Officer Election Results, Exciting Website News, and Thank You to Our Supporters!

Thanks to all of you who voted in the election for our 2025–2026 officers. With unanimous votes, we will have co-presidents for the next two years as Kathy Franke and Jeani Ward share that position. Jim Yochim has been reelected as vice president for membership, and Debbie Benoit will take over as secretary beginning in January. We’d like to say a huge thank you to both Karen Goode and Cindy Finnegan, our current president and our society's secretary, who are ready to step down and hand the reins to our newly elected officers. Cindy has prepared board meeting notes, tackled dozens of thank you letters, scanned years' worth of old documents, and assisted at many of our events. As president for the past four years, Karen has managed to guide us successfully through one disaster after another. Her tenure began with a complete shutdown due to the pandemic, which led us to learning from scratch how to set up Zoom and hybrid meetings. After the office opened again, and we settled back into a more normal routine, it was time for a massive cleanup so we could get new carpet and a much-needed paint job. When all was finally sparkling clean and everything in place, we were faced with water damage due to a badly leaking roof, which shut us down for weeks again, and now, Karen is leading us through a complete redesign of our website. (More on that in just a bit.) Her leadership skills and her determination and perseverance in the face of one obstacle after another have kept our society on a steady course during some incredibly difficult times. We thank both Cindy and Karen for their hard work and look forward to seeing both of them enjoying some new adventures in the coming year.

And now for some exciting news about our StLGS website  . . .

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We are very fortunate to have a dedicated and talented group of volunteers on our technology team. Because of their efforts this year, we have added: 

• Baptisms, confirmations, marriages, deaths, and other information from numerous congregations in the St. Louis area as we continue to update data on many of our existing pages
• Dynamic maps for cemeteries and congregations throughout St. Louis City and County; you can see what is available on the St. Louis Area Cemeteries List and by checking the Web Map Links page for whichever religious denomination you are interested in.
• Maps of the city and county from 1804 through the twentieth century. (You can see everything that is available on the Web Map Links page.)
• Recordings of monthly meetings that remain online for three months. Currently, you can see the September meeting, "Overwhelmed by DNA Results?" as well as the October meeting, "Hidden Treasures on the St. Louis Genealogical Society Website," and the November meeting, "Basic Conservation and Cleaning of Grave Markers." These recordings are available on the "Monthly Meeting" page on our website.
• Eight new classes, which have been digitally recorded and are now available on the "Recorded Classes" page on our website, free for members to view. There are more than two dozen classes for you to watch at your leisure and more on the way!
• Recordings of several of the German, Irish, and Jewish Special Interest Group (SIG) meetings that were presented either as hybrid meetings or virtually this year. Many of the recordings remain online. Learn more by clicking the links below:
• German SIG: Two recordings available
• Irish SIG: Two recordings available
• Jewish SIG: Two recordings available
• New databases of declarations of intention and naturalizations from St. Louis City and County Court and the U.S. Circuit Court. Details on the "New On This Site" page. 

We have continued to publish our Quarterly journal, maintained our Ask Louie research service, and published this weekly blog. Our Facebook group has grown by leaps and bounds, now including more than 4,100 genealogists who regularly post questions and help each other with answers. Our Facebook News and Events page has the latest meeting information and is well-used, and we have active accounts on Instagram, Threads, and Twitter/X as well.

Website Redesign Coming in 2025!

For many years now, we have been adding hundreds of pages and thousands of records to our website, and, as a result, things are no longer easy to find or, in some cases, in any kind of logical order. In addition, we know the site can be difficult to use on mobile phones or tablets, which is how many viewers access data. Redesigning our website has been on our minds for a long time, but prior to this year, we didn't have the expertise or the money to tackle it.

Fortunately, a new volunteer with exactly the skills we needed joined the society this year, and he has organized a committee with our tech team to begin studying the website. Our goal is to bring it into the twenty-first century, upgrade its appearance, and make it far easier to use on all platforms. The planning phase is well underway, and we can't wait to share it with you when it is finished!

How can you help?

There are so many ways you can pitch in! Costs for overhauling our website will be substantial, but this project is essential to our ongoing commitment to members and to the genealogical community. High costs have also affected our printing, postage, office supplies, and upkeep on our office computer network. As you sort through the barrage of letters all of us are receiving asking for donations, we hope you will remember StLGS so we can continue providing you with the excellent quality you expect. 

• Any amount you can send will be much appreciated. Please visit our website to donate today in our secure store.
• Last month, StLGS members received a letter from our president, and we are hoping members will use the envelope provided to send in a check or credit card donation. All gifts to StLGS are tax deductible to the extent allowed by current law. 
• You can also help by keeping us updated when you move. Some of those letters to members came back to us with old addresses on them, meaning that we paid for the postage and printing, but the letters never got to where they needed to go. To update your address, phone number, and/or email address, just send a note to membership@stlgs.org. (Please note that if you make any changes to your online account on our website, we do not see those changes!)
• Because StLGS is a not-for-profit 501(C)(3) organization, we qualify for matching donation funds from companies that offer them. In the past, we have received matching funds from AT&T, MasterCard, and Boeing. Does your employer support matching donations? If so, please think of earmarking your donation to StLGS that way.
  

Your membership and support are vital to the future of the society! We are so very grateful for whatever you can do to help us keep StLGS strong and healthy!