Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy

Last Updated and Effective: August 11, 2026

The William (WM) Mack and Emma Blackmon Family Executive Committee (“Executive Committee,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) respects your privacy and is committed to handling personal and family information responsibly.

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, and share information when you visit wmackandemmablackmonfamily.com; register for a family reunion or event; pay family membership fees; make a donation; purchase merchandise; submit photographs, videos, documents, or family-history information; access a family-only area; or otherwise communicate with us.

By using the website, you acknowledge the practices described in this Privacy Policy.

1. Information We Collect

The information we collect depends on how you interact with the website.

Information You Provide

We may collect information you voluntarily provide, including:

  • First and last name;

  • Email address;

  • Telephone number;

  • Mailing and billing address;

  • Family branch, lineage, or relationship information;

  • Reunion registration information;

  • Names and ages or age categories of registered family members and guests;

  • T-shirt or merchandise sizes;

  • Accessibility, dietary, or event-related requests;

  • Family membership information;

  • Donation information and designated fund preferences;

  • Merchandise orders and shipping information;

  • Messages, survey responses, nominations, applications, and form submissions;

  • Scholarship application information;

  • Committee or volunteer interests;

  • Photographs, videos, stories, obituaries, family-tree details, historical records, and other submitted family materials; and

  • Any other information you voluntarily provide.

Please avoid submitting Social Security numbers, complete financial account numbers, medical records, or other highly sensitive information unless we specifically request it through an appropriate and secure process.

Payment Information

Payments may be processed through third-party payment processors, banks, e-commerce platforms, or other service providers.

We generally do not directly receive or store complete debit card, credit card, or bank account numbers. Payment processors may provide us with limited transaction information, such as:

  • Purchaser or donor name;

  • Billing or shipping information;

  • Payment amount;

  • Payment status;

  • Transaction date;

  • Order or confirmation number; and

  • The last few digits or general type of payment method used.

The payment processor’s privacy policy and terms also apply to information submitted through its services.

Information Collected Automatically

When you visit the website, certain information may be collected automatically, including:

  • Internet Protocol address;

  • Browser and device type;

  • Operating system;

  • Referring website or link;

  • Pages viewed;

  • Date and time of access;

  • Approximate geographic location;

  • Website interactions;

  • Shopping-cart activity; and

  • Diagnostic, security, and performance information.

This information helps us operate, secure, and improve the website.

2. How We Use Information

We may use collected information to:

  • Operate and maintain the website;

  • Process family reunion and event registrations;

  • Communicate schedules, deadlines, changes, and event information;

  • Collect and administer family membership fees;

  • Process donations and maintain contribution records;

  • Process, fulfill, ship, and support merchandise orders;

  • Respond to questions, concerns, correction requests, and refund claims;

  • Administer scholarships, cemetery projects, heritage initiatives, committees, and family programs;

  • Maintain family membership and communication records;

  • Create name tags, registration lists, meal counts, merchandise lists, and other event materials;

  • Preserve and organize family history, photographs, videos, genealogy, and archival records;

  • Maintain password-protected galleries, archives, or family-only areas;

  • Send family news, announcements, reminders, and updates;

  • Prevent fraud, unauthorized access, and misuse;

  • Diagnose website problems and improve performance;

  • Maintain financial, transaction, and organizational records;

  • Comply with legal, accounting, contractual, and reporting obligations; and

  • Protect the rights, safety, privacy, and property of the family organization and its members.

We will not use personal information in a manner that is materially inconsistent with this Policy without providing appropriate notice.

3. Family History, Genealogy, and Archival Information

The website may preserve and display family-history information, including:

  • Names and family relationships;

  • Birth and death information;

  • Family trees and genealogical records;

  • Obituaries and memorial information;

  • Historical photographs and videos;

  • Oral histories and family stories;

  • Cemetery and burial information;

  • Land, probate, church, military, census, and public historical records; and

  • Documents contributed by family members or obtained from public archives.

Some historical information may already be publicly available. Other materials may be submitted by family members for preservation or sharing.

We will make reasonable efforts to handle sensitive family information respectfully. However, genealogical and historical information may be incomplete, disputed, or based on family recollection.

If you believe information about you or an immediate family member is inaccurate, overly sensitive, improperly attributed, or should be restricted, please contact us. We will review reasonable requests for correction, additional context, restricted access, or removal.

