This month's newsletter contains: * RECIPES ANYONE? * SAVE ON GAS AND CHRISTMAS SHOPPING FRUSTRATION * ATTENTION ALL VOLUNTEERS * FROM OUR VOLUNTEER MAILBAG * DID YOU KNOW? * CURRENT STATS RECIPES ANYONE? We are happy and excited to announce the completion of our RAOGK Cookbook! Please take a look at http://www.cafepress.com/raogk.37799377?pid=2851439&tid=news11 and consider one for the good cooks on your Christmas list, as these are favorites of some of you, our wonderful volunteers! SAVE ON GAS AND CHRISTMAS SHOPPING FRUSTRATION The holidays are coming up, time to think about gifts for family and friends. Save your gas for important things like work or requests and buy online at one of our shops. Remember any proceeds made from sales goes to the support for RAOGK. However, CafePress has given RAOGK the ability to obtain more revenue by becoming an affiliate. By using one of the links below to get to a shop, if you don't find something there, you can visit one of the thousands of shops on CafePress and we can still get revenue from a purchase you make. To get to other shops, just click on the CafePress logo in the upper left hand corner of the webpage. FREE SHIPPING UNTIL 12/6 FOR ORDERS OVER $50 ON EITHER SHOP. The RAOGK logo store: http://www.raogk.org/store?pid=2851439&tid=news11 Genealogy For You Shop (general genealogy): http://www.genealogyforyou.com/shop?pid=2851439&tid=news11 Christmas Shop: http://www.genealogyforyou.com/shop/793923?pid=2851439&tid=news11 Calendars: http://www.genealogyforyou.com/shop/864785?pid=2851439&tid=news11 Country Store at Genealogy For You (this has links to other stores on the Internet, i.e. The Gap, 1-800- Pets.com, etc.) http://www.genealogyforyou.com/ ATTENTION ALL VOLUNTEERS We have a new process in place regarding the complaints of non- response or bouncing emails for any of you, our volunteers. When a staff member receives one of these complaints, the volunteer's listing will be put on "Comp(laint) Status." This is similar to "Temporary Status" in that it will remove your listing from being viewable to the public, but won't remove it from the database. As many of the volunteers do NOT get back with us and are then removed, this will prevent others who may make a request of the volunteer from being frustrated. If it is a "false" complaint, removal would only be for a few days, and it will give the volunteer a breather. If the staff member then receives a response and explanation indicating the volunteer wants to remain on the site, we can quickly make the listing viewable again. If we get no response after one week, the listing will be removed. Also, we will soon be changing the amount of wait time for requests and action on complaints. A requester will wait for two weeks after the initial request, email the volunteer again, and only wait for one week before reporting a non-response. A staff member will then contact the volunteer and if no response is received after one week, the volunteer's listing will be removed. (Please refer to last month's newsletter article, http://www.raogk.org/newsletters/2005-10.txt, "A RAT IS A RAT", about the necessity of reporting another volunteer if you yourself get no response from a fellow volunteer or if an email to another volunteer bounces.) FROM OUR VOLUNTEER MAILBAG (Regarding the ongoing debate about fees) "I live in Onslow Co., NC and have never charged a requester for anything. Here is how I work it. If a requester wants an Obit I go to the library and look it up on the microfiche reel. When found make a copy of it. I also read it. If they died in Onslow Co., I stop by the courthouse and get the death certificate and if it gives a birth place (here) I get the birth certificate also. If they were buried in Onslow Co., I go by the cemetery and get a picture of the headstone. In my case this all takes less than three hours max. I then come home and scan then into the computer and email them, usually by noon. "Now my point to this story is to bring to the attention of some that do not live in a genealogical friendly a place as I do. I know in the Boston area volunteers will not go get obits because the library is so hard to get to, the fees are so high even for copies and parking fees are outrageous. With this said I can see why some volunteers feel they have to charge a reimbursement fee and this is, in some cases understandable. The Faq's sheet says that you are allowed to charge up to 50¢ per mile. Lets say it was 10 miles, round trip 20 miles. So $10 would be the amount. Now what do you figure your car gets for mileage. Lets say 10 to keep it simple. Gas right now is lets say $2.50 per gallon. the way I figure it you would be able to go 40 miles with the gas money you got. "We are volunteers not profiteers. I'm not saying that the fees charged have to come out to the penny but in some cases the requesters are being asked to much of a fee in my opinion. Our site is not to make you money, we are here as volunteers." William L Silliman Onslow Co., NC Volunteer DID YOU KNOW? You folks are the greatest? If not, let me repeat YOU FOLKS ARE THE GREATEST group of folks I've ever been associated with. Keep up the good work! CURRENT STATS Last month: 4459 This month: 4384 New: 72 Left: 75 Staff removals*: 69 November Requests (through November 29, 2005): USA volunteers received: 5912 NON-USA volunteers received: 803 *Staff removals are those folks whose e-mail address has been reported bouncing and confirmed or volunteers who, over the course of trying many times, did not respond back to requesters or staff. Kudos for November: 136 (through November 29, 2005) (http://www.raogk.org/thanks/) The STAFF would like to wish you the best of the holiday season coming up. Whether you celebrate it or not, enjoy being with your family if you can as this time of the year is very special. We also want to thank you for volunteering and until next month. . . . . . . THE STAFF Bridgett, Michele, Bill, Anja, Terri, Nancy, Bobbi, Jo and Doc, the Tech Guru