The History of The TXGenWeb Project

1996 Spring A group of genealogist led by Jeff Murphy organizes the Kentucky Comprehensive Genealogy Database Project, which evolves into the KYGenWeb Project. 1996 June The KYGenWeb Project nears 100% county coverage. Interested volunteers decide to create a similar set of pages for all states, establishing The USGenWeb Project. By July of 1996 most states were online with state homepages 1996 June/July Ed Hayden answers the call for volunteers, adopts Texas and becomes the first state coordinator of The TXGenweb Project. He sets a state web site and templates for all county web sites and begins to recruit volunteers to adopt the county projects. 1996 July Ed Hayden, forced with a move to Russia for business decides that he will be unable to continue as state coordinator he turns the position over to Mike Basham. Mike is coordinator for Dallas County and becomes the second state coordinator of The TXGenWeb Project. Ed's move is delayed until late September and he continues to work with Mike to get the project established. 1996 Sept 21 State Coordinator Mike Basham and Ed Hayden host a TXGenWeb Project Seminar in Dallas, Texas to educate current and potential Texas County Coordinators. Meetings of this type will continue to be a semi annual event. 1996 Oct 24 Mike Basham announces a lookup policy for The TXGenWeb Project. It is the same policy that USGenWeb Project National Coordinator John Rigdon has published for the USGenWeb Project. It instructs that all lookups should be acceptable under US Copyright laws for "fair use" 1996 Oct 28 Mike Basham announces that 155 of 254 counties have been adopted. 1996 December Mike Basham announces the County of the Week program to showcase outstanding county sites. A similar program had been started by USGenWeb a few weeks earlier. The County of the Week program would become the County of the Month Award by February 1997. 1996 Dec 8 Lamar County and CC Betsy Mills is named the first TXGenWeb County of the Week. 1996 Dec 13 Mike Basham announces that 200 of 254 counties have been adopted. 1997 January The first logo for The TXGenWeb Project is adopted. The logo is designed by Trey Holt. The unofficial logo that many counties were using had a simple web design and the text "GenWeb". It is discovered that the term "GenWeb" and the logo are trademarked and owned by Gary Hoffman and the GenWeb Foundation. The Genweb Foundation first used the term to describe the system of linked genealogy databases in April 1994. The GenWeb Foundation requests that the USGenWeb Project and its state projects cease using the term and logo. A call goes out to make sure that all USGenWeb members use the correct terminology to include "US" or the two letter abbreviation for their state before "GenWeb" when referring to the project. 1997 Mar 27 Mike Basham announces that 231 of 254 counties have been adopted. 1997 Jun 12 Mike Basham announces a push for TXGenWeb Project volunteers to transcribe the 1850 Census for Texas and make it available online. 1997 Jun 27 Mike Basham announces that 240 of 254 counties have been adopted. 1997 Jul 17 Mike Basham announces that an Internet chat is going to occur Sunday evening July 20 at 8:00 pm Central Time. He says, "If it works out and we feel that it is a productive thing to do, we might schedule this chat session on a regular basis. 1997 Sept 13-15 Mike Basham invites Trey Holt to become the Assistant State Coordinator on Saturday, Sept 13. Trey Holt accepts the position on Sunday, Sept 14 in an e-mail to Mike Basham. Monday morning, Sept 15 Mike Basham announces that Trey Holt has accepted the assistant coordinator position. 1997 Sept 15 TXGenWeb Project State Coordinator Mike Basham suffers a heart attack and dies while playing tennis in Dallas, Texas. 1997 Sept 16 Megan Zurawicz, The USGenWeb Project National Coordinator, invites Trey Holt to assume the State Coordinator position for The TXGenWeb Project. In the early days of the project before the bylaws it is rare to hold an election for a coordinator position. Generally these are appointed positions. 1997 Sept 16-17 Trey Holt asks the TXGenWeb Project volunteers via the state mailing list if they support him in taking over the position of state coordinator. Based on support from the volunteers Trey Holt becomes the Third State Coordinator of The TXGenWeb Project. 1997 Sept 17 The TXGenWeb Project web site moves from its old location at chrysalis.org to a temporary site until permanent space can be obtained. 