A Message from Outgoing StLGS President, Karen Goode

With the election of new StLGS officers behind us, current StLGS president, Karen Goode, will be stepping down from her whirlwind four years in office. For those who may not know, Karen was vice-president of programs when COVID shut down our society for most of 2020. We had a Family History Conference featuring noted genealogist Judy Russell already planned and a full schedule of meetings and classes on our calendar, since, like most, we had no idea how long it would take to resume normal operations. When it became clear that business as usual was not going to happen, Karen grabbed the reins, gathered a committee around her, and plunged us into learning how to do Zoom webinars. Her foresight saved StLGS from what might have been a devastating blow. After Karen assumed the presidency, hybrid meetings were an ingrained part of our programing, opening up almost all of our events to those who cannot attend in person. In addition, Karen led us through an office overhaul that included moving tons of furniture for a long-overdue paint job and new carpeting, and then, just a few months later, weeks of leaky roof damage and plastic drapery covering most of our work space. She was clearly the right person at the right time for the right job!

We Owe You So Many Thanks! AND Schnucks eScrip News

March 2022 will make two years since we had to shut our doors to visitors due to the COVID pandemic. We definitely thought that by now we would be back to “normal,” but, like everyone else, we are dealing with the reality of “new normal.” Throughout the past two years, we have strived to keep going in the best ways possible given that so many of our office volunteers are seniors dealing with chronic health conditions. We are rolling with the ups and downs of not knowing where and when we will have in-person meetings and how best to conduct them. We have mastered Zoom and are now in the process of learning how to do hybrid meetings so that we will be ready to invite you back to our office as soon as it is safe. (If you aren't sure what we mean by hybrid, be sure to take a look at our blog from 26 July 2021 on Zoom webinars.)

Bunches of Thanks Coming Your Way!

(StLGS president, Kay Weber, who will hand her gavel to Karen Goode on 1 January 2021, has written the first part of this week’s post. Kay has provided four years of excellent leadership to StLGS and has held us together with her calm efficiency and unfailing good humor through this most challenging of years. With Kay’s guidance, we have come out of the pandemic as strong and solid as we were when it started, and we owe her a huge debt of gratitude for steering us through this storm!)