What is the link for people to say that think is a county is good bad or ugly. I know we had it once but since the move I don't know what it is and am sure the new CC's don't either. Wanda Qualls Matthew 5 - 7 ----- Original Message ----- From: "Elaine Martin" <mcstumped@suddenlink.net> To: "txgen" <txgen@rootsweb.com> Sent: Friday, July 03, 2009 6:24 AM Subject: [TXGEN] COM 101 > > Happy 4th everyone! Try to stay cool and safe while having fun. > > We have several fairly new CCs that may not be aware of how the COM > (County of the Month > <http://www.txgenweb.org/tx/surfing/Winners/index.htm>) award works. So > I thought maybe COM 101 would help them understand. > > TXGenWeb has a Surfing Committee > <http://www.txgenweb.org/tx/surfing/Committee/index.htm>. Texas is > divided into 11 regions, and the surfers are each assigned a region to > surf. A region consists of anywhere from 20 to 27 counties each. Each > month a surfer will look at and "evaluate" each of the counties in their > assigned region. The evaluation process consists of a form that each > surfer uses as a guide > <http://www.txgenweb.org/tx/surfing/Criteria/surfingform.htm>. Each > county is checked to be sure it meets all the National > <http://usgenweb.org/volunteers/standard-rules.shtml> & State level > <http://www.txgenweb.org/tx/rules.htm> requirements. Once it is > determined that it meets all of the requirements, it is surfed to see > what else the county offers, if the links are current and working, has > the site been updated recently, etc. (See form > <http://www.txgenweb.org/tx/surfing/Criteria/surfingform.htm> for actual > items looked for) Once the evaluation process has been completed for > each county in that region, the surfer will then add up the points > assigned to each county and "nominate" the county for COM that has the > highest points. > > Once each surfer has nominated one county from their assigned region, it > goes to a finalization committee. The finalization committee then surfs > each of the 11 counties nominated and the patron nomination and a COM is > chosen. > > Some months we have a patron nomination that is included in the final > evaluation. When patrons send in nominations, the patron nominations > form a 12th region and the counties are surfed just as those in the > other 11 regions are surfed. The highest scoring county becomes the > Patron Nomination and is sent to the finalization committee. > > If you would like for your county to be eligible, be sure to check out > the evaluation form and then check your county site as if you were the > surfer. You might be surprised at the things you find. I work my > counties pretty hard, and I still get notes from surfers on problems > they found. It is so easy to not see a problem when you look at the > page so often! I always appreciate the surfer giving me a heads up on > any problems. I would rather hear about the problem from the surfer > than a patron complaining about it. LOL > > If you have any questions on what you need to do to help your county be > eligible for COM, contact your surfer and let them know you are willing > to make any necessary changes/additions. Once your surfer knows you are > willing to work on the county, they will be happy to help you. > > If you are awarded the COM, your county is then not eligible for another > COM award for 6 months. > > If a county wins the COM a total of 3 times, they are then inducted into > the Hall Of Fame <http://www.txgenweb.org/tx/surfing/HOF/index.htm> and > are no longer eligible to be a COM again. (Once a county changes to a > new CC, the county is once again eligible for COM, and all old awards > must be moved from the main index page to an inside page. The new CC > must win the award to display it on the main page.) > > At the end of the year, we have a total of 12 COM counties. We have a > committee that will evaluate the 12 COM counties and the Hall of Fame > counties and choose one county from those that will receive the COY > (County Of The Year > <http://www.txgenweb.org/tx/surfing/COY/index.htm>). Once a county > has received COY it is no longer eligible for any other awards. > > Clear as mud now? > > Elaine > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > TXGEN-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes > in the subject and the body of the message >