Sally and Dick Stoewer, along with several other members, hosted
the meeting. Membership had reached a total of 628 by meeting time.
There were about 70 member families present with a total of nearly
120 persons.
Member families by states were: Texas 23; Louisiana 18; Mississippi
12; Georgia 6; and three each from Florida and Missouri; two each
from Pennsylvania and Arkansas; one each from New Jersey, North Carolina,
Alabama, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and California. Friday's Genealogy
Workshop sessions were conducted by Gil Alford, Alicia Houston, and
Elizabeth Hazlip, covering subjects ranging from basic research to
military and census records. Because many members have little background
in genealogy, these informative sessions were much appreciated. The
Friday night reception, with a Mardi Gras theme, was really special
at this meeting.
Three persons were added to the board of directors: Benjamin F. Alford,
Jr., Max Ray Alford, and Doris Alford Vetri. Evelyn Mistich was appointed
as Cemetery Project Officer and Janice Stogsdill Smith as Project
Officer for Alford Wills and Estate Papers. Al Alford, owner of Four
Star Travel of Pensacola, FL, was appointed as AAFA Events Coordinator.
Members again voted for all officers to continue in office.
Captain Lodwick H. Alford and his late wife, Kay, were inducted into
the Alford Hall of Fame for their contribution to the Alford effort
over the years. Wick was AAFA's first President, from 1987 to 1991,
during the time that the foundations were laid for AAFA's growth and
organization.
This the first time we had the "AAFA Store" an activity
that has become very popular. Andrea Alford Fantacci set up shop with
mugs, t-shirts, etc. on which there was a copy of the AAFA logo or
the Alford emblem. The store is now under the management of Sally
Stoewer- you might say Stoewer's Store.
The AAFA photo awards program and photo archives were established
to begin with the Louisiana meeting. For it, and each subsequent meeting,
Jack Kinabrew has prepared a display of Alford photographs and conducted
an awards program with honors being given in several categories. This
was also the beginning of the very important photo archive which is
under Jack's management.
Meetings are not all about genealogy and ancestors. St. Francisville
is in an area rich in famous ante-bellum homes and many members toured
one of more of them. One high-light of the meeting was a special late
nite tour of what is reputed to be the most haunted house in America.