1997 Sept 19 The TXGenWeb Project web site moves to its new location at rootsweb.com. 1997 Sept 22 The County of the Month award is renamed "The Mike Basham Memorial County of the Month Award" to honor the late state coordinator. 1997 Oct 3-4 Trey Holt announces the appointments of Lela Evans as Orphan County Director and Carla & Billy Clifton as New Coordinator Liaisons. These new positions are the first functioning assistant coordinators for The TXGenWeb Project. The New Coordinator Liaison position later becomes the Mentor Director. 1997 Oct 27 The USGenWeb Project query system at dsenter.com goes offline and county coordinators are forced to come up with alternate methods of handling queries for their counties. The USGenWeb Project officers announce that a new query system will be researched and if necessary a new system will be developed. Until that time volunteers will have to come up with their own alternative. 1997 Nov 6 CCHelper, the first of several query alternatives is introduced by Jim Murphy of Austin Texas. It uses a mail merge system to either have queries e-mailed to you or have them "written" directly to a file at the county site. Setting of the files for CCHepler prove to be difficult for some but the system works well and is well received. Many counties adopt this system. 1997 Nov 7 Trey Holt announces the appointments of regional directors and the state counties are divided into 5 regions. The placement of some counties into certain regions drew some complaints but the divisions were made more on equal proportions and less on geographical ares. Among the first regional directors are Kay Bradley, Dana Thomas, John Quigley, and Barry Best. The regional directors are to canvass their counties on a regular basis and help maintain a closer communication with their counties than the state coordinator is able to do. This organization has mixed results and eventually the regional director positions are dissolved and the canvassing duties are absorbed into the successful surfing committee that evaluates counties for the county of the month award. 1997 December The TXGenWeb Project staff first discusses idea of having regular roll calls for volunteers. The consensus of the discussion is that having regular roll calls is a good idea to promote communication and it is thought that it will be a good tool for assessing the status of volunteer involvement. It increasingly becoming a problem of not being able to determine the status of some volunteers and their county web site. It is also discussed that a process for determining when a web site is in an "abandoned" state should also be formulated. 1997 December 1997 Counties of the Month were: January: Lamar County February: Brazos County March: San Augustine County April: Llano County May: Palo Pinto County June: Crosby County July: San Jacinto County August: Cass County September: Austin County October: Fannin County November: Blanco County December: Zapata County 1998 Mar 12 Nancy Trice announces the new USGW Query System. The system is a bulletin board forum system. Boards are set up for all counties in the United States and volunteers are urged to adopt their county board. They must adopt their board by a certain date. After that all un adopted boards are made available to the public. 1998 Mar 24 Barry Best agrees to take over the Mentor program at the request of Carla Clifton. 1998 Apr 25,26 The 2nd semi Annual TXGenWeb Project Meeting of volunteers is held in College Station, Texas at the Ramada Inn. 1998 Apr 27 The name of the USGWQuery System changes to GenConnect. 1998 August The first mandatory roll call of volunteers is announced. All volunteers are asked to check in with their regional director. It is announced that roll calls will be held every two months. 1998 December 1998 Counties of the Month were: January: Bell County February: Navarro County March: Gregg County April: Johnson County May: Shelby County June: No Winner Named July: Hood County August: Dallas County, Linda-Jeanne Dolby Coordinator September: No Winner Named October: Dickens County, November: No Winner Named December: No Winner Named 1999 Feb 5,6 The 3rd semi Annual TXGenWeb Project Meeting of volunteers is held in Tyler, Texas. A welcome dinner is held on Friday night at the First Baptist Church. The main meeting on Saturday occurs at the Carnegie Local History Center in downtown Tyler. 