We are back! I am happy to announce that we will begin in-person general meetings starting this month with a presentation by Prof. Keith Ashley of UNF on 17 August 2021 at 7pm in the Fernandina Beach Library community room. Prof. Ashley’s presentation will update us on the dig he and his team have been conducting on Big Talbot Island. While not genealogy specific, an understanding of the historical aspects of the area your ancestors lived in is important when researching. It helps us place those family facts in an historical context. Don’t have family from Nassau County? Neither do I, but I’ll still be there, as this is sure to be an intriguing presentation! Due to the active spread of Covid in our community we strongly encourage everyone to wear a mask, as we will not be able to socially distance ourselves. I am excited that the programming committee was able to book him. Great job!
Speaking of committees, we are in the process of re-activating two different committees. One of the things I noticed when redeveloping the AIGS website was that the cemetery project was incomplete. It’s actually been over a decade since any group has traipsed the cemeteries of Nassau County in order to record those interred there and make a survey of all markers, including photographs. If you like to get out and walk around cemeteries then perhaps this is a good fit for you? Please contact our Vice-President James Shroads if you’d like to help or lead this group! We already have all of the equipment needed and a volunteer who is experienced in properly surveying a cemetery.
The other group that needs to be re-activated is our educational committee. January is coming soon and our popular Beginning Genealogy course needs to be prepared for the new year. This is an extremely important project that our society puts on for the Fernandina community and it needs a leader. Note, that leader doesn’t need to teach a class, though we would welcome additional instructors. At this time, we really need somebody to get the ball rolling again for the classes. Again, please contact Vice-President James Shroads if you’d like to help, teach, or lead this group!
We also have a new committee that I am forming. We’re calling it the “data committee” and their responsibility will be to construct a standard operating procedure (SOP) for genealogy data entry and then to utilize that SOP in reformatting existing data and creating new data sets of genealogy material specific to Nassau County. If you are largely a homebody, but want to still participate in our society activities, or you live far away from the Island, then this may be the perfect opportunity for you to join in! The webmaster of the AIGS website will be the chair for this committee, and that is presently myself. So if you’d like to volunteer, please reach out to me!
I hope to see many of you on August 17 at our general meeting!!!