About Us
By Laws
Escanaba Library
Membership/Meetings
Society Collections
Research Help
Databases
Births
Marriages
Divorces
Cemeteries
Census
Directories
Escanaba Morning Press
Hospital Records
Immigration
Library Catalog
Pioneer Certificates
Probate
UP History-Names
Veterans
Voters
Society Membership
Memberships are open to anyone with an interest in genealogy!And, who is willing to share with the other members.
Membership dues are $20.00 a year for an indivdual (January to December each year) and includes the quarterly newsletter, Delta Pedigree Press, with free queries. You are encouraged to submit a surname list with your membership.
To become a Society Member, scroll down to the membership form below, copy, paste into an open blank document, print, fill in and mail it to: Delta County Genealogical Society, Box 442, Escanaba, MI 49829-0442
Society Meetings - The public is always welcome!MINUTES OF THE MOST RECENT MEETINGS OF THE SOCIETY
Delta County Genealogical Society - Meeting Minutes
Family Search Center - January 22, 2024
Officers Present: R. Reiffers, S. Whitman
1,2. The meeting was called to order by President Richard Reiffers at 6:30 PM. Introduction of new members were made and genealogy research issues were discussed. The agenda was approved with no additions.
3. President’s report: Notices about tonight’s meeting were published on the DCGS FaceBook page and in the local newspapers. Discussed a FB contributor who seemed to flood the FB page with memes and it was felt the important items posted on the page tended to get lost because of all of these memes. Pres. Reiffers indicated he would try to address this as tactfully as possible in the coming days.
4. Vice President/Corresponding Secretary’s report: No report due to VP Freward’s absence. Fr. Pepin made a move to approve the minutes from the October meeting that she recorded, once a typo was corrected. K. Sagataw seconded – all approved.
5. Secretary/Treasurers Report: At this time the current bank balance for the Society is $105.95. The USPS P.O. box rental was paid on 11/15/23 for 6 months, at a cost of $105. Reminded all that dues for 2024 are due now and encouraged folks to get those in sooner rather than later. Also reminded all that anyone can post genealogical info on the DCGS FB page to help researchers who are following us and to keep interest in the page. At this time, very few people are posting anything and we need to keep interest alive. Those in attendance did have ideas and will post what they can.
6. Potential Programs & Activities: Discussed the upcoming Rootsweb Conference at the end of February, which when attended virtually is free to anyone who registers. Fr. Pepin also mentioned the Genealogy TV YouTube channel which can be very helpful with research. Agreed that those items needed to be shared on the DCGS Facebook page. Also, everyone should think about ways we can do more outreach to the community to promote the society and garner more members.
7. Website Updates: Nothing to report at this time.
8. Newsletter Development: Discussed the next issue which should go out by the end of March. A recommendation was made to refresh and republish articles in older newsletters, but the problem is that the older issues are missing from the library and there are very few available from attending members. K. Sagataw feels there may be some old editions in the files here at the Family Search Center and she will look.
9. Other Business: None at this time – Pres. Reiffers mentioned he has some upcoming procedures that have to be taken care of and he is not sure how available he will be for the next month or so. He’ll keep everyone posted.
10. There being no other business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 8:20 PM (Fr. Pepin motioned, K. Sagataw 2nd, all approved). The next DCGS meeting is Monday, February 26th, 6:30PM at the Family Search Center.
Delta County Genealogical Society - Annual Meeting Minutes
Family Search Center - September 25, 2023
Officers Present: R. Reiffers, K. Freward, S. Whitman
1. The meeting was called to order by President Richard Reiffers at 8:05 PM. The agenda was approved with no additions. Discussion was held about the success of the Open House just completed prior to the meeting, with over 20 folks attending. Unfortunately, no new members are attending the business meeting.
2. President’s report: Pres. Reiffers was on the radio the morning of Sep. 14th at 8:30 AM through Radio Results Network to promote the DCGS and our Open House. He stated that information for the meeting was also printed in the Escanaba Daily Press and the Action Shopper. He also displayed posters in a couple of areas and feels that everything everyone did to promote the event made it successful.