4. Photographs and Videos

Photographs or videos may be taken during family reunions, meetings, programs, and other family activities. These materials may be used for:

  • Family photo albums and galleries;

  • Reunion recaps;

  • Historical archives;

  • Family videos;

  • Social media posts;

  • Website content;

  • Printed reunion materials; and

  • Other noncommercial family and historical purposes.

Family members may also voluntarily submit photographs or videos for inclusion in an archive or family project.

If you do not want a particular photograph or video of you or your minor child publicly displayed, contact us and identify the material. We will consider reasonable requests to remove it, restrict its future use, or move it to a family-only area.

Removal may not be possible from materials that have already been printed, distributed, downloaded by others, incorporated into completed videos, or preserved in backup systems.

5. Information Concerning Children

The website is intended for a general family audience and is not directed specifically to children under 13.

Children should not independently submit personal information, create accounts, make purchases, or complete registrations through the website. A parent or legal guardian should submit information on behalf of a child when registering the child for a reunion, ordering merchandise, applying for an eligible program, or participating in another family activity.

Information concerning minors may include a child’s:

  • Name;

  • Age or registration category;

  • Family relationship;

  • T-shirt size;

  • Meal or accessibility information;

  • Photograph or video; and

  • Information reasonably necessary to administer an approved family program.

We use this information only for legitimate family, event, archival, or program-related purposes.

If we learn that personal information was submitted directly by a child under 13 without appropriate parental involvement, we will take reasonable steps to delete or restrict that information. A parent or legal guardian may contact us to review, correct, or request deletion of information concerning their child.

6. Cookies and Similar Technologies

The website may use cookies and similar technologies to:

  • Keep the website functioning properly;

  • Remember shopping-cart contents or user preferences;

  • Support secure login or restricted access;

  • Maintain website security;

  • Understand general website traffic and usage;

  • Diagnose errors;

  • Process purchases and registrations; and

  • Improve website performance.

Cookies are small data files stored on a browser or device. Some cookies are necessary for the website to function. Others may support analytics or convenience features.

You can usually control or delete cookies through your browser settings. Disabling necessary cookies may prevent certain website features, registrations, checkouts, or password-protected areas from working correctly.

7. Email and Other Communications

If you provide your email address or telephone number, we may contact you regarding:

  • Reunion registration;

  • Payment or order confirmation;

  • Family membership;

  • Donations;

  • Merchandise orders;

  • Family meetings and announcements;

  • Scholarship or committee activities;

  • Website or account security;

  • Requests you submit; and

  • Other family-related news and programs.

You may unsubscribe from nonessential promotional or general email messages by using an available unsubscribe link or contacting us.

Even if you unsubscribe from general announcements, we may still send necessary transactional or administrative communications concerning an order, payment, registration, security matter, or request you initiated.

Standard message and data rates may apply to text messages. We will not send recurring promotional text messages unless appropriate consent has been obtained.

8. How We Share Information

We do not sell or rent personal information.

We may share information only as reasonably necessary with:

Executive Committee Members and Authorized Volunteers

Information may be provided to Executive Committee members, local reunion committees, subcommittees, or authorized volunteers who need it to administer a reunion, family program, scholarship, archive, membership activity, or other approved purpose.

Service Providers

We may use third parties to help with:

  • Website hosting and maintenance;

  • Payment processing;

  • Online registration;

  • Email delivery;

  • E-commerce and order management;

  • Printing and merchandise fulfillment;

  • Shipping and delivery;

  • Cloud storage and backups;

  • Photo or video hosting;

  • Forms and surveys;

  • Analytics;

  • Cybersecurity; and

  • Other administrative functions.

These providers may access information only as reasonably necessary to perform their services and are subject to their own privacy and security practices.

Event and Fulfillment Partners

We may provide limited information to hotels, venues, caterers, printers, merchandise suppliers, shipping carriers, or other vendors when necessary to fulfill an order or administer an event.

Legal and Safety Reasons

We may disclose information when reasonably necessary to:

  • Comply with applicable law, court orders, subpoenas, or lawful government requests;

  • Investigate suspected fraud, theft, abuse, or unauthorized transactions;

  • Enforce our Terms of Use or other policies;

  • Protect the safety, privacy, property, or legal rights of individuals or the organization; or

  • Respond to an emergency.

With Your Permission

We may share information for another purpose when you have authorized or requested the disclosure.

9. Public and Family-Only Information

Information posted in a public area of the website may be viewed, copied, downloaded, or shared by others.

