*Denotes Elected Executive Board

• Katherine M. Olsen*, President
• Paul Taylor*, First Vice President
• Jesse Crisler*, Second Vice President
• Camille Seeley Bell*, Secretary
• Sally Seeley*, Treasurer
• Linda L. Crocker*, Chief Genealogist
• Terry Tietjens*, Director
• Wesley Waring*, Director
• Ruthetta Seelye Hansen*, Director
• James R. Seeley, Past President
• Linda L. Crocker, Co-Chair Anc. Files
• Chris Havnar, Co-Chair Anc. Files
• Lynda Simmons, Membership
• Linda L. Crocker, Query Editor
• Paul Taylor, Publications Editor
• Chris Havnar, Webmaster
• Terry Tietjens, Research Center
• Pamela D. Turner, SRC Librarian
• Ruthetta Seelye Hansen, Historian
• Walt Seelye, Seeley DNA Project
• Bob Seeley, CD-ROM Project
• George R. Seeley, Parliamentarian

The Seeley Genealogical Society held its fifteenth biennial meeting at the Hilton Airport Hotel in Grand Rapids, Michigan, August 8-11, 2013. The theme was “A Grand Time in Grand Rapids with Seeley Grandparents and Grandchildren.” There were sixty-three registrants from sixteen states. A hospitality room provided a place to visit and display documents and artifacts. In the final meeting of the 2011-2013 SGS Executive Board, officers gave reports, discussed important issues, and decided to recommend that the 2015 reunion be held in Abilene, Kansas. The reunion featured four tours: the Heritage Hill historic neighborhood and the Frank Lloyd Wright Meyer May home, the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum, the Frederick Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park, and the Grand Rapids Public Library. Member presentations included discussions on using the Internet to find genealogical information, various attendees’ Seeley families who had settled in Michigan, firefighting in colonial times, and structures bearing the Seeley name. Guest speakers included Tim Gleisner, Grand Rapids Library History and Special Collections Supervisor, whose keynote address was titled “A Brief History of the Settlement of Michigan and Grand Rapids”; Carol Seeley Scott, author of The Eel Catcher’s Travels: Robert Seeley 1602 -1667, who discussed “Family History: Fact or Fiction”; and Jack Dempsey, author of Michigan and the Civil War: A Great and Bloody Sacrifice, who discussed Sarah Emma Edmonds Seelye who fought in the War. During the membership meeting officers gave presentations, the auditing committee reported that the treasurer’s books were in order, and the state of the Society and declining membership numbers were also discussed. Amendments to the SGS Constitution and Bylaws that provide for distributing funds should SGS ever dissolve, and a revision to the role of the Publications Editor, including wording on the periodic nature of the SGS Newsletter, were adopted. The nominating committee’s slate of officers was also approved.

A group photo was taken, followed by a picnic. Afterward, the 2013-2015 SGS Executive Board gathered for its first meeting and discussed the application process for non-profit status, preliminary arrangements for the 2015 SGS Reunion, the approach to printing publications, including the SGS Newsletter, membership challenges and strategies, prioritizing research goals, and developing a mission statement for the Seelye Research Center. That night plaques were presented to outgoing officers Marshall Seelye and Mary Palley, the National Genealogical Society honorable mention award was presented to Paul Taylor, Editor of the Newsletter, and the Outstanding SGS Volunteer Award for 2011-2013 was presented to Chris and Jerry Havnar for their many contributions to SGS. The newly elected SGS Executive Board was installed by James R. Seeley. Karen Hadley, an attendee and a yodeler, performed a marvelous birthday yodel for Carol Seeley Scott, who celebrated her ninety-second birthday. On Sunday morning the group met a final time for a late breakfast before parting ways until meeting again in Abilene in 2015.

Kathie Olsen,
SGS President