UGA Board Election Results

UGA is pleased to announce the results of this year's Board of Directors election. The four candidates who were elected this year to serve on the UGA Board for a three-year term, beginning in April 2022 , include the following:


Zachary Hamilton
Zachary Hamilton is the owner of Briick Family Research. A specialist in Southern US research and military records, Zachary has worked for and contracted with some of the leading genealogy companies in the world, including Ancestry.com and The New York Genealogical and Biographical Society. Zachary holds a BA in History and an AAS in Office Management. Zachary has also been a contributing researcher to the Emmy-nominated television series, Who Do You Think You Are? In addition to his research experience, Zachary is a lecturer at regional conferences across the country, including RootsTech and has been a guest speaker for genealogy courses at Brigham Young University - Idaho and at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. Zachary currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Utah Genealogical Association and as Registrar for the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy. He is also a recipient of the UGA Chapter Service award.


Elise Godfrey
Elise Godfrey has a bachelor's degree in English with a minor in Family History and Genealogy from Brigham Young University. Her love for continued education and hands-on experience with family history and genealogy research has grown in her time spent working for Legacy Family History, Inc. (2014-present), where her primary focus has been New England and Dutch research. She has served as a UGA Board member as well as content creator for Crossroads for Kids since July 2020. She is currently serving as the Crossroads Committee Chair.

Savannah Larson
Savannah has a bachelor’s degree in family history from Brigham Young University and has accumulated over 10 years of family history experience. She has researched families in the United States, Mexico, and the Nordic countries. Nordic research became her obsession after she spent time in Sweden and learned to speak Swedish. She has a deep love of Swedish culture, food, language, and people that has stayed with her ever since. Savannah works at the Family History Library as a Nordic Research Specialist and was instrumental in beginning a Virtual Genealogy Consultation program at the Library. Since its start, the service has helped thousands of individuals, in seven different languages around the world. Savannah has a passion for genealogy and is constantly seeking ways to share that passion with those around her.


Rob Wallace
I started doing family history research back in high school, in the 1970’s.  I worked on my family history off and on until the early 2000’s when I decide to make it a serious hobby. Since then, I have logged well over 3000 hours of research. I have studied family history extensively, reading, taking courses, and attending conferences. I have been and still am a member in several regional and national genealogical societies. I have served as a consultant in our community family history library and taught community family history classes (in California). I have extensive leadership experience professionally, in church, and in youth organizations. I am a retired engineer, living in Cedar Hills, Utah.


Welcome to these new and returning board members!

UGA Announces New Crossroads Editor

The Utah Genealogical Association is pleased to announce that Kelly Richardson will serve as the new editor of Crossroads magazine effective Fall 2022, when our current editor, Gena Philibert-Ortega, retires after many years of dedicated service. Kelly will bring extensive experience in marketing, communications, and public relations to Crossroads, in addition to her genealogical knowledge and expertise. We are thrilled to welcome her to Crossroads!

Kelly Richardson is a communicator, educator, writer, and consultant with over 16 years of professional experience writing and developing comprehensive and strategic marketing, communications, and public relations campaigns. As the head of VENONE, a communications and marketing firm, Kelly has designed courses for Accelerate Montana’s "Women in Business Recovery Series" (University of Montana), she serves as the Conference Director on the board for the Montana Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America, and she has completed public affairs coursework through FEMA. Combining her professional work with her curiosity for genealogy, she is a writer for the 2022 edition of the Siskiyou County Pioneer, and she is currently leading an extensive digital marketing and research project for a pioneer cemetery. Kelly is seeking accreditation from ICAPGen in the New England region.

Position Opening: Editor for Crossroads Quarterly Journal

The Utah Genealogical Association is seeking an editor for its quarterly journal, Crossroads. The editor will supervise production of Crossroads and solicit, gather, and curate articles, book reviews, and other pertinent content for publication four times a year. They will work in conjunction with a volunteer committee and UGA board member.

