The First Year - 1998:

Charter members are those joining at the initial meeting, the others joined sometime later in the year.

First year membership

Officers:

Elected:

President: Irene Jackson
Vice-President: Sandra Whittington

NOTE: At some time within the first few months Sandra resigned the office of Vice-President (exact date and reason unknown, but the July newsletter reports she is recovering well from surgery, so that is the likely reason).  Janice Henderson was appointed to finish the unexpired term.  She soon also resigned (again, exact date and reason unknown), and was replaced by Kathy Brock, who completed the term uneventfully.

Secretary/Treasurer: Becky Collins

Appointed:

Required:

Librarian: Vacant
Parliamentarian: Vacant
Historian: Vacant

Optional: (and may not always exist)

None

January:

Newsletter: Not yet instituted.
Program: Creation of Steering Committee.
31^st - The Douglas County Genealogical Society came into being when one man, Rhett Williamson, had a dream.  He placed advertisements in several local newspapers inviting anyone interested in genealogy to meet with him to form a Genealogical Society.

A meeting was held on the last Saturday in January of 1998 at the Douglas County Library, on Selman Drive.  Sixteen people attended this first meeting.  All expressed a desire to see a Society organized.  A steering committee was selected and assigned the task of organizing the as yet unnamed organization.

February:

Newsletter: Not yet instituted.
Program: Formational Meeting.
7^th - This was the Formation Meeting.  Activities included the creation of the Constitution, the election of first years officers, the establishment of a Society bank account, the appointment of chair for by-laws committee, among others.  Afterwards, several steering committee meetings were held, a name for the organization was agreed upon, and a set of bylaws were drawn up.  A time and day for the meetings was the next item to be settled.  The steering committee took three weeks to accomplish its task.

March:

Newsletter: Not yet instituted.
Program: Organizational Meeting, First Election of Officers.
5^th - The society is officially organized in a meeting at the Douglas County Library on Selman Drive.  Willard Tumlin, Chairman of the Steering Committee, explained to those assembled that a name had been chosen and a Constitution and Bylaws proposed.  The Constitution and By-Laws are adopted, along with the proposed name.

These are still in effect, with only one change, a Constitutional amendment adopted in October of 2003, making the term for elected officers two years vice one year, due to the difficulty of enlisting candidates.  Another change, not requiring a Constitutional amendment, would split the office of Secretary/Treasurer into two separate offices, due to growth of the society.  No amendment was necessary, as, while the two offices are described separately in the Constitution, there is nothing precluding both offices being filled by the same person, so, in the early days that is what we did..  However, as the membership grew, the workload became too much for one person, so the offices were separated.

Nominations were then taken from the floor, and shortly the first officers of the newly formed Douglas County Genealogical Society were elected.  The elected officers were: Irene Jackson, President; Sandra Whittington, Vice President and Becky Collins, Secretary/Treasurer.  Thirty three people were present at this first official meeting of the Douglas County Genealogical Society, and became our Charter Members (listed above).

We continued meeting in the Douglas County Library, on Selman Drive for some period of time, and then we began meeting in one of the conference rooms at the Wellstar Douglas Hospital.  Exact reason and time unknown, but the May 1998 (Premier - and First) issue of the Newsletter indicates that the June meeting was to be held at the hospital.  We continued to meet there until October of 1999, when we began meeting in the conference room of the old Douglas Countyt Courthouse, on Bankhead Highway.  I'm fairly certain it was the hospital that didn't want us bringing in food.

April:

Newsletter: Not yet instituted.
Program: My Experiences in Genealogy Research - Part I by Linda Moulton.

May:

Newsletter: PREMIERE ISSUE - On file.
Program: My Experiences in Genealogy Research - Part II by Linda Moulton.
Premiere issue of the Society newsletter is published, under the rather generic name Genealogy News.  It contained a brief history of Douglas County and announced a contest to name the newsletter.  A Dinner for Two certificate from Chili's was offered for the winning title.
Copies of proposed by-laws were presented to members.
Our first web site is announced.  It was hosted by one of our members, Larry Noles, on his personal space on the AT&T Worldnet site.
DCGS becomes a member of the Federation of Genealogical Societies.

