APG Young Professional Scholarship award details

From a press release sent by APG. This is a wonderful opportunity for someone thinking about the field of professional genealogy.

The Association of Professional Genealogists (APG®) is now accepting applications for the APG Young Professional Scholarship. Requirements have been revised to reflect current economic and educational trends and to be more inclusive of young parents, military personnel, home school candidates, students, and those currently employed between the ages of 18-29. The scholarship goes to a student and/or young professional who aspires to a professional career in genealogy. The scholarship includes a registration for the APG Professional Management Conference (PMC) and a stipend of up to $1,000 to defray costs of travel and lodging at the conference. The winner will be announced in August 2014 for attendance at the APG PMC 2015, which will take place in Salt Lake City on 8–9 January 2015.

“It is exciting to see so many young people involved in genealogy, and we are thrilled to be able to support an up-and-coming professional genealogist with this scholarship,” said Kimberly T. Powell, APG President. “Our APG Professional Management Conference offers a unique opportunity to learn more about the business of genealogy and explore advanced genealogical topics, while networking with other professionals. We look forward to receiving many applications.”

See the blog posting at www.apgen.org for the application. The submission deadline is 22 July 2014.

"Ask a Genealogist" this Saturday

The Association of Professional Genealogists Northland Chapter is sponsoring a “Ask a Genealogist” panel session this Saturday, April 28th at Inver Hills Community College in Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota. IGH is a suburb of St. Paul.

This session will be held from 12:00 - 12:30 p.m. and is open to all conference registrants. Each registrant will receive Ask a Genealogist forms in their registration packet. APG Northland Chapter members David Suddarth, Joanne Sher, and Sandy Thalmann will be there to answer your family history questions.

The session is part of the Central & Eastern European Genealogy Conference being held Friday evening and all day Saturday. For more information on the event check the Minnesota Genealogical Society website at www.mngs.org.

The conference features three sessions by John Philip Colletta, Ph.D. plus 15 breakout sessions in 5 ethnic tracks.

For more information on the Northland Chapter please visit our page on the Association of Professional Genealogists website: http://www.apgen.org/chapters/northland/index.html

Weller's opens in time for SLIG, RootsTech, and the PMC

You may already know this if you live in the Salt Lake City area. The throngs of people with an interest in genealogy, history, libraries, technology and other things who will visit there in the next 3 weeks might not know it yet.

The Sam Weller bookstore formerly on Main Street has now reopened in Trolley Square as Weller Book Works. Check out the full news article in today's Salt Lake Tribune. Be sure to look at the picture that heads the article and be prepared to drool.

SLIG (Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy):  www.infouga.org
RootsTech:  www.rootstech.org
PMC (Association of Professional Genealogists):  www.apgen.org

Minnesota has lost a wonderful genealogist

Jean Legried was one of those people you admired. I thought about her last week when I realized I hadn't received her usual Christmas letter. Now I know why, Jean passed away on January 1st and her health had been declining.

I first met her back in the early 1980s. She taught me that a disability or other challenge need not stop a person from living, helping others, or from becoming a knowledgeable professional genealogist who kept up with standards and education.

Jean was a well-known genealogist is the Norwegian research community, in Albert Lea and Freeborn County as well as in Minnesota in general. She served on the Board of Directors of the Minnesota Genealogical Society with me. She taught us about the importance of handicapped accessibility at our meetings (and library) and that such access did not mean the dirty freight elevator! She was 200% correct.  People who have been active on the discussion list of the Association of Professional Genealogists and other online lists may remember her posts of past years. Jean was also an associate of the Board for Certification of Genealogists for many years.

Her late husband Peder was a fantastic cook and I remember the chicken salad he made for a meeting of a group of Minnesota professional genealogists many years ago. Jean bragged about her son, daughter-in-law and especially about the grandkids. I met her mother a couple times and she was so nice.

Genealogy has lost a special person.

Thank you to Sandy Thalmann for alerting me to Jean's obituary http://www.bayviewfuneral.com/obits/obituary.php?id=140931  I love the picture her family chose for the obituary.

Association of Professional Genealogists Announces Election Results

WESTMINSTER, Colo., November 9, 2011−The Association of Professional Genealogists (APG®) today announced election results for its 2012–2014 executive committee, as well as for nine regional directors and two new nominating committee members. Kenyatta D. Berry of Santa Monica, Calif. was elected president. Berry, a genealogist, entrepreneur and lawyer with more than 15 years of experience in genealogy research and writing, served as APG vice president during the last term. She will succeed Laura G. Prescott of Brookline, New Hampshire.

