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Recovery?
The McMannis
Plan for a Hodgson Society
Put forward by Darren & LuAnn McMannis, KS USA,
Feb 2004, Website: HodgsonUSA
There may always
be a handful of the faithful committed to a Hodgson association for
what it does and what it means, and who are able to focus their energies
towards the fulfillment of its objectives. They are to be applauded
and recognized for their commitment. However, the vast majority may
not be so motivated and for that reason we suggest the following:
1. Establish
free membership.
2. Motivate to join and pay dues.
3. Make joining easy.
Free or Associate
Membership
A person can join
by internet or post. By Internet, a membership certificate could pop
up with their name inserted. By post, their certificate can be mailed.
Why free membership? To build an immediate database of Hodgson genealogists
who are encouraged to submit their family tree and/or miscellaneous
Hodgson records. They might buy a Hodgson book or participate in a project.
Free association makes them feel connected and gives them access to
the free part of the website, including a page that encourages joining.
Note: Associate
members would not have access to the family tree files, the database
and special benefits (see next).
Motivate to
join ...
... to access
family trees and the database (courtesy of ancestry / rootsweb). See
Note 1.
... to be notified with connection & contact details when a link
or links is determined.
... to have access to the membership directory to contact new links
& share family tree.
... to enjoy additional members-only benefits. See Note 2 for examples.
Note 1: At ancestry
/ rootsweb, list names and pull dates only, with a notation throughout
"For more complete info, contact www.etc.". (Why? There is
evidence that people are re-posting association-posted data under their
name with no link back to the association. As for ancestry / rootsweb,
they copy association material to their database whence the association
loses control -- and they remove the association as its source.)
Note 2: For example,
have regional contacts who can provide information to a members-only
page on the website about their Hodgson areas or localities. Another
idea: members look out for census records, tombstone inscriptions, etc.,
forwarding whenever and whatever they find to waiting volunteers who
stand ready to copy to the group database. Have a "referred by"
section on the application form and a free Hodgson book for those who
get the most sign-ups during a calendar year. Ask the members for more
ideas.
Make Joining
Easy
How to join needs
to be up front on the association website Home Page. Continental reps
could receive new member and renewal payments directly or via PayPal,
etc. Each continental or country contact could make it a personal mission
to encourage membership applications and archival submissions. Globalwide
contacts will get better responses, which they can then forward on to
the elected membership officer at agreed intervals.
E-mail to WHO from HodgsonUSA, Nov 2006
It was sad when SHARE "hit the wall"
but I understand the issues related to lack of help. I'm running into
the same thing here with the Harvey County, Kansas Genealogical Society
(I'm a charter member and officer), everybody wants information but
so few are willing to give back. HodgsonUSA is only to compliment the
larger Hodgson association, never to compete with it. I come across
so much Hodgson information across the USA as I researched my family.
HodgsonUSA is simply a "clearinghouse" for American Hodgson
families and Hodgson information, a genuine "doorway" to the
international WHO network.
My mother, who was Hodgson by birth and who cherished
that name so, passed away a year ago. She's really the one who focused
my attention on the surname, back in those early days when (as there
were only two Hodgson clans in all of Kansas) it appeared that "There's
just a few of us - how hard can it be?" Then we realized how many
there were - not only in the US but then into England where it seemed
that every other person in Cumberland County was a Hodgson! It becomes
an insatiable quest to tie the branches together. The genealogist of
the "other" Hodgson line in this part of Kansas passed away
last year also, I'm sad to say. Those kinds of things make me all the
more committed to doing everything I can to collect Hodgson information
while it's still available to document, for the benefit of future Hodgson
generations.
So far I have had a few inquiries, not enough to launch HodgsonUSA in
any meaningful way. Once the framework is in place, a call throughout
the States for Hodgson documents, transcriptions, family group sheets,
etc. will be put into gear. The goal is to assist more Americans to
find their Hodgson connections back to their immigrants, and to help
living Hodgsons find their cousins.
I've always admired the time and dedication given to SHARE, now
WHO. I'm very glad that something is being revived. Hopefully
HodgsonUSA will become a useful partner to the larger Organization.
Darren McMannis, PO Box 387, North Newton KS 67117
dmc at southwind dot net or info at hodgsonusa dot com
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