Exciting News for Student Genealogists

The Southern California Genealogical Society Jamboree has a reputation for setting trends in the genealogy conference world -- Bloggers' Summit, Jamboree App, Social Media Policy, to name a few ground-breaking projects. With the just-announced Jamboree scholarship program for young genealogists, SCGS has done it again.

SCGS has announced a new Jamboree scholarship program for aspiring genealogists and family historians between the ages of 18 and 29 as of June 8, 2012. The scholarship will offer reduced Jamboree registration of $15 per day or $25 for all three days for young people registering online with government issued ID by May 28, 2012. A limited number of scholarship slots are available.

In 2010, SCGS generously provided full conference registration to the recipient of the Suzanne Winsor Freeman Memorial Student Genealogy Grant, sponsored by The Family Curator. This award is one of a very few scholarships available aimed to assist young genealogists pursue education in family history.

I am so excited that my local society, SCGS, has taken on this much-needed project. Unlike many professional and academic fields, most genealogy conferences do not offer a reduced registration rate for students or young persons working in the field. This can, and does, deter young people from attending professional conferences. I hope other genealogy seminars, workshops, and conferences will join SCGS in offering reduced registration to young people. If you agree, add a note in the comments and forward an email to your local society.

Contact SCGS for registration and more information.

www.genealogyjamboree.com

jamboree@scgsgenealogy.com

The Face of Genealogy: Anthony Ray, Student Genealogist

It was an honor to meet Anthony Ray at the SCGS Jamboree and to introduce him at the Friday night banquet as the recipient of the 2011 Suzanne Winsor Freeman Memorial Student Genealogy Grant.

We were graciously seated at the head table with Jamboree co-chairs Paula Hinkel and Leo Meyers, and keynote speaker Tony Burroughs. During the evening, I had time to chat with Anthony and his mother, and also enjoyed hearing Anthony and Tony talk about their interest in family history.

Anthony has been actively pursuing his family history for over eight years, a long time in the life of a 20-year-old student. He first became interested in genealogy after the death of his great-grandfather in 2003 when the family gathering brought out photos and stories. Anthony discovered a photograph of his ancestor who was a musician, composer, and music teacher – the career path Anthony has chosen as a music major at West Coast Bible College in Lancaster.

In talking with him for only a short time, it quickly becomes obvious that he is a knowledgeable and competent researcher. With Hispanic, English, Scottish, German, and African American roots, Anthony has a wide field to cover. His particular interest is Catholic church records and he has been able to conduct research at diocesan repositories as well as church offices.

Anthony’s family is especially supportive of his genealogy work. As a home-schooled student, Anthony’s mother helped schedule time and arranged trips that included visits to distant research locations.

Anthony Ray heads the cemetery indexing project of the Antelope Valley Genealogical Society and is a volunteer researcher assisting with Hispanic research at the Palmdale Family History Center. He has attended four KinDig Conferences sponsored by the AVGS and was a recent speaker at the annual conference of the Old Spanish Trail Association.

Anthony was especially looking forward to attending presentations at Jamboree that would help him acquire to new research skills and learn about new resources.

The Suzanne Winsor Freeman Memorial Student Genealogy Fund was established in 2010 by family and friends of Suzanne Freeman to honor her lifetime of service and her interest in genealogy, and to assist young genealogists wishing to advance their genealogical education.  Suzanne Freeman (my mother) and I attended the SCGS Jamboree together in past years and enjoyed meeting young genealogists and bloggers. We often talked about conference expenses and hoped to find assistance available to encourage student attendance. We are pleased that the 2011 Suzanne Winsor Freeman Memorial Grant was able to help Anthony Ray attend the Jamboree. More information about the Grant and how to donate is available at http://www.thefamilycurator.com/suzanne-freeman-grant/

The SCGS Jamboree Committee is the first conference, to our knowledge, to offer a full conference registration to a student genealogist as part of a grant program. In addition to providing registration to the recipient of the Freeman Memorial Grant, the Jamboree Committee also supported establishing a student scholarship funded by raffle ticket sales for the beautiful Jamboree Quilt. This project was organized by Pat Richley-Erickson and Gena Philbert Ortega through the online Genea Quilters group to benefit the 2012 Jamboree Student Scholarship Fund.

2011 Jamboree Countdown

I'm registered for the 2011 SCGS Jamboree, are you? Early-bird registration ends this week, April 30, 2011. The line-up of speakers, exhibitors, and special events looks outstanding, and if last year was any indication, the GeneaBlogger presence will be even stronger. This is a Don't Miss conference in my book.

I am also looking forward to the GENEii Family History Writers Conference, scheduled Thursday, June 9 as a pre-Jamboree event. The all-day conference features John Philip Coletta and a panel of family history writers.

Last year, and also in 2009, my mom and I both attended and had a great time meeting other Mother-Daughter genealogy teams. If you are still undecided about attending the Jamboree, maybe a few posts from previous years will convince you to join us. 

