Annual General Membership Meeting August 2, 2025, Charlottesville, VA
Present: Sara L. French, Jack Hooten, Jim Hooten, Amy Hooten, Peter Hooten, Gabriele Hooten, Kathryn LeBaron, Brian LeBaron, Beth Rosenquist, Larry Griswold, Barbara Griswold, Karen Ryan, Amy Donohue, Coralee Griswold, Yvonne Berg, Lonnie O’Bannon, Don Miller, and Pamela Johnson.
Meeting was called to order at 9.01 am by Sara French president pro tem. Sara asked everyone to introduce themselves.
Reports for the Registrar/Treasurer and Endowment Fund were given by Jack Hooten: Our membership currently stands at 203 member units. Our endowment is at $360, 976 as of June 30, 2025. A suggestion was made to consider a dues increase and also to consider a slight discount for a multi-year membership.
The Scholarship Committee Report was presented by Jack. Two winners were awarded this last year, a $1500 award each.
An update on the Michael Griswold House was also presented by Jack Hooten: our tenant Marney Briggs is doing a lot of maintenance and upkeep herself and so costs have gone down slightly. The executive board voted to increase the monthly rent by $25 a month when the new lease goes into effect in November.
Sara French reported briefly on the research trip she made to England in March; her full presentation at the evening’s banquet will go into more detail.
Coralee Griswold reported on the dwindling inventory of publications including the Twelve Generations in England book; a discussion was held at the Executive Board meeting to consider a 2nd edition of that to include updates on the Michael Griswold origins. A brief discussion of the copyright for the earlier editions of the GFA publications and Coralee will investigate further.
Coralee also urged direct male descendants of Michael Griswold to do the Big-Y DNA project.
Jack made announcements about the arrangements for the tour of Monticello and James Monroe’s Highland. Meeting was adjourned at 9.41 am
Submitted by Yvonne Berg; Sara French