It's a choice opportunity to be able to participate in these events. We met such wonderful people today. Some were even from as far as Texas, San Tan Valley, Gilbert, Phoenix, California, and even Utah and Wyoming. As you can see, it was not just people from our stake but many people close by who were non-members and had been seeking a way to find information on their families. To be able to give that gift to them was a particularly choice moment in our lives. A lot of new bridges to friendship were built today and Ted and I are so grateful we were involved in such a great community event. Thank you all who participated!
Regrets? Only that we were so busy we didn't have a chance to go around and take pictures of the booths (of which there were 13). Some of you who came to our last Zoom meeting saw our plan of action at work today. Thank you Br. Cashen for not only taking pictures but also doing some exit interviews.
Positive takeaways:
1 This year we added table numbers matching the directional map plus
2 I made all new signage for the tables. You can see the table numbers in the pictures.
3. We also added monitors for each booth. Ted bought 4 but then for those consultants without a computer, he and the director brought out a couple of computers from the library.
4. We noticed that as we worked on a patron's family tree, they were very much excited to participate when they were able to see because the monitors were all facing them. It was fascinating.
5. Our team really worked so cohesively together - each enjoyed the experience. Here are the booth titles.
#1 - in the overflow, we created a kid's section and they loved the game boards about family history we created.
#2 - Membership records and Login/password help for Family Search. At this booth I also provided little 3 x 4 leather notebooks that I picked up for less than a dollar each. This way, they could leave knowing that little notebook was something they should always bring to their family history center.
#3 This was Partner Access - our team members helped them sign up and then taught them how to use the bridge method to increase accuracy and decrease time at research.
#4 This booth was about showing members how to capture memories and upload them to their family search accounts. With the new Family Group settings, it is now possible for someone to share their memories with their family while they are alive.
#5 Ancestry and Ancestry DNA was my booth. I was thrilled to show them how they could align their research with their bloodlines and for the most part, Ancestry DNA has proven very helpful in figuring out if you are on target with your research matching the bloodlines.
#7 - Printing service - for cards, names, or anything you needed, as well as scan pictures to a drive you brought, or one of our flash drives at 2.00 each.
#8 - We had the Director, Mlee print down a person's fan chart then go over the chart and show what needed to be fixed and how to fix it.
#9 - Puzzilla.org - how to use it for descendancy research
#10 - Demonstration of My Heritage colorization of pictures. Here is one we like to show because the change is so dramatic
#11 was the new online indexing method in hopes of educating more people to help with the 1950 census.
#12 - this was Scrapbooking - a very real way to journal one's life. Fran Johnson stands out in our ward as someone who has achieved excellence in her 86 years of scrapbooking. We were very proud to show her work to inspire others. Scrapbooking is a great hobby because it forces us to organize categorically and chronologically. If you have problems with the organization of various things or know a person who suffers from ADHD, this is a great way to help your kids with this diagnosis. It's calming, and without really them knowing you are teaching them a valuable skill.
#13 As we did in October because of the good ideas from another Stake - Mesa North Stake, we incorporated Grandma's cookies. Several members of the ward and this is open to the community as well, bring a well-favored and beloved recipe that they remember Grandma making for their family when they were young. Not stopping there, and realizing that it takes a village to raise a child, this person of choice influence could be an Aunt, a Sister, or any person who influenced your life - a fun way to honor them.
What brought it all together were the gorgeous decorations from Julie and Ken Keith.
All in all - special thanks to Ron Watkins, the HC over Family History, (for his patience and for singlehandedly setting up every table before we got there with the table cloths and centerpieces) Ray Cashen, Mlee R. Clark, the Family History Center Director, Spencer, and Megan Irvine, Fabian Foote, Ann Wilmeth, Bryant Scott, Terry Canova, Mike Girand, Jay Curtis, Lexieanne Swapp, Eric Anderson, Eric Brown, Gwyn Knowles, Fran Johnson, Barbara Girand, Julie Marriott, Ken Keith. We were missing two because of illness, Ted Keller and Priscilla Sanders.
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