The explosive growth reported to you in 1998 continued into 1999  with no sign of lessening. It forced our focus towards a change in organizational infrastructure. An Executive Committee  was appointed and then expanded with the election of two new Vice Presidents, one for Research and one for Programming and Development. Additional departments were created; project managers appointed, all necessitated by our expanding user base and our effort to meet the demands being placed upon us.

1999 was also a year of extraordinary achievements in many areas. We added to our databases and programs; we  added to our mailing lists and Special Interest Groups thus gaining a sizeable  number of new users and  financial supporters.

One of our most exciting launches was ShtetlSchleppers, a project which provides professional services to those wishing to visit their ancestral origins. 44 participants shared in "an experience of a lifetime" as they traveled to far-away places such as Belarus, Lithuania, Lviv, Kiyev, Hungary, and Poland.

A program milestone was  reached when the Translation Project uploaded its 100^th Yizkor book; the 1891 Galician Business Directory database listed 12,000 names from 1000 towns; we added the InfoSeek Search Engine which can find any word on any page on our web site; 15,000 names  went on line from a portion of the 1929 inter-war Polish Business Directory as the forerunner to the planned  1929 Poland Business Directory Database. The foregoing list highlights only  a few of the 26 items listed for 1999 and is well worthy of your perusal.

Be sure to make frequent visits to JewishGen's What's New section for it will keep you well apprised of the latest additions to our rapidly expanding program wealth.

Great satisfaction and excitement surrounded the signing on October 24 of the tripartite, an agreement  between the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies, Beit Hatefutsoth and JewishGen, finalizing the collective effort in a sharing and creation of the Family Tree of the Jewish People.

This historic event was followed by recognition as the Best Site Pick of the Month of December on the part of AOL, the world’s largest internet service provider. Their award said in part we were chosen for our "comprehensive nature in providing a resource for people searching their Jewish heritage".

We sought the advice of professionals regarding how to better solve the  requests for expanded services being placed upon our already strained human and financial capabilities. Their end of the year suggestions resulted in the exploration of new approaches as we entered 2000.