[UVTAGG] Press Release for meeting Saturday morning 10 May 2014

2014-05-01

Journalists and ward newsletter editors, please run this as a news item and/or in your calendar of events.  For a shorter version please show the main speaker and topic, give the UVTAGG websites, and say there are classes at all levels of genealogy.  If you need further information, please email me. Thanks.

Don Snow -- snowd@math.byu.edu

[UVTAGG] Press Release for meeting Saturday morning 10 May 2014

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, 10 May 2014, from 9 am to noon in the LDS "Red Chapel", 4050 North Timpview Drive (650 East), Provo.  Information about the Group, meeting location,  main presentations, classes, and class notes are available on their website  http://uvtagg.org  and the press releases are at  http://blog.uvtagg.org .  On the blog you can subscribe to receive the press releases via email when they are posted a week before the meeting.

The main presentation this month at UVTAGG by Sue Maxwell is titled ANCESTRY - READY, SET, GO!  HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW.  Whether you have a personal subscription to Ancestry.com, use the Library Edition at a local library or Family History Center it is important to understand how Ancestry.com functions and what it can do to enhance your family history experience and make the most of this incredible opportunity to do research at home.  All members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will soon have access to Ancestry.com at home through their login to FamilySearch. Learn about all that Ancestry has to offer so you will be prepared to utilize its varied tools and features. Come see how the interface will work when the new features are released to all members.  Sue Maxwell is a genealogist and blogger specializing in teaching, training and mentoring others to help their computer skills, software, family history, and genealogical research. Her focus is on helping others find the joy in identifying and learning about their ancestors.  Sue is actively involved in the genealogy community, former Vice President of Utah Genealogical Association (UGA), a member of NGS and UVTAGG (formerly UVPAFUG) where she is a speaker and trainer.  She and her husband are serving as Area Family History Advisors for the Church and serve 17 stakes in Sandy, Utah. She teaches at Family History Centers and at the FamilySearch Library in Riverton. She recently presented at the Regional Family History Conference in Rexburg Idaho to about 1000 attendees. She has served as a Director, Trainer and Tech Support for a local Family History Center and maintains her blog, Granite Genealogy, on  http://granitegenealogy.blogspot.com .  This blog focuses on training, information, and materials and helps people keep up to date on what's going on in Family History.  She retired after a 27-year career in management in the utility industry.

After the main presentation the following classes are scheduled.  Check the meetings page at http://uvtagg.org/ for last minute changes or additions.   (1)  Ancestry.com: Strategies for Effective Searching, by Sue Maxwell;  (2)   German Research:  Online Resources, by Laurie Castillo;  (3)  Ask An Expert (Personal Help), by Don Engstrom and Finn Hansen;  (4)  Video of last month's main presentation,  Using State Archives and Local Libraries Online, by Luana Darby;  (5)  Ancestral Quest, by Gaylon Findlay;  (6)  Organizing Media Files with RootsMagic, by Terri Tyler; and  (7)  Legacy, by Dean Bennett.  There will be no Mac class this time, though several of the above classes are "Mac-compatible."

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, most of whom are Family History Consultants. The officers are Gerhard Ruf, President; Laurie Castillo, 1st VP; Don Snow, 2nd VP; Renee Zamora, Secretary; Liz Kennington, Newsletter Editor; 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 at the meeting 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 the $10 per year dues to 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.  See more information about the presentations, classes, and class notes, or to join the Group, on the websites above.  You can also 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