TIGS Monthly
Meeting Notes
February 2007
The regular monthly
meeting of the Troy Irish Genealogy Society was held on Thursday,
February 15, 2007 at the M.J.’s on the Avenue in North Troy,
New York. The following individuals were in attendance:
Kris Ayotte
Gary L. Baker, guest
Kay Brearton
Janice Eaton Burns, guest
Ed Dyer
Bruce Eaton, guest
Jeanne Keefe
Joyce Musco
Lydia Eaton Plante, guest
Lizette Strait
Donna K. Vaughn
Ann White
The meeting was called to order at 6:50 p.m. by Donna
Vaughn, President. Several new attendees were welcomed to the meeting
and introductions were made.
A motion was made by Kris Ayotte and seconded by Jeanne
Keefe to approve the minutes of the January 18, 2007 meeting. The
motion passed. The minutes have been published on the TIGS website.
REPORTS
There was no report from the President; however, Donna
informed those present that an Irish genealogy workshop will be
held at the New York State Museum on Sunday.
There was no report from the Vice President, Kris
Ayotte. She noted that membership has been increasing due to word
of mouth.
In the absence of the Treasurer, Cathy McGrath, Donna
reported that there is currently $608.20 in the TIGS treasury.
Webmaster, Jeanne Keefe, reported that everything
is up to date on the web site.
Lizette Strait reported that there are currently 203
list members.
Volume III of the Rensselaer County Marriage Index
has been completely scanned thanks to Jeanne Keefe and several volunteers.
Kris Ayotte has been extracting the deaths from the 1900 Troy City
Directory. When she has compiled the list, volunteers will compare
the names to the 1899 and 1901 city directories for information,
such as the address, occupation and, where applicable, the widow’s
name.
OLD BUSINESS
Joyce Musco has developed an order form for TIGS T-shirts/sweatshirts;
monies received for them must be in the form of a donation. The
colors will be white or stone washed green. Donna and Joyce will
investigate the mailing charges and a final price will be set.
Members of TIGS will assemble at 1:00 PM on Saturday,
March 17 for the Albany St. Patrick’s Day Parade. More specific
information will be provided later. The banner should be ready in
time to carry in the parade.
The members discussed limiting the new “lookup”
section of the website to dues paying members. It was suggested
that access be made via a link on the newsletter.
Donna, Mimi and Ann White are developing the newsletter
which will be sent to paid members before the next meeting. A contest
will be conducted seeking a name for the newsletter; the winner
will be awarded a TIGS T-shirt. Articles are welcome and may be
sent to Donna Vaughn.
Donna again discussed the possibility of TIGS conducting
an “antique road show” as a fundraiser. Lizette is checking
with the Poestenkill Fire Department and Jeanne Keefe is checking
with the Mountainview Fire Department to see if their facilities
could be used for this purpose.
NEW BUSINESS
Lizette suggested meeting with other genealogy groups
to plan a “Genealogy Workshop Day”. Everyone agreed
it was a good idea and Lizette will follow up on this proposed project
in the coming months..
Jeanne Keefe has developed a business card for TIGS
that can be downloaded and printed on our computers. These cards
contain the website address and could be handed to those who ask
members about the Society.
Lizette has been working on a poster board of TIGS
projects and hopes to have it finished by next month. She gave a
brief overview of the setup. The poster board would be used for
the TIGS booth at the Irish Fest in July. The Garden Tour agenda
item is tabled until spring or summer.
Donna asked if anyone had any changes they would like
to suggest for the TIGS Charter. She had several changes she was
recommending. Under Article 5, #4 Secretary – add that “a
draft of the minutes will be sent each month via e-mail to officers”;
Article 8 – “Dues will be assessed yearly and will cover
from January 1 through December 31 each year” and under Article
9, Membership, #1 Full Members – after the word “vote”,
add “on the election of officers”.
The proposed changes to the Charter will be posted
on the website for voting by paid members. Ed Dyer will tally votes.
Jeanne Keefe will post a paper ballot on the website and those who
wish to vote may then enter their vote and sent it to Ed Dyer.
A motion was made by Donna Vaughn and seconded by
Kris Ayotte to send a TIGS T-shirt to Pat Connors who was the inspiration
for the founding of the Troy Irish Genealogy Society. The motion
was passed.
Kris Ayotte would like to determine how many members
would be interested in participating in a trip to Ireland. She will
distribute a questionnaire at the March meeting to determine members’
feelings regarding budget, timeline, sites of interest, etc.
The March meeting will be held at MJ’s on the
Avenue (formerly Old Daley Inn) in North Troy at 6:30 p.m. The meeting
will be held on Wednesday, March 14.
Donna explained to the new attendees that a genealogy
table is available at every meeting to allow members to share genealogical
materials.
ADJOURNMENT
A motion was made by Jeanne Keefe and seconded by
Ed Dyer to adjourn the meeting. The motion was approved and the
meeting adjourned at 7:55 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Kathleen Brearton, Secretary