THE LIVERMORE-AMADOR GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY E-MAIL BULLETIN FOR DECEMBER 2008 December 3, 2008 ======================================================== SUMMARY OF EVENTS FOR DECEMBER 2008 (See details on a later screen.) - Family Tree Maker Group: Tomorrow, Thursday, December 4 - General Meeting and Annual Election, Tuesday, December 9 - The Master Genealogist: Saturday, December 20 - Study Group: No meeting in December - L-AGS Board Meeting: Tuesday, January 6, 2009 ======================================================== A N N O U N C E M E N T S NOMINATIONS FOR 2009 OFFICERS OF L-AGS Anne Homan, President The nominating committee (Frank Geasa, Arleen Wood and Anne Homan) has submitted the following slate of candidates for the 2009 L-AGS Board of Directors: For president--Barbara Huber For first vice president (program chair)--Derrell Bridgman For second vice president (membership chair)--Kevin Gurney Continuing as corresponding secretary--Barbara Hempill For recording secretary--Anne Les Continuing as business manager--Larry Hale Our bylaws provide that "Further nominations may be made from the floor at the Election Meeting providing the nominee is present or has previously given written consent." The Election Meeting is the upcoming meeting this month, December 9, 2008. Please attend the meeting to take part in this important event. - - - - - PERSONALIZED DOCENT HELP AVAILABLE Patrick Lofft, Docent Chairman Members, or any non-member, seeking genealogy assistance at the Pleasanton Library and not able to come during the scheduled docent hours, Wednesday 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Wednesday 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., may send an email to mailto:docent.chair@L-AGS.org to request a mutually convenient appointment. - - - - - MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL TIME Patrick Lofft, Vice President for Membership L-AGS MEMBERSHIP FORM Levels of Membership: Individual $18 Family $25 Individual Benefactor* $40 Family Benefactor* $40 Patron* $100 *Benefactors and Patrons are recognized in the Roots Tracer (our quarterly publication) The annual dues are due and payable on or before January 1st of each year. Please print out and fill in this form and mail to: (or bring to a meeting) L-AGS Membership P.O. Box 901 Livermore CA 94551 E-mail: mailto:membership.chair@L-AGS.org Name:________________________________________________________ Address:_____________________________________________________ Telephone:______________ E-mail:_________________________________ Please send Roots Tracer to my e-Mail address: Yes_____ Level of Membership:______________ Renewal:______ New:_____ Check enclosed in the amount of:__________ - - - - - GIFT IDEAS We all get a blizzard of junk mail this time of year, begging for donations. This announcement is a tiny snowflake, not asking for donations, but suggesting that you keep L-AGS in mind for your gift list. Someone who is a genealogist, or someone you hope to inspire to becoming a genealogist, might appreciate a membership in L-AGS. The recipient will receive a large notebook of useful information about research, the Roots Tracer with articles to "Instruct. Inspire. Inform.", and members-helping-members e-mail. Another gift idea is to donate a library book, inscribed with the recipients name. Prospective book donations should be checked with Judy Person, Library Chairperson, to make sure the book is in keeping with our book selection criteria, and is not a duplication. Judy's e-mail is mailto:library.chair@L-AGS.org ============================================================= D E C E M B E R M E E T I N G S Visitors are welcome free of charge at all of our meetings. ------------------------------------------------------------- FAMILY TREE MAKER FOCUS GROUP Leader: Dick Finn Date and Time: Tomorrow, Thursday, December 4, 7:30 p.m. The Subject for the meeting is Family Tree Maker 2009 which was released recently. The meeting is always the first Thursday of the month. Place: Old Almond Ave. School, now called Vineyard Adult Education Facility, at 1401 Almond Avenue, Livermore. Drive into the back parking lot. As you face Almond Ave., we are in the building to the right in the front complex, room 5. Look for the FTM sign. Map to the meeting site: http://www.L-AGS.org/maps/Liv-AlmondSchool.html As always, we will provide a problem-solving atmosphere in which attendees are free to ask questions and offer answers and tips about FTM. We will continue to discuss the question, "Should I or should I not upgrade to FTM 2008?" We are especially interested in comments from those who have upgraded. We will also discuss the question posed by a L-AGS FTM user: How do I print an oversized family tree, or other chart, using Family Tree Maker? Most of our group are FTM users (from beginners to experts) who discuss problems and solutions, share successes, answer questions, and in general help each other with the Family Tree Maker genealogical software. All persons interested or potentially interested in Family Tree Maker are invited to attend. For information on our group please call Dick Finn at 925-XXX-XXXX or e-mail him at mailto:XXXX@wecare.net. Visitors are welcome and there is no charge to attend. Bring your questions, comments, and if you have a laptop with FTM loaded (any version) and/or the FTM Handbook, you might bring them. Please avail yourself of the L-AGS FTM