Name:Mike St. ClairEMail:mike@saintclair.orgPositions:County Coordinator - Taney County
Missouri and Grainger County TennesseeURLs:http://www.taneymo.us and
http://www.graingertn.us(note that the latter is a brand new assignment and I have just
startedmy work there)Why I wish to be considered:Although I haven't been one of the
pioneers of the USGenWeb Project, Ihave been one of the pioneers of the concept of helping
genealogists byusing the Internet and some of it's predecessors, such as the GBBS
andFidonet systems. I see the great potential of this Project to helpgenealogists in
their research, as it has helped me personally and as Ihave seen it help countless others
I have worked with as neighbors,friends, family, and members of classes that I've
taught. I would liketo give something back to the thousands who have been contributing
oftheir time, talent, and energy over the years by serving them on the AB.One of my
personal goals in life is to contribute to the advancement
ofgenealogical computing and USGenWeb is currently the area I see with themost untapped
potential. I have great admiration and respect for themany of the current board that
I've become somewhat acquainted with overthe last couple of years. I truly believe
this would be a fun group towork with.Why I would be a good choice:I'm going to start
by saying I don't know if I would be the bestcandidate, not even knowing who the other
possibilities are, which iswhy I changed the title of this section to "why I would be
a goodchoice."I am an experienced genealogical researcher and understand the
value,the sources, and the difficulties of the broad range of records that areof value to
genealogists. Having worked on my own genealogy, as well ashaving helped others over the
course of 37 years (that's NOT my age butmy tenure as a researcher), I'm seasoned
and have learned much aboutwhat works and what doesn't, what's available and what
isn't. In thistime I've spent many years in two o!
f the
major record centers in ourcountry, Washington DC (16 years) and Salt Lake City (20
years), andhave learned how to use the records available in both places. I've
alsobeen able to research in the state archives of half a dozen states, thecounty archives
of dozens of counties, and libraries and archives ofmany universities and other
organizations. I think my experience as aresearcher would be helpful in serving and
representing the members ofthe Project.I have substantial experience with the technology
that supportsgenealogists and this project as a practicing information
technologyprofessional. I currently provide technology planning and support fora small
startup company. My employer is pioneering an innovativeapproach for our country's
public schools that is similar in somefashion to what USGenWeb is pioneering for
genealogists. We providedsupport for a fee to school systems who primarily use one
vendor'scomputing products but we are also developing an open source sy!
stem
thatis being made available without license fees. The hope is to helpstimulate a
movement of the open source concept into other areas suchcurriculum development and
sharing. I work with computers, software,networks and the Internet every day and am
experienced in helping findand solve problems, and coming up with solutions that prevent
futureproblems. This includes developing, learning, and taking advantage ofstandards in
the technology arena. I have a good understanding of whatworks, and what developing
technologies are bringing. I think myexperience with technology would be helpful to me in
serving andrepresenting the members of the project.I have worked with many other national
volunteer genealogicalorganizations in technology roles. This not only gave some
insightsinto how such organizations work, but put me into close contact withmany of those
who are currently in leadership roles in suchorganizations. It's not clear to me that
USGenWeb has spent any time ondevel!
oping
relationships with other organizations that could workcooperatively with us to help us
accomplish our objectives. Over time Ithink this would be a good thing to do, and I
believe I could help thatto happen should the Board buy off on the concept. Those I have
workedwith include: The National Genealogical Society (I've spoken at severalof their
national conferences, I was their first webmaster and have beenelected a Fellow of the
NGS, one of just a few dozen nationally),Federation of Genealogical Societies (I was an
early webmaster there andhelped promote making many of their materials available on the
Internetfor free), Board for Certification of Genealogists (first webmaster),Association
of Professional Genealogists (first webmaster), GENTECH(early webmaster, speaker at
conferences, on several conferencecommittees, program chair for one of their national
conferences).I am a long time proponent of making free resources available togenealogists
through the Internet, starti!
ng in
fact before the Internetexisted. My efforts prior to becoming part of USGenWeb helped
deliverresources like tools and education, rather than data, and one of myefforts remains
very popular approaching 20 years after it was firstlaunched (that one is called PAF
Review). I think this experience willhelp me in all aspects of service on the Advisory
Board.I believe those in leadership positions such as the Advisory Board areboth leaders
and servants, but not masters. I'm especially good in theservant role, and am
effective in being a peacemaker, and in persuadingopposing parties to compromise. I know
how to be polite to those whoare angry, upset, even obnoxious, and I can listen through
the strongwords that come from strong feelings. I tend to get along with the nicepeople
as well as the ornery ones. These attitudes and skills would bevaluable when dealing with
some of the issues that come before theAdvisory Board.Let me assure you that if chosen I
will give this my best,!
and
ifsomeone else is chosen I will do everything in my power as a projectmember to help them
and the project be successful. I greatly appreciatethe service of those currently on the
Board and think I would be a goodfit with the current group. I'd be happy to answer
any questions fromany member of the board as they consider the candidates for this
boardvacancy.If you want to learn more about me, you are invited to visit my personalhome
page at
http://www.saintclair.org. If you'd like to check out some of the free
resources I provide togenealogists, take a look
at:www.saintclair.org/numbers/ -
Genealogical Numbering Systemswww.countylookup.us - Helps you find US
countieswww.paf-review.com - Resources for users of Personal Ancestral
Filewww.taneymo.us/forum/ - Ozark Conversations, part of the Taney CountyMissouri USGenWeb
site
bookstorelady(a)prodigy.net
http://www.rootsweb.com/~waskagit - Skagit USGW
http://www.thirdstbooks.com - 3rd St. Book Exchange
http://www.facesfromthewall.com - Faces From the Wall - Vietnam/Washington