1999 Mar 16 State Coordinator Trey Holt announces that The TXGenWeb Project has been accepted as a partner society of The Texas State Genealogical Society. This relationship continues for a couple of years until the State Coordinator fails to renew the dues. 1999 May 21 The Surfing Committee takes over the selection of the County of the Month. Up until this point the committee has selected finalists and the State Coordinator has picked the winner. The committee drafts guidelines that their selections will be based upon. 1999 May 22 Lela Evans moves Orphan Co Director to Mentor Program Director. The program is subdivided into helpers for new coordinators and advisors with knowledge about a particular area that can aide in that area. 2000 January Coke County and Coordinator Mary Love Berryman is named 1999 TXGenWeb Project County of the Year. This is the first year a county of the year is selected from the monthly winners. 1999 Counties of the Month January: Erath County February: No Winner Named March: Rusk County April: No Winner Named May: Limestone County June: No Winner Named July: Henderson County August: Smith County September: Panola County, October: Van Zandt County, November: Coke County, Mary Love Berryman, CC December: Williamson County 2000 April 29 The 4th semi Annual TXGenWeb Project Meeting of volunteers is held in Lancaster, Texas at Cedar Valley College. 2000 July 9 State Coordinator Trey Holt announces that Dana Thomas has accepted his request to become Assistant State Coordinator. 2000 Sep 25 A new TXGenWeb Project logo is announced. It became necessary to redesign the official logo because the old logo did not reflect the proper form of the project name. Elements of the old logo were incorporated into the new logo by designer Trey Holt. 2000 October Kimm Antell becomes Orphan County Director. 2001 January Frio County and Coordinator John Hawley is named 2000 TXGenWeb Project County of the Year. 2000 Counties of the Month January: Burnet County February: Lampassas County March: Red River County April: Fannin County May: Frio County, John Hawley, CC June: Clay County July: Lamar County August: Aransas County September: Gregg County, October: Bowie County, November: Kaufman County December: Wilbarger County 2001 Apr 27-28 The 5th semi Annual TXGenWeb Project Meeting of volunteers is held in Atlanta, Texas. The meeting is hosted by the Cass County Genealogical Society and is attended by several members of the Society. 2001 June Rootsweb and Ancestry merge their respective county query boards. Many county coordinators are unhappy and express their outrage to this unilateral move by MyFamily.com the parent company of Rootsweb and Ancestry. Coordinators are no longer able to edit queries posted to the boards. 2001 Oct 16 Bage Neimeyer, age 62 of Bowie, Texas and County Coordinator for Clay Co dies in Bowie, Texas. 2002 Jan 5 Bosque County and Coordinator Bettie Wood is named 2001 TXGenWeb Project County of the Year. 2001 Counties of the Month January: Parker County, Lela Evans, CC February: Fannin County, Susan Hawkins, CC March: Winkler County, Charlene Beatty Beauchamp, CC April: Runnels County, Terry Jenkins, CC May: Harrison County, Gail Brown, CC June: Gillespie County, Wanda Qualls, CC July: Tyler County, Barbara Dore, CC August: Kendall County, Catharine Stone Schwarz, CC September: Bosque County, Bettie Wood, CC October: Lamar County, Betsy Mills, CC November: Nacogdoches County, Debbie Wayne, CC December: Crosby County, Linda Fox Hughes, CC 2002 Apr 24 Wanda Lovell, former County Coordinator for Moore, Deaf Smith, Hockley, Cochran, Terry, and Lamb Counties dies. 2002 Aug 10 James Lantrip, 73, of Merkel Texas, dies. He was the former County Coordinator for Taylor, Jones, Fisher, and Nolan Counties. 2002 Sep 11 Dana Thomas resigns as Surfing Group Coordinator. Kimm Antell takes over in the Interim. 2002 Sep 18 Dana Thomas resigns as Assistant State Coordinator. Dana continues as the coordinator of Cass County. 2002 Sep 28 Trey Holt announces his resignation as TXGenWeb State Coordinator effective as soon as a new State Coordinator is elected. 2002 Oct 1 John Dillon, 66, of Corpus Christi, Texas dies in Corpus Christi. He was former County Coordinator of Nueces County. 2002 Oct 16 Nominations for TXGenWeb State Coordinator begin and continue until October 31. This is the first time the state coordinator is elected in The TXGenWeb Project. Before this time the state coordinator has been appointed. 2002 Nov 4 State Coordinator Nominations are announced. Kimm Antell - Accepted Charlene Beachamp - Declined Mary Love Berryman - Declined Joe Deaver - Declined Trey Holt - Declined Gloria Mayfield - Accepted David Morgan - Accepted The election is scheduled Nov 8 through Nov 17. 