Back in 2003 I was one of three founding members of the American Heraldry Society, with David Boven and Cory McHenry. Those were the days.
As I recall, the Society grew out of discussions in an online forum. One of the usenet groups, I think. Probably rec.heraldry. In the beginning David was our President, I was Vice President, and Cory was Secretary. As with many new groups, the way we arranged ourselves into the choice of offices was something that didn’t take much thought. It was just obvious. Later, I was happy to disappear into the background and leave the politics to new members with more ambition and higher social needs.
The Society was originally incorporated in the state of Colorado in 2003, but was dissolved and re-incorporated in Texas in 2007. I still have some of the original records. Succeeding corporate officers have never asked for them but in our modern world I doubt they need them.
Our little group attracted a lot of attention and eventually became the premier society for American heraldry in a very crowded field. (It seems every amateur heraldic enthusiast in America wants to preside over his or own society.)
I’ve always been very proud of what the Society has accomplished, growing out of the original vision and working with a core group of very dedicated members.
Now the Society is having some growing pains. The website (AmericanHeraldry.org) has been offline for months. The official explanation seems to be that the site was designed by amateurs. (Oh yes, it certainly was.) So we need professional help. (Yes, everyone needs professional help.) Which is just another way of saying it was working when the amateurs were running things, but the pros broke it and they’re having trouble fixing it.
I’ll just leave that train of thought there and hope the people involved can see the humor in it.
I hope they’re back soon. For now the only way to contact the Society or participate is through its Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/theamericanheraldrysociety/