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  • 09 Nov 2020 by APG Webmaster

    APG is now accepting diverse genealogical proposals geared to assisting and motivating professional genealogists to Build a Better Business.  This conference is a virtual event.

    PMC sessions will be offered 2 days in each of the months of August, September, and October 2021.  Each month will include six virtual presentations and one workshop/panel discussion with time to network with other attendees.

    • 24 and 25 August 2021
    • 21 and 22 September 2021
    • 19 and 20 October 2021

    Presentations are 75 minutes, which includes time for questions from attendees. Workshops or Panel Discussions are 150 minutes (2.5 hours) which includes time for activities or class interaction.

    Topics of Interest: Suggested topics include these business skills but are not limited to:

    • Adapting to the current business climate
    • Business forms
    • Business writing
    • Client communications and relations
    • Exploring career options
    • Financial management
    • Marketing and branding strategies
    • Networking and mentoring
    • Project management
    • Time management

    APG will record the presentations. Royalties apply. Please review the compensation policy before submitting proposals. 

    Compensation policy:

    • The speaker will receive $350 per lecture or $575 per workshop.
    • All speakers receive a full complimentary conference registration and complimentary syllabus.
    • APG will provide a conference platform (Zoom).
    • Because of the virtual platform, speakers do not receive compensation for travel or meals.
    • Accepted speakers will supply APG quality syllabus material for the presentation or workshop in the format requested in the contract. If provided by the stated deadline, the speaker will receive an additional $50 per lecture or $75 per workshop or panel discussion.  
    • Speakers grant permission for recording the lecture(s) or workshop.
    • Speakers grant permission for APG to sell the lecture after the conference for a period to end 1 April 2022.
    • Speakers will receive a royalty of $1.75 per recording sold after the presentation.  

    Submission Details: Prospective speakers may submit up to four (4) proposals (lectures or workshops). APG prefers new and original presentations. APG will consider proposals from non-APG members.

    Proposals are due by Friday, 4 December 2020. To read the Call for Presentations, visit to https://www.apgen.org/cpages/pmc-call. To submit a proposal, go to https://www.apgen.org/cpages/pmc-proposals.

  • 28 Oct 2020 by APG Webmaster

    The Great Plains Chapter is pleased to announce its first scholarship recipient. The chapter awarded a one-year membership to the Greater Omaha Genealogical Society (GOGS) and registration for the GOGS virtual conference held October 10th, featuring Michael Lacopo, to Halee Dischinger. She is interested in verifying her family stories and legends. Halee believes that she can recover the stories of her ancestors, especially the women who have been lost to time, through genealogy.

     

    The Omaha Public Library’s genealogical programs helped her pursue that interest during the past two years. Halee said it was “nice to find other people like me” at the conference and that she wants to attend future conferences. Her favorite session was Lacopo’s lecture about Pennsylvania, from which she learned about the important of land records. Her biggest takeaway was to always double-check information to make sure it is accurate. For her next project, Halee hopes to find her grandfather’s birth family.

     

    She is currently studying cybersecurity at Metropolitan Community College in Omaha. When Halee is not working on her family tree, she enjoys sewing, baking, reading, and ghost hunting.

     

    For more information about the Great Plains Chapter, see https://www.apgen.org/cpages/chapters-greatplains.

  • 15 Oct 2020 by APG Webmaster

    APG Free Webinar – Chart Your Own Course: Education Plans for Genealogists

    Date: 19 Oct 2020
    Time: 8:00 pm - 9:30 pm EDT

    Register for this upcoming free webinar at https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/372558924322470913
     

    Do you find you've become more of a genealogical teacher than learner? Have you been sharpening your skills in some areas but ignoring others? Nothing increases research quality and productivity more than thorough knowledge, and yet many accomplished genealogists worry about spending time and/or money on their own education. Exploring the wide range of today's new learning opportunities can not only help you broaden your own professional reach but also help you provide up-to-date educational advice for clients. If you are newer to genealogy, this is a great time to create the best education plan for you.

