Wow! Thanks so much to Randy Seaver for selecting me for the Genea-Speak Award, given for "excellence in writing, speaking, and the promoting of good genealogical practices." As you'll read in Randy's posting (please do read it because he has all the details you might be curious about), he's an awardee himself, having been selected by Thomas McEntee, who was in turn selected by texican wife on the Mountain Genealogists blog. Randy not only kindly selected me; he paired me with Pat Richley-Erickson, better known as DearMYRTLE! That's some seriously good company! Now it's my turn to pick another pair of awardees, so here goes. I have to pick The Genealogue (http://www.genealogue.com/) because no one makes me laugh the way Chris Dunham does. His writing is always witty, but also deceptively educational, and having had the opportunity to work with him on a professional basis a few times, I can also tell you that he's one heck of a researcher. Chris knows his stuff inside and out, but reminds us all not to take ourselves too seriously. I'm also selecting Blaine Bettinger, also known as the Genetic Genealogist (http://www.thegeneticgenealogist.com/). This choice reflects my pro-DNA perspective, but also Blaine's ability to write about a topic that intimidates many in a way that makes it easy to absorb. His free eBook, "I Have The Results of My Genetic Genealogy Test, Now What?", should be required reading, and I will be first in line to buy any other books he chooses to write. And BTW, if you haven't heard, he's also recently become the editor of the Journal of Genetic Genealogy. So thanks again to Randy for this unexpected acknowledgment and the chance to recognize a pair of my favorites as well!
| As a valued subscriber to deCODEme, we wanted to write to you directly to let you know about some important developments in the company and how we believe these will underpin our ability to continue to keep you in the forefront of understanding what the latest advances in genetics mean to you. For the past several months, deCODE has been working on restructuring its operations. One of the principal goals of this effort has been to enable us to find new investment that will continue our work in human genetics and to offer to our customers the products and services that are based upon our expertise and capabilities. Today we have announced concrete steps in that direction. This morning deCODE genetics, Inc. filed a voluntary petition for Chapter 11 protection in the United States. At the same time, there has also been filed with the court an offer by Saga Investments LLC to purchase deCODE’s Icelandic subsidiary, Islensk Erfdagreining (IE). IE, which is not declaring bankruptcy, carries out all of deCODE’s human genetics work and and provides deCODEme. We believe this offer provides a firm foundation for continuing to offer you the same path breaking science and service you expect from deCODEme. Saga is led by Polaris Venture Partners and Arch Venture Partners, two leading technology investors who were involved in the founding of deCODE. While other higher bids may be made for IE under the Chapter 11 process, this offer, even if no others are forthcoming, provides resources for us to continue operations without interruption during the Chapter 11 proceedings, and would provide up front funds sufficient to support operations for two years. With the filing today, deCODE has also asked the Court for the customary authority to continue to manage its operations and serve its customers during the proceedings. For this reason, we do not expect this to have any impact on your deCODEme account. As ever, our commitment at deCODEme is to keep you in the forefront of progress in understanding the human genome and what it means for you and your health. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch with our customer support team if you have any questions. With best regards, |