2002 Nov 10 The election committee announces a delay in the start of the election due to a problem forwarding the voter list to the programmer. 2002 Nov 12 Kimm Antell withdraws from the State Coordinator election. David Morgan and Gloria Mayfield are the remaining candidates. 2002 Nov 15 The State Coordinator Election begins and continues until November 25, 2002. 2002 Nov 25 David Morgan is elected the 4th State Coordinator of the TXGenWeb Project. The vote is 58 for David Morgan and 46 for Gloria Mayfield. 2002 Nov 26 State Coordinator David Morgan announces his new staff. Bettie Wood, Assistant State Coordinator Betsy Mills, Assistant State Coordinator Shirley Cullum, Assistant State Coordinator Kimm Antell, Webmaster Lela Evans, Annual Meeting Coordinator Joe Deaver, Weekly Chat Coordinator Gina Heffernan, Family Group Sheet Project Coordinator 2003 January Refugio County and Coordinator Rena McWilliams is named 2002 TXGenWeb Project County of the Year. 2002 Counties of the Month were: January: Upshur County February: Shelby County March: Henderson County April: Grayson County May: Bell County June: Fayette County July: Refugio County, Rena McWilliams, CC August: Coryell County September: Wise County October: Hidalgo County November: Clay County December: Live Oak County 2003 Jun 27,28 The 6th semi Annual TXGenWeb Project Meeting of volunteers is held in Austin, Texas. A tour of the State Archives is held on Friday and the main meeting is held at the REJ Conference Center. 2003 December TXGenweb Archives Project Coordinator David Morgan announces that Lola Withrow is the new TXGenWeb Project Archives Coordinator. 2004 Jan 5 Kaufman County and Coordinator Abby Balderama is named 2003 TXGenWeb Project County of the Year. 2003 Counties of the Month January: Andrews County, Teri Ramsey, CC February: Bosque County, Bettie & Bob Wood, CC's March: Upshur County, Sharon Pierce & Elaine Martin, CC's April: Tom Green County, May: Val Verde County, Teri Brown, CC June: Grimes County July: Donley County, LaRae Hasley-Brooks & Eireann Brooks, CC's August: Panola County September: Red River County, Cynthia Samples, CC October: Gregg County, Elaine Martin & Sharon Pierce, CC's November: Henderson County December: Kaufman County, Abby Balderama, CC 2004 Jan 13 Ray Weathers, 68, of Hamilton, Texas dies in Temple, Texas. He was a long time coordinator of the Hamilton County project. 2004 March Mrs. Karen Kay Glass Ingargiola, long time supporter and volunteer for the Cass Co Project dies. 2004 Apr 2-3 The 7th semi Annual TXGenWeb Project Meeting of volunteers is held in Dallas, Texas. 2004 May 1-5 State Coordinator David Morgan announces that Hutchinson, Jasper, Newton, Sabine, San Augustine, & Tyler counties are avail bale for adoption. All of these counties are coordinated by Barbara Dore. A coordinator speaks to Barbara Dore on the phone and reports that she has had serious family medical problems and has not been able to respond to e-mails. Many requests are posted to the state mailing list for the counties to be restored to Barbara. David Morgan explains that she has not responded to coordinator roll calls for many quarters and the sites have not been updated for quite some time. He states that if she will contact him they will work something out. 2004 May 5 State Coordinator David Morgan announces that Barbara Dore's counties have been restored. He also announces in the same message that vote counters are being selected for a State Coordinator election and that nominations will begin shortly. 2004 May 6 Nominations for State Coordinator begin and continue through May 13. 2004 May 13 Nominations are concluded for State Coordinator and the election period begins. Nominees for SC are Shirley Cullum, Bettie Wood, and Betsy Mills. It is announced that the one with the most votes wins. No run offs. 2004 May 21 Bettie Wood is elected the 5th State Coordinator of the TXGenWeb Project. The vote is 37 for Bettie Wood, 36 for Shirley Cullum, and 28 for Betsy Mills. 2004 Jul 14 State Coordinator Bettie Wood announces the new project staff. Elaine Martin, Assistant Coordinator Shirley Cullum, Assistant Coordinator Lela Evans, Annual Meeting Coordinator Kimm Antell, Weekly Chat Coordinator Carla Clifton, Mentor Coordinator 2004 Jul 14 Leigh Compton and Kimm Antell announce the TXGenWeb virtual schoolhouse for the posting of tutorials and developer aides. 2004 Jul 24 Donna Brand, 59, of Cleburne dies. She was the former coordinator of the Palo Pinto Project. 2004 Oct 7 The TXGenWeb Postcard Project becomes an official TXGenWeb special project. Jan Cortez is named as the Coordinator. 