How Can We Help YOU Find and Tell Your Family Stories?

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"Helping You Find & Tell Your Family Stories"; generated by Bing Image Creator July 21 July 2024 

We often ask for volunteers; after all, South King County Genealogical Society is an all-volunteer organization. Perhaps we don't focus enough on how we can help YOU. Incorporated in 1984 as "educational in character and devoted exclusively to furthering genealogical research and interest in family and local history [1], we are here for YOU. 


How Can We Help YOU Find and Tell Your Family Stories?

Education

When asked to suggest what they wanted to present to readers, here are some of the responses from your Board members: (Barbara Mattoon) "SKCGS offers educational opportunities for a variety of genealogical interests and experience levels."

Small sample of our educational offerings. SKCGS.org for details

  • Entry level classes offered to the community through the King County Library System.
  • The Family Tree Maker User group discusses features of the software and supports users year-round.
  • The Genetic Genealogy/DNA group spotlights new developments in this fast-changing field monthly.
  • The Tech User Group explores developments in family history related software monthly.
  • In collaboration with the Eastside Genealogical Society, the German Interest Group explores topics specifically related to German genealogy monthly.
  • Genealogy Chat: Meet up and chat about genealogy subjects and topics. We have no agenda; we just like one another!
  • General Meetings present expert speakers on topics of broad general interest nine times per year. Members have access to recordings of those experts for some days after the meetings if the speakers allow.

For more information about any meeting or event, see SKCGS.org; registration is required for all virtual meetings.


Communication

(Valorie Zimmerman) For day to-day communication, we use Groups.io. There you will find discussions covering many of the subjects mentioned by Barbara above, and many other topics brought to the group by any subscriber. Our readers live all over the world and bring a lot of fascinating topics and opportunities to the rest of us.


Weekly we publish a blog. We've had many guest posts and some of our Board members are regular contributors as well. Would you like to see a topic thoroughly explored? Do you want to publish your story? Write to m.strickland@skcgs.org, our editor. Subscribe to the posts by email: https://skcgs.groups.io/g/Blog. 


In-Depth Study

We've studied some books over the past few years:
  1. "Mastering Genealogical Proof," by Thomas W. Jones
  2. "Genetic Genealogy in Practice" by Blaine T. Bettinger, Debbie Parker Wayne
  3. Elizabeth Shown Mills' "Evidence Explained"
  4. Diana Elder: "Research Like A Pro"
  5. Diana Elder, Nicole E. Dyer, Robin Wirthlin: "Research Like a Pro with DNA: A Genealogist's Guide to Finding and Confirming Ancestors with DNA Evidence"
Are you interested in studying a text with others? All are welcome. 

Our next study will be a bit different: working along with Elizabeth Shown Mills' webinar, Dissection & Analysis of Research Problems: 10 Steps to a Solution. See https://skcgs.groups.io/g/Research-Group for more info.

Along with this new study group, we also have a new SIG (special interest group) for all family historians and genealogists interested in using Wikitree to present members of their family and others whom they have researched to the public in a collaborative tree. https://skcgs.groups.io/g/Wikitree-SIG.


Courtesy of the Facebook Black Diamond Miners Day page

Your Outreach team has been doing wonderful work this year. Once the King County Library System allowed volunteers to work in the libraries again, we restarted a Genealogy Help Desk monthly at Auburn KCLS, where our book collection lives. This has been popular with patrons; people sometimes are waiting for us as we get our computers turned on. Librarians have been asking for us to serve more locations; we're now monthly at Federal Way and starting this fall, the Renton Highlands. We could go to more libraries with more volunteers. No expertise is needed; just a willingness to help. SKCGS was able to staff a table at Black Diamond Miners Day in July; what fun! This could become a tradition. 


The Education team has a wonderful lineup of speakers confirmed for the 2024-25 season. Kicking it off, September we'll be learning from Stephen Little, the NGS AI Coordinator, on Today's Limits Are Tomorrow's Breakthroughs.


1. SKCGS Articles of Incorporation

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