e-mail forum at mailto:ftm.group@L-AGS.org to post questions, answers and comments. ------------------------------------------------------------ MONTHLY GENERAL MEETING Arleen Wood, First Vice President, Programs mailto:program.chair@L-AGS.org A formatted version of this announcement is available at: http://www.L-AGS.org/temp/Show_and_Tell_Program.doc Tuesday, December 9, 2008, 7:30 p.m. Guest Speakers: You, The L-AGS Members Topic: L-AGS Members Sharing: Show and Tell Location: Congregation Beth Emek, 3400 Nevada Court, Pleasanton Map to the meeting site: http://www.L-AGS.org/maps/Pls-BethEmek.html Visitors are welcome, no charge 'Tis the "Season for Sharing," so we hope you will join us on December 9th when L-AGS Members will share short stories about a famous ancestor, an interesting ancestor, a breakthrough they have achieved, or a genealogical experience. Schedule of speakers; George Anderson Ripley's Believe it or Not Kathy Javdani Daniel A. Smith, the last marshal in Livermore Kay Speaks Davis K. Tutt VS. Wild Bill Beth Twogood John Key Frank Geasa How I stumbled into genealogy Ann Homan An earlier Depression Jane Southwick Mother's high school yearbook Duncan Tanner My grandfather's other family Dick Finn Grandpa's Name Change Beverly Schell Ales My cousin in Denmark has written the second book using our great- great-grandmother as her subject Jim Waldron Stories about my research Louise Throop George Soule 5-Generation publication project, and associated Y-DNA projects If time permits, we will invite further talks by members of the audience. ------------------------------------------------------------- TRI-VALLEY TMG USERS GROUP The Master Genealogist Software Leader: Kay Speaks, mailto:tvtmg.chair@L-AGS.org For a formatted version of this announcement, see: http://www.L-AGS.org/temp/TVTMG_Nov_08.doc Date: Saturday, December 20, 2008 Time: 9:00 a.m. to Noon Location: 7077 Koll Center Parkway, Suite 110, Pleasanton, CA 94566 Map to the meeting site: http://www.l-ags.org/maps/Pls-KollCenter.html Instructors: Kay Speaks and Sue Johnston Topic: Entering and Editing Data Reigel The topic is Entering and Editing Data, with four main sections covered: Tag Entries, Applying information to Tags, features that are useful when entering data, and Using the Advanced Entry Mode. TMG classes use Terry Reigel's book, A Primer for the Master Genealogist, written for Version 7. Read about the book at http://reigelridge.com/press/primer.htm If possible, please RSVP if you plan to attend: mailto:tvtmg.chair@L-AGS.org. With the aid of a digital projector, Kay and Sue work as an instructional team. We discuss, demonstrate, and brainstorm best practices of the software using a hands-on method. We learn TMG's features by actually entering samples of the lesson into a TMG class database. Each monthly session is like a mini three-hour TMG workshop. Guests are always welcome at our meetings. Accommodations for laptops are available. If you have a laptop, bring it with you to the meeting. A copy of the group's practice database will be provided to you. A laptop is not a requirement as the lesson will be digitally projected. If you can't stay for the entire 3 hours, come and leave early. TMG questions not specific to all attendees will be addressed in the later part of our meeting. Please bring samples of your problem if possible. We hope to see you at the next meeting! A free demo version of the software can be downloaded at http://www.whollygenes.com. For additional information contact: tvtmg.chair@l-ags.org. ------------------------------------------------------------- STUDY GROUP MEETING Leader: Kay Speaks Contact: mailto:study.chair@l-ags.org NO STUDY GROUP MEETING IN DECEMBER BECAUSE OF CONFLICTS WITH HOLIDAYS Don't forget to use our L-AGS Study Group forum for discussions of any genealogy or genealogy-related computer questions. The forum does not close for the holidays! L-AGS is blessed with people willing to share their knowledge and expertise! E-mail the forum at: mailto:study.group@L-AGS.org You can also post suggestions for future Study Group topics. ============================================================= PROGRAMS FOR FUTURE GENERAL MEETINGS Arleen Wood, First Vice President, Programs A formatted version of this announcement is at: http://www.L-AGS.org/temp/Program_calendar_2008-2009.doc See details of the December program in the full announcement above. We have been fortunate to get a calendar of excellent speakers for early 2009. The programs are held at our regular meetings on the second Tuesday of each month. Meetings are open to the public at 7:30 p.m. at the Congregation Beth Emek, 3400 Nevada Court, Pleasanton. Visitors are welcome, admission free. ------------------------------------------------------------- December 9 Show and Tell: Members Sharing L-AGS Members and Guests January 13 "The Early Pioneers in the Livermore Valley, California, Were One Big Family," by L-AGS Member Isabel Nolte. This book is a genealogical record of many Livermore Valley Irish families who intermarried. February 10 "Best of the Genealogy Gems Podcast," Lisa Louise Cooke, Author, radio show producer. She will talk about the sharpest and most creative ideas from her popular podcast show. March 10 "San Francisco Genealogy," by Ron Filion, co- founder of SFgenealogy.com. Researching San Francisco genealogy using the SFgenealogy.com website =============================================================