[UVPAFUG] Press release for meeting on 10 Jul 2010

29 Jun 2010

Journalists, please run this as a news item and/or in your calendar of events. Ward newsletter editors, please include parts of the first and second paragraphs and mention that there are classes for everyone. Email me, if you need further information. Thanks.

Don Snow



UTAH VALLEY PAF USERS GROUP MEETING

The next regular, second-Saturday-of-the-month meeting of the Utah Valley PAF (Personal Ancestral File) Users Group will be on Saturday, 10 Jul 2010, from 9 am to noon in the LDS "Red Chapel", 4050 North Timpview Drive (650 East), Provo. For directions to get there see the map on the group's website http://uvpafug.org .

The main presentation for this meeting will be by Bret Petersen on ARE YOU MY MOTHER? - FINDING MAIDEN NAMES. This will be a discussion of various types of records and research techniques that can provide clues in determining more about missing mothers. It can often be difficult to discover the maiden name of female ancestors, however, such a find can create a whole new branch on your family tree opening up connections to more and more families. Join us as we explore a few of the resources where you might look for more information regarding those elusive maiden names on your family line. Bret Peterson loves teaching and helping others learn all they can about using technology in researching their family history. He is a frequent presenter for classes ranging from just a few users to several hundred. He developed a love of family history research at a very young age and this continued through his college years where he graduated from BYU with a degree in communications/Journalism and a minor in Education/Sociology. His interest in computers began through newspaper writing, editing and design, and this led him into a professional training and support role with a company that supplies newspaper publishing systems internationally. His passion for family history research and the advancements in computer-assisted research led him to the Utah Valley PAF Users Group where he now serves as Webmaster. He is currently working towards accreditation with ICAPGen.

Following the main presentation there will be several classes about family history and technology with something for everyone at any level of expertise. The teachers and classes presently scheduled for this meeting are as follows: (1) Laurie Castillo on Military Research on the Internet; (2) Don Engstrom & Finn Hansen on Individual Help with PAF & New FamilySearch; (3) Bret Petersen on Cemetery Symbolism in Stone; (4) Video of last month's main presentation by Andrea Schnakenburg on How to Light a Fire Under Your Ward; (5) Andrea Schnakenburg on Family Insight; (6) Gaylon FIndlay on Ancestral Quest 12.1; (7) Joel Graham on Legacy 7.4; and (8) Bruce Buzbee on Roots Magic 4.

All meetings of the Users Group are open to the public whether members of the Group or not. The Users Group has the goal of helping individuals use technology to further their family history and there are usually 100-125 attending the monthly meetings on the second Saturdays. The officers are Gerhard Ruf, President; Don Snow, 1st VP; Laurie Castillo, 2nd VP; Liz Kennington, PAFology Editor; Kay Baker, Gerry Eliason, and Don Engstrom working with finances and membership; and Bruce Merrill and Marie Andersen, working with the DVD Library. Several of these will be there to help with membership, answer questions, distribute the current issue of the monthly newsletter PAFology, and check out DVD's of past presentations and classes to members of the group. Information about the Users Group, main presentations, classes, and class notes are available on the Group's website http://uvpafug.org and the press releases are at http://blog.uvpafug.org/ . For further information contact President Gerhard Ruf at pres@uvpafug.org (801-225-6106) or 1st VP Don Snow at snowd@math.byu.edu or 2nd VP Laurie Castillo at laurie@everythingisrelative.net.

Don Snow, 1st VP of Utah Valley PAF Users Group