Memorial Service for Melvin O. Brown

A memorial service will be held for Melvin O. Brown on Saturday, May 17th, 2008, at 2:00 P.M. in the Recital Hall of the Fine Arts Building (Room FAH 101) on the campus of the University of South Florida in Tampa. Mel was the immediate past president of the Florida Genealogical Society and a participant in the Clarion Society, Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) Learning in Retirement (LIR), SeniorNet, and Seniors Networking Users Group (SNUG), as well as other community activities.

Parking is available just west of the Fine Arts Building in Parking Lot 9A. The parking lot is accessible as follows:

□ From Bruce B. Downs Boulevard on the west side of campus, turn east onto USF Holly Drive and drive to USF Laurel Drive. Turn right and proceed south. Parking Lot 9A is on your left after you pass the Psychology & Communications Disorders (PCD) Building.

□ From Fletcher Avenue on the north side of campus and east of Bruce B. Downs, turn south onto USF Magnolia Drive and proceed past the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center to USF Laurel Drive. Turn left (east) and Laurel will curve north. Parking Lot 9A is the first lot on your right.

Please join us for the memorial service. A social gathering with light refreshments will be held immediately afterward in the adjacent courtyard. For additional information, please contact George G. Morgan at (813) 920-0619.

Guest Book for Mel Brown

A guest book has been created for Mel Brown at the Blount & Curry web site. You can access it and add your own entry at http://bccarrollwood.createatribute.com/registryGuestbookSign.php?i_memorialid=1208374316.

"The Genealogy Guys" on RootsTelevision.com

In case you haven't watched RootsTelevision.com in the past at http://www.rootstelevision.com, it is chock full of instructional videos, lectures, news, and videos by our own George G. Morgan and Drew Smith, otherwise known as The Genealogy Guys. The Guys have been doing a weekly genealogy broadcast (podcast) since September of 2005. It is the longest running, continuing genealogy podcast on the Internet with literally thousands of listeners around the world! You can listen to the current episode or all of them at http://www.genealogyguys.com.

However, the Genealogy Guys also have recorded three (3) episodes of Down Under: Florida. These are recorded broadcast videos, ala History Detectives, of stories concerning interesting cemetery markers in the Tampa area and the real-life stories about the people interred in the graves. The first episode focused on the gravesite of William and Nancy Ashley, and the second (and current) episode tells about the famous Ringling Brothers circus act, the Flying Zacchinis. These families are interred in local cemeteries and have increased interest in Florida and the Tampa area cemeteries. A third episode is in the editing stage.

You definitely want to look at these great videos at http://rootstelevision.com/players/player_dearlydeparted.php?bctid=1493265270. Let George and Drew know what you think! And be sure to thank our great genealogy librarian, Melinda Phillips, of the John F. Germany Library in Tampa for her wonderful support in providing excellent images for the Zacchini story!

We're famous!

Death of Melvin O. Brown

It is with great sadness that I have to report that our friend and the immediate past president of FGS, Mel Brown, passed away this morning, 6 April 2008. He had recently been diagnosed with advanced pancreatic cancer.

Mel was a longtime employee of Sears, Roebuck & Co. and Sears Communications Company in Chicago. He transitioned to Advantis, a joint venture of IBM and Sears, and relocated to Tampa, and he retired from that organization.

Arrangements are pending.

Drew Smith
President

News from Other Societies - BAGHS & JGSTB

The Brandon Area Genealogical and Historical Society (BAGHS) will meet on Tuesday, April 8th, at the Bloomingdale Library at 6:30 P.M. This month's program will be presented by Pam Treme and Pattie Schultz, and will be titled "Connecting through Family Newsletters."

---

The Jewish Genealogical Society of Tampa Bay will meet on Sunday May 18, 2008 at 2:00 P.M. at Gulf Coast Jewish Family Services, 14041 Icot Blvd., Clearwater, Florida. “The Anatomy of a Family Reunion” will be presented by Bill Israel, a founding member and the immediate past president of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Tampa Bay. Bill had a key role in the planning and organizing of all fifteen of his Israel Family Reunions held over the past 28 years. He served as general chairman of two reunions and was program chairman and consultant for most of the others. He co-chaired and assisted his wife in establishing family reunions for her family as well. All totaled, Bill has participated in a total of 20 family reunions. He has documented his experiences with family reunions into a planning guide for use by his family in planning future reunions, which are held every two years with a rotation of chairmen and locations. These reunions typically average more than 100 in attendance and are weekend affairs with a program of planned activities running from Friday through Sunday designed to reconnect family members, tell the family story, and show everyone a good time.

Bill will review the key points of planning and organizing successful family reunions based on his personal experiences with twenty of them, plus a reunion currently being planned for next year. Handouts summarizing his presentation will be provided.