concerned about preserving their copyrights > on > > any material they submit to the PRA and legally we have to respect their > > assertions. It has nothing to do with "hiding information" or not wanting > > to share the information. The PRA is committed to sharing the information > > but we have to do it by respecting the rights of the researchers who have > > submitted it to us. > > > > We started a few months ago using a consent form to be sure we obtain the > > approval of an author who submits anything to us before we publish the > > material. In addition, we are working now on a new copyright policy that > we > > think will allow us to share the information we have collected and still > > respect the copyrights of others. > > > > You said that you have asked the PRA if they have any information on your > > line but you've been " .. ignored, or my postings/queries are picked apart > > without documented alternatives, and I find out later that I was correct." > > Let me be the first to apologize to you for this treatment. I will be > > sending you a private e-mail to address this and I hope that we can be of > > assistance to you in your research. > > > > Please do not be afraid to share your information with other PRA members > and > > researchers. The great majority of our members want to share their > > information and the PRA's mission is to help this process by becoming the > > best source of information on the Pennington surname. > > > > One of the biggest problems we face is finding enough volunteers to help > the > > PRA. We rely entirely on volunteers who are willing to jump in and help > get > > things done. If you, or anybody else who reads this message, is > interested > > in helping, please contact me. > > > > I hope I have addressed your concerns. If you have any more questions or > > need help, please let me know. > > > > Gene Pennington (Group 7) > > Research Director > > Pennington Research Association > > www.penningtonresearch.org > > > > > > ==== PRA Mail List -- Visit our Web Site at > > http://www.penningtonresearch.org > > NOTE: All material submitted to this list may be used on the PRA web site > > or in other PRA publications, with proper credit to the author. > > __________________________________________________________ > > List hosted by SOHOWeb.net -- The Small Business IPP. > > Our goal: your success. Find out more at http://sohoweb.net > > or via e-mail at [email protected] > > > > ==== PRA Mail List -- Visit our Web Site at > http://www.penningtonresearch.org > NOTE: All material submitted to this list may be used on the PRA web site > or in other PRA publications, with proper credit to the author. > __________________________________________________________ > List hosted by SOHOWeb.net -- The Small Business IPP. > Our goal: your success. Find out more at http://sohoweb.net > or via e-mail at [email protected] >