Hi. My name is Gail Meyer Kilgore. I am a candidate for the position of the County Coordinator Representative in the Northwest Plains Region [NWPL]. This covers the states of Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming.

Please vote in this election. Your vote and all the county coordinators votes are what is important in this election. You will do right by choosing the winners.

I held this position previously, first assuming the position from a retired member of the board and then winning the elected two-year seat.

Currently I am the State Coordinator for AZGenWeb and the Assistant State Coordinator for COGenWeb. Colorado and Iowa are my qualifying states. AZ has 15 counties so we have a great bunch of county coordinators who all work well together. Colorado is a little bit bigger, but Sundee has it under control.

When I took my first county in NE, I didn't know much about the USGenWeb and certainly didn't know much about who did what. I did know that I wanted that county, and the county coordinator told me it was mine. I took it over and started the mail list for the county, never knowing that I was supposed to be approved by the State Coordinator. Getting the mailing list, at that time, was supposed to be approved by her, too. I had no knowledge of HTML, and here I was taking on a county. Everything went wrong from the very beginning.

Since that time, I have learned a lot when it comes to web pages and the chain of command.

But, as a new member of that county, I had a lot to learn and needed help big time. Since I upset the apple cart from the very beginning, I didn't get much support other than what the retired county coordinator could help me with. Finally, I gave the county up and moved on.

My reason for running for the county coordinator seat again is:

The county coordinators are the back bone of the whole project.

Without a county coordinator there would be no USGenWeb.

I believe that more coordinators should take interest in their region and help support the region mail list and support the elected representative to get what they want in the project instead of what the elected official may want. We need to listen more to the back bone of this organization rather than, as I have heard, the state coordinator power. It is the county coordinator who votes and seats representatives, not the state coordinators.

My goal: Read and take into consideration the wants and needs of the county coordinator. The only way that can be achieved is by the voters.

Let's start a new trend. Let the county coordinators speak by way of the regional mail list and let the members be heard. This is your organization. I will only be a representative for you so that I can do what you want me to do.

ABOUT ME

I have been with this project since 1998
I am a county coordinator in AZ, CO, IA and IL
I am an Assistant State Coordinator in Colorado
I am the State Coordinator for Arizona

I live in Arizona. My youngest son, his wife, and my four grandchildren live here as well.

I graduated from high school in Leadville, CO. Four of my children and seven grandchildren are in CO.
Our "other" home is in Colorado. One granddaughter just graduated from Colorado School of Mines and has taken a position in UT. One granddaughter is in CA.

My husband is from IA.

I was born in IL.
My father's parents were immigrants from Ostfriesland, Germany. Four of my uncles and one aunt were born in Germany. My mother's grandparents were an immigrant family from Ostfriesland, Germany. Doing research in IA, with the help of some great people, I found that my Grandfather's cousin had immigrated to IA and we, the family, didn't realize that there were more of us from the Meyer line in the United States. I also found out that a whole bunch of cousins on my mother's side moved into various counties in IA.

Genealogy is a love. Once you fall hard for it, it is with you for the rest of your life. I am now happy to say that I have a 13-year-old second cousin who contacted me so she could learn about her family. 

The love goes on ....

My pride and joy!!!

My first great grandchild
.
 

Ayla Nicole Irwin
The next generation!