Journalists and 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 UVTAGG meeting Saturday morning, 13 Feb 2016, Provo
The next meeting of the Utah Valley Technology and Genealogy Group - UVTAGG (Formerly the Utah Valley PAF Users Group) will be on Saturday, 13 Feb, from 9 am to noon in the LDS "Red Chapel", 4050 North Timpview Drive (650 East), Provo. This is the regular second-Saturday-of-the-month meeting. 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 the week before the meetings.
The main presentation at this month's UVTAGG meeting will be by Michael Sandberg, a Senior Project Manager at FamilySearch. The title of his presentation is HELPING OTHERS LOVE FAMILY HISTORY. Mike will share a summary of his research about how effective (and not so effective) family history consultants help beginners. The presentation is offered as a "story board" that tells a narrative of the research discovered as the current state of consultants. It also shares a vision of what FamilySearch is targeting as a future state of family history consultants based on the best practices they have observed and some new developments that the organization is building for consultants in the future. As a Senior Product Manager at FamilySearch, Mike Sandberg's focus there has been helping develop solutions for individuals who are just beginning their experience with family history. In his tenure at FamilySearch, he has met with family history beginners in the United States, Canada, Guatemala, Brazil, Peru, New Zealand, and Tonga. This past year he was part of a team that researched the role of family history consultants and how they help beginners get started with family history. As part of this research he personally worked with over 50 beginners helping them find and add names to FamilySearch Family Tree. Before going to FamilySearch, Mike worked for over 20 years in the software industry. He holds a Masters of Organizational Behavior degree from Brigham Young University.
After the main presentation the following classes are scheduled. See the UVTAGG website for last minute changes and additions. RootsTech 2016 was last week and there will be announcements about information presented there.
(1) Helping Others Love Family History (Demonstration), by Mike Sandberg
(2) Selected Videos from RootsTech 2016
(3) Ask An Expert (Personal Help), by Don Engstrom and Don Reynolds
(4) Video of last month's main presentation: FamilySearch: What's In It For You and How Can You Help, by Randy Wilson
(5) RootsMagic, by Bruce Buzbee
(6) Ancestral Quest, by Gaylon Findlay
Notice that there is something for everyone, no matter what their level of family history expertise. This includes youth, those just getting interested in genealogy, long-time genealogists, and ward family history consultants. 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 80 attending the monthly meetings, including many family history consultants. The officers are Gerhard Ruf, President; Laurie Castillo, 1st VP; Don Snow, 2nd VP; Eileen Phelps, Newsletter Editor; Don Engstrom and Rayanne Melick, Membership and Finances; Bruce Merrill and Marie Andersen, DVD Library; and Chris Stevenson and Rick Klemetson, Webmasters. 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 to members of the Group DVDs of past presentations and classes. Many members don't live close enough to participate in the monthly meetings, but pay the $10 per year online dues to belong so they can receive the monthly newsletter TAGGology via email and purchase the inexpensive DVDs of the presentations and classes. Gift memberships make great presents for family history-minded relatives, friends, and family history consultants. Membership is on a calendar year basis so now is the time to renew your membership to continue receiving the benefits. See more information about the presentations, classes, class notes, and how 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 gengal@comcast.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
