June 6, 2009

Hi All,

In effort to keep the momentum and energy going, I'm trying to update the page as often as I can. Thanks to Pam Chenault Howard for helping in the effort to use the website as the primary source of information. If you have new info to post please send it to me at: dmiki@aol.com. If you'd like to respond to someone's suggestion, please hit the comment link at the bottom of the post on this site.

I will try and send out update emails but that might not always be possible. So, please bookmark this site and check it as you would your email or Facebook account.

I'm going to post the most recent email thread regarding the reunion, and also some photos of Courtney Kilgour (see above), who is currently out in L.A. visiting a friend from college. Courtney recently graduated from Clark Atlanta University with a degree in communications (emphasis on PR). We had a great time. Also, please keep my dad, William Turner, in prayer. He's had a rough week but he's a warrior.

hi all,

here's an idea that kim dixon came up with that i think is worth considering. gary did one of these with dad last year after he was honored by amtrak for his work as a pullman porter and it really is one of the most amazing things i've ever heard. i'm thinking we could rent out the wyoming fine arts center on friday night and set up a sort of interactive presentation with the family history. if we can't spring for the storycorps, renee (there i go volunteering people again), myself and gary, who has a great knack for interviewing, could do some video interviews of older family members and the younger ones, too, as they peruse the visuals. thots?

From Kim: I was doing a little research and I found that the program is called "StoryCorps" and they are a non-profit organization that records people's interviews, provides an archival quality CD of the interview, and archives the interview with the American FolkLife Center at the Library of Congress. You can have interviewers and a booth come to the reunion for a day at a flat rate of $3000. We get six 40 min. interviews with that. Or we could do it over two days for $6000 and have 12 40 min interviews. If 50 people contribute for a day that would be just $60 per person, or $120 for two days. If we went this route we would not be able to get everyone in the family in the booth, but we could have the elders professionally interviewed and the family preserved in the Library of Congress forever! I know it seems like a lot of money, but I think we could raise the money if we could get some key people on board.

Here's the website:

http://www.storycorps.org/

Take a look a let me know what you think.

-----Original Message-----

From: steve.bell@fuse.net
To: cam31089@aol.com; pamelachoward@hotmail.com; marycbell@hotmail.com; dixonlj@muohio.edu; donnamdubois@gmail.com; Kilgour, Harold (CDC/OCOO/OD) <hek3@cdc.gov>; levy629@yahoo.com; chenault@live.com; courtney@aol.com; kilgour@student.cau.edu; msmethod504@yahoo.com; dbell002@sbcglobal.net; colleen.bell@fuse.net; Renee.Chenault@nbcuni.com; leonardchenault@yahoo.com; donaldclayjr@gmail.com; scpipes1@yahoo.com; parrishchen@hotmail.com; elloudix@yahoo.com; cyd3@comcast.net; epipes0402@yahoo.com; jap227@msn.com; clays@fuse.net; cclay.aka@gmail.com; dchenault@greatparks.org; dmiki@aol.com; sherrie.chenault@fuse.net; jmbell32@hotmail.com; akilgour@bellsouth.net; dixonkl_25@yahoo.com
Cc: steve.bell@fuse.net
Sent: Thu, 4 Jun 2009 11:27 am
Subject: RE: McDonald (Chenault, Green, Clay, Pipes, Turner/Dixon) Family Reunion News and Photos

Jo Ann this family reunion would be a great time for you to tell the McDonald
family "History" which I think you've done a Great job with.
Jo Ann can you send me a copy of the family tree so I can start up dating from
our generation down.

Thanks

Steve Bell or as Miss Woods would say "Baby Brother".

---- clays@fuse.net wrote:

I am sorry that I have not had a chance to respond, I am bogged down with
school work right now, so  this is going to be brief.  I am all for this and
will do whatever I need to in order to help make this happen.  I am for bringing
awareness to this awful disease that is taking our family one by one, but I
would also like for us to establish a scholarship fund for the kids behind us
that want to go to school.

Peace and love to everyone and I will talk with you soon!

---- "Kilgour wrote:

I am in total agreement with this, however, I would like for us to use
this as a supplement to what Daryn has already established with his
efforts with the National Cancer Society to bring awareness to this
disease.  As we establish/re-establish our family tree and relations, we
have so many more "family members" not of our blood line, but connected
due to family members either as survivors or victims of cancer.  I know
that three of our family members, Ada, Lenny, Uncle Elmer and my dad
were victims of cancer so this is something we should keep focus on as
well.  I would hope that we participate in this effort as well and even
make a monetary donation in the memory of our deceased loved ones.  I
feel the family juices flowing.