2004 Dec 2 The TXGenWeb Project County Hall of Fame Announced. This new award begins on January 1, 2005. All counties that have won the County of the Month award 3 times will be automatically added to the Hall of Fame. Kimm Antell designs a special County Hall of Fame logo for each member to display. Counties in the Hall of Fame will not be eligible again for the COM award unless a new CC takes over the county, but will be eligible in each year's County of the Year nominations. The new award will have 2 effects: 1) It will give more counties a chance at the COM 2) It will encourage Hall of Fame counties to continue to update information and improve. Initial Members of the Hall of Fame are: Bosque County: Bettie Wood Henderson County: Bunny Freeman & Holli Kees Fannin County: Susan Hawkins Upshur Couunty: Elaine Martin & Sharon Pierce 2004 Dec 20 The state mailing list TXGen-L is placed on temporary moderated status for the first time. Discussion of non TXGenweb Project issues is cited for the reason for the moderated status. The list continued on moderated status until early January 2005. 2004 Counties of the Month January: Grayson County February: Colorado County March: Upshur County April: Brooks County May: Navarro County June: Hockley County July: Bosque County August: Brown County September: Fannin County October: Henderson County November: Burnet County December: Orange County 2005 Jan 12 Fannin County and Coordinator Susan Hawkins is named 2004 TXGenWeb Project County of the Year. 2005 Mar 1 Grayson County named February County of the Month and is entered into the TXGenWeb Project County Hall of Fame. Susan Hawkins Coordinator. 2005 Apr 22-23 The 8th Annual TXGenWeb Project Meeting of volunteers is held in Galveston, Texas at the Rosenberg Library. 2005 May 1 Gregg County named April County of the Month and is entered into the TXGenWeb Project County Hall of Fame. Sharon Pierce & Elaine Martin Coordinators. 2005 Jul 1 Navarro County named June County of the Month and is entered into the TXGenWeb Project County Hall of Fame. Ed Williams and Barbara Knox Coordinators. 2005 Sep 24 Hurricane Rita makes landfall near the Texas-Louisiana border as a Category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. 2005 Sep 26 State Coordinator Bettie Wood calls for a special voluntary roll call to find out if all of the TXGenWeb Project volunteers are doing ok. Hurricane rita caused mass evacuations and power outages in Southeast Texas. 2005 Oct 4 William Grant Bost dies at age 58 in Killeen TX. Bill, as he was known in the project, started the Bell County site for The TXGenWeb Project and continued until he turned the county over to Joe Deaver in October 1999. Bill continued to make contributions to the site for several years. 2005 Oct 31 Panola County named County of the Month. Later that day it is announced that Panola is not eligible because they had just won the award in July. The guidelines for the award stipulate a six month ineligibility period after being awarded the COM. Johnson County is named the new October County of the Month. 2005 Counties of the Month January: Grimes County, Eleanor Colson Coordinator February: Grayson County, Susan Hawkins Coordinator March: Victoria County, Jack & Cynthia Buttram Coordinators April: Gregg County, Sharon Pierce & Elaine Martin Coordinators May: Marion County, Connie Draper & Dana Thomas Coordinators June: Navarro County, Ed Williams and Barbara Knox Coordinators July: Panola County, Angela Weaver, Marylee Knight, & Barbara Bonner Coordinators August: Bastrop County, Tammy Owen Coordinator September: Harrison County, Elaine Martin, & Sharon Pierce Coordinators October: Johnson County, Wes Collins Coordinator November: Orange County, Shirley Cullum Coordinator December: Wharton County, Teri Brown Coordinator 2006 Jan 3 Grayson County and Coordinator Susan Hawkins is named 2005 TXGenWeb Project County of the Year. 2006 Jan 30 Kaufman County named January County of the Month and is entered into the TXGenWeb Project County Hall of Fame. Abby Balderama, Kathey Hunt & Justin Sanders Coordinators. 2006 Apr 1-2 The 9th Annual TXGenWeb Project Meeting of volunteers is held in Lancaster, Texas at the Lancaster Veterans Memorial Library. 2006 Apr 2 State Coordinator Bettie Wood announces that the project leadership, after several months of discussion, decided to allow a second TXGenWeb Project county site for Floyd County. Both websites will be surfed independently of the other, & if one of the sites happens to win COM, the CC will be announced so there will no confusion as to which one has won. The two coordinators have two very different ways of site management and it is decided that both are valuable. This is a one time decision and not a change in project policy. 