The current editor is retiring after the Summer 2022 issue, so the new editor will oversee the Fall 2022 issue and beyond. The new editor will work with the current editor as soon as appointed to learn from and assist her, as well as prepare content for the Fall 2022 issue.

Skills needed:
- Familiar with and involved in the family history and genealogical community
- Proficient writer and editor
- Good networking and interpersonal skills
- Works well in a team and individually
- Self-motivated
- Goal oriented and organized
- Punctual; able to keep deadlines
- Strong leadership skills; able to delegate
- Passionate about genealogy, family history methodology, and giving people the opportunity to write and publish
- Able to plan a year in advance

Compensation:
$1,000 per quarterly issue.

What is Crossroads?
Crossroads is UGA's genealogical journal, published quarterly. Crossroads is, as its title suggests, a converging ground for the academic and for the up and coming, for traditional, tried and true methods and the innovative ideas inherent in a field perpetually progressing and expanding. It is a place for both the professional and the beginner and aims to support and inspire its readers in our genealogical efforts.

Crossroads is a place to explore questions like...
- Why family history and genealogy? Why is it amazing, addictive, wholesome, and important?
- How do we do family history and genealogy? How do YOU do genealogy?
- How does family history apply to our daily, everyday lives? (How is it made relatable, applicable, and accessible to anyone with the desire to engage in family history?)
- How do we interest and involve children in family history work?

How to Apply
To apply, please send a resume with cover letter to info@ugagenealogy.org and add “Subject: Crossroads Editor” to the subject line. Deadline for applications is February 20, 2022.

Distinguished Service Award: Mike Bronner

 

Distinguished Service Award: Mike Bronner

The Utah Genealogical Association Distinguished Service Award is given in recognition of outstanding service to UGA. This year UGA is pleased to bestow this award on Mike Bronner.

By profession, Mike develops web applications using cutting-edge technologies. His further interests lie in research methodologies and business processes and strategies. In his spare time Mike researches his own family lines, specializing in German research and deciphering old handwritten German documents. Time permitting, he also enjoys playing Pickleball with his local club members.

Mike has served UGA for many years as a board member, webmaster, and chair of the Technology Committee, which he helped to create to oversee, research, and recommend technology solutions to meet UGA’s growing needs. As chair of this committee, Mike led UGA through difficult decisions and transitions related to electronic storage; meeting and webinar providers; email, survey, and communication management systems; digital collections; password distribution; event registration; and website development. He developed branding documentation and a standard operating procedures manual.

As UGA’s website manager, Mike implemented membership renewal and transaction improvements, acted as liaison for custom programming for the First Families project, and created unique page templates and added functionality to support the growing needs of conferences and institutes.

During his tenure, Mike has also served as the audio-visual coordinator and technology manager for the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy.

As he retires from his UGA service, Mike’s common sense and down to earth wisdom will be sorely missed. We are grateful for his outstanding contributions to UGA and are pleased to honor him with the Distinguished Service Award this year.

Award of Merit: Peg A. Ivanyo

 

Award of Merit: Peg A. Ivanyo

The Utah Genealogical Association Award of Merit is given in special recognition of those who serve UGA in extraordinary ways. It is one of the highest awards given by UGA. This year we are thrilled to present the Award of Merit to our beloved SLIG director, Peg A. Ivanyo.

Peg is a meeting planner and consultant by trade and a genealogist by passion. She is a past board member of UGA and was honored with UGA’s Distinguished Service Award in 2013. Peg joined the SLIG committee in the fall of 2011 and has served as SLIG director for the past seven years.

In 2015, Peg was instrumental in relocating SLIG to the Hilton Salt Lake City to accommodate growth. During Peg’s tenure, SLIG has expanded to include SLIG Virtual and the SLIG Academy for Professionals. She helped launch and create SLIG’s Intermediate Foundations course to help a broader range of students prepare for institute level education. She has brought scholarships, sponsorships, and outstanding financial leadership to SLIG that have enabled UGA to provide world-class education in a first-class setting while keeping costs reasonable for students.