“I am honored to be elected and excited at the depth and breadth of experience represented by our incoming officers, board and committee members,” said Berry. “APG made great strides during the last administration,

Northland Chapter of the Association of Professional Genealogists

The Northland Chapter of the Association of Professional Genealogists just finished a virtual meeting with 16 members. Our members include residents of Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. Many of us do research and consultations for clients, others are editors, writers, personal historians, and all are interested in the standards of our field.

New members are always welcome. Let me know if you wish to join us. You do need to be a member of APG to join us. www.apgen.org.

In addition to virtual meetings we will be touring research repositories, staffing "help" tables at genealogy events, discussing research, and sharing tips, issues, and assisting each other as needed.

Watch for us to be on the APG website soon with our own page where our members will be listed with their contact information.

Ancestry.com discontinues Expert Connect

I received this press release from Ancestry.com today:

"Over a year ago Ancestry.com created Expert Connect as a way to expand its service offerings and provide additional assistance for members through an elite group of professional genealogists and researchers. Through this service, customers were given the opportunity to hire genealogists to retrieve records, perform research or simply acquire expert advice. Though this service has been a positive experience, Ancestry.com

Association of Professional Genealogists lectures online

This press release was sent out by the Association of Professional Genealogists today. FGS is the Federation of Genealogical Societies which has an annual conference about genealogical research. APG is a long-time participant in FGS conferences.

"APG has once again partnered with FamilySearch to produce videos of this year’s Professional Management Conference. The videos present five of the seven lectures from the 2010 PMC, which took place on August 17 at the FGS Conference in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Topics and speakers include:

• “A Key to Success: Your Online Presence” with D. Joshua Taylor
• “Expand Your Revenue: Produce and Sell Your Lectures in Video Format” with Donna M. Moughty
• “Niche Planning and Marketing” with Paula Stuart Warren
• "Choosing the Best Continuing Education Opportunities” with Elissa Scalise Powell, CG
• “Get Published in Magazines!” with Leslie Albrecht Huber.

The videos are available on the APG website at http://www.apgen.org/publications/pmc_webcast.html and on FamilySearch at https://library.beta.familysearch.org/researchcourses.

Laura G. Prescott
APG President"

Voting? Genealogy too!

I really don't think there should be a question mark in that title. Whether it be our national, state, county, or city elections it should not be a question. I feel it is a right, a privilege and a duty. I'd like to take that a step further and talk about organizations. Churches, schools, civic groups, businesses, and other entities also have elections. But today I want to talk about our genealogical organizations.

Let's say you receive a ballot for your genealogical society's elections in the mail. It might require finding a pen and then a stamp to return it. You read it quickly, form some opinions, but set it aside to take care of later. Three months later you find it under a stack of paper on your kitchen counter or desk. The deadline has passed. The society's newsletter announces the election results. Doggone it, that candidate you were planning on NOT voting for is a winner. You worked on a committee with that person and know they did not follow through, missed too many meetings, etc. What if that person beat their opponent by just one vote? Your vote

Syllabus from Association of Professional Genealogists PMC is available

UPDATE: it is sold out!

This press release was sent by APG:

The 13th Annual APG Professional Management Conference took place 17 August 2010, in Knoxville, Tennessee. The syllabus is now for sale (while supplies last) for $20 plus shipping. Go to http://www.apgen.org/catalog/products.html to order with your credit card.

Topics included:

• From the Trenches: How We Manage Clients, Time, and Projects by Laura G. Prescott

Association of Professional Genealogists has two new chapters

This press release was received earlier today from APG. I am proud to say I am a charter member of the Northland Chapter.

"The Association of Professional Genealogists (APG®) announced today that its board has approved two new chapters for the organization. The Northland Chapter will serve members from Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin. The board also approved the organization’s first virtual chapter, to be held in Second Life. Both chapters have commenced operations as of today.

The FGS Conference was a fantastic success!

FGS 2010 welcomed more than 1800 participants throughout the week's activities. Participants included more than 1000 conference registrants, 169 librarians, and nearly 100 volunteers. We were also joined by 500 eager beginning genealogists during Saturday's Ancestry.com events. Others included 102 registrants at the Association of Professional Genealogists Professional Management Conference and countless area residents who visited the Exhibit Hall. Special events for attendees included "Come & Sit a Spell" with Sheila Kaye Adams on Wednesday evening which drew 300 individuals and Thursday night at the Museum of Appalachia with more than 400 in attendance.

