Greetings, United States McCraw Family Association members and friends! I am gratified to report that - thanks to hostess Phyllis Pittman - approximately 40 of us enjoyed a very fun and successful biennial reunion in beautiful Fairhope, Alabama this past weekend.
The Holiday Inn Express, program presenters, various local restaurants, shops and attractions, banquet caterer and Irish music trio Gan Ainm were all top notch, and our group interactions and camaraderie were the best ever.
Our new USMFA "Carol McCraw Award of Merit" for 2020 was bestowed upon Carol McCune McCraw with her book co-author Joy Rushing accepting, and for 2022 upon Dr. Faye McCraw Moore with her daughter, Janet Harvey, accepting.
Our Sunday morning business meeting resulted in the election of officers for the next two years, scheduling our June, 2024 reunion in Beckley, West Virginia to be hosted by Scott McGraw, and the decision to spend up to $1500 to conduct and finance the Y-DNA testing of 5 men on the Isle of Skye, Scotland via Family Tree DNA. Our Treasurer, Tim McCraw, reported an approximate account balance of $11,500.
Our USMFA officers for the next two years are: president; Steve McGraw, past president; Dean McCraw, secretary; Janet Harvey, treasurer; CPA Tim McCraw, IT manager and 2024 reunion host; Scott McGraw, DNA coordinator; Tim McCraw, PhD., membership coordinator; Phyllis Pittman, and newsletter editor; Mary Jane Cone.
As in the recent past, my major focus for the next two years will be to concentrate the USMFA's ongoing efforts to learn as much as possible about William Maccraw I and the history and origins of our family.
Finally, thank you for electing me president of this impressive family association; I will do my best to live up to our legacy of decades of active genealogical research and positive results as established by the likes of Carol McCune McCraw, Faye McCraw Moore, and many others.
Sincerely, Steve McGraw