Annual Meeting 2019

2019 Annual Meeting Notes

It was a great meeting in St. Louis and a special thanks goes out to Libby Wilson for the effort she put into it. I think everyone who attended thought the meeting was educational and productive. As you can see from the picture the attendance was small and we hope next year when next we meet in New England in fall of 2020 that the attendance will be much better.

Who would thought what the impact was to be from a Walter A. Sheldon in the early years of a forming St. Louis and the impact it still has today? First, going on a private tour of the Sheldon Concert Hall named after him and then the next day getting the historical records librarian at the St. Louis Central Library to show us some of his personal records and artifacts was inspirational. When one of those present got online with their phone and looked him up in the SFA database, we learned even more about who he was, where he came from and how some of us in the room are related. It was the SFA mission clearly at work and sensed by all. It only fueled the genealogist in all of us. It was a really neat feeling when you find answers to you roots.

But there are two parts to every meeting.

The SFA Board met in open session on September 18th. At its meeting it reviewed the Annual Report submitted by the SFA President, Betty Knopf Shelden. The full report can be found in the Resources section and then the SFAQ tab. The report is a compilation of the activity done over the past year. Suffice it to say a lot happened and I will get to that in coming paragraphs.

What were the key things?
• The Association had a very modest profit reported out in the Treasurer’s report. I cannot thank enough the efforts of Sue Sheldon. She was the glue and workhorse for the SFA organization this past year.

• The slate for election of officers and Directors at Large was reviewed with only one officer and one new Director at Large listed. Since the voting was closed the Board members appointed and approved Michael Sheldon as Vice President to serve the remaining year of that vacancy.

• There was a productive conversation among board members and SFA members in attendance about a 2020 annual meeting. The prevailing thoughts are to have the meeting in the New England area with some of the activities directed toward the celebration of the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower landing. Stay tuned and make plans for attending an exciting Annual meeting in mid to late September. Autumn is a great time of year for superb fall colors and New England is an area rich in Sheldon family history regardless of which branch you come from. PS: If you belong to Mayflower Society, let us know!

• Betty and Marv Parsons gave a report that within it announced the work accomplished by Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana. This is a renowned library with a large collection of genealogy records that now includes many of SFA’s genealogical records from over many years but last held by Rose Newton Sheldon. It was announced at the meeting that all her “index” cards have been scanned and available for SFA members to see. Marv Parsons, our wizard Webmaster announced that there is a link to access that data via the SFA web page. These files are rich in family history such as letters, stories, newspaper articles, etc. Again, stay tuned for future reports.

On Saturday September 21, 2019 the General Membership meeting of Sheldon Family Association and there were enough members in attendance for a quorum.

• Much of the above was presented and all the reports in the President’s Annual Report were accepted and filed.

• The election slate of Officers and Directors at Large was presented and accepted. Welcome to Cheryl Albee as our newest Director at Large and congratulations to Sue Sheldon for being re-elected as Treasurer.

• The 2020 Annual meeting was again reviewed with the same disposition as stated above.
• A motion during the new business phase was to direct the Board to make a contribution to the Sheldon Concert Hall, a place we visited while in St. Louis. This was passed unanimously.

• Thanks was given to Betty Shelden Knopf for her efforts during her tenure as President.
• The meeting was adjourned.
• Michael Sheldon then introduced himself as the incoming President as specified in the Bylaws since the office of President was now vacant.

Last but not least, a great online presentation was made by Kelly Wheaton on the data that we have learned about the DNA and how it impacts the understanding of the Sheldon Family Lineage. Charts are included in the SFAQ section about this meeting and also in the prior SFAQ edition. Special thanks to her and Sue Sheldon for setting it up.