Presented by Jennifer Roodzant on 6 Jun 2023.

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Creating a business plan can be an overwhelming task—they are, however, the key to setting your business up for success. Attendees will walk away with tools and resources to create a vision, mission statement, and organized plan for their business.

Jennifer Roodzant is a professional genealogist and speaker specializing in DNA and southern U.S. research. She volunteers as secretary for the Napa Valley Genealogical Society and is a certificate-holder in Genealogical Research from Boston University and ProGen Study Groups. Jennifer applies genealogy standards to resolve complex research objectives.

Presented by Melissa Barker on 11 Jul 2023.

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Most genealogists have made discoveries, found surprises, and documented some family information that was outright lies. Whether we are doing the happy dance or shocked by what we have found, it is important that we document this information for future generations. Good or bad, it all tells the story of our ancestors. Learn from a seasoned genealogist and archivist the best way to handle the genealogy surprises, discoveries and outright lies that come our way.

The idea of walking the pavement is surely one of the few remaining old-world endeavors of the genealogist. A research trip can unlock long-standing puzzles especially if significant prep work is done prior to hitting the road. The central ideas in this presentation involve using offline clues and networking to provide insights and answers to compelling family history questions.

Melissa Barker is a Certified Archives Manager and Public Historian currently working at the Houston County, Tennessee Archives & Museum. She is affectionally known as The Archive Lady to the genealogy community. She lectures, teaches, and writes about the genealogy research process, researching in archives and records preservation. She conducts virtual presentations across the United States and other countries for various genealogy groups and societies. She writes a popular blog entitled A Genealogist in the Archives and is a well-known published book reviewer. She has been a Professional Genealogist for the past 19 years with expertise in Tennessee records. She has been researching her own family history for the past 33 years.

Presented by Claudia Sudweeks on 4 Apr 2023.

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Advancing technology provides more and more opportunities in the genealogical field. Consider using virtual meeting platforms, such as Zoom or Google Meets, to share your research findings with your client and their family. While this type of presentation will not replace written reports, it can help your client to understand your research findings and bring their ancestral families "to life" - and to share this with their extended family in a virtual family reunion. To prepare you for a successful experience to be enjoyed by all, we will discuss the necessary preparation and ingredients: etiquette, technology, genealogical details, stories, analysis, extra presentation tidbits, future research ideas, and the conclusion.

Claudia Sudweeks is the research manager for a niche genealogy company. She is currently working to earn her AG credentials in the Mid-Atlantic region and is the UGA secretary. She grew up in the Washington, D.C. area, where she learned to love history and historic preservation. She has loved genealogy as long as she can remember - loving a teacher who gave a family tree assignment, treasuring a family trip to Canada where she listened to stories from her great grandmother's sisters, traipsing through cemeteries finding ancestors as a teenager, and learning when her family visited the Sturgis Library, in Barnstable, Massachusetts, that it was the home of her ninth great grandfather. Claudia took genealogy classes in college and has helped others with family history in the 30+ years since, professionally taking clients since 2010. She and her husband, Sterling, also ran a small video biography company. They raised their family mostly in Highland, Utah. They have six children, plus three gained by children's marriages, and a number of bonus children who have lived with them over the years. They also have five wonderful grandchildren, plus some extras.

Presented by Peggy Clemens Lauritzen, AG, FOGS on 5 Sep 2023.

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We often begin our research using the most common records available. But could we be overlooking records that perhaps we just weren’t aware of?

Peggy Clemens Lauritzen, AG, FOGS has a deep love for her Appalachian roots with nearly every ancestor living south of the Ohio River. Growing up as an only child, her trips with her parents involved courthouses and cemeteries. While her own children were young, she was asked to be the Family History Director in northcentral Ohio. Her research skills deepened, and soon she was invited to speak at conferences and webinars around the United States.

The author of several Legacy QuickGuides on the Appalachian states, she has also filmed as an instructor for Ancestry Academy and is a former researcher for Ancestry ProGenealogists. She was recognized for her work by being awarded the title of Fellow of the Ohio Genealogical Society in 2018, as well as receiving the Laura G. Prescott Award for Exemplary Service in Genealogy.

Presented by Elly Catmull on 3 Oct 2023.

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Join us for an inside look at what it takes to pursue a career at Legacy Tree (which was recently voted one of the top 101 Best and Brightest companies to work for in the nation) including the education, experience, and soft skills you'll want to build before you apply.

Elly Catmull holds a Bachelor's Degree from BYU in Family History and Genealogy. After taking some time for four children, she has been with Legacy Tree Genealogists for the last twelve years. From editing to project management to research, Elly has played an integral part in Legacy Tree's growth over the years. She now leads the Research Department as the Research Operations Director, making sure that researchers at Legacy Tree have what they need to do their job well.

Presented by Annette Burke Lyttle on 7 Nov 2023.

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Busy speakers monitor a mountain of information that makes up the “back room” of a speaking operation. We will cover finding and responding to requests for proposals; finding local speaking gigs; staying on top of requests for our speaking services; keeping track of the status of proposals; managing information so we meet deadlines, show up at the right place and time with the right equipment, and present ourselves as capable professionals; setting fees and charging for expenses, and developing fresh topics that will keep the demand up for our presentations.

Annette Burke Lyttle owns Heritage Detective, LLC, providing professional genealogical services in research, education, and writing. She speaks on a variety of genealogical topics from the international to the local level and loves helping people uncover and share their family stories. Annette leads Best Practices Study Groups for a number of organizations, providing in-depth education on the genealogical research process in an interactive setting. She is coordinator of the Fall Virtual Intermediate Foundations course for the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (SLIG) and has been an instructor in other institute courses on migration, Quaker research, and federal records for SLIG and the Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh (GRIP). Her articles have been published in NGS Magazine, FGS Forum, and the APG Quarterly, among others. Annette is president of the Association of Professional Genealogists and editor of The Florida Genealogist.

Presented by Cynthia K. Patton on 5 Dec 2023.

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Everyone has ideas for their genealogy projects: write a family history; join a lineage society; or scan boxes of family photos. How do you decide which to do? How do know how much time each project takes? Goal setting, time estimation, and backwards planning can help you regain control of your time and help you complete your genealogy projects.

• SMART goal setting
• Nesting your goals
• Time estimation techniques
• Prioritizing without emotion
• Backwards planning
• Re-evaluation and re-focusing
• Visualization and capturing results

Cynthia K. Patton is a retired Army Lieutenant Colonel residing in Leavenworth, Kansas. For 12 years she owned Patton Leadership Consulting, providing support to the US Army and helping businesses with time management, organization, and leadership skills. She is a part-time professional genealogist. She holds a certificate in genealogical research from Boston University. Cynthia serves as the Registrar of a local DAR chapter and is a member of numerous local historical and genealogical societies.