Peg is a unique leader who is motivated by the success of others and the success of the programs she directs as opposed to her own personal accolades. She has been a personal mentor to many people who have gone on to serve in many ways in the genealogical community. Her own measure of success has never been a trophy or recognition but in quality education and the improvement of the SLIG experience.

Peg is organized, and she plans ahead (sometimes 5 years in advance). She stays within budget and thinks of every budget detail in advance. Peg regularly thinks outside the box and plans for any situation that may arise. She constantly strives to find a better way to do something and has never been afraid to take a leap. We have definitely seen this in the past month as she switched SLIG from an in-person to a virtual event at the last minute. This has been an enormous undertaking, but she led the change admirably, and it’s been a successful and rewarding week.

Peg supports the creativity of her faculty which leads to innovative—and often exclusive—courses that have helped to elevate the entire genealogical field. Her contributions have brought growth and stability to an already-proven and nationally recognized program. Peg’s vision and servant leadership have enabled hundreds of participants to receive premier genealogy education every year, raising the bar for genealogy research around the globe. UGA is proud to honor her with the Award of Merit this year.

Chapter Service Award: Skye Cranor

 

Chapter Service Award: Skye Cranor

The Utah Genealogical Association Chapter Service Award is given in recognition of outstanding service to or for a UGA Chapter. The Chapter Service Award was first given out in 1999. This year, the Utah Genealogical Association is pleased to present the Chapter Service Award to Skye Cranor, president of UGA’s South Davis Chapter.

Skye has been interested in family history from an early age which led to a love of photographs and preserving the stories that go with them. She is the unofficial historian for her family, is a Lead Ambassador with FOREVER, and has served as the President of the South Davis Chapter of UGA for the past several years. During that time, she rebuilt the chapter from the ground up and skillfully transitioned it from meeting in-person every month to meeting virtually once Covid-19 prohibited face-to-face contact. Her leadership and guidance have helped genealogists of all experience levels gain skills and knowledge to help them in their quest for their ancestors. In addition to her work with the South Davis Chapter, Skye has assisted with our annual multi-chapter event and the UGA Summit of Excellence conference. She is knowledgeable, helpful, and a joy to work with. 

UGA is pleased to recognize Skye and her contributions to our organization with the Chapter Service Award this year.

Silver Tray Award: Karen Mauer Jones

 

Silver Tray Award: Karen Mauer Jones

The Silver Tray Award is given for scholarly contributions to the field of genealogy and family history. Since 1988, it has traditionally been given for publication efforts. The award is presented at the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy banquet held in January of each year. This year’s Silver Tray Award recipient has published articles and books, edited one of genealogy’s premier peer-reviewed journals, and has worked actively to develop quality genealogical writing skills in others. The Silver Tray Award is given this year to Karen Mauer Jones.

Some of you have already experienced Karen in her “Writing and Documenting for Peer Review” course. More of you will have your chance to learn from her starting next month in SLIG Academy. Multiple sessions of this course consistently fill quickly.

Karen Mauer Jones resides in Ithaca, New York, an editor, author, lecturer, and professional genealogist specializing in upstate New York. She served for seven years as editor of The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record and was named a fellow of the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society in 2012. Besides the writing course already mentioned, she also coordinates the course, “Researching New York: Resources and Strategies,” and teaches in the IGHR course, “Writing and Publishing for Genealogists.” The owner of Frontier Press, a genealogical and historical bookstore, she is the author of articles in the National Genealogical Society Quarterly and the New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, and of multiple volumes of Kentucky, Ohio, and Maryland early newspaper abstracts.

Karen has served on the boards of the Association of Professional Genealogists and of the Federation of Genealogical Societies. In 2019, she was named a Fellow of the Utah Genealogical Association.

Few persons have impacted and enhanced genealogical writing and publication in so many ways, as has Karen Mauer Jones.