3. Vice President/Corresponding Secretary’s report: Nothing new to report at this time.
4. Secretary/Treasurers Report: K. Freward made a motion to accept the minutes from August 28th as written, 2nd by K. Sagataw; unanimously approved. Sec. Whitman disseminated a spreadsheet showing receivables and payments made by the society for the past year.At this time the current bank balance for the Society is $210.65. She stated that in order to fulfill the requirements of the annual audit, she would have the bank review the records at the end of the year. There should be no charge for this and should suffice as an accountant would cost a lot of money that the Society just doesn’t have. Also reminded folks that membership dues are due in January.
5. Website Updates: Fr. Pepin is continuing to update the meeting notices/minutes etc. as needed.
6. DCGS By-laws Review/Revisions: After review of the by-laws, it was determined by all that there was no need to revise anything at this time.
7. Nominations of Committee Chairs: Since no new members were present and it was determined after review of the by-laws that any member could chair a committee (including officers), K. Freward offered to chair the Library Committee and S. Whitman offered to chair the Newsletter Committee. All were in favor; it was agreed that we would table the Membership Committee chair until a later date.
8. Newsletter Development: S. Whitman will be writing up a story on the Open House tonight for the Fall edition in the next day or so, so it can go out by the end of the week. The rest of the newsletter is completed. She reminded folks of the holiday-type theme we will have for the next newsletter, which should go out a week or so before Christmas. K. Sagataw had offered to write an article on the importance of journaling, Fr. Pepin was going to contribute one about French Canadian holiday customs, and S. Whitman also wanted to write about family traditions. Articles should be submitted no later than mid-November so as not to interfere with the holidays and everyone’s busy-ness during that time.
9. Other Business: Sec. Whitman thanked everyone for their hard work in promoting, setting up, speaking, and everything done to help make tonight a success.
10. There being no other business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 8:45 PM (K. Freward motioned, Fr. Pepin 2nd, all approved). The next DCGS meeting is scheduled for Monday, October 23rd, 2023 – 6:30PM at the Family Search Center.
Delta County Genealogical Society - Meeting Minutes
Family Search Center - August 28, 2023
Officers Present: R. Reiffers, K. Freward, S. Whitman
1. The meeeting was called to order by President Richard Reiffers at 7:08 PM. The agenda was approved with no additions. K. Freward made a motion to accept the minutes from July 24th as written, 2nd by R. Reiffers; unanimously approved.
2. President's report: Has scheduled a radio interview for Thursday, Sep. 14th at 8:30 AM through Radio Results Network to promote the DCGS and our upcoming Open House. They will also provide several PSAs on their radio stations about the event. He apologized for not getting the notice of this meeting on social media - he thought he had done so and does not know what happened. It did run in the Escanaba Daily Press twice in the last 2 weeks. He stated that Fr. Pepin has had some medical issues/procedures and has not been able to contact the speaker for the Open House. Pres. Reiffers stated he would be happy to talk to the group about the Society and about its history.
3. Vice President/Corresponding Secretary's report: VP Freward is working on a new brochure for the DCGS and will have it done by the Open House. Is also working on a display board for the event.
4. Secretary/Treasurer's Report: At this time, the current bank balance for the Society is $213.32. Did pay the bill for the website domain name - this is a $35 annual fee. Also brougbt up the importance of having ZOOM meetings (or other platforms that are similar) to make it easier for more people to be involved. Sec. Whitman stated she was not an expert at this, but we need to find someone who is able to do this soon so we can grow our membership and include all current members in our meetings. She also suggested that we change the content of our monthly meetings just a bit, to include time for folks to talk about research issues and family history, since new people come in every so often to the meetings wanting to do this. We all also have our own questions and stories to tell. It was thought by all that this was a good idea - we could start earlier (6:30 PM) and take about 45 minutes to discuss research/family history and about 45 minutes to conduct the buismess side of the meeting. We could begin this in the new year.
5. Website Updates: No report.
6. DCGS Annual Meeting: Discussed all the work and items needed to bring together a successful event: content, refreshment, handouts, displays, etc. Everyone is chipping in to help and we will start set up at the Family Search Center at 5:30 on the night of the event.
