Sine Die… Many Thanks

The 2013 session of the Georgia General Assembly is history.

At the last minute the Georgia Archives achieved a tiny, but significant victory. The House-Senate Conference Committee on the Fiscal Year 2014 budget chose to support the Senate figure of $300,000,  $75,881 more than the House recommended.

No, in terms of money it’s certainly not quite as much as we’d hoped for. The Archives still will struggle. While the amount may be disappointing, it cannot be surprising, given the state of the economy and the demands on the state budget.

But in terms of advocacy, the value of our campaign cannot be overstated. Repeatedly during the legislative session, lawmakers commented on the strong effort being made by Archives supporters.

The fact that the conferees chose the higher Senate budget number confirms that in the waning days of the session Georgia Archives supporters spoke and legislators listened.

Thanks to all those who have worked, worried and prayed on behalf of the institution we love.

Special thanks to Elizabeth Olson, co-chairman of the Campaign to Save the Georgia Archives, as well as to all GGS members and members of genealogical and historical societies across the state.

Thanks to state legislators who also proved themselves to be Archives advocates: most especially to Rep. Terry England, also to Reps. Earl Ehrhart, Jan Jones and Larry O’Neal and Sens. Jack Hill, Buddy Carter, Ronnie Chance and David Shafer.
University System of Georgia Senior Vice Chancellor for External Affairs Tom Daniel deserves special recognition.

Thanks also to:

• Archives Director Chris Davidson and Archivist Steve Engerrand, as well as former director David Carmicheal
• University System of Georgia Regents Dean Alford and George Hooks, as well as University System of Georgia Associate Vice Chancellor for Planning and Implementation Shelley Nickel
• Our DeKalb County friends John Hewitt of the DeKalb Champion and public relations professional Matthew Spaulding
• Fred Moss and the Records Preservation and Access Committee of the Federation of Genealogical Societies
• Packet stuffers, phone callers, letter writers and never-give-uppers
• And, as always, the Georgia Genealogical Society’s great friend Gwinnett Graphics

The next order of business is to keep up with how the Archives fares under new leadership at the University System of Georgia.

And, of course, will start all over again with the 2014 session of the Georgia General Assembly.

Vivian Price Saffold