2016-05-04
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, 14 May 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, 14 May 2016, 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 emails of the press releases when they are posted the week before the meetings.
The main presentation at this month's UVTAGG meeting will be by Robert L. Kehrer on FINDING ELUSIVE RECORDS ON FAMILYSEARCH. This class will show what to do when records for your ancestor don't come up using the basic FamilySearch Historical Records search form. A significant portion of the records on FamilySearch are not indexed and can't be searched using the form, so what do you do? For a number of historical, technical or genealogical reasons, an ancestor's record may be challenging to find. This presentation will show some of the common difficulties confronted by researchers and demonstrate how to use the FamilySearch systems to find those elusive records. Robert Lawrence Kehrer is the Senior Product Manager of Search Technologies on FamilySearch.org . He worked for 12 years as a molecular geneticist identifying disease genes by building very large family pedigrees. He has an MBA and worked for 7 years at Apple managing strategic alliances and driving market strategy in the sciences. For the last 9 years Robert has worked for FamilySearch as a product manager in the Family History Library, overseeing the public APIs, and managing the development of FamilySearch.org beta. His current position as Senior Product Manager of Search Technologies includes the search systems, hinting, the Sourcelinker attach tool, and the historical records image viewer. He was one of the keynote speakers at RootsTech 2016 in February in the Salt Palace and the video of his presentation there is online at https://www.rootstech.org/video2/4741844756001 . He and his family live in Mapleton, Utah. This presentation will be of interest to all family historians and consultants and all are invited.
After the main presentation the following classes are scheduled. See the UVTAGG website and blog for last minute changes and additions.
(1) Robert Kehrer, Q&A ON FAMILYSEARCH
(2) Laurie Castillo, US VITAL RECORDS ON THE INTERNET - LESSER KNOWN SOURCES
(3) Don Engstrom and Don Reynolds, ASK AN EXPERT (Personal Help)
(4) Video of last month's main presentation, Karen Clifford on TECHNOLOGY FOR LOCATING MISSING OR DESTROYED RECORDS
(5) (Teacher TBA), ROOTSMAGIC
(6) Gaylon Findlay, ANCESTRAL QUEST
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 70-80 people attending the monthly meetings, many of whom are 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. Memberships include many benefits such as being able to purchase the inexpensive presentation and class DVD's, receiving the monthly newsletter TAGGology (via email, if requested), and access to many genealogy resources through the UVTAGG's membership in the Federation of Genealogical Societies. The online dues are only $10 per year and gift memberships make great presents for family history-minded relatives, friends, and family history consultants. Membership is on a calendar year basis; past members, don't forget to renew your membership. See more information about presentations, classes, class notes, and joining 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