7. Newsletter Development: We have quite a bit of content that folks suggested/offered in the past month, so we will use those. K. Freward will write about family surnames members are searching, to see if others may have the same connections and can help/work together. She will get that submitted as soon as she can. S. Whitman enouraged others to submit content as well.
8: Other Business: VP Freward stated that the Sault Ste Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians will open enrollment to new tribe members in Feb. 2024, and that many folks want to research their families to see if they can prove their connection to the Tribe in order to be enrolled. This means that the Family Search Center could be very busy, so she will looking into exactly what is needed to prove tribal connections so she is ready for the influx. It was also thought that this effort would be a good news article for the Spring edition of our newsletter, so that folks know what they need and where to go for help.
9. There being no other business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 7:55 PM (K. Freward motioned, S. Whitman 2nd, all approved) The next meeting is our DCGS Annual Meeting and is scheduled for Monday, Sept. 25th, 2023 - 6:30 PM at the Family Search Center.
Delta County Genealogical Society - Meeting Minutes
Family Search Center - July 24, 2023
Officers Present: R. Reiffers, K. Freward, S. Whitman
1. The meeting was called to order by President Richard Reiffers at 7:04 PM. The agenda was approved with no additions. He also made a motion to accept the minutes from April 24th as written, 2nd by Fr. Pepin; unanimously approved.
2. President’s report: Has been in contact with the radio stations and they are willing to do PSAs free of charge for our annual meeting – Pres. Reiffers stated he has written up something for them to use for this purpose. He is working on contacting the person he needs to schedule a radio interview with, but felt it would be doable in plenty of time to promote the Annual Meeting.
3. Vice President/Corresponding Secretary’s report: We did receive another membership since last month; she has updated the membership list and emailed it to everyone. No other news to report.
4. Secretary/Treasurers Report: At this time the current bank balance for the Society is $228.32. Did receive the bill for our website domain name so will be paying that soon – it is $35/year. Thanked VP Freward for taking minutes at the last meeting.
5. Website Updates: Fr. Pepin has put the meeting notice at the top of the page so it’s easier for all to see. We also discussed what address to use for the Family Search Center, as it potentially has 2 addresses, and it was determined that the 1021 South 14th St. address is the correct one to use He also mentioned that he is working on removing the broken links he is finding on the site, but this is a very laborious process and will take time to find/delete them all.
6. DCGS Annual Meeting: Fr. Pepin has not had a chance to connect with Mr. Anzalone about speaking about a historical family of Delta County yet, but hopes to very soon. S. Whitman will do a short talk about DNA – It’s Value in Research and K. Sagataw will do a presentation on the Family Search Center. It was reiterated that each presenter would take only about 15-20 minutes for each segment. Discussion ensued about marketing of the meeting, refreshments, and potentially having video access to the meeting. K. Freward will put together display boards and will also update the DCGS brochures. S. Whitman encouraged everyone to stay in touch regarding the progress being made via email and texts so that things keep moving.
7. Newsletter Development: It was mentioned that the numbering of the newsletter editions was off just a bit – R. Reiffers had found the records on this and gave that info to be used starting with the next edition. The group then discussed potential articles for the Fall Edition. We will use Fr. Pepin’s article on the importance of talking to family to aid in genealogical research, he also suggested adding cartoons or short ‘quips’ to lighten it up – he’ll see what he can find. S. Whitman stated she would like to do a write-up on the Annual Meeting, which means the newsletter will probably go out a week later than usual, but feels it’s important to include. Some other suggestions were made for resources to be included and it was also suggested the hours the Family Search Center is open would be helpful to add. K. Freward will write about family surnames members are searching, to see if others may have the same connections and can help/work together. Try to get
articles to S. Whitman as soon as possible because she will be out of town quite a bit in the coming weeks.
The group also started discussing the winter newsletter and how we can tie it in with the holidays. K. Sagataw would like to contribute an article on the importance of writing journals to keep family history alive; Fr. Pepin would like to write about French Canadian holiday traditions since there are so many Delta County folks with that background; S. Whitman will write about Holiday traditions in general and the importance of keeping those alive. She asked that writers remember that the newsletter can only take so many words and that articles should be fairly short and to the point.
