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Blog Entries: 1 to 5 of 5
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Message from the President
Our endowment has collected $41,617 as of 28 Nov 2022. Thanks to everyone that helped us with their donations. It has given us a real boost for our future finances. To continue the growth of our endowment consider adding OGS in your final bequests. See our website www.okgensoc.org for more information.
Present day the OGS can always use your help with your time, knowledge and funds. As a volunteer or board member you can help us continue the programs of the last 67 years. We have projects and tasks to create and improve the sources for your Genealogical endeavors. As a volunteer we have tasks that can be done at home or at our Resource Center in OKC. We will teach you everything you need to know and you may learn a new skill along the way. As a board member you can help us create the activities that will benefit you and other Genealogists into the future. As a volunteer and/or board member your current knowledge and the knowledge of your fellow Genealogists will be blended to the betterment of the OGS and make all of us better Genealogists. Being a volunteer or board member does not require you to be an experienced Genealogist. Beginners can offer their life experiences to the betterment of the OGS while they are learning to be better Genealogists. I was a novice Genealogist when I started with the OGS when asked to set at the registration table at a seminar. After twenty years as a OGS Board Member, I have made over hundred presentations to fellow or future Genealogists, been the editor of two Genealogical books, participated in dozens of OGS projects, helped dozens of Genealogists to find their ancestors, held several offices on the board and become your President for the second time. Please come and grow with the OGS and allow us to benefit from your past and future accomplishments.
As a member of the OGS your dues help us to have the finances to continue our path. We have tried to keep the dues as low as possible to allow everyone to benefit from their membership to the OGS. As any other corporation we have expenses and the dues do not cover everything. As an all volunteer organization we may not have salaries but we have rents, utilities, speaker fees, insurance, etc. to be able to offer the benefits to the Genealogical public. We have augmented the dues with publication sales, fees for seminars and classes, sales of logo products, donations, grants, memberships in First Families of the Twin Territories or Settlers & Builders, etc. If your financial position allows please consider a donation to our general fund. If you have contacts with corporations or organizations that offer grants to non-profits please ask that they consider the OGS (if you need information for applications all you need to do is ask). Are any of our publications or logo products appropriate for a gift to a friend, relative or local library please review our store to see. If you know of a novice or future Genealogist offer a membership to OGS or pay for a class or seminar for them. The addition of new Genealogists to the fold is the only way for OGS to continue for another 67 years. Is there a friend or relative that would be honored with a membership to the FFTT or Settlers & Builders? These are all consideration that could benefit the financial status of the OGS.
If you have the time, knowledge or funds to help the continuation of the OGS please step up and return to OGS the benefits you have received where you can. Please contact any OGS Board Member, email us at president@okgensoc.org or info@okgensoc.org or call us at 405-637-1907 for questions or more information on any of the topics of this article.
Jim Ike
President of OGS
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WE MADE IT
We have reached our goal of $25,000 in our endowment fund. Due to the generousity of our friends and members we have surpassed the $25,000 goal by several hundred dollars and a week ahead of our goal date and the money is still coming in. Your generousity allowed us to receive the matching grant from the Kirkpatrick Family Fund of another $15,000. With the $40,000+ in our endowment fund we our now a part of the Oklahoma City Community Foundation.
The endowment is not locked and we can continue to grow the endowment with new donations. There is no limit to how much the endowment can grow with the help of our friends and members. The larger the endowment the more money we can receive on a yearly basis to continue our programs into the future. We have been around since 1955 and plan to continue for many more years.
Towards that goal of continued growth of the endowment well past when you are able to donate, I would like you to think about adding the OGS to your list of beneficiaries. The endowment can take donations in many forms other than cash. Property, vehicles, stock, life insurance, mutual funds, 401K transfers, oil and gas royalties, etc. can be donated. The Foundation staff will handle the sales of items as required or help you with the transfers. Go to the www.occf.org website for more information on how you can make the OGS Endowment Fund one of your beneficiaries or contact Jennifer Meckling at the foundation for assistance at j.meckling@occf.org or 405/ 606-2951.
Jim Ike
President of OGS |
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Endowment Status
Our endowment fund with the Oklahoma City Community Foundation has been growing over the last few months. The latest total is $18,785.81 including the $12,500 Anonymous donation that started it. Our goal is $25,000 by 1 November 2022 to be able to receive the additional $15,000 from Kirkpatrick Family Fund. That means we need a little over $6200 to meet our goal in the next 9 weeks.