2006 Apr 4 State Coordinator Bettie Wood announces that Floyd County once again has only one site and coordinator. Longtime Floyd County coordinator Janet Milam resigns over the controversy and Clarissa Lloyd is the new coordinator. The two website decision for Floyd County generates about 100 postings to the project mail list discussing this controversial and unprecedented decision. 2006 Apr 3 State Coordinator Bettie Wood solicits feedback from the TXGenWeb Project membership regarding the addition of a provision to the guidelines calling for regular State Coordinator elections. 2006 Jul 25 State Coordinator Bettie Wood announces the August roll call. In addition to checking in she asks members to decide if The TXGenWeb Project should have regular State Coordinator elections and if so how often. 2006 Aug 30 Orange County named August County of the Month and is entered into the TXGenWeb Project County Hall of Fame. Shirley Cullum & Elaine Stone Coordinators. 2006 Sep 9 Results of the referendum on State Coordinator elections announced. It is added to the project guidelines that The TXGenWeb Project will have State Coordinator elections every two years. 2006 Sep 25 Beginning October 1st, Nominations are accepted the TXGenWeb State Coordinator election. The nomination period is October 1 through October 7th followed by a campaign period from the 10th through 21st. Voting is expected to begin Oct 22nd, & end the 28th. The new SC will take their seat November 1st. In the event of only one nominee, there will still be a voting period, with the new State Coordinator to take their seat November 1, 2006. Every even year (2008, 2010, 2012, etc.) an election will be held, with the "new" State Coordinator taking their seat November 1st. 2006 Oct 19 Shirley Cullum, Elaine Martin, Trey Holt, & Bettie Wood are nominated for State Coordinator. Only Shirley Cullum accepts the nomination and is announced as the 6th TXGenWeb Project State Coordinator. She officially takes office November 1, 2006. 2006 Oct 21 New State Coordinator elect Shirley Cullum announces that Elaine Martin and Bettie Wood will serve as assistant state coordinators and Peggy Tebbets is the new Surfing Committee Chairperson. 2006 Counties of the Month January: Kaufman County, Abby Balderama, Kathey Hunt & Justin Sanders Coordinators February: Brewster County, Peggy Trammell Allen Coordinator March: Colorado County, Dorothy Albrecht Coordinator April: Nolan County, Billie Nichols Bennett Coordinator May: Kendall County, Catharine Schwartz Coordinator June: Houston County, Billie Nichols Bennett Coordinator July: Hunt County, Shirley Cullum Coordinator August: Orange County, Shirley Cullum & Elaine Stone Coordinators September: Parker County, Lela Evans Coordinator October: Fayette County, Rox Ann Johnson Coordinator November: Nacogdoches County, Douglas Anderson Coordinator December: Bell County, Joe Deaver & Mary Duke Coordinators 2007 Jan 8 Colorado County and Coordinator Dorothy Albrecht is named 2006 TXGenWeb Project County of the Year. 2007 Mar 27 State Coordinator Shirley Cullum announces that a website header competition is being held for the TXGenWeb Project website. 2007 Apr 13-14 The 10th Annual TXGenWeb Project Meeting of volunteers is held in Austin, Texas at Towne Hall on the campus of the University of Texas. 2007 May 28 5 & 10 year service awards are announced for coordinators. A graphic that may be displayed on the county website is sent to each recipient. 2007 Jul 1 The website header designed by Teri Brown is announced as the winning entry. 2007 Oct 12 Mrs. Bobbie Jean Ross, 71 of Gatesville passed away. Mrs Ross was the long time coordinator for Coryell and Hamilton counties. 