8. There being no other business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 8:04 PM (K. Freward motioned, K. Sagataw 2nd, all approved). The next DCGS meeting is our DCGS Annual Meeting and is scheduled for Monday, August 28, 2023 - 7:00PM - at the Family Search Center.
Delta County Genealogical Society - Meeting Minutes
Family Search Center - June 26, 2023
Members present: R. Reiffers, Fr. Pepin, K. Sagataw, K. Freward
Delta County Genealogical Society - Meeting Minutes
Family Search Center - May 22, 2023
Officers Present: R. Reiffers, K. Freward, S. Whitman
1. The meeting was called to order by President Richard Reiffers at 7:06 PM. The agenda was approved with no additions. Fr. Pepin also made a motion to accept the minutes from April 24th as written, 2nd by M. Adenau; unanimously approved.
2. President’s report: Indicated he would be contacting the radio stations soon to ask them to do a story/interview about the DCGS; consensus is that this needs to air no later than August so that we can promote the September Annual Meeting. He also presented an article he wrote for the summer newsletter about Lt. Governor James MacDonald who lived in Escanaba and is buried here.
3. Vice President/Corresponding Secretary’s report: We did receive another membership since last month; she has updated the membership list and will send it out to all very soon. No other news to report.
4. Secretary/Treasurers Report: At this time the current bank balance for the Society is $228.32. The P.O. Box rental was paid for 6 months, and is now $105 for that period. Currently working on the summer newsletter, thanked those who had offered news articles and stated that if anyone else wanted to submit an article, they needed to do so within the next week. Hope to have the draft out by June 15th for all to review. Will need someone to take minutes at the next meeting as I will be out of the country during that time. VP Freward offered to take minutes at the next meeting.
5. Website Updates: Fr. Pepin stated he was making adjustments as needed, including updating the minutes to reflect the most current version. Also mentioned he wish there was a ‘counter’ on the webpage so that we could see how many people actually visit the website; it was thought that there was a counter at one time, but accessing it seems to be a problem.
6. Newsletter Development: Sec/Treas. Whitman again stated everyone needs to be involved for the newsletter to be varied and successful. She was grateful for the articles that were submitted and if they are not all used for the summer edition, we can use them for the fall edition.
7. Marketing & Recruitment of New Members: Sec/Treas. Whitman stated she did do a genealogy class at the Escanaba Sr. Center on May 10th and it was well received – over 30 people attended. She has another class set for June 6th at the Alger County Commission on Aging and if there is enough interest, she hopes to do a 6-week course here in Escanaba in the fall. K. Sagataw indicated they needed to do a better job of promoting the Family Search Center as this could also bring in new members, and the plan was to start that soon. Sec/Treas. Whitman mentioned that the DCGS brochure still needed to be updated so we could use it to help promote the society. Fr. Pepin attended the Delta Historical Society’s Annual Meeting, there were about 65 people there. He spoke with Mr. Lundquist, president of the society, about partnering with them in the future. He also talked again to someone there from Bay Sages and they are still very interested in having us present to them in 2024. Whitman again encouraged others to post interesting things on the Society’s Face Book page, as our followers are growing and we need to keep them interested.
8. DCGS Annual Meeting: Discussion was help about possible presenters. S. Whitman offered to talk about DNA – It’s Value in Research; also, K. Sagataw stated she would do a presentation on the Family Search Center. Fr. Pepin said he would talk to Mr. Anzalone from the Historical Society to see if he’d like to do a pictorial presentation of past prominent members of Delta County. Each presenter would take about 15-20 minutes for each segment. S. Whitman also mentioned that Pres. Reiffers should speak briefly to the welcome the group at the beginning.
9. Other Business: There was no other business discussed at this time.
10. Meeting Adjourned at 7:55 PM (Fr. Pepin motioned, K. Freward 2nd, all approved). The next DCGS meeting is scheduled for Monday, June 26, 2023 at 7:00PM at the Family Search Center.
