Association of Professional Genealogists Press Release

NEWS FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
27 NOVEMBER 2007

Contact: Kathleen W. Hinckley, CG, 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: Marian Pierre-Louis, Information Officer, marianpl@FieldstoneHistoricResearch.com


Jake Gehring Elected APG President

Jake Gehring of Salt Lake City, Utah, has been elected president of the Association of Professional Genealogists (APG), the world's leading professional organization of family history and related professionals. He has been an APG board member since 2004 and vice-president since 2006. He will succeed Sharon Tate Moody, CG, of Sun City, Florida.

Gehring is a popular technology writer and lecturer and is employed with the Family & Church History Department of the LDS Church. Jake graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in genealogy/family history and is former editor of Genealogical Computing.

Gehring, reflecting on his upcoming tenure, said "APG has grown over the last twenty-five years into an active and dynamic organization. I believe 2008 will be an outstanding year for us in terms of solidifying value for our membership. We are seeing significant growth in the number and activity of local chapters, improvement in our journal and mailing list as education vehicles, and continued development of the APG website, all of which translate into more assistance for each of us in our daily genealogical work."

APG members also elected three members of the board's executive committee and nine of its 19 regional directors to two-year terms as well as two members to one-year terms on the nominating committee.

Laura G. Prescott of Brookline, New Hampshire, a professional researcher, writer, and speaker, was elected vice president of the nearly 2,000-member organization. Gordon Gray of Colorado Springs, Colorado, owner of GrayLine Group, a genealogical/ family history research business, was elected treasurer. Current APG Secretary John Vincent Wylie of Grand Prairie, Texas, was re-elected. His articles have been published in numerous genealogical publications including NGSQ and Genealogical Computing.

Nine regional director positions will be filled by: Suzanne Russo Adams, AG, of Utah and Karen Wallace Steely, of Washington, Region 1 (Western U.S.); Timothy Pinnick, of Illinois, and Barbara Brixey Wylie, of Texas, Region 2 (Midwest); Carolyn Earle Billingsley, Ph.D, of Arkansas, and Thomas W. Jones, Ph.D, FASG, CG, CGL, of Virginia, from Region 3 (Southeast); Pamela Eagleson, CG, of Maine and Maureen A. Taylor, of Massachusetts, Region 4 (Northeast); and Cornelia Schrader Muggenthaler of Italy was returned to office in International Region B.

Janet Irwin, MLS, of Oregon, and Paula Stuart-Warren, CG, of Minnesota, were elected to one-year terms on the nominations committee.

The Association of Professional Genealogists (http://www.apgen.org/), established in 1979, represents professional genealogists and people in related professions who do professional-quality work for hire or for themselves.

Artifacts from Vardy, Hancock County, Tennessee

By Katherine Vande Brake, Professor of English and Technical Communication, King College, Bristol, Tennessee. From the Digital Library of Appalachia web site; accessed 12 November 2007.

This site contains information about the home county of Melungeons: history, stories, and photographs.

Author Bliss Broyard explores the color line

"Her father's hidden past: A color line obscured Bliss Broyard's heritage"
The Boston Globe , by By David Mehegan, Globe Staff, November 6, 2007

Excerpt (click on link for full article):
Now Bliss Broyard, 41, after years of research and personal exploration, has told the story from the family perspective in "One Drop: My Father's Hidden Life - A Story of Race and Family Secrets." While the book is "about" Anatole Broyard, his family's history, and the cultural and racial history of south Louisiana, its main subject is the emotional landscape around the color line, which Bliss Broyard never expected to explore.