UGA awards 2012 honors

The Utah Genealogical Association is pleased to announce the association awards presented for the year 2012.  We are thankful for the service and lasting legacies these people have given to the genealogy community and to the Utah Genealogical Association. 

Luana Darby was given the Distinguished Service Award for her many years of service to the organization.  She was tireless as president from 2009 to 2010 and accomplished many great projects during her tenure as president.  She was president of UGA during the very successful National Genealogical Society conference in Salt Lake in 2010 which strengthened UGA's financial standing and has benefited the society in the years since.  All of this work was accomplished while Luana was finishing her Masters in Library Science and preparing for her genealogy credentials as well as doing client work.  She was meticulous as UGA president as she is meticulous in her genealogy research.  In 2012 she came back to fill a need as treasurer and again went through UGA's finances carefully, finding lost money and making sure everything was running smoothly.  We are happy to be able to work with her and happy to present to her the Distinguished Service Award for 2012.

Christy Fillerup was also given the Distinguished Service Award for 2012 for her many years of service in various aspects of the organization.  Christy has been a major driving force in UGA and has been a major part of UGA's success in recent years.  Christy's willing attitude and cheerful volunteering has solved many political and financial crises.  She has stepped in and offered to do heavy lifting in jobs with imbalances between committees and paid workers.  As Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy Director she has been precise and forward thinking--putting together and effectively managing a wonderful team of people to run the institute.  She is a great friend, with a willing smile and we are proud to have her on the UGA team.

Kimberly Powell is the 2012 Silver Tray recipient for genealogical publishing.  The UGA board of directors has chosen to honor Kimberly for her work at About.com and her books that allow new genealogists learn about family history in an inviting way while still holding to strong standards of research and scholarship.  Kimberly is a professional genealogist, web developer, and genealogy blogger who has served as Vice President of the Association of Professional Genealogists.  She is the author of Everything Family Tree, 2nd edition, and the Everything Guide to Online Genealogy.  She has helped the community with how-to articles, free genealogy lessons, and extensive lists of online genealogical resources.  Kimberly shares her love for genealogy and passion for good research.  UGA is proud to honor her for building a solid gateway for beginner genealogists that raises the bar for everyone learning to do genealogy research.

And the 2012 Fellow of the Utah Genealogical Association is Linda Turner Gulbrandsen.  Linda has done wonderful things in her 4 years as  International Commission for the Accreditation of Professional Genealogists Commissioner, strengthening that organization and raising the bar for the genealogy community.  Linda is an AG in the Midwestern Region and is currently the Manager of the US/Canada Research Consultation Services for the Family History Library in Salt Lake City.  She has served in publications and marketing for the Federation of Genealogical Societies and held numerous positions on the board of the Utah Genealogical Association including assistant director of the 2000 Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy.  In the last 4 years she has led ICAPGEN to great innovation including free monthly mentoring classes, online mentoring classes and breaking the levels program into chunks that are more accessible to up and coming genealogists.  She has lead the organization in strategic planning and presided over the development of a new website and new testing areas.  She co-edited Becoming an Excellent Genealogist: Essays on Professional Research Skills. 

Congratulations to all of our UGA Awards recipients.  We appreciate your contributions to genealogy education and the advancement of sound genealogical research. 

Registration for the Spring South Davis Conference is open.

The UGA South Davis Family History Fair  April 19-20 will be at Woods Cross High School.

Friday evening's session will be DENISE MAY LEVENICK, "The Family Curator", speaker and author of  "How to Archive Family Keepsakes: Learn How to Preserve Family Photos, Memorabilia and Genealogy Records"  The title for her presentation is "Treasures in the Attic: Every Keepsake Has a Story."  This will begin at 7:00 pm Friday evening and is free to the public.

Saturday's program will start at 8 am with a keynote address by DAVID RENCHER, AG, CG, FIGRS, FUGA, the Chief Genealogical Officer for FamilySearch - entitled "Preserve the Pensions – The Community Makes a Difference!"

On Saturday, the fair will have classes on many different subjects relating to family history and great vendors will be showing all the newest in Family History products.

Cost for the fair is only $10.00 for UGA members and $15.00 for non-UGA attendees. The cost includes the syllabus on CD containing the handouts for all classes.  The printed syllabus will be $15.00 for UGA members and $20.00 for non-UGA attendees.  Register at the UGA website UGAgenealogy.org.

Come and join us for the 16th year of this great community event!!  

If you would like to attend for free, SIGN UP AS A VOLUNTEER by contacting Kim Mason at kimberrmason@gmail.com.

We'll see you there!

Researching in Washington D.C. without Leaving Home

The following is a guest post originally posted at Adventures in Genealogy Education.

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Researching in Washington D.C. without Leaving Home

This is a special post by guest author Pamela Sayre, CG, CGL, on her course "Researching in Washington D.C. without Leaving Home" featured at the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy. There is still time to register for the for the Institute which will be held January 13-18, 2013 in Salt Lake City, Utah, and you can get the early bird discount until October 31st. 
We (the course coordinators, Rick and Pam Sayre) are fortunate to live in the Washington, DC area with easy access to myriad repositories with more rich sources than we will ever be able to explore. But Pam has only lived here for four years. Prior to that, she lived out in the hinterlands--in St. Louis--and a week's research on-site in Washington meant an expensive flight, hotel stay, dining out, and transportation around the city. Still, in the not-too-distant past, researching in actual brick and mortar repositories was the only way to get the job done.

Fast forward to 2012, and the whole family history game has changed. It is possible to do vast amounts of research in Washington, DC-area repositories without ever leaving your home town. The Researching in Washington, DC without Leaving Home course at Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy in January shows you how in a week of in-depth classes by leading experts. Learn how to navigate the massive National Archives website to find the very record you need, how to find just the ancestor you're seeking in government records of the past, and where to locate the perfect period map for your ancestor's area. We'll even show you how to find a historic map of nineteenth-century Germany in a Library of Congress collection and obtain a high-resolution print or digital copy.

This course delves into little-known repositories in the Washington area that hold gems most people never discover, and it introduces you to new ways of accessing resources at old familiar institutions such as NARA, the DAR Library, and the Library of Congress. Hands-on computer labs help ensure that you'll be able to do this research yourself when you get back home. You'll also learn how to obtain the records you need through interlibrary loan or microfilm loan at your local Family History Center.

Let's be honest. There ARE records that you'll only be able to see if you do travel to the particular repository in Washington, DC; it isn't all online. But if you invest in this one-week workshop in Salt Lake City, you'll learn to use online resources to their fullest capability, locate a lot of sources online right now, and find the most economical way to make a trip to Washington, DC by preparing in advance.

There are still a few seats left in the Researching in Washington, DC without Leaving Home Course at Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy in January 2013. Register now for an exciting learning experience with like-minded individuals in the beautiful Salt Lake City area, just a stone's throw from the largest genealogy library in the world (where you can spend your evenings)