Where We Have Been Back in February 2020, we at SKCGS were proud of ourselves because we had moved our newsletter from a quarterly print publication mailed to our members and friends, to a weekly blog posted on our website and emailed to members and friends.  We had taken the unprecedented step of accepting credit card payments online! Where We  Are On March 1, news that the novel Corona virus, which up until then was something we had read about or seen a news story about on TV in Wuhan, China, suddenly was here, in our country, in King County, in Kirkland , for heaven’s sake.   Just to be safe, the March Board and General Meetings were canceled.   Surely this would be under control in just a short time!   At about this time, our wise members, Valorie Zimmerman and MaryLynn Strickland realized that our members were not comfortable attending in-person meetings and began investigating online meeting options. An online platform was selected, and with some trepidation,

By Barbara Mattoon Longer, lighter days beckon us outside to enjoy spring flowers, sunshine and warm breezes, but there are still many opportunities to advance our genealogy knowledge and practice.  March 31 is World Backup Day.  One small accident or failure could destroy all your important stuff, including your genealogy research.  Genealogy pundits recommend backing up three ways.  There is plenty of information online on how to do it. Watch for Valorie Zimmerman’s April 1 blog post titled Civil War Veteran Found in the Woods.  Is it an April Fools’ joke? The Board of Directors will meet Tuesday, April 2, at the Valley Regional Fire Authority, 1101 D St. NE, Auburn, at 7:00 pm.  It will be preceded by  a 2020 Seminar Committee meeting at 6:00 pm.  All members are encouraged to attend both meetings.  There are several open committee assignments for the seminar. Saturday, April 6, Winona Laird will present Family Tree Maker’s new Family Atlas and Family Book Creator program

By Barbara Mattoon As the busy holiday season winds down, have you begun to think about your genealogy goals for the coming year?  Do they include updating and enhancing your genealogical education and skills?  Just as science, technology, medicine and many other fields are advancing at an accelerating rate, so too is our hobby or avocation – genealogy-- changing all the time.  Planning your genealogy education rather than just taking what comes along for the coming year or two will help you achieve your goals. Your plan will be unique to you, taking into consideration the goals you have set for yourself and the amount of time and resources you have available to commit to continuing education.  Take into consideration what you want to learn and the learning style that is most effective for you.  Do you want to pursue a structured program, or will a “self-designed” program better achieve your goals?  Are you available to travel?  Is cost an issue? Your Learning Plan will sur

6 November 2018 The meeting of the South King County Genealogical Society’s Board of Directors was held on 6 November 2018. Minutes from the October Board meeting and the October General Membership meeting were approved.  Financial statements were submitted by the Treasurer. Committees submitting reports included Blog, Bylaws, Circulating Library, Library Volunteers, Library GenHelp Desk, Membership, Programs, Publicity and Website. Interest Groups submitting reports included Family Tree Maker, Research and Technology User’s Group. Each Board member was asked to bring an idea about how to improve our membership and membership participation.  Ideas included: Contact individually the visitors to the GenHelp Desk when you are staffing. Keep the website up to date. Sending the found stuff to the person who requested it. Report our events to other societies. Post information on the Bulletin Board at the Family History Centers. Emails to members about meetings. Ask:

By  Barbara Mattoon Dave Liesse presented “Lesser Known Features of Family Tree Maker” at the Family Tree Maker Users Group November 3.  It was a fast paced, fact-filled presentation.  Dave has agreed to write it as a blog post to be published December 17, 2018. The Board of Directors held its regular meeting November 6.  In addition to regular business we held a round-robin discussion on how each of us could personally recruit and retain members.  Everyone made a commitment to an action that they would personally take.  You will notice that the loop is now on our web page.  Those who staff Library Help Desks committed to write personal notes to those they helped, and the President committed to write personal notes to guests attending the general meeting.  Both of these actions have been effective. Publicity Chair, Cheri Sayer and President Barbara Mattoon attended a Media Strategy Workshop presented by SoCo Culture on November 14.  The presenter was the Social Media Director f