2011 Directory Now Available to Members in Hard Copy (and Online!)

In today's mail, I received the brand new, lilac-covered 2011 Directory of EWGS members shown below. Every EWGS member will be receiving one in the mail very shortly. These are so handy to tuck in your genealogy notebook or your car when you're out and about working on EWGS projects!

Directory editors Rod and Darlinda Ramer did an excellent job on this project, inputting countless hours of work and careful checking, and working alongside Membership Chair Pat Ewers to ensure that the directory was as accurate and up-to-date as possible. As a member, if you see an error in your information, please contact Pat as soon as possible, so that we can get the word out to other members.

Also, if you are a member, you have access to the Membership Directory online on our website as well. This online information is private and secure, and only accessible to other members, not the public. To access this information, go to the EWGS website, http://www.ewgsi.org, and click on the Members tab in the left hand column.

 Log in (if you don't know your login information, your user name is the first initial of your first name, plus your last name; in my case it is "mmidkiff". Your password is your five-digit zip code, and yes! you can change it to your own secret one later...I did!).

After you login, you will see a small menu of choices under the Members tab in the left hand column. Click on the Membership link and you will be brought to a database of member names, addresses, e-mail addresses and phone numbers.

You can browse through this list alphabetically, search for a specific member's name, or download the list as a .pdf file to your computer.

Thanks to webmaster Cecily Cone Kelly for all her hard work on our website!

EWGS Attendees to RootsTech

Donna Potter Phillips, Terri Merritt Rehmann, Cecily Cone Kelly and Margie Stein Beldin, all EWGS members, attended the RootsTech conference in February, 2011, in Salt Lake City. Next year perhaps the EWGS group photo will be of a larger group???

Mel Butterfield (1916 - 2009)

Longtime EWGS member, Mel Butterfield, passed away last Wednesday, February 11th. His funeral will be held on Tuesday, February 17, 2009 at 1:00 pm at Heritage Funeral Chapel. I highly recommend reading Mel's obituary in the Spokesman-Review here. He had an amazing life, and I know he will be sorely missed by his family, friends, and fellow EWGS members.

Gary L. Taylor (1935 - 2008)

It was with shock and great sadness that we learned that EWGS's beloved treasurer, Gary L. Taylor, passed away quietly in his sleep last Wednesday night. He was 73. Only last Saturday, Gary and I were sitting together in our usual places at the front of the meeting room for the November 2008 General Meeting, with him receiving membership dues for the 2009 genealogical year and myself manning the Ways and Means merchandise table. Gary's dedication to his duties as treasurer, his willingness to help our society in diverse ways--including the last two rest stop fundraisers--and his sense of humor and broad smile will be missed by all. We send our condolences to his wife and family members.

EWGS member Bill Ailes has been helping Mrs. Taylor with the arrangements, and reports that services will be held next Saturday, November 15th at 12:00 PM at Hennessey-Smith Funeral Home, 2203 N. Division Street. The November computer classes were scheduled to be held at the public library that day; we are looking into the various options we have so as to not create a conflict for those who wish to both attend the class and also pay their respects to Gary's family. We'll have a better idea by Monday, when I can speak with my contact at the library about a possible computer class rescheduling. Stay tuned to the blog, the EWGS mailing list, and your e-mail for further notifications. Gary's obituary can be read at the Spokesman-Review website here.