Olin Family Society

And now that I have your attention ....

The title of this article was inspired by a former real-life governor who is undecidedly not running for President. The sentiment behind it is decidedly different.

You have elected me president of the OFS. Unlike the organization's first president, Jo-Anne Moriarty, who served in that position for nearly 20 years, I will not be serving nearly that long. I'll state right now that I intend to be a one-term president. My reasons are both selfish and selfless.

The selfish ones are simple: I have other things I'd rather be doing. I still work for a living. I have a wife and family. I like having a social life. I have other hobbies and interests. Some of my interests happen to coincide with the OFS: I like to work on genealogy and web sites, for instance. All of those things need to fit in 24-hour days, and if I don't get my beauty sleep, I can get really ugly. Nobody wants that.

My selfless reasons are more important to the OFS. This organization is totally dependent on the voluntary efforts of interested members. As long as there are enough such members doing the necessary work, things are fine. Unfortunately, that isn't always the case.

Most of the heavy lifting for the OFS has fallen on just a few people. The three appointed officers -- Historian Jeffrey Olin, acting Editor Ruth Ellis, and myself as Genealogist -- do the bulk of the work, as is expected. Jeff researches and writes a lot, Ruth collects and edits (besides doing her own genealogical research), and I try to keep up with genealogical queries, collecting and collating data that I receive, and maintaining the web site, among other things. Jim Bertrand, our treasurer, takes care of the money end of things, for which I'm thankful.

That is essentially the OFS in routine operation. The problem should be obvious: If any one of those people are taken out of the picture, for any reason, operations would suffer tremendously. Whether due to burn-out, physical ailment, time constraints, etc., we've all seen it elsewhere. It can happen here. When it does (because it eventually will), the OFS could easily cease to exist as a functioning body.

So why did I let myself become president? Because I want to use my time here to make sure the OFS will long outlive me and the rest of us. There are several things I want to do towards that end, but the primary thing I have to do is to get more of you involved in the organization. If the OFS is of any value to you, then consider what you can do to help it survive and prosper.

You might wonder what skills you have that pertain to the OFS. Use a little imagination.

If you can write reasonably competently, we need you, whether for the newsletter, the web site, or both.

Do you know how to blog? Then we want you posting on our web site.

Manage your own web site? Then maybe you can help us run the OFS site.

Do you work with digital photos? We need people who can help others digitize their photos, document them, and organize them for archiving and sharing.

Know anything about preservation of different types of objects? We collectively possess hundreds of family artifacts and heirlooms that need the proper care and handling to ensure that they survive for future generations. Help us before it's too late.

Are you good at organizing events? Then help us help our cousins around the globe launch their own family reunions.

There are other things you might be able to help with, but I hope that gets the point across. There is too much to do for just a few people, and we cannot let the OFS be dependent on the health and well-being of just a few key drivers. Many hands make light work. We need more hands.

If the OFS is not that important to you, then you will ignore this plea, and the OFS will eventually fade into oblivion. If, however, you feel that what we do or could be doing is important for your descendants, then please help us.