2008 AGM

Welcome to the House of Gordon USA 2008 AGM!

Minutes of the Annual General Membership Meeting 2008 (AGM)– Read the minutes

Treasurer’s Report — Read the report…

Membership Report — I am pleased to present the membership report for the House of Gordon USA.  We are a growing organization!  Since last July at our AGM we have added 137 new members.

We currently have 600 members on our rolls, with 469 members in good standing.   During the year we lost 8 members because of addresses that no longer worked. Read More…

Communications Committee Report 2008 — Good afternoon fellow Gordons, I am very pleased that I could be here this year! I missed you all last year due to work considerations and have had a hard time being patient for this year’s AGM to come around!

Our website is doing quite well with usage up 106% over last year and we are only half-way through the year! Year to date the website usage is up 335.27% over the same period last year. The five most popular pages are the ones we would expect:
1.        The Home Page
2.        The Membership Page
3.        The Divisions Page
4.        The Events Page
5.        The Wall of Honor
5.        The About Us Page

I have one of the most extensive listings of events on the web with each event’s website/contact linked to the listing. The lists are divided by date and by geographic location on the events page, and by division on the division pages. Please refer people to our events listings as a reference and help promote our website! Read More…

Gordon DNA Project Proposal– Many of us are intensely interested in our genealogy and wish to learn more about where we came from. At times the paper trail becomes difficult to follow or apparently non-existent. This is where DNA can help to break through the road blocks in our paper trails. By comparing the so called “junk DNA” on the Y chromosome handed down from father to son intact, we can find links in the family tree between people who otherwise would not be aware of the links. By comparing paperwork on these families we can begin to fill in the gaps, working both 
forward and backward through time.

The Gordon DNA Project was started with the idea of comparing DNA from Gordons around the world AND THEIR SEPTSMEN! From the beginning of the project the administrators have encouraged sept men to test under the Gordon DNA project. It is indeed the House of Gordon DNA Project and we currently have 203 families participating in the project, unfortunately many of our members do not realize that the Gordon DNA project is open to them, and so far only one Adams family and one Todd family have submitted their DNA. With approximately 90 sept names, the House of Gordon has one of the largest surname groups of any clan. Although there are DNA surname projects for sixteen of our septs, the majority of them are not represented elsewhere. Also, the information from one DNA submission can be submitted to several groups. Read More…

Charles O. Gordon Memorial Scholarship — We are pleased to announce that Jeremy and Nathaniel Atkinson, sons of Lee Atkinson of North Carolina, have been named as recipients of the Charles O. Gordon Memorial Scholarship. Jeremy is a Grade 4 piper who has been successfully competing and earned an Above Grade Level Designation for his Piobaireachd in stiff competition at Grandfather Mountain! Nathaniel has just gone up on pipes and will begin competition next year. Both pipe with the Deep River Pipe Band.

AGM 2009 Venue — The membership voted to hold the 2009 AGM at the Richmond Highland Games and Celtic Festival in Richmond, Virginia on October 24-25, 2009.

HOG tent 2008HOG tent 2008HOG Wall of Honor 2008

The tent was open and inviting. John Lowry presented Nathaniel and Jeremy Atkinson with the Charles O. Gordon Memorial Scholarship. The Wall of Honor was featured and well received!

Gordon visitorsKim GordonAaron ToddHOG Camping

We had Living History at the Clan Tent with our own Gordon Highlander and Crusader!  Kim Gordon in front of the time line wall representing over 950 years of continuous military service by Clan Gordon. Aaron Todd piped for us at the Virginia encampment! ALL Gordons were welcomed and fed at the encampment with Geof’s pork tenderloin on a rock oven built by David Todd!

HOG porkJim Fargo and John LowryHOG AGM picnic

The pork was liberally basted with the Chief’s brew! Jim Fargo and John Lowry discuss clan business prior to the AGM. The Annual picnic was a congenial gathering!

Photos Copyright 2008 Lois M Todd: All Rights Reserved, used with permission.