Part of The USGenWeb Project

GAGenWeb Regional Assistants

Northeast Region ... Liz Nash

Banks, Clarke, Dawson, Elbert, Franklin, Habersham, Hall, Hart, Jackson Lincoln Lumpkin, Madison, Oconee, Oglethorpe, Old Walton, Rabun, Stephens, Towns, Union, White, Wilkes

Metro Region ... Vivian Saffold

Barrow, Butts, Campbell, Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry, Milton, Morgan, Newton, Rockdale, Spalding, Walton

Northwest Region ... Beth Shaw

Bartow, Carroll, Cass, Catoosa, Chattooga, Dade, Fannin, Floyd, Gilmer, Gordon, Haralson, Heard, Meriwether, Murray, Paulding, Pickens, Pike, Polk, Troup, Walker and Whitfield

Coastal Region ... Deborah Broxson

Appling, Bacon, Brantley, Bryan, Camden, Charlton, Chatham, Clinch, Echols, Effingham, Evans, Glynn, Liberty, Long, McIntosh, Pierce, Tattnall, Toombs, Ware, Wayne.

West Central Region ... Kemis Massey

Baldwin, Bibb, Chattahoochee, Crawford, Harris, Houston, Jasper, Jones, Lamar, Macon, Marion, Monroe, Muscogee, Peach, Schley, Talbot, Taylor, Twiggs, Upson, Wilkinson

East Central Region ... Nancy Gay Crawford

Bulloch, Burke, Candler, Columbia, Emanuel, Glascock, Greene, Hancock, Jefferson, Jenkins, Johnson, Laurens, McDuffie, Putnam, Richmond, Screven, Taliaferro, Treutlen, Warren, Washington

Southwest Region ... Jacki Jonas

Baker, Brooks, Calhoun, Clay, Colquitt, Decatur, Dougherty, Early, Grady, Lee, Miller, Mitchell, Quitman, Randolph, Seminole, Stewart, Sumter, Terrell, Thomas

South Central Region ... Kim Gordon

Atkinson, Ben Hill, Berrien, Bleckley, Coffee, Cook, Crisp, Dodge, Dooly, Irwin, Jeff Davis, Lanier, Lowndes, Montgomery, Pulaski, Telfair, Tift, Turner, Wheeler, Wilcox, Worth

Duties & Responsibilities

A general commentary written by Virginia Crilley
which are guidelines for the role of Regional Assistants

Personal relationship
We have so many CCs that it would take a great deal of time for the SC to get to know each one individually. Dealing with a small section(a region), the leader can establish a trust rapport and become a friend. By staying in touch, we know when someone is having difficulties that might keep them from being as active on their sites as they might want to be. We can give a helping hand and show that the CC is valued as an individual.

Guidance
That is probably the most important. From time to time things come up and CCs are not always comfortable in addressing issues to a large list. They can write privately any of their concerns and get the view point of the RA.

Teaching
Be on hand to always help new CCs to learn some of the "how to's" of a USGenWeb County page. Help solve any HTML problems that come up, or give advice on the design effectiveness, copy write, etc. You don't have to be a "techie", there are always others who can help out.

Support
Be there to support the CC if any criticism or complaint comes up. Rarely does this happen, but if someone writes a negative note, I want to be able to try to resolve whatever issue it is. Most of the time this is just some misunderstanding.

Regional ideas
By learning as much as possible about the Region and all the things the counties have in common, the RA/DH can provide lots of ideas. CCs are so creative, and I've always like to share within our region some of the good things that are being done. Everyone benefits from this and can apply it to their own county. We really have a "team feeling" in our region and everyone pitches in to help answer questions. I feel like I am always learning new things about the area.

Helping Researchers
I'm very interested in my region, and I enjoy participating on most of the County Lists within it. My ancestors seem to have been through most of them, or if not actually there I learn things about how they lived. I enjoy working with researchers to help them find what is on-line or give them some ideas about what they might ask for. So much of our work overlaps across county lines anyway.

Checking sites
For me that has always been a low priority. I usually keep in touch through personal e-mails, so have a pretty good idea what is going on in their county. Sometimes CCs just forget to reload the "front page" where the "last update" is, but may have added other things to their sites. But since the update is one way a researcher has of judging how much is really going on, I just write them a reminder so that no really out of date by more than 6 months is there. The CC may also be very active in helping researchers even if new things are not being added to the pages-- and to me that is a very important part of being a CC.

Appreciation
We're all volunteers --- and I think saying "thank you" for the time being spent is always welcome. A RA can make sure the CCs within the region do know they are appreciated for what they're doing.

Decision Making
In the past, the RA did have a "decision making" role. But I think a better direction is for the RA to be primarily a helper, and make sure that all CCs participate in any decisions that are made. Being elected I certainly support having elections for RA/DH ....and on a regular basis. The CCs know what they need and this is their way of voicing when they are not pleased with how the role may have been handled. I placed FIRST -- personal relationship and guidance --- and I still consider these the most important. In fact I like to describe the role as needing a "people person". If you like people and staying in touch and like to help, then you'd be great.