In celebration of the SGS’s 60th Anniversary and in time for our 21st family reunion in Abilene, Kansas, and under the guidance and wisdom of the SGS website committee, the SGS Webmaster Logan Seelye and Assistant Webmaster Mark Seely proudly introduce the next iteration of the Society’s website. This update represents a modernization of the site based on the latest technology making it easier to modify and update with more frequency. They have worked diligently for eight months learning the new technology and overcoming challenges to produce the site.
Like genealogy, websites are never done and this one will continue to evolve in order to meet our needs and desires – the best we can anyway. While we felt we had enough to go live with the site, it is the first time for the membership, most of the SGS Board, and even the website committee to see it fully. Logan and Mark did their best to anticipate what would be desired in meeting the SGS goals for the site and how to present it. Now others will have more significant input and things will inevitably change for the better. In some ways, the work is just beginning.
And we would certainly be remiss to announce such a major milestone without acknowledging what came before – and on whose shoulders we’ve built the site. In 1999, Daniel P. Seelye, then President of the SGS (and Logan’s Grandfather) authored and launched the first SGS website. It soon filled with a ton of information helping us become the preeminent source for Seeley information in the genealogy world. Twenty years later in 2019 the site was in desperate need of modernization. Logan Seelye, a web development and design professional, agreed to continue his family legacy and help the SGS with that effort. Others including Pam Turner and Linda Crocker jumped in to help move the thousands of records from the old site to the new site over the past six years – work that continues to this day. Logan was able to design some plugins to make this work as easy as possible – though many tedious hours are still dedicated to this pursuit. Alas, the world of technology moves ever faster and we found ourselves needing to modernize again.
The SGS Website Committee will continue to review the website and work with Logan, Mark, and the various program leads to bring it to its full potential. We’re excited about this next era for the website.