     

    About the Presenter: Diane MacLean Boumenot is a New England genealogist with a degree in History from Wesleyan University. The author, with Maureen Taylor, of the 2018 NGS Research in the States volume on Rhode Island, Diane has lectured through Legacy Family Tree Webinars and at the New England Regional Genealogical Conference. She is a graduate of ProGen 28 and Coordinator of ProGen 40. Diane has had a long career in association management and also volunteers with several New England genealogical societies.

  • 13 Sep 2020 by APG Webmaster

    Date: 14 Sep 2020
    Time: 8:00pm - 9:30pm EDT

    Learn how to use Scrivener to help plan, organize, write, and publish various types of genealogical projects. In this lecture, you will how to set up your project, navigate Scrivener’s various tools and features, plan and organize your research, write, revise, and export.

     

    About the Presenter: Kimberly Powell is a genealogical researcher, author, editor, and volunteer. Kimberly was the Genealogy Expert with About.com (http://genealogy.about.com) for sixteen years. She is the author of several books, including most recently "The Challenge of Endogamy and Pedigree Collapse" in Advanced Genetic Genealogy: Techniques and Case Studies and The Everything Guide to Online Genealogy, 3rd edition (Adams Media, 2014). She has also contributed to several popular genealogy magazines. Kimberly is an instructor at the Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh (GRIP), the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (SLIG), and the Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research (IGHR), as well as in the online Genealogical Research Certificate course offered through Boston University.

  • 24 Jul 2020 by APG Webmaster

    The Association of Professional Genealogists (APG®) has selected Michael J. Leclerc, CG, of Boston, Massachusetts, as managing editor of its quarterly publication, Association of Professional Genealogists Quarterly. APGQ has served the genealogy community since 1979 with staff-written and contributed articles covering all aspects of the profession.

     

    A 25-year professional in the field, Leclerc worked at The New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS), Mocavo, and Findmypast before founding Genealogy Professor, a website that offers education to genealogists of various levels, including master classes, podcasts, and consultations. A past board member of APG and the Federation of Genealogical Societies, he has taught family history in many contexts, including as a part of Boston University’s genealogy program for more than a decade.

     

    Leclerc is author of numerous articles for scholarly journals, popular magazines, and several books. He wrote the “Crafting Family Histories” chapter for Professional Genealogy: Preparation, Practice, and Standards. In 2019 he published Benjamin Franklin’s Family, Volume 1: English Ancestors. At NEHGS, he was a contributing editor for American Ancestors magazine, and a consulting editor for the Register.

     

    “We welcome Michael Leclerc as managing editor of the APGQ,” said APG President David McDonald. “His experience in the field and writing talent will be valuable assets to the Quarterly. We also thank outgoing managing editor, Mary Penner, for her service and for creating a digital library of past issues of our journal.”

     

    As managing editor, Leclerc will be responsible for the overall production of the APGQ and maintaining its quality content and style. “APGQ is the flagship publication for professionals wanting to improve their businesses,” said Leclerc. “I look forward to working with the contributors to continue to bring the variety and depth of articles that professional genealogists have come to expect. Thank you, APG, for the opportunity.”

     

    For more information on APGQ, see https://www.apgen.org/cpages/apgq.

  • 28 Mar 2020 by APG Webmaster

    At a special meeting of the APG board held Thursday, 26 March 2020, we made the difficult, yet unanimous, decision to cancel our 2020 PMC in Portland, scheduled for mid-October. Financially, our penalty for canceling this far in advance is one we can endure. The risk of waiting too long to cancel is too great for us to chance. With so many uncertainties, and a large number of genealogical events and programs being canceled or delayed, we felt this was the best and most certain way to manage our situation.

     

    We are currently evaluating options related to an alternative form of conference or webinar series for us as genealogical professionals that might be assembled in lieu of an in-person gathering. Further information will be forthcoming. We look forward to preparing and presenting an outstanding conference, in whatever form, as we are able.

     

    Thank you for your continued support of APG. We are grateful to the prospective speakers for their understanding of this difficult choice. Thanks to Judy Muhn and her committee for the work already committed. Thanks to Kathy Hinckley, our Executive Director, for her help in making the conference work go smoothly and efficiently, as well.

     


    Be safe, and stay healthy.


