Zachary Hamilton

Elise Godfrey


Rob Wallace

Welcome to these new and returning board members!
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.
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
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
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
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
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
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.