I want to thank everyone that has donated to our endowment fund so far. As of today we have 429 members in our organization. Only about 5% have donated to the endowment so far. If around 250 of those remaining members donate $25 each, we will surpass our goal. If you can spare $25 over the next couple of months please donate. If you can afford a little more then we can reach our goal sooner and anything over the $25,000 will only make our endowment dividend that much bigger for the future.
The Oklahoma City Community Foundation Endowment will give the OGS a stable financial influx into our budget for the future. We hope to be around for another 65+ years to help the Genealogists of the future. Please be a part of that goal and donate to the endowment fund.
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Volunteering for OGS
We are a group of over four hundred Genealogists that have an abundance of experiences in many different topics. As Genealogists we should always take advantage of times to share and learn new things that will enhance others and our research skills. You can take formal classes, read references, attend seminars or watch videos to gain new skills. We have offered many of these methods to our membership over the years. We have also offered chances to get hands on experience as a volunteer for the OGS.
As a volunteer you will be able to network with other Genealogists, work with documents that may not be the types you have been researching, learn knew techniques and technology that will enhance your researching. The OGS Resource Center has been collecting data from various sources for several years. To make these documents, books, photos, etc. more usable to the public and our membership we need your help. We have various types of documents that need to be indexed (Bureau of Indian Affairs documents, minister’s journals, church records, tax ledgers, school records, etc.), photos that need to be organized and scanned, scanned documents that need reviewed, family history collections to be organized and indexed, etc. Most projects require the use of a computer (graphics editor, spreadsheet, database, Internet, etc). Some projects can be done from your home and some at our Resource Center. A willingness to learn is all that we ask. The staff of the Resource Center will teach you what you need for the projects as required. We all can learn from each other no matter what level of knowledge we have. We also have need for someone knowledgeable with MS Access or Libre Office Base to help with the database for the FFTT project. We need to create data entry and search screens plus address list and certificate printouts.
We also have administrative needs such as a Genealogy Society Liaison, Social Media Coordinator, Volunteer Coordinator and Membership Chairman. The Genealogy Society Liaison will keep us in contact with other organizations to help share information on our and their events to a wider clientele. This can be done thru mostly email. The Social Media Coordinator will keep watch, answer questions and post event topics on our FaceBook and Instagram accounts. The Volunteer Coordinator will assist the other Board members by matching volunteers to help complete their projects as needed. The Membership Chairman will maintain membership records, process new memberships, work to maintain and grow our membership. These positions are all part of the organization we know as the Oklahoma Genealogical Society. All board members have at least one task to administrate even the officers. Many handle multiple tasks throughout the year and help the others with their tasks as needed. The more people we have working the easier it will be on everyone and the more things get done for the betterment of the organization and its membership.
We have been around for about 66 years and we want to be around for a lot longer. With your help we will continue well into the future. Please contact me if you have time to help us in some capacity as a volunteer or board member.
Jim Ike
President of OGS
president@okgensoc.org
405-637-1907
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Election results
On 7 June 2022 the Board of Directors elected officers for the OGS. Officers are as follows:
President: Jim Ike
Vice-President: Pam Hill-Black
Treasurer: Paul Woods
Assistant Treasurer: James Crow
Corresponding Secretary: La Nell Shores
Recording Secretary: Pam Bell
These officers along with their fellow board members will lead the organization for the next year. The rest of the board members are as follows:
Nancy Calhoun
Ivan Crowdis
Billie Fogarty
Melinda Howard
June Stone
Walt Stoyanoski
Sherry Maynor
As a working board each member and officer has at least one responsibility area for the organization. Currently we are in need of a few more board members to spread the load of management of the organization. If you are willing to make a three year commitment (board members are elected for three year terms) to the organization we want to hear from you.
Currently we have board members doubling up on responsibilities to get things done. As with any organization we need coordinators (chairman) to lead the various activities of an organization. We have responsibilities needing leadership such as membership (record keeping & renewals), education (scheduling classes & arranging presentations), publicity (social media, advertising & mailings), volunteer coordinator and society liaison to name a few. If you have a desire to apply your knowledge, to learn some new skills or to give back to the OGS, please contact a board member, so we can discuss our needs with your desires.
Jim Ike, President
405-637-1907
president@okgensoc.org
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