G&FH Does KCTS Pledge Night

G&FH would like to thank everyone for working the phones and looking so good on camera. A review of KCTS Pledge Night looks as if everyone got some face time.

Carol Pattison Has One More Pledge

A very special thank you to Lou Daly our "on-air talent." Lou you were terrific! Attractive and articulate - you did a fantastic job of representing G&FH. You should also know that Lou worked the interviewer trying to get him to enroll in the program.

Thank you to Tom Steele (KCTS' resident cat wrangler - translation "volunteer coordinator") and KCTS for helping to arrange this promotion and for making us feel so welcome.

Marilyn, Lori, Jay, Jan & Walt Work For G&FH

One of my callers asked if I was with the genealogy group, so we know those watching were paying attention. Let's hope this converts to increased enrollment for the Genealogy and Family History Certificate Program. At least the G&FH program now has a public face and some much needed exposure.

Bonnie, Liz & Denise "Woman" The Phones

It was a lot of fun and not difficult. Next time let's fill the room with our association.

Walt, Lisa & Dan Call it a Night!

March 10, 2007 Meeting Recap

March 10, 2007, was a fantastic meeting!

Thank you to everyone who was able to attend. The Association would like to extend a special thank you to the members of this year's G&FH class, as well as the guests from MOHAI's Nearby History class, who attended the program. It was a pleasure to meet all of you. You are always welcome to attend.

We were given an update on the efforts to organize the PBS Pledge Drive scheduled for Saturday, March 24, 2007. We received the necessary number of volunteers to be able to promote the program on-air. Make sure you tune in Saturday night at 7:30 to KCTS to see your fellow alums at work promoting the G&FH program.

RJ McHatton, owner of Inventive Productions, and his staff were the consummate hosts.

From RJ's lovely daughter who made sure we all arrived at the correct destination (not one alum lost), to the refreshments (they were many and wonderful), to Akina (RJ's producer) who stressed that family history is about values - not valuables, to RJ's warm, funny, genuine presentation of the possibilities for our family histories - thank you all.

We have discussed oral history in all of our classes but Inventive Productions showed us how entertaining and engaging a well-done oral history can be. We were enthralled by RJ's experiences and those of his clients. RJ stressed the importance of capturing a person's life, voice and personality on video.

We were presented with a variety of sample high definition video footage from various autobiographical documentaries. As everyone viewed the footage, RJ explained the process of producing a video. RJ has developed an oral history questionnaire he uses for the structure of his video. He combines the oral history portion with photographs and film footage for the finished product. A large teleprompter or cue cards are used to lead the subject through this interview process.

RJ concluded his presentation with a tour of the screening and editing rooms and provided everyone with a portfolio of services and products offered by Inventive Productions which included a sampler DVD of the projects we saw earlier. We also received the answer as to the purpose and use of a green screen.

If you are a veteran, please consider doing an interview for the Library of Congress. It's free, and you will be given a copy of the finished DVD for your own history project. Inventive Productions has volunteered to interview at least 25 veterans per year for free. The Library of Congress will put these interviews into the archives so future students and historians will be able to hear what really happened by those who where there. If you know of a veteran Inventive Productions can interview, please have them contact RJ McHatton at 425-747-4538 or visit them online.

When you visit their site, sign up for their newsletter so that you can keep up-to-date on all the new technology.

March Calendar - King and Pierce Counties

Tuesday 13 March
Irish Genealogy - Ann Lamb
Bellevue Family History Center at 10675 NE 20th St.
Class runs from 10am to 11.30am. Admission is free.
Visit Bellevue Family History Center for more information.

Wednesday 14 March
Census and Computers - John Wise
Fiske Genealogical Foundation and Library (FGF) at 1644 43RD Ave E, Seattle
Class runs from 10am to 12noon. Admission is $5.
Visit Fiske Library for more information.

Saturday 17 - 18 March
Irish Week
Seattle Center House, Fisher Pavilion at 305 Harrison Street, Seattle
All day event. Admission is free.
Visit Seattle Genealogical Society for more information.