Delta County Genealogical Society - Meeting Minutes
Family Search Center - April 24, 2023
Officers Present: R. Reiffers, K. Freward, S. Whitman
1. The meeting was called to order by President Richard Reiffers at 7:03 PM. The agenda was approved with no additions.
2. President’s report: Was happy to see that the papers did publish the meeting notice in a timely fashion this month. He also stated that he had not had time to contact the local radio stations about doing a story on the DCGS.
3. Vice President/Corresponding Secretary’s report: 63 newsletters were mailed out to members and those on the old mailing list; 14 were returned as undeliverable which isn’t too bad. We did receive 6 new membership requests as a result of the newsletter. Hopefully this is just the start. We may want to consider trying to use Zoom once again for meetings to try and generate even more interest. She will update the membership list and have it ready for the next meeting. Newsletters from other societies received were passed around for everyone to review.
4. Secretary/Treasurers Report: At this time the current bank balance for the Society is $173.32, but does not include some of the new membership dues just received. Seventy-five stamps were purchased to mail the newsletter this month at a cost of $47.25. The P.O. Box rental will be due in May which is around $100, so more revenue is definitely needed. Sec/Treas. Whitman asked for a motion to approved the minutes of the last meeting; VP/Corresponding Sec. Freward made the motion. K Sagataw second, all in favor. March minutes approved as written.
5. Website Updates: Fr. Pepin has added the membership form, as discussed at the last meeting. He stated he is making little corrections as he comes to them and asked others to notify him if they see anything that needs to be updated or changed. At this time he can only change wording, not the background or design. He will keep all current year minutes on the webpage, older minutes will be deleted. Stated we should keep using this website for now until the time we have other more affordable options.
6. Newsletter Development: Sec/Treas.Whitman again stated everyone needs to be involved for the newsletter to be varied and successful. She still has not received anything from anyone else for the June newsletter; articles will need to be submitted to her by no later than the next meeting date, which is May 22. Discussion ensued concerning possible content – it was mentioned that a write-up of the history of the Society itself might be a good article. K Sagataw said she would look through the archives at the Family Search Center for old minutes and stories of the Society for reference. M. Adenau thought a story about the settlers of the Stonington Peninsula could be interesting; she will look for an article she had concerning that subject. Whitman again stated that everyone needs to contribute and that the deadline to submit a rough draft or story to her would be May 22nd.
7. Marketing & Recruitment of New Members: Sec/Treas. Whitman stated she is still interested in going to the local senior centers to talk and even give classes, and has been in contact with 3 centers for this purpose. She is working to set up the dates and hopes to get these going soon. Fr. Pepin did contact folks from the Bay Sages group to see if we could do a presentation there, and they are very interested in having us come, but unfortunately their meetings are all booked for 2023. They will save us a spot in 2024. It was reiterated again that everyone needs to do their part to recruit members and promote the society. Whitman also encouraged others to post interesting things on the Society’s FaceBook page, as our followers are growing and we need to keep them interested.
8. DCGS Annual Meeting: S. Whitman shared her ideas on the possible structure and flow of the Annual Meeting held in September. She stated we need to get information into the next newsletter about it because it’s the only newsletter that will be sent out prior to the meeting. She recommended a ‘meet and greet’ open house from 6:30-7, to include refreshments. Then presentations on 2 or 3 key topics in genealogy could be presented. After the presentations, the Annual Meeting would be held for members only. The public would be invited to the Meet & Greet and the presentations, with no charge to attend at this time. Refreshments could be served. It was agreed that this is a good format; Whitman reiterated that we would definitely need a couple of good speakers. Everyone should be thinking about who and what would be good for this project.
9. Other Business: There was no other business discussed at this time.
10. Meeting Adjourned at 8:06 PM (M. Adenau motioned, K. Sagataw second, all approved).
The next DCGS meeting is scheduled for Monday, May 22nd, 2023 at 7:00PM at the Family Search Center.
Delta County Genealogical Society - Meeting Minutes
Family Search Center - March 27, 2023
Attending: R. Reiffers, K. Freward, K. Sagataw, Fr. D. Pepin, S. Whitman
1. The meeting was called to order by President Richard Reiffers at 7:05 PM. The agenda/minutes from last meeting were approved with no changes.
