So, I felt there was a gap which needed to be filled.  From a purely selfish standpoint, I had a need to find other genealogists in the area, but from a records accessibility perspective, it seemed that there was much to be done to assist long distance researchers who couldn't visit our local repositories.

I began reaching out to others to gauge interest.  I researched how to form a genealogical society, and why genealogical societies fail.  It seemed that many attributed the failure of societies to a lack of volunteers and the advent of the internet.  I felt strongly that genealogists still need that in-person connection with others with the same interests, even if their research is done online.  I knew I did.

So I filed incorporation papers for Bucks County Genealogical Society, Inc. on 9 January 2012, and began developing a website, searching for a meeting place, contacting potential speakers for programs, writing the Bylaws, contacting local researchers, and developing an email list.  Eight people attended the organizational meeting on 18 February 2012:  Lorraine Kish, Marguerite Mogila, Steve Williams, Lisa Chud, Annette Eubank, Karen Nilsen, Gerri Dauer, and me.  The Bylaws were accepted, elections held, and dues and meeting fees were set. 

Monthly meetings were held in the Rose Gallery at the David Library.  Over the course of the following months, membership began to grow,, more people stepped up to volunteer, and by the end of 2012 we exceeded our goal of 100 Charter Members, ending the year with 117 members.  The elections held at the first annual meeting in November 2012 resulted in a full eight-member Board for the following year. 

Looking back on the last two years, the efforts of many volunteers and significant milestones come to mind.  The firsts:  the first website (www.buckscountygenealogicalsociety.org), the first project (1940 US Census Indexing), the first monthly meeting (31 Mar 2012), the first speaker (Annette Eubank), the first Board (Annette Eubank, Gerri Dauer, Katharine Hazlett, Marguerite Mogila, Erin Collins, Ken Souders), the first member (Karen Nilsen), the first Annual Meeting (Nov 2012), the first time we used the upstairs room at the David Library (May 2013).  

The 2013 Board took us to the next level (Nancy Heath, Cathy Ivins, Pat Gessner, Marguerite Mogila, Mary Butash, Jeff Sipler), with the new website launched in May 2013, the online database launched in January 2014, the receipt of donations of both electronic and physical research material, and the 2013 membership growth of 35% to 170 members by the end of the second year. And with the addition of Joann Cosgrove on the Board for 2014, we are ready to take on the third!

It is amazing to reflect on it all and realize what we have accomplished in only two years.  I know that you all, like me, have enjoyed making new genealogy friends, attending great educational meetings, and working to improve online access to our local records to help long distance researchers.  We can only imagine the great work we will be able to complete over the next decade. As Cathy Ivins would say, "We rock!"