Thursday, September 5, 2013

[UVTAGG] Press Release for meeting Saturday morning 14 Sep 2013


05 Sep 2013
Journalists and ward newsletter editors, please run this as a news item and/or in your calendar of events.  For a shorter version you can extract parts from the first two paragraphs, give the UVTAGG URLs, and mention that there will be classes for all levels of family history interest.  Please email me, if you need further information. Thanks.
Don Snow

UTAH VALLEY TECHNOLOGY AND GENEALOGY GROUP MEETING (UVTAGG)
The next regular, second-Saturday-of-the-month meeting of the Utah Valley Technology and Genealogy Group - UVTAGG (Formerly the Utah Valley PAF Users Group - UVPAFUG) will be on Saturday, 14 Sep 2013, from 9 am to noon in the LDS "Red Chapel", 4050 North Timpview Drive (650 East), Provo.  Information about the Group, main presentations, classes, and class notes are available on their website  http://uvtagg.org and the press releases are at http://blog.uvtagg.org .

The main presentation this month will be by Bret Petersen on MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR MOBILE DEVICES.  Mobile devices are all around us with smartphones, tablets, and other devices.  We use them for communicating, playing games and maybe keeping our calendar up-to-date. However, many don't realize all of the ways that they can help in our genealogy research.  Come with us as we explore some of the many ways that one might make the most of the power behind these devices.  Bret Petersen developed a love of family history research at a young age and it continued through his college years at BYU where he graduated with a degree in Journalism and a minor in Education. His passion for family history research and the growth of computer-assisted research led him to the Utah Valley Technology and Genealogy Group where he served as their volunteer webmaster for a decade.  He is currently serving as President of the Utah Genealogical Association (UGA).  He is a graduate of the National Institute on Genealogical Research and the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy.  As a member of the Genealogical Speakers Guild he has been a presenter and teacher for groups ranging from just a few to several hundred participants. He loves teaching and helping others learn all they can about using technology in researching their family history.  More information about him is on a blog that he writes about his own ancestors http://blog.branchesofourtree.com/ and at  https://plus.google.com/110509921128790991142 .

After the main presentation the following classes are scheduled.  Check the meetings page at http://uvtagg.org/ for last minute changes or additions.   (1)  The Shady Side of the Family Tree: Prison, Criminal, Asylum and Other Records, by Bret Petersen;  (2)  A Comparison: Ancestral Quest, RootsMagic, and a Touch of Legacy, by Bud Wood;  (3)  Advanced Animap, by Marilyn Thomsen;  (4)  Video of last month's main presentation: Zap the Grandma Gap: 10 Best Ideas to Leap the Generation Gap, by Janet Hovorka;  (5)  Ask An Expert (Personal Help), by Don Engstrom and Finn Hansen;  (6)  MAC: Getting Started with Reunion and MAC Essentials, by Ron Snowden;  (7)  RootsMagic, by Sue Maxwell;  (8)  Ancestral Quest, by Merlin Kitchen; and  (9)  Legacy, by Dean Bennett.
All meetings of UVTAGG are open to the public whether members of the Group or not. The Group has the goal of helping individuals use technology to further their family history and there are usually about 100 attending the monthly meetings on the second Saturdays. The officers are Gerhard Ruf, President; Laurie Castillo, 1st VP; Don Snow, 2nd VP; Liz Kennington, Newsletter Editor; Renee Zamora, Secretary; Kay Baker, Don Engstrom, and Rayanne Melick working with membership and finances, Bruce Merrill and Marie Andersen working with the DVD Library, and Chris Stevenson as the Webmaster.  Several of these will be there to answer questions, help with membership, distribute the current issue of the monthly newsletter TAGGology, and check out and sell DVDs of past presentations and classes to members of the group.  Many members don't live close enough to participate in the monthly meetings, but belong by paying $10 per year, so they can receive the monthly newsletter via email and purchase DVDs of the presentations and classes.  Gift memberships are wonderful presents for family history-minded relatives, friends, and Family History Consultants.  Many of the members are Family History Consultants in their areas.  See more information about the Group, presentations, classes, and class notes on the websites mentioned above, or contact President Gerhard Ruf at pres@uvtagg.org (801-225-6106), or 1st VP Laurie Castillo at laurie@everythingisrelative.net, or 2nd VP Don Snow at snowd@math.byu.edu.

Don Snow, 2nd VP of Utah Valley Technology and Genealogy Group (UVTAGG), snowd@math.byu.edu