Monday, March 28, 2022

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!

Sunday, March 27, 2022

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.