Board of Directors Meeting

August 11, 2025

The Bay County Genealogical Society convened its meeting at the Bay County Public Library. President Joe Oglesby called the meeting to order at 1:03 pm and declared a quorum was present. Members present: Joe Oglesby, Beverly Nield, Dawn Dykes, Judy Bennett, Sandy Scott, Lorrie Canfijn, Carolyn Windham, and Patti Menchion.

Reports:

President: Joe yielded to Sandy to read the minutes of the May meeting on May 12, 2025. Joe informed us of the efforts and needs of donors from the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) and other organizations working to erect a monument to honor John Clark in Panama City. John Clark was a Revolutionary War soldier and worked for Andrew Jackson in Northwest Florida as his federal Indian agent and “Keeper of the Public Forests” in Florida. John Clark was initially buried in the family cemetery in Saint Andrews, Florida, and was later reinterred with his wife at the National Cemetery in Marietta, Georgia.

1st Vice President (Programs): Mary K. McGraw was not present. In September, Carolyn will present a program titled "Using AI and Ancestry Pro in researching Your Genealogy". In October, Sandra Peirce will present a program. In November, Nancy Hudson will speak about local area cemeteries. December will be a Christmas program and a business meeting. New year suggestions include census and immigration research, visiting a cemetery, and overcoming roadblocks in family ancestry research. Jeannie Schierberg will research additional speakers.

2nd Vice President (Membership): Suzanne Shay was not present; however, we discussed strategies for building membership. Judy suggested including an Instagram account. There may be more visibility on Instagram than on Facebook. Caroline will research this.

Treasurer: Pattie emailed the report to the board members. As of July 31, 2025, the Regions operating account balance was $2,547.36, and the Regions CD account balance was $6,266.21. Pattie stated that the next maturity date for the CD will be November 14, 2025, at 4.02%.

Budget and Finance: Caroline stated that she and Pattie will meet in September to plan next year’s budget. Sandy will give them the annual cost of GoDaddy.

Recording Secretary: No report.

Corresponding Secretary: No report.

Archives & Library: No report.

Extractions: No report.

First Families: The group reviewed the criteria and documentation necessary for designation as a "First Family." Lorrie and Judy, with the help of Caroline, are working together to learn more about the process.

Florida State Genealogical Society: No report.

Federation of Genealogical Society: No report.

Webmaster: Sandy stated she is working on the website and that she does not have information on various sections of the databases from 2018 to the present. Lorrie recommended including a link to the Northwest Florida Library for updated information within the multiple databases. She also encouraged members to visit the site, as this will help move the website higher in the search engine rankings.

Hospitality: Cheryl Wisner was not present.

Newsletter: Joe said he is gathering data for the newsletter. He is interested in suggestions for the newsletter.

Publicity: Dawn continues to contact various agencies to promote our programs. She created a sheet showing the next few months of programs, which she will place in multiple senior assisted living establishments.

Old Business: No report.

New Business: Joe suggested we host a group cemetery event, inviting people to stroll and learn about their ancestors.

Judy moved to adjourn; Caroline seconded. The motion carried. The meeting adjourned at 2:35 pm.

Sandy took minutes and typed them.