From The President’s Corner

Pennington Research Association, Inc.

October 2006

At midnight on July 29th in Richmond, Indiana Barbara Pennington’s years of dedicated service as President of the PRA came to an unwelcome conclusion. Barbara has served the PRA in many capacities and certainly was and remains a cornerstone of our organization’s past and future. I believe we all can take comfort in knowing that Barbara will remain active in the Pennington Research Association and willing to provide us with her wisdom, experience and certainly her opinions from time to time.

I am sure every member of the PRA joins me in wishing Barbara and Chuck only the very best as they now have more freedom to travel and enjoy many future years together.

The PRA owes a debt of appreciation to Pete and Pat Trocano for their efforts in hosting the 2006 Annual Meeting in Richmond, Indiana. All attendees were well taken care of and the work detail at Earlham College along with the visit to the Allen County Genealogy Library were both very productive and enjoyable events.

The PRA Board Meeting in Richmond was intense and productive. The Board addressed some very difficult issues in a positive and professional manner. Items discussed included decreased membership, the financial future of the organization, low attendance at annual meetings, publication of the Pedigrees, future research projects utilizing professional genealogists, desired activities in the development of the Pennington Archives at Earlham College, Group Leaders, Membership Chair and vacant positions on the Board. In addition, there were numerous discussions regarding various approaches to provide more services and research assistance to our membership within current budgetary constraints.

Since the Richmond meeting there has been a lot of activity within the operations of the PRA. Daniel is doing a great job as the new Sales Manager, Katherine is the new Vice-President, Guye has taken over the financial responsibilities as Treasurer, Melinda our new Membership Chair / Asst. Research Director is doing a remarkable job and recently Colleen has jumped into fire as the new editor for the Pedigrees. There certainly have been a number of changes within the Pennington Research Association during the last few months.  Needless to say we have not made all of the transitions without some issues, but fortunately Gene has always been there to assist in keeping everything on track and moving forward.

As you read through this issue of the Pedigrees, please remember that all of our work is performed by volunteers and the PRA as a whole cannot be successful without your support. Every member of the Pennington Research Association should take pride in the fact that we are blessed with some very dedicated and hard working volunteers and a membership willing to share their family stories and research. However, please keep in mind there is still a lot yet to do and your involvement and participation in the PRA is essential to keep us moving in a positive direction.

A special thanks to Betsy VanAuker for her continuous service in the difficult position of Secretary and our thoughts, best wishes and gratitude continue toward Board Member Rene’e Davis who has served the PRA as Asst. Research Director, Sales Manager, Treasurer and Cheerleader.

As the new President of the PRA I only make two promises. First, I will give my up most effort in serving the Pennington Research Association to the best of my ability. Second, I will be easy to remove from office if anyone else is interested in the position.

James W. Pennington, Group 31

Page Last Updated:  05/11/2008

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