June:

Newsletter: On file.
Program: The U.S. Gen Web Project in Georgia by Wally Smith.
Refreshments: Irene Jackson institutes a tradition of member volunteers providing refreshments at the Society meetings.  The tradition only lasted until November of 1999, before it was banned by our hosts, as they did like us bringing food stuffs into their facility.
Membership reaches 47.  The society is growing, already!
A logo (below) for the Society is adopted.  It remains in use, unchanged, as of January 2022.  The logo design was a collaborative effort between Larry Noles and Irene Jackson.


Highlights of the History of Douglas County is published in the Society newsletter.
Irene Jackson (first society president) is profiled in the Society newsletter.
30^th - Board of Directors Meeting at the Jackson residence (the Board of Directors consists of all elected officers).  Future monthly Board Meetings are set for the first Tuesday following the Society meeting.

July:

Newsletter: On file.
Program: Federal Census Records and How to Make Use of Them by Jane Splawn, Professional Genealogist and Lecturer for the National Archives in East Point, Georgia.
Refreshments: Provided by Janice Henderson.
The new DCGS logo makes its first appearance in the Society newsletter.
Kathy Brock is profiled in the Society newsletter.
Janice Henderson is profiled in the Society newsletter.
Steve Burdette is profiled in the Society newsletter.
John Adams (no, not that John Adams) is profiled in the Society newsletter.
Dale Dodson is appointed Public Relations Chair.
Barbara Edwards is appointed Ways and Means Chair.
Search for a source for Society logo patches/decals is announced.
Larry and May Noles announce a new granddaughter, Summer Star Noles, first child of son James and his wife Crystal.
Sandra Whittington is reported to be recovering nicely from her surgery.

August:

Newsletter: On file.
Program: What is the Cemetery Commission and What Does it Do? by Sandra Whittington.
Refreshments: Provided by Steve Burdette.
Becky Collins is profiled in the Society newsletter.
Linda Moulton is profiled in the Society newsletter.
5^th - First field trip, to the Georgia Archives.
15^th - Deadline for newsletter name submissions.
Clara Daniel Williams wins contest to name the newsletter, with Douglas County Genealogy Newsletter.
Web Master sez: Well, my flabber is utterly gasted!  If that was the best submission, the others must have been truly horrible!

September:

Newsletter: On file.
Program: How to Use Newspaper Microfilm Records for Family Research by Kathy Brock.
Refreshments: Provided by Larry Noles.
First issue of Society newsletter utilizing the official title of Douglas County Genealogy Newsletter.
Judi Jancarek is appointed to Chair the Nominating Committee (to nominate candidates for the upcoming election of officers).  She selects May Noles and John Fuller as members of the committee.
Rhett Williams is profiled in the Society newsletter.

October:

Newsletter: On file.
Program: The Loss of Wildlife Habitat and the Preservation of Historical Sites by Bill Cahill, President of the Friends of Sweetwater Creek State Park.
Refreshments: Provided by Lee Chastain.
Willard Tumlim is profiled in the Society newsletter.

November:

Newsletter: On file.
Program: Special Interest Groups by Rhett Williamson.
Election of Officers for 1999.
Refreshments: Provided by Martha Chesser.
Joe Phillips is profiled in the Society newsletter.
21^st - Sam Atkins, Charter Member, passes away.

December:

Newsletter: On file.
Program: The very FIRST Christmas Dinner, a potluck meal consisting entirely of pre-1900 recipes, prepared by the members, and held at our normal meeting place.
It is decided that the offices of Secretary and Treasurer should and will be held by separate individuals.
Beverly Giles Loffler is profiled in the Society newsletter.
Janice Henderson presents the Presidents Gavel to Irene Jackson in honor of her efforts as the First President of the Society.
Sarah Rhoden played the piano to provide entertainment at the meeting.  Members gathered around her and sang Christmas Carols.  Please be aware that Sarah has been totally blind since early infancy.
9^th - Judi Jancareks father passes away.