2020 – A Year of Changes
By Suzan Younger, DGS President
It may be that we have all had enough changes these past few months to last quite a while. However, I will ask you to accept a few more changes from the Dallas Genealogical Society, which we hope are all for the better.
The DGS board held a planning session in August 2019 and identified several goals. We decided to expand the reach of our programs and meetings by adding virtual capabilities. A virtual environment allows people an opportunity to join our general meetings and special interest group meetings without traveling to downtown Dallas. We assumed a gradual roll-out of this new platform. And then in March 2020, almost overnight, it all changed.
The DGS board and a committed core of volunteers will continue our programs, meetings, and seminars on a virtual platform. When it is safe and our libraries re-open, we will hold meetings in person but continue with the virtual option. The board decided on a few schedule changes unassociated with the health crisis issues. Please take note of these schedule changes for the DGS year 2020-2021 and join us virtually or in-person when we have that option again.
DGS will hold the September General Meeting on the second Saturday of September 2020. We changed the meeting to the second Saturday to accommodate people who planned to attend the Federation of Genealogical Society’s conference scheduled for the first weekend of September and to allow for Labor Day holiday travel. The meeting will be virtual on September 12, beginning at 11:00 am. Ari Wilkins is our speaker, and what a treat to have her start our new year.
The December meeting will be a regular general meeting with a speaker. We will hold this meeting at the Lakewood Branch of the Dallas Public Library System on December 5, starting at 10:30 with hospitality, assuming it is safe for in-person meetings. No more running the gauntlet with the Dallas Marathon or the Children’s Parade in December trying to get to the Central Library.
May 1, 2021, will be our annual Awards Ceremony, the election of DGS executive officers, and an end of year lunch celebration. The meeting will be at the Dallas Central Library in the O’Hare room on the 7th floor, if possible. Watch for presentation and luncheon times.
The DGS board misses seeing all of you in person, but the virtual meetings allow us to say hello and stay in contact. Please continue to join us for our virtual meetings. Remember to check the DGS website and read the DGS eNews for the latest news and meeting schedules. We hope all of you will take care, be safe, and we look forward to the day we can meet at the library.
