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Our Annual Membership Meeting will be held Saturday, January 13, 10 AM – 1 PM at the California Genealogical Society Library, 2201 Broadway, lower level, in Oakland. The meeting will take place in person, with an option to join remotely by Zoom. A short business meeting will be followed by potluck meal, socializing, and the library Open House. Stay tuned for more details!

Members in attendance will be asked to approve the slate of nominees for Board of Directors for 2024, and a special motion described below. Nominations may also come from the floor at the Annual Meeting.

Nominated for the CGS Board of Directors:

Continuing in his first term: Keith R Montgomery

Proposed for a second term: Carly Morgan, Roger Prince, Cindy Kim Thomson, Evan Wilson

Continuing in their second term: Ron Madson, Adelle Treakle

Proposed for a third term: Grant Din

Continuing in their third term: Matt Berry, Jennifer Dix, James Sorenson

Proposed for a fourth term*: Chris Pattillo

*Proposed: A motion, for the year 2024 only: that a Board member who has completed 3 successive terms but is willing to stay on may be nominated to serve an extra one-year term.

To register or for more information, click the link for each event. All times are Pacific Time.

The Oakland FamilySearch Center.

Wednesday, Dec. 6, 11:00 am: “Tips & Talk” at the Oakland FamilySearch Center. This week: “FamilySearch Skills 7″ with Laurie Wolf. Limited to 14 hands-on students; registration via Eventbrite is encouraged. Topic: Merging Duplicates. Great care must be taken to make sure the right ancestors are being merged. This class will discuss how to determine if the two ancestor profiles are really the same person and then, if so, how to merge them and clean up the collaborative family tree.

The following Special Interest Groups are meeting this week:

Tuesday, Dec. 12, at 7 PM: Advanced DNA SIG. Mark McLaren leads this group where members can further develop their understanding of DNA techniques, review new developments in DNA testing and tools, and discuss members’ research problems and case studies.

Wednesday, Dec. 13, 6:30 PM: Members’ Roundtable. A forum for asking questions about one another’s genealogical research, to learn from others, share research successes, and enjoy a collegial group of individuals interested in learning together. Particularly for new and remote members, this is an opportunity to meet and feel part of the CGS community. Led by Lisa Gorrell and Jacqueline Henderson.

Friday, Dec. 15, 10:30 AM: Mayflower Descendants SIG. Led by Robert Trapp. Focus on Mayflower ancestry and how to join The Society of California Mayflower Descendants. Discussion of ongoing research.

Saturday, Dec. 16, 10 AM: San Francisco SIG. Sandra Huber leads this group for those interested in finding San Francisco ancestors, with discussion of where to look for records both pre and post the 1906 earthquake.

Library hours: Thursday and Friday 10 AM-2 PM and Saturday 10 AM-4 PM

Helpful Links
Events: https://www.californiaancestors.org/events-and-education/
Special Interest Groups: https://www.californiaancestors.org/special-interest-groups-for-members/
Calendar: Google calendar

Happy December!

To register or for more information, click the link for each event. All times are Pacific Time.

Wednesday, Dec. 6, 11:00 am: “Tips & Talk” at the Oakland FamilySearch Center. This week: “Orientation to Scanning Options at OFSC”—Hands on help from OFSC Volunteers. Discover what devices OFSC has to assist you in saving photos, recordings, videos, scrapbooks, and more. These memories can be uploaded to your FamilySearch family tree and Ancestry.com (among other websites and programs). They can be shared with your family and friends through emails and social media. They can be used to create books about your family. Stay and do some scanning or make an appointment to use the equipment on another day.

Saturday, Dec. 9, 10 AM. Monthly Board Meeting. Hybrid; in person and via Zoom. On the agenda: Officers’ reports, Focus 2025, Annual report, Nominations Committee report.

Library hours: Thursday and Friday 10 AM-2 PM and Saturday 10 AM-4 PM

Helpful Links
Events: https://www.californiaancestors.org/events-and-education/
Special Interest Groups: https://www.californiaancestors.org/special-interest-groups-for-members/
Calendar: Google calendar