Four hundred years ago today, our ancestors set sail for the new country as pilgrims. How exciting and scary it must have been! What trail blazers and leaders they turned into. How we can ever repay them by honoring their legacy is our mission and continues to unfold.
As summer winds down, we are half way through 2020. To date, all 2020 events have been canceled.
The General Society of Mayflower Descendants (GSMD) recently met virtually using Zoom on June 20th. It was decided that a Congress would be held in September 26th virtually. There are a number of topics including constitution and by-laws changes that affect when and how much to assess fees to the state societies, of which we are one of 54. That is not a misprint as Europe, Australia, Canada and DC add to our fifty US states. Congress meets every three years, elect officers, and only then can these changes be made. The GSMD executive committee has recommended fees go from $15 per member to $35 as costs to maintain services have risen and appear unsustainable. The cost to increase application fees is also on the table.
Our current yearly membership rate is $40 per adult member of which we pay GSMD $15 and have paid our two colonies, historically $10 per member. The expenses of the Society of Mayflower Descendants in Pennsylvania (SMDPA), are paid for from the residual and earnings from our market funds. Previous BOAs made wise decisions over the decades to insure we are in a solid financial position, regardless of what GSMD decides on fees.
I have personally contacted the current Governor General and the nominee, Jane Hurt to advocate for a capital expense budget focusing on technology to streamline our processes. This is something only the GSMD can do as the cost upfront would be significant, but the saving and capacity increase, promise to be more than offsetting. Reaching our younger potential members with “APPS” is a game changer for communication in ways that are modern and expected. The data bases we use can also be moved to searchable formats removing some of the clutter in the Historian’s application processes.
If you have an opinion or want more information on this, please contact me or Deb Georgantis-Miller as we will be either going in person or voting virtually as DGG and AG respectfully.
Our historians have been hard at work adding many new members, a warm welcome to all!
As we hoped to celebrate the landing this year, we expect to celebrate the first Thanksgiving in 2021 and I look forward to seeing everyone in person at one of our events.
Thank you for your membership, our BOA is striving to give you value in a year that is so unusual.
God bless you and your family!
