As we embark on a new year, I have been reflecting on the growth that was accomplished during the past year and busy planning new goals for the coming year.
I would like to start this editorial by thanking the many volunteers that have dedicated so much time, effort and energy into helping us during the past year.
It seems like a lifetime ago when the first issue of U.S. Legacies Magazine was published. There are times when I look at my schedule today and wonder how I was able to design thousands of web pages, locate material for the magazine, perform all the layouts, assemble and mail out the magazines and respond to all the letters we were receiving, without any help. The one thing I do remember from those first days, was the fact that I survived on very little sleep.
Thanks to the many volunteers that have joined our organization since we started, not only have I been able to take better care of my health by getting more rest, but the quality of the magazine and the variety of information we are preserving has increased substantially.
I consider this organization my “baby” and while I am not expecting any major health problems in the near future, I am also aware that none of us live forever. Therefore, one of my goals since I started U.S. Legacies, was to find “key people” that had the knowledge, time and devotion required to “take over” and run it, in the event anything ever happened to me.
It is with great pleasure and relief that I can finally announce we have reached that goal. As much joy as that offers to me, reaching one goal, means it is time to set another goal. Therefore one of my new goals is to find qualified assistants that will be able to back up or cover our key people when they are sick or unavailable. So if you believe in the concept and importance of helping others preserve the memories, values and stories of their family members, and would like to volunteer to help us, please contact me or Rita Redd.
Another new goal I have set for the coming year is to increase the exposure of U.S. Legacies. One of the techniques I plan on using to accomplish this is by making myself available for speaking engagements across the country. My plan is to contact local VFW/American Legion Posts, Senior Citizen Centers or other organizations and offer to help teach their members the importance of gathering and preserving family memories, along with offering “how to” tips and techniques. In the spirit of being non-profit, I will not be charging any organization for my time, however I will be handing out brochures promoting the U.S. Legacies and encouraging the audience to consider making donations to help support the cost of our websites and printing supplies. I also plan on trying to locate professional genealogists, retired veterans and other seniors to join me at these speaking engagements and offer their input. So, if you belong to any organization that would like to invite me to come speak on the values of preserving memories or if you would like to join me and help out at a local event in your state, please let me know.
There is one additional element I would like to incorporate around the country. I would like to start forming “groups of volunteers” in various communities. The goal here would be for individuals to meet face to face where they could trade ideas and suggestions, perform speaking engagements at local schools or other organizations and help the community become aware of the importance of recording and preserving memories.
In speaking about preserving memories and legacies, I would like to mention “ The National World War II Memorial.” It will be the first national memorial dedicated to everyone who served during World War II. The memorial, will honor all military veterans of the war, the citizens on the home front, the nation at large, and the high moral purpose and idealism that motivated the nation's call to arms. The memorial will be dedicated on Saturday, May 29, 2004 in Washington D.C.
There is also a World War II Registry to honor members of the World War II generation. It is a list of individual Americans who participated in the war effort. I recently submitted the names of two WW II veterans to the registry. One was my father, Franklin T. Wike, Sr. and the other one was my uncle Ssg. William H. Wike U.S.A. Ret.
To find out more about the memorial or to register an honoree, contact: National World War II Memorial, 2300 Clarendon Boulevard, Suite 501 Arlington, Virginia 22201 or call 1-800-639-4WW2. You can also check out their website at: http://www.wwiimemorial.com. In the event you would like to have someone listed on the registry electronically and do not have access to a computer, please send me the information you would like posted and I will be happy to submit the information for you.
There is one final goal that I have for the year 2004 that I need your help on. In my opinion, the name U.S. Legacies is a perfect choice for use on the Internet, however I have noticed that sales of our magazine through retail establishments has been a bit disappointing. While observing shoppers in stores that sell our magazine, I have noticed that many people will see the name of the magazine sticking out of a rack, and never even bother to pick the magazine up, in order to find out what is on the inside. Therefore I have been considering the possibility of changing the name of the printed magazine. This would not have any effect on our website or the content of the magazine. We do not plan on changing our name on the Internet and we do not plan on changing the type of material we are printing in the magazine. If we change the name at all, it will only be changed on the top of the printed magazine and this is where I need your help.
I am looking for a name that would jump out at you, if you saw it on the top of a magazine at news stand. There is one catch. Even though we do not plan on changing the name of our website, we will need to have at least one webpage containing the name of the magazine. The reason for this is IF we changed the name of the magazine to “Memories” or “Yesteryear” and someone heard about the magazine, there are some people that would try to find us on the Internet by typing in memories.com or yesteryear.com. So, in order to make sure people can find us on the Internet when they type in the name of the magazine, we have to obtain at least one webpage with the same name, that would then point them to our main website.
So, here is our problem. In addition to finding a name that would get your attention at the news stand, we also have to find a name that is not already used by someone else on the Internet and that will be extremely difficult. One example of just how difficult it is to find a name that is not used, can be shown in the following example. I conducted a search on the Internet to see if the name “Memories” was available. I found over 3,000 websites using the name memories. Some of the names I found were, MyMemories, YourMemories, OurMemories, Memories1, Memories1000, etc.
As a result of this challenge, I have decided to offer a reward for your help. I will give $25 out of my pocket to anyone that comes up with a suitable name that describes the content of our magazine, would stand out on the news stand and is available on the Internet.
Now that you know what my goals are for this new year, I would like to encourage each and every one of you to join us in a project that will have a positive affect on the lives of many generations.
Thank you and I hope that each and every one of you have a wonderful, educational and happy year.
Franklin T. Wike, Jr.
U. S. Legacies Magazine January 2004
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