A heartfelt Thank you to Jim and Mary Weinberg as Jim “turns over the keys” to the BSBS website system.

The public is generally oblivious to all the technology and changes going on behind the scenes of websites.  Most also forget that the information, speed and spread of information is so different today than the printed media we grew up with followed by evolving TV and Radio broadcast systems.

For button collectors the printed flyers and news has long been simply posted at the local library, and also evolved to excellently written and printed booklets mailed during the year to club membership. In the past year or so we have seen our own Bulletin blossom from black and white to full color landing out at your mail box.

Nearly all the members of the Ohio club and certainly the same for all our regional clubs have at one time or another visited and read through our Internet Website at www.ohiobuttons.org.  Many enjoy the research they can do with the unusually full catalog of winning competition trays with full range of materials, sizes, shapes and theme titles.  But none of this would be available without the members collections and sharing and a mountain of constant work from volunteers and their wide range of personal skills.

Jim and Mary Weinberg are the people behind our website and photo collection.  Mary as a collector and Jim having professional training and work in information technology going back to the old punch cards and computers that took up entire rooms. 

Jim has been the wizard behind the curtains designing, programming and continuously improving the website since 2006 to the present.   For many years Jim and Mary would come to the Ohio Shows and scan more than 100 winning trays. Next Jim would add data to the images for Division, Award Number, Name and Place. He uploaded all of this information to the BSBS website. Jim made changes to the website for each officer change, each new show, updated forms as needed etc. The BSBS website has been awarded “Best In Class” several times. In his spare time Jim added audio, and motion to the website. Mary was an active member of both the Polk Box and COBC clubs. She held the editor and Datakeeper positions for many years. Mary was always the person to do name tags/programs etc etc for COBC shows in addition to making sure trays were scanned and identified correctly. She was enthusiastic about being editor and the Bulletin evolved into the booklet with different colored covers for the seasons. We want to give a huge THANK YOU and show our sincere APPRECIATION to Jim for building and maintaining the BSBS website for 16 years. Thank You Jim! We want to show our appreciation for Mary for envisioning the scanned winning trays to be posted on the website. Thank You Mary!

We want to make buttons relevant to our children and grandchildren using todays technology. We are soon to unveil a modernized version of our old site and features, with new volunteers and different talents.  Kit Campbell and Laurel Weinberg’s husband Bob collaborated for several months to develop this for BSBS.  Kit will now carry on as “webmaster” as well as button lover.  Bob will assist in a pinch.  But all of this new work stands on the shoulders and 16 years of service by Jim Weinberg.  It would not have been possible without his base to grow forward.

Heartfelt thank you, from all of us.