MEETING OPENED: 10:48 am Vice-president John Blest, presiding.

REPORTS:
A. Minutes of last meeting read and approved.
B. Treasurer's Report:
C. Membership:
Current BIGS membership stands at 122.
Anyone wishing to place articles and/or queries in the next issue of the Buffalo Irish Times needs to submit the information prior September 15th.
Individual genealogy reports are wanted for inclusion in the binder located in the library. Information may be submitted in any convenient format.
All members are asked to notify Donna Shine whenever they have a change of address and/or email address.
Reminder: All donations to BIGS are tax deductible.
D. Research:
No research requests received this quarter.

OLD BUSINESS:
A. Events:
Volunteers are needed to cover our table at the Irish Festival. The Festival will be held August 27-29 at the Pier. Please e-mail the date and time you are willing to cover to John Blest at [email protected].
The Gathering of the Clans is scheduled for January 15th, 2005. Possible themes were discussed -- firefighters and/or police, in the Irish-American community pre-1960 is being considered. A variation on this theme would be to focus on the Irish-American community at work, including any and all occupations. A final decision will be made at the October meeting.
B. Projects:
Volunteers are still needed for the project Holy Cross indexing project. We continue to look for someone who can convert the First Ward Nickname information into booklet form.
C. Purchases:
No purchases were made this quarter.
Members are encouraged to let Donna Shine know if there are any research materials they would like added to the library.
D. Library:
The regular Saturday hours - first and second Saturday of the month from 10 am to 2 pm will be in effect in October. The Tuesday evening from 6 - 9 pm slot will be discontinued in September unless a volunteer can be found to staff it at that time. The library may also be accessed by appointment by contacting Mary Murphy, John Blest or Donna Shine.

NEW BUSINESS:
A. Future Topics:
October Meeting - Will feature Charles Michaux of the Buffalo City Clerk's Office.
Suggestions for upcoming meetings:
January Meeting - Police or Fire Department history. April Meeting - Irish in the Civil War - Corcoran's Brigade
B. From the Floor:
There have been requests that some BIGS meetings be scheduled for a weekday evening rather that the current Saturday morning. The July meeting has been recommended for this in order to allow members to take advantage of the good weather.

BUSINESS MEETING ADJOURNED: 12:40 pm

FEATURED TOPIC:
Richard Moulton - Erie County Surrogate's Court on wills and probate records.

NEXT MEETING: Saturday, October 16th, 10:30 am

M. E. O'Grady-Fabinsky