    David McDonald

    President, APG

  • 24 Mar 2020

    Dear Friends and Fellow Members of APG:

    With regret, but resolve, APG has decided it must forego its participation in the planned conference at Salt Lake City in May, to be presented by the National Genealogical Society. We will neither host a booth nor sponsor a luncheon there, in keeping with recent guidance around reducing group sizes and social distancing necessary to combat the spread of COVID-19.

    You all know the precautions to take to minimize risks for transmission of the disease. Please take them seriously. Wash your hands. Clean your keyboards and handheld devices. Maintain your distance from others in public settings. Eat healthy foods. Drink plenty of fluids. Rest. (Use the enforced downtime to work on projects you've long been delaying or ignoring.) Be attentive to changes in your health and in those with whom you share close quarters.

    Be safe. Be well. Be whole.

    David McDonald, President

  • 06 Mar 2020

    See below information from the National Coalition for History, copied in full from their website: http://historycoalition.org/2020/03/02/ask-your-house-member-to-sign-letter-in-support-of-increased-funding-for-nara-and-nhprc/.

    APG encourages all of its members in the US to reach out to their Representatives in Congress to support this important initiative to fund the National Archives. Time is of the essence - please reach out to your Member of Congress by this Tuesday, March 11th! It will take just 5 minutes of your time, but is vitally important to the records and agencies we use as professional genealogists!

    Ask Your House Member to Sign Letter in Support of Increased Funding for NARA and NHPRC.

    March 2, 2020

    The National Coalition for History (NCH) has worked with Congressmen John Larson (D-CT), Don Young (R-AK), and Bill Pascrell (D-NJ) to seek support for additional funding in the upcoming fiscal year (FY) 2021 budget for the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) and the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC).

    They have circulated a "Dear Colleague" letter to their fellow representatives urging them to show their support. The letter will be sent to the chair and ranking member of the House Financial Services Appropriations Subcommittee which has jurisdiction over NARA and the NHPRC's budgets. Please click on this link <http://historycoalition.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/NARA-Dear-Colleague-FY-21-final.pdf> to see the letter which has already been sent to House members.

    We are requesting the House Appropriations Committee to provide at least $395 million for NARA's operating expenses in FY21 and at least $7 million for the NHPRC. NARA's operating expenses budget in constant dollars has remained stagnant for over a decade, even as its responsibilities have increased. When adjusted for inflation, NARA's budget has decreased by 10% since 2012. NARA today has fewer employees than it did in 1985.

    We need you to contact your representative and ask them to sign on to the letter in support of additional funding for NARA and the NHPRC. We have prepared a one-page briefing paper that summarizes the funding challenges facing these two agencies that are so vital to historians, archivists and other stakeholders. Click here <http://historycoalition.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/NARA-Issue-Brief-FY-21-1.pdf> to access an on-line version.

    The simple truth is Members of Congress are unlikely to sign on to the NARA "Dear Colleague" letter unless they are asked to do so by their constituents! Please help us in this effort by reaching out to your representatives to seek their support.

    How to Contact Your Congressperson

    To contact your representative, you can use one of these two options. No matter which means of communication you choose, please personalize your message as to your background or interest in history. If you are employed in the field, mention the institution where you work in your congressional district. You can also use the Dear Colleague letter as talking points.

    Send a pre-written message directly to your House member. Our colleagues at the National Humanities Alliance have created a concise letter that goes directly to your House member. You can add additional language if you want, however we have made it as easy as possible for you to have an impact. Click here to go to the letter, fill in basic contact information, hit send and your message is on its way. When you enter your zip code the system directs your letter to the Member of Congress from your district automatically.

    Make a phone call. All Members of Congress can be reached through the U.S. Capitol switchboard at (202)224-3121. If you feel comfortable doing so, make a phone call. If you speak to a staff member, be sure to get their name and email address so you can forward them a copy of the National Archives/NHPRC Dear Colleague letter. If you get voice mail leave a message and ask them to support the Larson/Young/Pascrell letter and increased funding for NARA and the NHPRC.
    To sign on or for more information, tell them to contact Michael Dunn with Rep. Larson Michael.Dunn@mail.house.gov, Dylan Sodaro with Rep. Pascrell Dylan.Sodaro@mail.house.gov, or Kem Crosley with Rep. Young Kem.Crosley@mail.house.gov. PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT THESE STAFF PEOPLE YOURSELF!