Some photographs, documents, directories, galleries, meeting materials, or archives may be restricted through passwords or other access controls. Although these measures reduce public access, no website or password-protected system can guarantee complete confidentiality.

Users must not publicly distribute passwords, private links, directories, contact information, or restricted family materials without authorization.

When possible, we may limit the public display of information concerning living individuals, particularly complete birth dates, home addresses, telephone numbers, private email addresses, financial information, and other sensitive details.

10. Third-Party Websites and Social Media

The website may link to third-party services such as:

  • Facebook or other social media platforms;

  • Payment processors;

  • Hotels and travel services;

  • Online photo galleries;

  • Video platforms;

  • Merchandise manufacturers;

  • Shipping carriers; and

  • Historical or genealogical resources.

We do not control these third parties and are not responsible for their privacy practices. Information you submit directly to another website is governed by that provider’s privacy policy.

If you interact with family content through Facebook or another social media platform, that platform may collect information about your activity under its own policies.

11. Data Retention

We retain personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, including:

  • Processing transactions;

  • Maintaining family membership and reunion records;

  • Fulfilling merchandise orders;

  • Administering scholarships and family programs;

  • Preserving historical and genealogical archives;

  • Maintaining financial and organizational records;

  • Resolving disputes;

  • Preventing fraud; and

  • Meeting legal, accounting, contractual, or reporting obligations.

Financial and transaction records may be retained for legally required or appropriate recordkeeping periods.

Historical, genealogical, photographic, and archival materials may be retained indefinitely because preserving family history is one of the organization’s purposes.

When information is no longer reasonably needed, we may delete, anonymize, aggregate, or securely archive it.

12. Data Security

We use reasonable administrative, technical, and organizational measures intended to protect personal information from unauthorized access, misuse, loss, alteration, or disclosure.

These measures may include:

  • Password-protected administrative access;

  • Restricted access based on responsibilities;

  • Secure website connections;

  • Reputable hosting and payment providers;

  • Software and security updates;

  • Backups; and

  • Review of suspected security incidents.

No website, database, email system, or electronic transmission is completely secure. Therefore, we cannot guarantee absolute security.

If we discover a data breach affecting protected personal information, we will investigate and provide legally required notices to affected individuals and government authorities.

13. Your Privacy Choices

Depending on the information involved and applicable law, you may ask us to:

  • Confirm whether we maintain personal information about you;

  • Provide access to information you previously submitted;

  • Correct inaccurate or incomplete information;

  • Update your contact preferences;

  • Stop nonessential email communications;

  • Restrict the public display of certain information;

  • Remove a particular photograph or video from future use;

  • Delete information that is no longer reasonably needed; or

  • Explain how particular information has been used or shared.

To submit a request, contact us using the information at the end of this Policy.

We may need to verify your identity or relationship to the person whose information is involved. We may decline or limit a request when retaining or displaying the information is reasonably necessary for legal compliance, transaction records, dispute resolution, fraud prevention, historical preservation, freedom of expression, or another lawful purpose.

14. State-Specific Privacy Rights

Residents of certain states may have additional privacy rights under applicable law. Where required, we will honor qualifying requests to access, correct, delete, or obtain information about the handling of personal data.

We do not sell personal information or use personal information for targeted advertising as those terms are defined by applicable state privacy laws.

To exercise an applicable state-law right, contact us and identify your state of residence and the nature of your request.

15. International Visitors

The website is operated in the United States, and information is primarily stored or processed in the United States.

If you access the website from another country, your information may be transferred to and processed in the United States, where privacy laws may differ from those in your location.

16. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy as the website, family programs, vendors, technology, or applicable laws change.

The revised Policy will be posted on this page with an updated effective date. Material changes may also be communicated through the website, email, or another reasonable method.

Your continued use of the website after an updated Policy is posted signifies acknowledgment of the revised Policy.

17. Related Policies

This Privacy Policy should be read together with our:

  • Terms of Use;

  • Refund Policy;

  • Registration disclosures;

  • Merchandise checkout terms; and

  • Any additional rules posted for a particular family program or restricted area.

If a separate program collects information not addressed here, additional notice may be provided at the time of collection.

18. Contact Us

Questions, privacy requests, correction requests, or concerns regarding this Privacy Policy may be directed to:

William (WM) Mack and Emma Blackmon Family Executive Committee
PO Box 113
Paw Creek, NC 28130
United States

Email: blackmonexecutivecommittee@gmail.com
Website: https://wmackandemmablackmonfamily.com/