2. President’s report: Nothing new to report at this time. He did mention that he submitted information about the April meeting to the papers today, and hoped that this time they would get in.
3. Vice President/Corresponding Secretary’s report: No new memberships have been received. Newsletters from other societies received were passed around for everyone to see. No other news to report.
4. Secretary/Treasurers Report: Sec/Treas. Whitman stated that at this time the current bank balance for the Society is $140.57. One bill was paid since the last meeting – that to UP Log on for use of website for 6 months in the amount of $59.70. She mentioned that recruiting new members is reaching a critical point as funds are dangerously low and the society will not have enough revenue to pay the few bills needed to operate in the coming year.
5. Website Updates: Fr. Pepin has made the requested changes from the last meeting to the website. He also updated information about the next meeting dates/places and included a link to meeting minutes. He is still working on trying to change some of the look/format but the program is a little tricky and he hasn’t quite figured it all out yet. It was recommended that the membership form be included on the website – he will take care of that.
6. Newsletter Development: Sec/Treas. Whitman thanked Fr. Pepin for his help on the newest edition of the newsletter, but stated everyone needs to be involved for the newsletter to be varied and successful. We have 3 months until the next one needs to be completed in June, so she recommended that people write things or forward things to her as they think of them, not wait until the last minute. VP Freward stated that everyone should commit to providing at least one ½ page of content to the next newsletter.
Circulation of the newsletter was also discussed. As agreed last meeting, it will be provided free of charge to those on the old mailing list, with a request for membership letter and membership application sent along. In the future, new editions would then only be sent to those with a paid membership. Sec/Treas. Whitman stated she would also make an announcement on the FB page that the new edition was available and encourage those who wanted it to send in their membership dues. It was mentioned that a copy of the newsletter be put in the Genealogy section of the Library with “Library Copy – Please Leave in Library” across the top so no one takes it. Pres. Reiffers stated that copies should also go to the Allen Public Library in Indiana (they had been member of DCGS prior and do collect all genealogical info/newsletters) and the Delta Co. Historical Society.
7. Marketing & Recruitment of New Members: This is a critical need for the society. Sec/Treas. Whitman said that there are 100 followers on the DCGS FaceBook page and if we mail the newsletter free to about 75 people we have on the old mailing list, there is no reason we should not be able to garner around 20 or so new memberships from those 175 people. This is really all we need to keep the ball rolling, but of course in order to thrive, we would want even more. Discussion again ensued about the best way to do recruiting; Sec/Treas. Whitman stated we cannot continue to do free look-ups and give the newsletter away for free or there is no incentive to become a member. She suggested everyone take responsibility for doing one thing this next month to recruit new members. Again discussed getting a local paper to write an article as a news story about the Society, it’s basically free advertising. Also, RRN Radio Results is always looking for folks to come on the radio to talk about their programs, classes, etc and this would be more free advertising. It was suggested that Pres. Reiffers pursue this as he has the most history with the society and could answer questions the best. Sec/Treas. Whitman stated she is still interested in going to the local senior centers to talk and even give classes, and hopes to have more time to do this in the next few months. Fr. Pepin stated he had put the updated meeting flyer for the Society in several places; it was felt everyone should do this in and around their neighborhoods and places of work. Fr. Pepin is still willing to contact folks from the Bay Sages group to see how we could possible do some recruiting there. It was reiterated again that everyone needs to do their part to recruit members or the society will cease to exist.
8. Other Business: Discussed having an open house and programming for our fall annual meeting (Sept) – we really need to start working on this now so we can advertise in our June newsletter – if you have any ideas for speakers or agenda items, please let S. Whitman know as soon as possible. K. Sagataw mentioned she knows folks at the Delta Co. Steam/Gas Engine club/show. They might let us have some space at their next show to promote DCGS, so she will check. Someone also brought up the local farmers’ markets, but they are particular about who they allow in to promote their goods; but doesn’t hurt to ask. The Gladstone one seems like a good place to start as they are more open to ideas and are very reasonable in cost.