2007 Counties of the Month January: Medina County, Margaret Simpson-Meyer Coodinator February: Yoakum County, Jim Webb Coordinator March: Burnet County, JoAnn Myers Coordinator April: Houston County, Billie Nichols Bennett Coordinator May: Menard County, Alicia Brown Coordinator June: Bandera County, Susan Hawkins Coordinator July: Van Zandt County Betty Miller and Betty Phillips Coordinators August: Falls County Kay Cunningham Coordinator September: Rockwall County Kathey Kelley Hunt Coordinator October: Nolan County Billie Nichols Bennett Coordinator November: Refugio County Rena McWilliams Coordinator December: Harrison County Elaine Martin and Etta Withers Coordinators 2008 Jan 7 Refugio County and Coordinator Rena McWilliams is named 2007 TXGenWeb Project County of the Year. 2008 Mar 7 A poll os presented to project volunteers in response to Rootsweb branding all hosted pages with a corporate banner. The question is asked whether to move the TXGenWeb site off of Rootsweb to a paid site. Ultimatley TXGenWeb moves to a paid server and many counties follow suit. Many other state projects also leave Rootsweb/Ancestry for new server/ISP's. 2008 Mar 13 The Generations Network announced that Rootsweb.com is being transplanted onto the Ancestry.com domain. 2008 Mar 26 The USGenWeb project announces that the projects national pages are now hosted on ixwehosting. This marks a move from Rootsweb for the national site. 2008 Apr 2 Grimes County coordinator Eleanor Colson entered into the TXGenWeb Project County Hall of Fame based on the February County of the Month award. 2008 Apr 12-13 The 11th Annual TXGenWeb Project Meeting of volunteers is held in Wichita Falls on the campus of Midwestern State University. It is announced that the 2009 meeting will be in Conroe. 2008 May 1 Nacogdoches County named April County of the Month and is entered into the TXGenWeb Project County Hall of Fame. Douglas Anderson Coordinator. 2008 Jun 1 Panola County named May County of the Month and is entered into the TXGenWeb Project County Hall of Fame. Marylee Knight and Shirley Cullum Coordinators. 2008 Jun 6 An announcement is made that donations are requested for the TXGenWeb Domain/ Server Costs Fund to support the costs associated with paying for server hosting. Donations may be made via PayPal. 2008 Sep 3 Shirley Cullum, State Coordinator announces a call for nominations for the bi-annual state coordinator election. Elaine Martin and Bettie Wood are in charge of the election. 2008 Sep 7 Elaine Martin withdraws from the election committee. Greta Thompson (IA), Emmett Mason (UT), and Debbie Gerischer (IA) are announced to handle the election. 2008 Sep 11 Gulf Coast residents begin evacuating in advance of Hurricane Ike. 2008 Sep 13 Hurricane Ike makes landfall near Galveston as a Cat 2 hurricane. Ike causes devastation from the Louisiana coast to Kenedy County Texas. Coordinators begin to check in and telling their stories. Widespread power outages occur across eastern Texas as a result of the hurricane. 2008 Sep 14 Due to Hurricane Ike the state coordinator election is postponed until at least Oct 1. 2008 Sep 30 Colorado County named September County of the Month and is entered into the TXGenWeb Project County Hall of Fame. Dorothy Albrecht Coordinator. 2008 Nov 7 Election committee anounces that only Shirley Cullum has been nominated for state coordinator. Shirley Cullum is re-elected state coordinator for 2 more years. 2008 Counties of the Month January: Cherokee County Kaye Slover and Gordon Bennett Coordinators February: Grimes County Eleanor Colson Coordinator March: Houston County Billie Nichols Bennett April: Nacogdoches County Douglas Anderson May: Panola County Marylee Knight and Shirley Cullum June: Angelina County Carla Karbowski Clifton Coordinator July: Lavaca County Rox Ann Johnson Coordinator August: Delta County Dee Welborn and Betsy Mills Coordinators September: Colorado County Dorothy Albrecht Coordinator October: Rockwall County Shirley Cullum Coordinator November: Medina County Margaret Meyer Simpson Coordinator December: Hunt County Shirley Cullum Coordinator 2009 Jan 7 Houston County and Coordinator Billie Nichols Bennett is named 2008 TXGenWeb Project County of the Year. 2009 Jan 19 Longtime county coordinator and project volunteer Bettie Wood resigns from the project. Bettie served as a Surfer, County Coordinator, State Coordinator, Assistant State Coordinator, representative on the National Advisory Board and in many other capacities. 2009 Jan 31 Dorothy Albrecht of LaGrange, CC of Colorado County for 7 years, passed away. 2009 Feb 18 Call for design submissions goes out for a new look for the State website. 2009 Apr 18-19 The 12th Annual TXGenWeb Project Meeting of volunteers is held in Conroe at the Montgomery County Library. The Montgomery County Library System and the Montgomery County Coordinators sponsor the meeting. Waco is selected as the 2010 site. 2009 Apr 29 Jane Keppler becomes 2nd Assistant State Coordinator. 2009 May 1 Van Zandt County named April County of the Month and is entered into the TXGenWeb Project County Hall of Fame. Betty Miller and Betty Phillips Coordinators. 