Professional Genealogists Help Americans Find Their Roots During Family History Month

Approximately 80 million Americans search for their ancestors. October is Family History Month. The Association of Professional Genealogists, with a membership over 1,400 worldwide, assists Americans find their roots.

NEWS FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
1 OCTOBER 2003

Contact: Kathleen W. Hinckley, CGRS, Executive Director,
Association of Professional Genealogists
P.O. Box 350998, Westminster, CO 80035-0998
Phone 303-422-9371, fax 303-456-8825, e-mail admin@apgen.org

Prepared by: Richard F. Robinson, CGRS, APG Information Officer,
E-mail dickrobinson@legacyscribe.com

(NOTE TO EDITORS: In this national media release commemorating Family History Month, October 2003, you will find local events and people mentioned from the following localities: Alabama, Canada, Colorado, Illinois, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Utah, Virginia, and Washington, D.C.).

Professional Genealogists Help Americans
Find Their Roots During Family History Month

During Family History Month in October, a number of some 80 million Americans searching for their ancestors will find special events to help them with their research. But one small group is always working behind the scenes to make sure genealogists make the right connections.

For nearly 25 years, the Association of Professional Genealogists (APG) has promoted high genealogical standards, education and professional development. President Sherry Irvine, CGRS, FSA Scot, of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada says, Every genealogist, amateur or professional needs help sometime. The APG and its 1,400 members worldwide have served as a guiding light to those trying to find ancestors in an often confusing maze of information."

APG supports its members through education projects, networking, publications and online resources. Demand for reliable client service and practical guidance has increased, spurred recently by the explosion of genealogical information on the Internet.

As the worlds leading professional organization of genealogists and related professionals, APG and its members provide sound genealogical information to millions of hobbyists virtually everywhere. Working either as individuals or part of a network of 21 chapters, the associations members provide genealogical expertise through client research services (NOTE TO EDITORS: see sidebar), publications, lectures and conferences. They also volunteer at numerous family history and historical activities and work for access and preservation of records in communities across the nation.

During the celebration of Family History Month, APG members will participate in a number of special programs. For example, they will give free one-to-one consultations to family history researchers at family history fairs in Denver on Oct. 11 and in New York City on Oct. 12. In Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, professionals will hold a series of family history workshops from Oct. 4 to the Nov. 3rd finale featuring an all night research Lock In" at the Oklahoma Historical Society Library.

APG members are also leaders in providing authoritative genealogical information in books, magazines, and journals. They include standard genealogy reference books, such as The Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy, edited by Loretto D. Szucs of Lockport, Illinois and Sandra Hargreaves Luebking, FUGA, of Western Springs, Illinois; and Evidence! Citation & Analysis for the Family Historian by Elizabeth Shown Mills, CG, CGL, FASG, FNGS, FUGA, of Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

Sen. Orrin R. Hatch (R-Utah), who annually designates the month of October as Family History Month, has cited a book written by an APG member (In Search of Our Ancestors by Megan Smolenyak of Williamsburg, Virginia) for helping identify through family history research numerous members of a family threatened by a rare illness, which saved their lives through early diagnosis and treatment.

Some of the top popular genealogy magazines and books are directed by APG members, including Szucs at Ancestry Magazine, Leland K. Meitzler of North Salt Lake City, Utah at Heritage Quest Magazine and Sharon DeBartolo Carmack, CG, FUGA, at Betterway Genealogy Books in Cincinnati, Ohio. Scores of other APG members write for a variety of publications.

Many of Americas most popular genealogical lecturers are APG members, including Mills; Helen F.M. Leary, CG, CGL, FASG, FNGS, of Cary, North Carolina; and John Philip Colletta, Ph.D. of Washington, D.C.

The Association of Professional Genealogists (http://www.apgen.org), established in 1979 and based near Denver, Colorado, is made up of professional genealogists, professional researchers, librarians, writers, editors, instructors, booksellers, publishers and others in all populated continents.

##

NEWS FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
1OCTOBER 2003

Contact: Kathleen W. Hinckley, CGRS, Executive Director,
Association of Professional Genealogists
P.O. Box 350998, Westminster, CO 80035-0998
Phone 303-422-9371, fax 303-456-8825, e-mail admin@apgen.org

Prepared by: Richard F. Robinson, CGRS, APG Information Officer,
E-mail dickrobinson@legacyscribe.com

(NOTE TO EDITORS: This is a sidebar to the main release headed Professional Genealogists Help Americans Find Their Roots During Family History Month" in commemoration of Family History Month, October 2003).

New Guide Published to Finding
Family History Professionals

The Association of Professional Genealogists (APG) will distribute its latest Directory of Professional Genealogists, a valuable 200-page plus guide to finding and hiring professionals around the world, during October, Family History Month.

The Directory of Professional Genealogists 2004-2005 commemorates APGs 25th anniversary in 2004, and displays its anniversary logo on the cover. It lists more than 1,400 members throughout the U.S., Canada and 20 other countries. Members are listed alphabetically with available biographical information and are indexed by geographic locations and specialties and by research specialties and related services. Editor of the directory is Anne Lemmon of Salt Lake City, UT.

Complimentary copies of the directory, published biennially in the fall, will be sent to key U.S. libraries, National Archives repositories, selected family history journalists as well as all APG members. The online version of the directory, updated daily, can be found at APGs Web site, http://www.apgen.org.

The print directory may be purchased through the publications section of APGs Web site for $20 plus postage.

##