2007 In Retrospect

On this last day of the year, I look back and see how our goals and plans for 2007 were met (or not).

Here's how it looks:

1. Plan a Spring Research Trip. Done! A+!

2. Make contact with more cousins to hear their stories. I didn't initiate any contacts with cousins except on the research trip to Missouri. There I met a number of cousins I had not met before. And several cousins contacted me during the year. Very useful and enjoyable! B+.

3. Read more history of localities. I read books on Kansas, Missouri, Kansas City, and St Louis. A.

4. Bring genealogy to more young people. I utterly failed at this. F.

5. Support genealogical and historical non-profit organizations. I did join the Missouri Historical Society. I could do a lot better at this. C+.

6. Be available for mutual assistance, lookups, and acts of genealogical kindness. I did do several things of this nature--but not enough and certainly not to capacity. C-.

7. Insure that there's something valuable in this space at least three times a week. Based on numbers alone, this goal was met. As to whether it was valuable, only the readers can say. A for effort.

8. Knock down at least two longstanding brick walls. This I knew would be tough. I'll take credit for finding Aunt Grace's mother and I'll thank cousin Karen Burney for showing me her information on the Brayboys. On my own, C-.

9. Advocate for the free flow of genealogical information. Didn't really do this, but the spirit was with me! D.

10. Always Learn from others, Share with everyone, Enjoy this endeavor, and Appreciate the efforts of those who also Learn, Share, and Enjoy! A+! Thanks to everyone I learned something from in 2007--the list is long! Thanks to everyone who made this enjoyable--the list is longer! I appreciate you all--fellow bloggers, commenters, the regional FHC folks, my cousins, friends, great folks at the libraries, archives, government offices, and newspapers and many more!