I hope I have all the names here of those who helped make this event a great success:

Organising Committee:

• Roger Moffat – Chairman
• Don Bryant
• Lisa Christensen

Those who did something before the day in addition to the above:

• Sue Irvine produced large amounts of printed advertising and produced and assembled the syllabus

Those who did something on the day in addition to the above:

• Sales Table:
  • Wanda Schottler
  • Jan Van Wyck
  • David Smith
  • Dan Van Meurs
• Registration and Check-In:
  • Mindy Koole
  • Sue Swanlund
  • Janet Jensen
  • Noralynn Gillette
  • Marlene Leistico
  • Marlene Fabbro
  • Judy Wilson
• Room Monitor
  • Shirley DeBoer

THANK YOU ALL!!!!!

We had a GREAT selection of Door Prizes available. The winners were selected by computer drawing from a list of attendees during the lunch break. Winners got to choose from the bags in the order they were drawn, without knowing the content of their bags. The Winners in order, and the prize their Mystery Bag contained are listed below:

1. Mary Kay Killian – $25 Gift Certificate to the WMGS Sales Table. Donated by WMGS Sales Table.
2. Judy Wilson – 6 months subscription to Ancestry World Edition. Donated by Ancestry.com.
3. John Nelson – 1 year subscription to footnote.com. Donated by footnote.com.
4. Valerie Dale – Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak In Search of our Ancestors. Donated by Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak.
5. Beth Kleersnyder - Mini-Binder of your choice. Six ring 7 1/2″ x 5 1/2″ binders in an assortment of colors. The binders contain 30 Family Group Sheets, 10 Lineage Charts and 6 tabbed dividers. Donated by WMGS Sales Table.
6. Charlynn Bailey – Tee shirt of her choice. Donated by Fun Stuff for Genealogists.
7. Diane Rider – A voucher for any 11″ x 14″ colour map. Donated by Michiana History Publications.
8. Pam Warren – 1 year subscription to Ancestry World Edition. Donated by Ancestry.com.
9. Sheryl Tisdel – A copy of the MagiKey with Census Tracker software provided by MagiKey Family Tree.
10. Judy McGhee – 1 year subscription to footnote.com. Donated by footnote.com.

Sue Haadsma-Svensson from Indianapolis, Indiana was awarded a $25 Shell Petrol Card to help with the cost of the 281 mile drive each way she made.

THANKS!!!!!! to all who donated the Door Prizes.

It was a GREAT presentation – if you weren’t there you surely missed a great story – special because it’s about the first person (and her mother and daughters) who are descended of slaves to live in the White House, but that aside fascinating as a story of research into people in different parts of “the South” that descend from slaves and their migrations after emancipation.

Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak presents "Michelle Obama's Roots"

A picture gallery follows…

[View with PicLens]

It’s still not too late to register for either event – we still have space available. Please use the online registration system to let us know that you’re coming, and if possible pay by PayPal. If you want to pay by cheque or cash, by all means choose that option on the payment page, but please DO NOT mail your cheque – instead bring it with you on Friday if you’re coming to Friday evening’s Michelle Obama’s Roots session or on Saturday if you’re only coming to Are They Who You Think They Are?.

tick tock tick tock tick tock…

The video of this is below – Enjoy

We forgot to mention that Friday night’s presentation of Michelle Obama’s Roots is in association with the Southwest Michigan Black Heritage Society

“Born twenty years to the day after John Lennon and married the day before 9/11, I need no calendars or tickler systems to remind me of the milestone birthdays and anniversaries in my life. The media does it for me. So I was well aware of the approach of my half-century mark. Still, I had made no special plans for that particular day, which is probably just as well since I found myself attending a funeral.”

Click here to read the entire article.

Maybe she’ll explain more about why she has 2 same last names at the upcoming Seminar – click the link to the right to register online now.

You can view Megan’s Huffington Post profile here

♩ Happy Birthday To You
♫ Happy Birthday To You
♬ Happy Birthday Dear Megan
♪ Happy Birthday To You

See you on 5th and 6th November

Enjoy.

See you on 5 and 6 November!!

She’s one of five world-class speakers that have been lined up for the 6th Annual Genealogy Conference and Cruise starting tomorrow, September 18th. This week-long conference hosted by  Wholly Genes, Inc. (publishers of the computer programme - The Master Genealogist) has earned the reputation as the largest family history conference on the seas and is nearly always sold out. Someday I want to go!

Megan is presenting some lectures during the cruise that sound interesting: “Neglected History” and “Cold Cases: Genealogists, Coroners and the FBI”. For more information, you can read about the conference at the Wholly Genes website – www.whollygenes.com.

Good luck to Megan and we hope you rest well on your Caribbean cruise and don’t work too hard. We are looking forward to your visit in Michigan in November! www.gotancestors.com

And remember – it’s neither too soon nor too late to register to attend our Annual Seminar – click here or the link on the right “Click Here to Register“.