At their 18 Feb 2022 meeting, the WSGS Board approved a change to the bylaws allowing all Board members, regardless of election status, to vote. The change must be approved by the WSGS membership to become official.
Currently, the president, vice president, secretary, treasurer and past president are the only members allowed to vote on board matters, while appointed chairs of the standing committees (web master, blog master and Pioneer Certificate program) are expected to attend and participate in Board business, but not allowed to vote. After a discussion about the value of all those who participate on the Board, the Board voted unanimously to allow chairs of standing committees to vote.
All WSGS members received an email with a link to vote on the bylaws change on 20 Mar 2022. If you are a member of WSGS and need a reminder email, please email Info@wasgs.org and put “Bylaws Link” in the Subject Line. Balloting will close at 11:59 p.m., 20 Apr 2022.
The proposed change affects Articles V and VI:
ARTICLE V. THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Section 1. The Board of Directors shall consist of the elected officers, and the immediate past president and heads of the Standing Committees. The Board shall:
- Conduct the business of the Society, referring major decisions and unusual expenses to the membership for approval or ratification.
- Meet at least three (3) times a year, the dates and places to be determined by the Board members.
- Potential Board of Directors Conflicts of Interest shall be addressed annually.
Section 2. Members of the Board are expected to attend all meetings, called by the President or three members of the board.
Section 3. All elected Board Members shall be current members of the Society.
Section 4. Notice of all board meetings shall be given to each member not fewer than five (5) days prior to the meeting.
ARTICLE VI. STANDING COMMITTEES AND APPOINTED POSITIONS
Section 1. The Standing Committees will be: Web master, Blog master, and Pioneer Certificate.
Section 2. The heads of Standing Committees or other Appointed Positions are expected to attend meetings of the Board of Directors and contribute to the deliberations, but are non-voting members of the Board.
George G. Morgan is president of Aha! Seminars, Inc.(R) and an internationally recognized genealogy presenter. He is the co-host of the longest running genealogical podcast, 
Drew Smith is the genealogy librarian at the University of South Florida Libraries in Tampa. Host of the Genealogy Connection podcast and co-host of The Genealogy Guys Podcast, he is the author of the book Organize Your Genealogy: Strategies and Solutions for Every Researcher and co-author of the book Advanced Genealogy Research Techniques. He writes regularly for the Association of Professional Genealogists Quarterly on the topic of productivity. He co-founded and continues to be one of the administrators for The Genealogy Squad Facebook group, with over 32,000 active members. Drew”s Topics: Organizing Your Research ProcessYour Ancestor’s FAN Club: Using Cluster Research to Get Past Brick Walls
Jennifer Warner has worked in both public and special libraries since 1990, most recently as a reference librarian. Her genealogy research roots began with her mother’s stories about family and where they immigrated from. Jennifer has been the editor of a Civil War Roundtable Newsletter for over 12 years. She is the President of the DuPage County Genealogical Society and is a member of 14 lineage societies. 