9. Meeting Adjourned at 8:11PM (K. Freward motioned, all approved). The next DCGS meeting is scheduled for Monday, April 24th 2023 at 7:00PM at the Family Search Center.
Delta County Genealogical Society - Meeting Minutes
Family History Center - February 20, 2023
Attending: R. Reiffers, K. Freward, K. Sagataw, Fr. D. Pepin, S. Whitman
1. The meeting was called to order by President Richard Reiffers at 7:15 PM. Introductions were made and the agenda/minutes from last meeting were approved with no changes.
2. President’s report: Pres. Reiffers reported that the transfer of the Treasurer’s duties and checkbook to the new Secretary/Treasurer was completed. Theresa Jenshak was removed from the Society’s checking account and Sherry Whitman was added. Pres. Reiffers was retained on the Society’s checking account as alternate user.
3. Vice President/Corresponding Secretary’s report: No new memberships have been received. Newsletters from other societies were reviewed. Sec. Freward reminded everyone after a review of the new By-Laws that dues for the new year are due now and it was requested that everyone either mail their dues to the Sec/Treas. or pay by the next meeting. Also, it was suggested that a request for new members and renewal of current members be posted on the Society’s website page.
4. Secretary/Treasurers Report: Sec/Treas. Whitman stated that at this time the current bank balance for the Society is $200.37 after all bills will be paid to date. New bills were presented to the Sec/Treas for payment. Sec. Whitman also reminded everyone that meetings are to be held on the 4th Monday evening of the month, Jan-Oct. Pres. Reiffers apologized for the mix-up this month.
5. Website Updates: Fr. Pepin has been able to make some needed changes and updates. He has cleaned up the front page and added the new bylaws and current meeting information. It was requested that he add the Society’s P.O. Box address and fix a few typos. He agreed and is still trying to find ways to make the page more user-friendly and appealing.
6. Newsletter Development: Sec/Treas. Whitman asked for everyone to be involved – newsletters are a lot of work. Ideas and suggestions for the next newsletter were discussed; a review of those done years ago showed that some of the information was still pertinent and could be used again. Fr. Pepin also stated he had a lengthy article about researching Catholic Church records he was happy to share. Discussion of the length of the newsletter ensued; older editions had been up to 10 pages, but it was felt that in getting started again, 4-6 pages would be sufficient at this time. Circulation of the newsletter was discussed. Most thought only paying members should receive but agreed that the next newsletter could be provided free of charge with a request for membership that would include access to all future newsletter editions. Sec/Treas. Whitman stated she would set up a template and start working on the newsletter ASAP, but encouraged anyone who had ideas or stories to send them to her soon.
7. Marketing & Recruitment of New Members: Discussion again ensued concerning the need for more members and more revenue, and the best way to do recruiting, as what we have been doing the past few months is not working. It was agreed that circulating the newsletter for free this next time may help, especially when requesting new members to continue receiving the newsletter. Another idea was to get the local paper to write an article as a news story about the Society as basically free advertising. We should also attend the Delta Co. Historical Society’s annual meeting to give info on our work and recruit new members. Sec/Treas. Whitman stated she has a long-standing relationship with the local senior centers and could start doing some PR at those locations. Sec/Treas. Whitman also stated she had updated a meeting flyer for the Society and asked for help in disseminating. After some discussion, some changes will be made to the flyer and she will email to all after making the changes. Everyone can then post them to wherever they feel is most appropriate to recruit new members. Also, Fr. Pepin will contact folks from the Bay Sages group to see how we could possibly do some recruiting there. The DCGS FaceBook page was also discussed again – we need to do more there to recruit members from near and far.
8. Other Business : K. Sagataw requested that all written/posted material refer to the Family History Center as the ‘Family Search Center’ as their name had recently been changed.
9. Meeting Adjourned at 8:10 PM (K. Sagataw motioned, all approved). The next DCGS meeting is scheduled for Monday, March 29th 2023 at 7:00PM at the Family Search Center and will be available by Zoom.
Copy the form below, then paste the Form into an open blank document, print, fill in and mail it to:
Delta County Genealogical Society, Box 442, Escanaba, MI 49829-0442