* FLYERS * STAY IN TOUCH * PUT A FACE ON THEM * THIS IS A RECORDING * TIMELINE AND MAP VIEWS * SHOPS * KUDOS * IN APPRECIATION * CURRENT STATS The staff wishes to thank one and all for being such great genealogy researchers and volunteers. You've done such a great job that two major sites on the Internet have finally sat up and taken notice. I have a way of putting a jinx on things when I name names and what the bonuses for everyone will be, so won't be announcing anything until all is confirmed. But just knowing these people have taken notice is wonderful in my book. Without you folks, along with your generosity of time and knowledge, being noticed would never have occurred. Thank You. ***************** FLYERS Over the past few years we have gotten several requests for handouts about RAOGK. Finally with a lot of help from two staff members (Dennis Chapman and Jo Miller), a great brochure has been put together. If you would like to take a look at this brochure you can do so by going to http://www.raogk.org/raogk-flyer.pdf (you will need a PDF reader to view it). If you should have the need of a brochure/flyer regarding RAOGK, we do not mind you downloading the file and printing it off yourself. However, please do let us know (raogk-admin@raogk.org) you are going to do so, so we may have an idea of how many may be passed around. Thank You. ***************** STAY IN TOUCH There are a lot of different things that can keep us from getting out and immediately fulfilling a request - weather, illness, vacation, family, just life in general. You should always acknowledge a request, between 48 hours and 2 weeks of getting it, even if you can't fulfill it for a period of time. Let the requester know when you expect to be able to get their cemetery photos or documents, along with any anticipated costs. This would include copy fees, parking fees, vital records fees and mileage expense. If you have to travel a ways, try to estimate the distance so the requester will have an approximate idea of how much it will cost. (There are a lot of easy to use mapping programs on the internet that will allow you to get driving directions and give you estimated mileage). Once your circumstances are such that you can get out to fulfill the request, please contact the requester again. If any period of time has gone by it may be that they are no longer interested in having you do the lookup or get the photos at the cemetery. Perhaps they found another way to get the photos, or made direct contact with the courthouse or library. Do not make a 60 mile round trip to get photos and then contact the requester telling them you have their photos only to find out their friend was in the area and already got them. Don't make the 1/2 day trip to the university library to get the vital records only to find out they already have them. Stay in touch with your requester! ***************** PUT A FACE ON THEM Today, with the advent of the internet and the abundance of e-mail passed between people who are researching their roots, the one thing we seem to forget is that the internet is a faceless, raceless and unisex entity. How many times have you written to someone named Terry, Dale or Chris and wondered if you should write "sir" or "madam"? In the USA, especially, our history has shown that we have not been the kindest to those who are different from us, whether the difference is in ethnicity or religion. However, if you are researching your family roots you need to let the person helping you do your research know those two bits of information. In the past, our ancestors had a tendency to live around others of their own "kind." Sometimes they did this because they wanted to and at other times they did so because they had to. If you are of African American heritage and looking in the south for a headstone, you might not find one. If found, it may be located in an all black cemetery. This information would help your volunteer know where to look for the information you seek. If you know your ancestor was a catholic, this information would be pertinent as well. If you can, put a "face" on your ancestor when sending out a request. You may be surprised by the amount of information you may get in return. ***************** THIS IS A RECORDING aka A Few Things to Remember 1) Always respond to a received request between 48 hours and 2 weeks. 2) Always let your requester know if there will be any monetary exchange. 3) Changing e-mail addresses? Go to http://www.raogk.org/change.html and fill in proper form. 4) Need a question answered? Ask the staff member in charge of your area: http://www.raogk.org/staff.html 5) Although you must respond to each request received, you do not have to honor each request that drops into your email account. ***************** TIMELINE AND MAP VIEWS by Dennis Chapman Google is experimenting with some different type of searches. What caught my eye was the Timeline and Map Views. It works best for the queries listed on their page http://www.google.com/experimental/, but I tried some of my own & thoroughly loved it!!! The Timeline Search just add "view:timeline" to your search & it will categorize your results by date. Great if you just want to search a name during a certain period of time. The Map View I don't see much difference than just plain old Google Maps. If you want to give this a test drive just add "view:map" to your search. Maybe if enough people give feedback how much they like it they will get it fully functioning sooner. ***************** SHOPS Father's Day is right around the corner. You still have time to order a mug, t-shirt, mousepad, cap among our products available for that special male. We do have specific products pertaining to fathers day in our Genealogy For You shop (http://www.cafepress.com/genealogyforyou/629110 Available until June 7. Our 'supplier' of products we have in our shops will be discontinuing the following products: Custom Postage Postage Pal Blue Trucker Hat So drop on by both shops to see if one of those 3 items you have been putting off purchasing until later. If you have, don't wait too long. RAOGK Logo Shop: http://www.cafepress.com/raogk/ Genealogy For You: http://www.cafepress.com/genealogyforyou ***************** KUDOS: http://www.raogk.org/thankyou/ The month of May saw kudos written about: Brenda St. Peter (Illinois), Georgi Rolan (Ohio), Jack Dalton Wardlaw (Louisiana), Cindy Grant (Washington), Linda Medford (New York), Ann Patterson (Texas), Gordon Young (Ontario, Canada), Deb Ketchum (Wisconsin), Linda (Florida), Doug Long (Massachusetts), Kathleen Milligan (Missouri), Nancy Clack (Florida), Carolyn Reed (Michigan), Ann Waterbury (Minnesota), Sherry Woods (Arkansas), Shirley Peck (Michigan), David Gauvin (Michigan), [2] Bonnie Selig (Illinois), Virginia Markham (Washington), Kim Fischer (Florida), Henrietta (New York), Minnie Lewis (California), Jim Claunch (Kansas), Nancy Wright (Louisiana), Grzegorz Müller (Poland), Ruth Padilla (Texas), Mike Pierce (Maryland), Jay Drew (Connecticut), Carla Bengtson (Massachusetts) ***************** IN APPRECIATION Every month we received contributions from researchers and volunteers alike. We are most appreciative of these donation. Some contributions, however contain notes which will name a specific volunteer who has been such a great help. The month of May saw Terry Lask, Karyl Hubbard and Jane Germann mentioned on contributions. Our hats go off to those volunteers and all the unnamed wonders we have on our site as well. A great big THANK YOU goes out to one and all who have helped RAOGK to continue to be a presence online. Your purchases through one of our stores or by sending a contribution via PayPal or check are very much appreciated. http://www.raogk.org/support.html ***************** CURRENT STATS Last month: 4089 This month: 4083 New: 58 Left: 34 Staff removals*: 27 May Requests (through May 29, 2007): USA volunteers received: 5,114 NON-USA volunteers received: 529 *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. The STAFF thanks you for volunteering and until next month. . . . . . THE STAFF Bridgett, Michele, Bill, Anja, Terri, Nancy, Jo, Bonnie, Melissa, Brenda, Dennis, Kathy, Jeniann and Doc, the Tech Guru