More UGA Banquet Pictures

Thanks to everyone for a great time with good friends.
And thank you very much to Sue Maxwell's (our newest board member) husband Paul for the wonderful picture taking.

Michael Helmantoler, Mark Lowe, Debbie Gurtler, Russ Lynch, Colleen Lynch, Joan Healey

Howard Bybee, Adele Marcum

Jim Hasleton, Karen Christensen, Elaine Hasleton, Wilma Adkins

Jenille Ivory, Luana Darby, A.C. Ivory

Diana Olsen, Julie Haynie, Kathy Palmer

Terry and Hope , Pat Carpenter

Thomas MacEntee, Renee Zamora, Marlene Nielson, Vic Nielsen

Kimberly Powell and Thomas MacEntee

Deanna Ouimette, David Ouimette

Lisa Arnold, Kim Harrison

Jeff Baylock, Joan Healey, Maren Jeppsen

Report on the UGA Banquet at Gardiner Village

Luana Darby, our association president started the evening with an overview of how the society is doing and the status of all the committees and projects that UGA is working on.

Wilma Adkins, UGA treasurer, then presented the society with the annual financial report. Although we sustained a loss for 2009, due in part to several investments in future programs and in the NGS conferences last April, Wilma hinted that these investments were well worth it. Come out to the banquet next year to find out just how successful NGS was for UGA. Boy was it!

Then, in one of the highlights of the evening, Barry Ewell presented the plans for the Virtual Chapter and the Genealogy Training and Tutorial library that the education committee has been working on this year. Stay tuned for more information on the Virtual Chapter.

And for the main portion of the evening, we were delighted to be able to hear Mark Lowe speak about "Pitfalls, Pratfalls, and Loud Mouth Children" He talked about his childhood and how he gained his interest and love for genealogy. While traveling in the car with many other siblings, he was usually put on the floor in the front seat by his mother's legs. While traveling to the family reunions he would ask his father and mother about their lives growing up. Many times this led to great stories about other family members. Mark says he was such a curious young child, which led to many questions about aunts, uncles, grandparents and other family members. 

He shared the importance of knowing your family history, even at a young age. Even though family reunion season is over, this winter is a great time to start planning your next family reunion. Reunions are some of the best places to learn more about your family and the traditions which have been passed down into your own families today.

Finally, the door prizes were passed out by our venerable team of Vanna Whites, Christy Fillerup, Janet Hovorka, Luana Darby and Adele Marcum.

Again a big thank you to our door prize contributors:

• Genealogy Gems Podcast for a Premium Membership to the podcast
• RootsMagic for a copy of Family Atlas, Personal Historian, RootsMagic and the book Getting the Most out of RootsMagic. 
• Legacy Family Tree for a copy of Legacy and the accompanying book.
• Heritage Collector for a copy of the book and CD/DVD Create a Family History
• Paul Larsen for a signed copy of Crash Course in Family History 4th ed.
• Family History Expos for two copies of Christmas Memories: capture a memory storytelling workbook.
• Generation Maps for two $50 gift certificates.
• FamilySearch for two shirts and a leather portfolio and pen.

A great time was had by all. Watch the blog for more UGA events where you can come associate with people who understand your genealogy passion.

Committe Displays at Annual Banquet

UGA is excited to be able to offer its members so many ways to get involved. Each committee was represented by a table-top display. Each committee is in place to provide a service to UGA's members. We are so grateful for the wonderful volunteers that make this happen. If you are interested in volunteering please send your interests to info@infouga.com and we'll make sure you get hooked up with the right people. Tuesday night included displays from . . .

Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy - Every January the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (SLIG) offers intermediate and advanced level courses to genealogists looking for an in-depth educational experience. Nationally known speakers, experts in their niches, fly to Salt Lake each January to teach and network with avid students. For more information visit our website at www.ugagenealogy.com. Remember--the early-bird discount ends October 30th!! First Families of Utah - For many years UGA has provided a place for descendents of early settlers to have their ancestors recognized. Those interested submit documentation of their ancestors arrival in the Salt Lake area, the documentation is reviewed, and a beautiful heirloom certificate is provided. See http://www.infouga.org/index.php?option=pioneers for more information.