Exciting door prizes offered by conference vendors such as a cruise for two to Bermuda, an IPad, Deluxe Ancestry subscriptions, week-long stays in Salt Lake City hotels, and others brought a boisterorus crowd to

The Association of Professional Genealogists elects new officers and board

Its been a bunch of years since I was an officer of the Association of Professional Genealogists. The elections go on year after year and bring in new officers and board members to lead the organization. The results of the recent election were released today. Congratulations to you all and you have my support and thanks for serving. I know it is a big volunteer commitment, but it is worth it. A big thanks to all the outgoing officers and board members and to the others who ran in this election.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
13 November 2009

Laura G. Prescott Elected APG President

WESTMINSTER, Colo., November 13 - Laura G. Prescott of Brookline, New Hampshire, has been elected president of the Association of Professional Genealogists (APG), the world's leading professional organization of family history and related professionals. Prescott is genealogist for the Nickerson Family Association and a consultant for Footnote.com. She will succeed Jake Gehring of Salt Lake City, Utah.

Prescott, reflecting on her upcoming tenure, said "I'm very excited about the next two years. We have a diverse and enthusiastic group of people on the board. This enthusiasm, coupled with the momentum from the current administration, will surely bring benefits to our members. Chapters will continue to play a vital role in reaching members and genealogists on a local level, while we try innovative ways, nationally and internationally, to educate and inform the membership, as well as aspiring genealogists. As professionals, we have a responsibility to set an example and support each other in making positive contributions to the entire genealogical community and to the profession."

APG members also elected three members of the board's executive committee to two-year terms, eleven of its nineteen regional directors, and two members to one-year terms on the nominating committee.

Kenyatta D. Berry of Santa Monica, California, a genealogist, entrepreneur, and lawyer with more than 12 years of experience in genealogy research and writing was elected vice president of the nearly 2,000 member organization. Andrew M. "Drew" Smith, MLS, of Odessa, Florida, president of the Florida Genealogical Society of Tampa, and co-host of the Genealogy Guys Podcast was elected secretary. Current APG treasurer, Gordon Gray of Colorado Springs, Colorado, was re-elected. He owns GrayLine Group, a genealogical/family history research business and is the president of the International Society for British Genealogy & Family History.

Eleven regional director positions will be filled by:

West Region:
Suzanne Russo Adams, AG, of Utah, specialist in Italian research and employee of Ancestry.com. James Ison, AG, CG, of Utah, president of the APG Salt Lake Chapter and manager of Strategy and Planning for the Family History Library.

Midwest Region:
Mary Clement Douglass, Salina, Kansas, former museum curator and co-founder of the APG Heartland Chapter. Jay Fonkert, CG, St. Paul, Minnesota, genealogical educator and writer, and president of the Minnesota Genealogical Society.

Southeast Region:
Alvie L. Davidson, CG, a Florida-based Private Investigator and Circuit Court qualified expert. Craig Roberts Scott, CG, President and CEO of Heritage Books, Inc. Melanie D. Holtz, of North Carolina, specialist in Italian research.

Northeast Region:
Debra Braverman, New York, national speaker and forensic genealogist who regularly testifies as an expert witness. Pamela S. Eagleson, CG, Maine, researcher, writer, and teacher focusing on New England, the mid-Atlantic, and Midwest.

International Regions:
Michael Goldstein of Israel, traces roots worldwide, specializing in family reunification, heir searches, and holocaust research. Carole Riley, a professional genealogist based in Sydney, Australia with a background in computer applications.

David McDonald, CG, of Wisconsin, currently serving as a trustee of the Board for Certification of Genealogists and a director of the National Genealogical Society; and Donna M. Moughty, Florida, speaker and writer were elected to one-year terms on the nominations committee.

The Association of Professional Genealogists (http://www.apgen.org), established in 1979, represents nearly 2,000 genealogists, librarians, writers, editors, historians, instructors, booksellers, publishers, and others involved in genealogy-related businesses. APG encourages genealogical excellence, ethical practice, mentoring, and education. The organization also supports the preservation and accessibility of records useful to the fields of genealogy, local, and social history. Its members represent all fifty states, Canada, and thirty other countries.

Professional genealogist or thinking about that occupation?

Today must be a big day for press releases. This just came from APG:

The Twelfth Annual Association of Professional Genealogists Professional Management Conference took place September 2, 2009, in Little Rock, Arkansas. The Syllabus is available for sale while supplies last at http://www.apgen.org/catalog/products.html for $20 plus shipping and handling.