2009 Jul 1 Nolan County named June County of the Month and is entered into the TXGenWeb Project County Hall of Fame. Billie Nichols Bennett Coordinator. 2009 Sep 1 Medina County named August County of the Month and is entered into the TXGenWeb Project County Hall of Fame. Margaret Meyer Simpson Coordinator. 2009 Oct 10 Call for recipes issued for the TXGenWeb 2010 Cookbook. 2009 Counties of the Month January: Garza County Billie Nichols Bennett Coordinator February: Victoria County Jack and Cynthia Buttram Coordinators March: Montgomery County, Jane Keppler and Jean Huot Smoorenburg CC's April: Van Zandt County Betty Miller and Betty Phillips Coordinators May: Llano County Deb and DJ Pitts Coordinators June: Nolan County Billie Nichols Bennett Coordinator July: Brewster County Peggy Trammell Allen Coordinator August: Medina County Margaret Meyer Simpson Coordinator September: Clay County Vicki Shaffer Coordinator October: Tarrant County Barbara Knox and Rob Yoder Coordinators November: Bee County Billie Nichols Bennett Coordinaotr December: Jim Hogg County Amber Davidson Coordinator 2010 Jan 5 Victoria County and Coordinators Jack and Cynthia Buttram is named 2009 TXGenWeb Project County of the Year. 2010 Jan 9 Aurale "Lee" Huff, long-time CC of Gonzales & Caldwell Counties, passed away. 2010 Mar 12 Dana Thomas resigns as county coordinator of Cass County after 12 years. 2010 Apr 17-18 The 13th Annual TXGenWeb Project Meeting of volunteers is held in Waco at the Ramada Inn. 2010 May 17 A new TXGenWeb award called The Dedicated CC Award is announced that will be presented to CC's in the project. The Dedicated CC Award will be given to 2 CC's each month to show appreciation for their dedication and hard work. 2010 Jul 31 Victoria County named July County of the Month and is entered into the TXGenWeb Project County Hall of Fame. Jack and Cynthia Buttram Coordinators. 2010 Sep 9 Sharon Pierce, Co-CC for Upshur, Gregg, Harrison, Marion Counties for 8 years, CC of Rains County, and in numerous other USGenWeb states passed away. 2010 Sep 24 Call for nominations for State Coordinator bi-annual election. 2010 Oct 8 Election committee reports that only on candidate was nominated for State Coordinator. Shirley Cullum is declared the winner and is reelected to another 2 year term. 2010 Counties of the Month January: Matagorda County Carol Gibbs Coordinator February: Nueces County Marti Brown Coordinator March: Webb County Teresa Stewart Sitz Coordinator April: Garza County Billie Nichols Bennett Coordinator May: Haskell County Shirley Webb Coordinator June: Reeves County Luan Alaniz Coordinator July: Victoria County Jack and Cynthia Buttrum Coordinators August: Kerr County Shirley Webb Coordinator September: Angelina County Billy and Carla Clifton Coordinators October: Bexar County Jimmy Epperson Coordinator November: Wise County La Darla Keith and Sue Tackel Coordinators December: Hopkins County Teresa Stewart Sitz 2010 Dedicated CC Award of the Month May: Wanda Qualls Darren McCathern June: Kimm Antell Tom Graham July: Lela Evans August: Carla and Billy Clifton September: Eireann Brooks and LaRae Halsey-Brooks October: Kay Cunningham Alicia Brown November: Vickye White December: Faye Elder 2011 Jan 16 Wise County and Coordinators La Darla Keith and Sue Tackel is named 2010 TXGenWeb Project County of the Year. 2011 Apr 4 Lamar County named March County of the Month and is entered into the TXGenWeb Project County Hall of Fame. Betsy Mills Coordinator. 2011 May 1 Parker County named April County of the Month and is entered into the TXGenWeb Project County Hall of Fame. Lela Evans Coordinator. 2011 Apr 29-30 The 14th Annual TXGenWeb Project Meeting of volunteers is held in Paris at the Holiday Inn Express. 2011 Counties of the Month January: Lipscomb County Eirann Brooks and LaRae Halsy-Brooks Coordinators February: Brewster County Peggy Allen Coordinator March: Lamar County Betsy Mills Coordinator April: Parker County Lela Evans Coordinator May: Cherokee Couunty Kaye Slover and Gene Uzzle Coordinators June: Montgomery County Jane Keppler Coordinator July: Bee County Billie Nichols Bennett August: September: October: November: December: 2011 Dedicated CC Award of the Month January: No Winner Named February: Gayle Triller March: Paula Perkins April: No Winner Named May: Linda-Jeanne Dolby June: Norman Lewis Jr July: Bob Hudspeth August: Trey Holt September: October: November: December: Updated: August 20, 2011

Shirley Cullum, State Coordinator.
The assistant state coordinators are Elaine Martin, & Bettie Wood.

Trey Holt, TXGenWeb Project Historian