SIGs Background

OGS has had Special Interest Groups (SIGs) off and on during its history based on member interest and availability of meeting places, but we hadn't had any SIGs for quite a few years prior to 2018. In 2017 some interest was shown in forming a Family Tree Maker SIG and David Abernathy volunteered to lead this SIG if it were formed, but no formal action was taken at that time.

In April 2018, a survey of OGS members revealed substantial interest in a number of potential SIGs. In response to this interest, the September 2018 Members meeting was planned as a SIG Fair. In advance of the meeting, a number of individuals agreed to serve as leaders/facilitators of several potential SIGs. At the meeting, each leader/facilitator provided a brief introduction and then members had an opportunity to sign up for those SIGs in which they were interested. Following the September 2018 Members meeting, work began to organize several SIGs.

In October 2019, work began to organize two additional SIGs: Computer and Writing.

In January 2020, the Computer SIG was discontinued due to a lack of interest. However, David Abernathy, who had volunteered to lead this new SIG, has offered to field any Microsoft Windows questions that OGS members might have.

Beginning in 2020-2021, SIGs have been conducted virtually, originally via Zoom and now mostly via Google Meet. So, no matter where you are in the world, you're able to participate in a SIG. This is a great opportunity for our snowbird members as well as members not able to get out due to weather or health reasons.