The PMC presentations included:

• Writing Professionally by Tom Jones, CG, CGL, FASG

• Solving Mysteries for Money: the Forensic Genealogist and Private Investigator by Mary Ann Boyle, Ph.D., CG

• The Bachelor: Reconstructing a Solitary Life Using Obscure & Far-Flung Records by Mary Penner
  

• Talking to the World by Sherry Irvine, CG

• Elements of a Good Client Agreement by Richard Camaur, JD, CG

• The Genealogy Consumer: Who Pays for Professional Research? by Natasha Crain, MBA

• Publish! And Supplement Your Income by Desmond Walls Allen

• Bull's Eye! Planning and Delivering a Winning Marketing Campaign by Heather Henderson

• Get Paid For Your Passion: Becoming a Professional Genealogist by Elissa Scalise Powell, CG

Kathleen W. Hinckley, CG
Executive Director

APG presents awards

This press release was received today from the Association of Professional Genealogists. Congratulations to the award recipients!

APG HONORS FIVE MEMBERS FOR OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTIONS AND ACHIEVEMENTS

WESTMINSTER, Colo., September 24 - The Association of Professional Genealogists (APG) honored five members for outstanding contributions and achievements at the 2009 Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) Conference held September 2-5 in Little Rock, Arkansas.

APG named Loretto Dennis Szucs as the recipient of the APG Professional Achievement Award. The award was created in 2007 to recognize a record of exceptional professional achievement with contributions to the field of genealogy through individual excellence and ethical behavior. Szucs has been involved in genealogical research, teaching, lecturing, and publishing for more than thirty years. Previously employed by the National Archives, she is currently executive editor and vice president of community relations for Ancestry.com. She has served on many archives and genealogical boards, and was founding secretary of the FGS. Currently, she serves as a director on the Board of the FGS.

Sandra MacLean Clunies, CG, received the Grahame T. Smallwood Jr. Award of Merit, an award honoring personal commitment and outstanding service to the APG organization. Clunies has served APG in several leadership roles since 1996, including two terms on the APG Board of Directors (2004-2008), National Capital Area Chapter President (2004-2008) and National Capital Area Chapter Vice President (1996-2000). In addition to her APG leadership
roles, Clunies has served as Director for the Genealogical Speakers Guild, Vice-President of GENTECH and an adjunct faculty member at the National Institute on Genealogical Research (NIGR) and the Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research (IGHR) at Samford University.

APG named Sharon E. Sergeant as the recipient of the APGQ Excellence Award, given to recognize excellence in submitted APG Quarterly material. Sergeant was honored for her article titled, "Holocaust Secret Exposed: How Forensic Genealogy Cracked the Misha Defonseca Case". She is the past Program Director and current Secretary of the Massachusetts Genealogical Council. She is an active lecturer, author, and conference planner.

Certificates of appreciation were also awarded at the FGS in recognition of outstanding, continual or unusual contributions to APG, by a member or a non-member. This year, there were two recipients. Luke M. Muszkiewicz (of Pure Development, LLC) was honored for long-term contributions to the APG organization in the areas of technical advice, computer programming, web design, and customer service. Alvie L. Davidson, CG, was honored for continued generosity and involvement in the support, planning, and execution of APG's 30th Anniversary Celebration and the 2009 Professional Management Conference.

The Association of Professional Genealogists, established in 1979, represents over 1,800 genealogists, librarians, writers, editors, historians, instructors, booksellers, publishers, and others involved in genealogy-related businesses. APG encourages genealogical excellence, ethical practice, mentoring, and education. The organization also supports the preservation and accessibility of records useful to the fields of genealogy, local, and social history. Its members represent all fifty states, Canada, and twenty-six other countries.

Contact: Kathleen W. Hinckley, CG, Executive Director,
Association of Professional Genealogists
P.O. Box 350998, Westminster, CO 80035-0998
Phone 303-422-9371, fax 303-456-8825, e-mail
admin@apgen.org

Records Preservation and Access Committee

Where would we be without records to research? What if we lost access to the probate or land records of our ancestors? What if the birth or death records were suddenly closed to all except the person the record includes? What if the state legislature did not provide for retention of records before 1920 for your ancestral states?

The Records Preservation and Access Committee is a joint venture that helps preserve, protect, and advocate for access to records. The committee was started by the Federation of Genealogical Societies and today is a joint committee of representatives from FGS, the National Genealogical Society, Association of Professional Genealogists, Board for Certification of Genealogists, and the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies. These groups represent a total of 1.3 million genealogists. It's a case where our voices can be heard when access or preservation is threatened.

The committee has produced a meaningful brochure and you can view it at websites, including the FGS site. Instructions for ordering a quantity of these is included on the site. Order a quantity to distribute to records keepers and to fellow genealogists.