Education - as Barry Ewell discussed at the event our education committee has been hard at work developing a non-credentialed, stepped, online learning application for our The first taste of what's coming will be online Tuesday, October 26th. Check it out and provide feedback through the provided links. We're here to give you what you need, so don't be shy!

Pioneer Projects - Marilyn Markham is heading a very ambitious project known as the Pioneer Project. We have been told that tens of thousands of pioneers who came into the Salt Lake area before the railroad cannot be accounted for in company rosters. Who are they? How did they get here? Help us find out! Chapters - one of the best things about belonging to a society is the opportunity to network with like-minded individuals. We have some great chapters already in place in Henefer and Ogden, and we're working diligently to begin more. The greatest challenge to starting a chapter is finding willing leadership. If you are interested in leading a chapter in your area please contact us today! Look for chapters to be starting in Downtown Salt Lake, South Valley, Cedar City, and Utah Valley.

Publicity - no matter how many great programs UGA has in place to educate members, they won't do anyone any good if we don't get the word out. Please help us by telling your friends about the wonderful benefits we offer.

Records Preservation and Access Committee - All across the country valuable records are being closed and/or destroyed. The Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) has asked each state to help monitor the situation in their state. This is an issue that challenges each and every one of us. If you hear of a records-related problem in Utah, please contact us. If you are willing to help us keep our records available on an ongoing basis please email Christy Fillerup at christy.fillerup@gmail.com.

Speakers Bureau - The Speakers Bureau is the brain-child of Kathy Palmer and is set to be a wonderful boon to our event-planning members as well as those who are interested in speaking. In the next few months look to our website for a listing of speakers available for local events. Planning a conference? Look no further than our complete listing of speakers and contact information.

Crossroads - UGA's quarterly journal, Crossroads, is over-hauling itself as well. We are working hard to provide more pertinent content, more advanced methodologies, and more timely news. If you are interested in writing or editing for our journal please contact Christy Fillerup at christy.fillerup@gmail.com.

How To--German

The most important foreign language is German for Americans trying to find their roots, since about 25% have German ancestry. Actually English is a Germanic language meaning both languages share roots with many easily recognizable words that are called cognates, for example: Vater [father], Sohn [son], Onkel [uncle], März [March], Haus [house], and Land [country], etc. So with a little imagination most of us can read the pertinent information of names, places, dates and relationships. However, German writing [Gothic Script] is not the same! Go to www.wiki.familysearch.org to see the alphabet [same 26 letters] and common words with translations used in genealogical records. Also you can find a list of commonly used Latin words with their translations, which are often in Roman Catholic records. If you need help in deciphering any German record simple go to www.familysearch.org and on the bottom of the Homepage click on Contact Us to send your query to a German consultant, who can translate
the pertinent data [not every word] for you. Of course, you will need to e-mail them a scanned copy of the record. Another option is to post your query on www.forums.familysearch.org for others to assist you. Viel Glück! [Much Luck]

Jerry Molloy,
FHL, CSM, Int’l Ref

Genealogy Traning and Tutorial Library preview

Next week, at the membership meeting, we are going to be showing off all the new initiatives and beloved programs that UGA is advancing at the present. There will be tables for the Publicity, First Family and Indexing, Education, Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy, Chapters, Virtual Chapter, Crossroads, and Speaker's Bureau committees. Come see all the exciting goings on and get involved.

The Education Committee will be showing off their new Genealogy Training and Tutorial Library that is under development this year. By working through this virtual training program, you will be able to not only increase your genealogy knowledge, but also earn bronze, silver and gold level pins for participation. We'll be showing off the first modules at the dinner. You won't want to miss it.

Raffle Prizes for the Membership Meeting.

Some great prizes are rolling in for our upcoming Membership meeting.

A big thank you to

• Genealogy Gems Podcast for a Premium Membership to the podcast
• RootsMagic for a copy of Family Atlas, Personal Historian, RootsMagic and the book Getting the Most out of RootsMagic.
• Legacy Family Tree for a copy of Legacy and the accompanying book.
• Heritage Collector for a copy of the book and CD/DVD Create a Family History
• Paul Larsen for a signed copy of Crash Course in Family History 4th ed.
• Family History Expos for two copies of Christmas Memories: capture a memory storytelling workbook.
• Generation Maps for two $50 gift certificates.

The last day to buy tickets is this Friday. Only 4 more days left.