27 December 2008

News from Other Societies

The South Bay Genealogy Society will hold its January 20th meeting with a return of popular national speaker, Donna Moughty, presenting a lecture, "Saving a Life: Your family's health history." The session will be held on Tuesday, 20 January 2009, at Noon at the SouthShore Regional Library. More information is available at the website at http://www.rootsweb.com/~flsbgs.

Southwest Florida Germanic Genealogy Society

The Southwest Florida Germanic Genealogy Society was organized just a couple of years ago. They are, however, already a major, growing organization here in Florida. The organization is hosting an impressive all-day seminar on Saturday, 28 February 2009, in Port Charlotte, Florida, that is already drawing a great deal of attention!

Baerbel Johnson, a professional genealogist and an International Reference Consultant at the Family History Library in Salt lake City, Utah, will present an all-day program, "Putting the Flesh on the Genealogical Skeleton." Ms. Johnson is one of the most respected genealogists at the Family History Library, and this is her first speaking appearance in Florida.

This is an exciting opportunity for anyone with German ancestors! More information and registration details are available at http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~flggrg/.

News from Other Societies

The Jewish Genealogical Society of Tampa Bay will meet at Gulf Coast Jewish Family Services, 14041 Icot Blvd., Clearwater, Florida on Sunday January 11, 2009 presenting Howard Margol speaking on The Latest Developments in Lithuanian Research A social with refreshments and library access begins at 1:30 PM, and the featured program starts at 2:00 PM.

Howard Margol is a Past President of the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies. He travels regularly to Lithuania for research and humanitarian purposes and has organized and led fifteen annual group trips to Lithuania. He is presently organizing his sixteenth group trip for June 30 to July 10, 2009. Three members of the JGS of Tampa Bay have traveled with him on group trips to Eastern Europe and can personally attest to his thorough knowledge of that area and of his access to archives and archivists in Lithuania and Latvia. He is well known and highly respected by leaders of the Lithuanian Jewish community.

Howard has done extensive personal genealogical research and has traced his family back to 1747. He has a “first name” relationship with the Directors and Chief Archivists in the major Lithuanian Archives. He has also written numerous articles that have been published in the leading journals of Jewish genealogy as well as in various newsletters and newspapers. He is a frequent lecturer on genealogical topics at group meetings and conferences.

Anyone interested in learning how to do Jewish genealogical research is invited to attend. Beginners as well as experienced researchers are welcome. For information on the organization or directions to the meeting call Sally Israel at 727-343-1652.

Attending Other Societies' Meetings

Here on the west and southwestern coast of Florida, genealogists have some of the very best genealogy educational opportunities in the United States.

FGS (Tampa) strives to provide its members with announcements from the genealogical societies in the surrounding area, from Pinellas County in the west and Lakeland County in the east, and from Alachua and Marion Counties to our north and to Charlotte and Lee Counties to the South. We also want to highlight the activities of the Florida State Genealogical Society, as well as those of other state and national societies.

You may think that programs presented by other counties' societies are too far away. However, they are usually less than an hour's travel, and carpooling can be a lot of fun.

We announce lots of seminars for other societies, and they announce our seminars. Let's continue to share the wealth. AND, please consider visiting other societies and attending their great programs too!

14 December 2008

FGS Annual Membership Dues Are Due

Membership dues for the Florida Genealogical Society are payable on or before December 31st, and are delinquent after February 15th. Your annual membership is $20.00 for individuals or $25.00 for a family or household. Membership benefits include the opportunity to attend all of the excellent lectures presented at the monthly meetings and the annual holiday party, a discount on the Fall Seminar, our Membership Directory, and voting privileges in the society.

Please complete the membership form found here on our website (in the panel on the right) and return it with your check, payable to the Florida Genealogical Society. You can:

• Mail them to FGS at P. O. Box 18624, Tampa, FL 33679-8624
• Bring them to the FGS Holiday Party on December 20th at the Wunderlins’ home (see the announcement here on the FGS website and in the email sent to you last week)
• Bring them to the FGS monthly meeting on January 17th, when our guest speaker will be Ann Mohr Osisek, president of the Florida State Genealogical Society. (More details are coming soon!)

If you joined FGS at the 2008 Fall Seminar, please disregard this notice. At that time, you received membership for the last quarter of 2008 and all of 2009.

As a reminder, the FGS Membership Referral Program gives you a free annual membership if you bring in three (3) or more new members during a calendar year! The new member must complete the application form (which is also available at our website) and simply list your name as the person who referred them. Our treasurer and membership director keep track of the referrals throughout the year, and will make sure you receive a free one-year membership. What a great way to help the society and to help get your friends interested in high quality genealogy research.

Your society already has interesting presentations booked for the 2009 membership year, and there are a number of special projects in the works. You don’t want to miss any of the benefits of membership in the Florida Genealogical Society!

09 December 2008

FGS Holiday Party!


The Florida Genealogical Society will hold its annual Holiday Party on Saturday, 20 December 2008 from 2:00 to 4:00 PM at the home of Dick and Trev Wunderlin. The Wunderlins' home is located at 2013 Curry Road, Lutz, FL. Directions follow below.

Snacks to be served will include appetizers, desserts, wine, soft drinks, and coffee. You need not bring anything, but any dish will you would like to share is welcome.

Please RSVP to Trev at (813) 977- 6484 or at trevetta@yahoo.com
by Noon on December 16th.

DIRECTIONS:
From South Tampa and Pinellas Co.:
Take I-275 North to Bearss Avenue
Go east on Bearss Ave. to Livingston Ave.
Go north on Livingston Ave. to Curry Road
Turn left on Curry Road
House is first home in second block (2013 Curry Road.)

From Brandon or Temple Terrace:
West on Fowler Ave. or Fletcher Ave. to Bruce B. Downs Blvd.
Go north on Bruce B. Downs to Bearss Avenue
Turn left on Bearss; then right at Livingston Ave.; then left on Curry Road
House is first home in second block (2013 Curry Rd.)

From North:
Take I-275 South or Rte. 41 South to Bearss Avenue
Drive east to Livingston Ave.
Turn left on Livingston Ave and head then north to Curry Road
Turn left on Curry Road
House is first home in second block (2013 Curry Rd.)

From West:
Take Ehrlich Rd./Bearss Avenue east, past I-275, to Livingston Ave.
Turn north and drive to to Curry Road
Turn left on Curry Road
House is first home in second block (2013 Curry Rd.)

See you there!