SGA Newsletter
Volume 39, Issue 4, Winter 2008
A Publication of the Society of Georgia Archivists
2008 SGA Board
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Looking Back and Moving Forward
by Jill Severn
Looking back over the year it seems like last January was just yesterday. My term as president has been challenging, busy, and rewarding. This is due in large part to the officers, committee chairs, and their committees who together have expanded and refined many of the services and activities of the Society.
SGA members enjoy coffee and conversation before sessions at the 2007 SGA Annual Meeting.
The education committee offered two workshops based on members' feedback and has expanded offerings for next year by including a mini workshop in early 2008 as well as its normal offerings in spring and fall. The membership committee hosted happy hours in Atlanta and conducted a survey of non-renewing members to find out why they stopped belonging to SGA and to determine what SGA could offer to bring them back. The scholarship committee and the education committee worked together to develop a proposal for two new scholarships to cover the registration for SGA's fall and spring workshops. Known unofficially as “the Brenda” and “the Tony” these workshops acknowledge the contributions of two of SGA's most active members, Brenda Banks and Anthony Dees. Now, scholarships are available for all of SGA's major activities. We have earmarked a portion of the proceeds from this year's scholarship auction for these new scholarships. SGA members continue to have great access to information and resources via the Web site and the SGA Newsletter and the SGA listserv. Both publications have expanded their content and the SGA Newsletter moved to a dynamic html format thanks to the hard work of newsletter editor Renna Tuten and Web Manager Abigail Griner.
Christine de Catanzaro, Brenda Banks, and Luciana Spracher
One of the most important components of the services that SGA provides is its annual conference. This year's meeting in Columbus, Georgia was a marvelous success according to feedback from attendees and turnout for the meeting was one of the highest attendances at a non-Atlanta meeting in recent years. The success of the meeting is due to a great degree to the work of First Year Director Elizabeth Russey and her committee who developed a top-notch program bringing in national caliber speakers and developing sessions focused on some of the most important issues and innovations in the archival professions today. The local arrangements for the meeting were also stellar. SGA's man in Columbus, Reagan Grimsley, stepped in to assist Second Year director, Tamara Livingston with arranging meeting spaces, lodging, and tours of Columbus. Thanks to Reagan, we all experienced a gracious, attractive, attentive, and even exciting Columbus, Georgia. Much thanks and appreciation goes to Frances Overcash for handling the registration for the meeting and to Gilbert Head for hosting another entertaining and lucrative SGA auction.
Gilbert Head, official SGA auctioneer, mans the table filled with items up for auction.