Fred... I thought Bridgett set up TNCHAT-L for discussions like this. Did you send it to the wrong list by mistake? George On 11 Jul 98 at 0:46, Fred Smoot wrote: > Greetings fellow CCs, > > As our Tennessee Project enters its third year, it seems apparent that > the project has grown enough that a small amount organization might be > in order. > > As individuals, we may say we are here to honor our ancestors or because > we love genealogy or because we have an obsession with HTML, but > whatever > the reason, our product is online genealogical information which we > contribute freely to the general public. > > Our state project is a good project, it is getting better and better all > the time. The dedicated efforts of, you, the CC Volunteers built this > project and it is the efforts of you CC Volunteers that keep this > project > healthy and growing. > > Any organizational effort needs to respect both the product and those > who give of themselves to create that product. > > In as much as the CCs donate their time in a totally volunteer nonprofit > environment with absolutely no financial gain for themselves, any > proposed organization structure must support and protect the freedoms > that rightful belong to those CCs. > > A velvet glove approach is indicated, not that of an iron fist. > Organization must not create a situation where the "Page Police" are > looking down our necks. > > But the project does need some organization to protect the work we do > and we need a "legal" organization to which we can "will" our work when > we leave the project. > > Bridgett, Nancy and I have been working on a Charter that can be > submitted to the Tennessee Department of State. It is a Charter for a > nonprofit corporation. We would not be the first StateGenWeb to > incorporate. KansasGenWeb has recently incorporated as a nonprofit. > > After the basic Charter is approved, we (all CCs), would have the > opportunity to contribute to a fair and equitable set of Bylaws. Next, > the Bylaws would need to be approved by a majority of the CCs. We would > then be governed by the rules WE create, rather than being subject to > outside intervention. > > Please note, there is nothing in this act of our incorporation that > would change our relationship with USGenWeb Project. As long as the > USGenWeb Project met OUR standards of free online nonprofit genealogy, > there would probably never be a need for change. > > Before submitting the Charter, we need to hear from you. Please post > your reply to this list so we all can share. We need to remain a team, > and keep our three stars shining above the rest. > > Fred Smoot, a State Rights Westerner > > > ==== TNGEN Mailing List ==== > > Be sure to send your updates to this mailing list to be > included on the "What's New" page. >