I hope that you have enjoyed browsing the Clan MacThomas website this past year. There is a wealth of information about our Clan worldwide and our fellow clansmen/clanswomen in particular. If you haven’t spent time browsing the website, I challenge you to make it a top priority on your “to-do” list. Perhaps you have wondered who is the behind-the-scenes-Webmaster person? The Clan MacThomas Webmaster is Jon Hedges. Jon lives in England and was actively involved in the Clan Society as Treasurer, Membership Secretary and on the Society Council prior to accepting the additional position of Webmaster.
Q. Jon, how were you chosen to be the webmaster?
A. I have actually only just been appointed webmaster. Prior to that I had the role of website builder. The Society Council had long recognised that the old website was past its sell by date and had appealed for a young member with IT experience to build a new site. Sadly there were no volunteers so, in frustration, I offered to find a professional to do the job. The person whom I had in mind then had a change of circumstances and was not able to help. I was therefore left with little choice but to undertake the build myself. In the event it is clear that this was the best solution because it gives the Society maximum flexibility.
Q. What were some of the steps towards developing the website?
A. It is possible either to build a website from scratch with “HTML” or to use a software package. Because of my inexperience with websites we chose to use a package and the first step was to find a suitable one. Fortunately my brother, Simon, had recently built a website for his business and was able to recommend Microsoft Office Live. I just had to teach myself how to use it!
The second stage was to choose the best colours and fonts. There was considerable debate amongst the society officers and eventually the current purple scheme was agreed.
The third stage was to decide a logical structure for the pages on the site.
Finally we had to collect photographs and text and add them to the pages. In this task I was dependent upon help from our Chief and several other Clan members. Since the site went live I have continued development and have recently added a secure members’ area.
Q. What do you do in your life outside of Clan MacThomas responsibility?A.
Despite reaching my employer’s normal retirement age, I continue to work
justover three days per week on environmental matters. On most of the
remaining four days I spend some time working on Clan Society matters. If I
do have spare time I will spend it in the garden or possibly looking after my
house. I also take a keen interest in investments. If I had more time I would
like to spend time rambling and visiting places of interest. Roll on retirement!
Added 03/07/2010