Saturday 17 March
Gene-A-Rama
Kent Baptist Church at 11420 SE 248th St., Kent
Jessica Hacken: Scotland, England & Wales; Jean Fisher: Genealogy 101; Leslie Edmunds: Family History Library Resources; Tim Dooley: Preparing Digital Documents and Photos for Publishing.
All day event starting at 8am. Admission is $25.00, day of event $30.00.
Visit South King County Genealogical Society for more information.

Monday 19 March
Forensic Genealogy - Colleen Fitzpatrick
Stroum Jewish Community Center, Auditorium at 3801 East Mercer Way, Mercer Island
Author of Forensic Genealogy, and DNA and Genealogy.
Class runs from 7pm to 11am. Admission is $5.
Visit Jewish Genealogical Society of Washington State (JGSWS) for more information.

Tuesday 20 March
Clothesline Approach to Family History – DearMYRTLE
Bellevue Family History Center at 10675 NE 20th St.
Class runs from 10am to 11.30am. Admission is free.
Visit Bellevue Family History Center for more information.

Tuesday 20 March
SKCGS Heritage Photo Interest Group
Auburn Library at 1102 Auburn Way S., Auburn
Meeting runs from 6.30pm - 8.30pm. Admission is free.
Visit South King County Genealogical Society for more information.

Wednesday 21 March
Census by Carol Buswell
Fiske Genealogical Foundation and Library (FGF) at 1644 43RD Ave E, Seattle
Class runs from 10am to 12noon. Admission is $5.
Visit Fiske Library for more information.

Monday 26 March
State Focus Group: Massachusetts - David Ault or Jean Roth
SGS Library/Office at 6200 Sand Point Way N.E. #101, Seattle (Across from NARA)
Class runs from 10.15am - 12.15pm. Admission is free.
Visit Seattle Genealogical Society for more information.

Monday 26 March
State Focus Group: Connecticut - David Ault or Jean Roth
SGS Library/Office at 6200 Sand Point Way N.E. #101, Seattle (Across from NARA)
Discussion features Saybrooke, Stonington, Norwich and Windham.
Class runs from 1pm - 3pm. Admission is free.
Visit Seattle Genealogical Society for more information.

Monday 26 March
SKCGS Computer Interest Group
Auburn Library at 1102 Auburn Way S., Auburn
Meeting runs from 6.30pm - 8.30pm.Admission is free.
Visit South King County Genealogical Society for more information.

Wednesday 28 March
Hudson Valley Research
Fiske Genealogical Foundation and Library (FGF) at 1644 43RD Ave E, Seattle
Class runs from 10am to 12noon. Admission is $5.
Visit Fiske Library for more information.

Saturday 31 March
SGS Spring Seminar - William "Bill" Dollarhide.
Faith Lutheran Church (lower hall) at 8208 18th Ave. NE Seattle
"Wagon Roads in Colonial America," "Forgotten Public Land Records," "State Censuses and Substitutes," and "Civil War Genealogy.
Class runs from 8.15am - 4.30am. Admission is $40 ($35 SGS members).
Visit Seattle Genealogical Society for more information.

Saturday 31 March
Passage Express
Heritage Quest Research Library (HQRL) at 909 Main St. Suite 5, Sumner
Learn how to use Passage Express to save your family photos and documents onto a CD. Class runs from 9am to 11am. Admission is $10.
Visit Heritage Quest Research Library for more information.

James Rigali, Ph.D. - New History Instructor

The University of Washington Extension has announced that James Rigali, Ph.D., has been hired to fill the history instructor position previously held by Lorraine McConaghy, Ph.D., in the Genealogy and Family History Certificate Program.

The G&FH Alumni Association welcomes James Rigali and wishes him well in his new position.

Biography:

James Rigali - Historian

Rigali has a Ph.D. in history from the University of Washington, with a specialization in nineteenth century U.S. history. He has taught courses at the University of Washington, North Seattle Community College, and Pacific Lutheran University, on such topics as colonial American history, African American history, and historical research methods.