• Mother Daughter Guide to 2010 SCGS Jamboree
• Mom Reports on the Jamboree Marathon
• and the Daughter Reports

New SCGS Webinars Available

Have you heard today's exciting announcement from the Southern California Genealogical Society? Free web-based seminars featuring great speakers on timely topics will be available starting March 5 through the Jamboree Extension Series . According to the SCGS press release, each webinar can accommodate up to 1000 attendees and will also be available for viewing in the SCGS member-only area of the SCGS website. 

Upcoming webinars in March and April include

 Thomas MacEntee, Social Networking - New Horizons for Genealogists

• George G. Morgan, Tell Me About When You Were a Child
• Marian Pierre-Louis, Looking After the Poor: Finding Your Ancestors in New England Poverty Records
• Lisa Louise Cooke, Getting the Scoop on Your Ancestors from Old Newspapers

The full listing is available at the SCGS website Jamboree Extension page.

Online learning has stolen the headlines lately following the success of virtual participation at RootsTech earlier this month. Thank you, SCGS for your commitment to extending genealogy learning beyond the conference classroom. 

Get Your SCGS Jamboree Blogger Badge Today

The Southern California Genealogical Society Jamboree has just posted an assortment of great Jamboree badges you can include on your blog or website. It looks like Thomas MacEntee of GeneaBloggers has been VERY busy!

In a new twist to conference badges, the Jamboree badges come in several styles to promote different kinds of participation --

• Blogger
• Speaker
• Sponsor
• Exhibitor
• General Info
• and yes, I wish I could go!

You can choose your favorite badge at the SCGS Jamboree blog.

Young Genealogists Invited to Apply for Grant to Attend 2011 SCGS Jamboree

It’s Mom’s birthday today, and we are giving a gift in her honor! 

Suzanne Freeman was an enthusiastic attendee at the Southern California Genealogical Society Jamboree and a life-long supporter of youth activities and volunteerism. The 2011 Suzanne Winsor Freeman Memorial Student Genealogy Grant pays tribute to these interests by offering a $500 grant to a young genealogist attending the 2011 SCGS Jamboree. 

Any genealogist who is 18 to 25 years of age as of July 1, 2011 and a student within the last year is eligible to apply. Funds may be used for travel, lodging, and other conference-related expenses. 

The SCGS Jamboree has become a premiere regional genealogy conference offering national speakers, workshops, and demonstrations. More than 1700 genealogists attended the 2010 event in Burbank, California.

Please help spread the word and encourage any young genealogists you know to apply for the 2011 Suzanne Winsor Freeman Memorial Grant. Application and more information is available at http://www.thefamilycurator.com/suzanne-freeman-grant/.

Denise Levenick with Suzanne Freeman,
2009 SCGS Jamboree GeneaBlogger Bag Project

Suzanne Winsor Freeman

Genealogy bloggers came to know Suzanne the past two years at the SCGS Jamboree where she enthusiastically joined the GeneaBlogger Welcome Bag project, assisting in the assembly and distribution of gifts to attending genealogy bloggers. She was a fan of new technology such as podcasts by Lisa Louise Cooke and The Genealogy Guys, but also looked forward to analyzing old photographs with Maureen Taylor, The Photo Detective.

She embraced the possibilities of DNA and had recently submitted a sample for testing. In June, 2010 at the SCGS Jamboree in Burbank, she was delighted to meet her cousin Christopher Childs from the New England Historic and Genealogical Society. At the time of her death in Tucson, Arizona August 28, 2010, Suzanne was still searching for her elusive Winsor cousins.

Suzanne enjoyed researching family history online and frequently posted queries that resulted in new family connections. She supplied stories and anecdotes for TheFamilyCurator.com, the blog written by her daughter Denise Levenick, where her tales always received enthusiastic reader comments. Suzanne was also honored to appear at ShadesoftheDeparted.com as a guest blogger.  

Suzanne was born January 5, 1933 in Olathe, Kansas to Arline (Kinsel) and Frank Ammi Brown, and grew up in Orange and Santa Ana after her family moved to California in 1937. She purchased property in Green Valley, Arizona in 1982 and became a full-time Arizona resident in 1997.

As a mother and homemaker, Suzanne found great satisfaction as a Girl Scout Leader and church volunteer in La Habra, California, and later used her community experience as Executive Director of the North Orange County Volunteer Bureau. In Green Valley, Suzanne was active in the Green Valley Evangelical Free Church and the Green Valley Genealogical Society.

Contributons to the Suzanne Winsor Freeman Memorial Student Genealogy Fund may be made at any Wells Fargo Bank, or directly to Wells Fargo Bank, Green Valley, Arizona 520/625-1222.

Update on Wednesday, January 5, 2011 by Family Curator

FLASH UPDATE!

SCGS has just announced that they will be participating in this project by providing a free three-day registration to the 2011 Jamboree. This makes more funds available to the award winner for travel and related expenses. Spread the word!