Annual Meeting Australian Jewish Genealogical Society 18 Mar 2012

On Sunday March 18th I had a great chance to speak at the Annual General  Meeting of The Australian Jewish Genealogical Society. Held at Shalom College on the campus of the University of New South Wales.

Solomon Family Reunion Melbourne, Australia March 10-12

Almost 193 years ago Samuel Moss Solomon became the first of his family to arrive in Australia. The middle of March of 2012, hundreds of descendants came together for the Great Solomon Reunion. Held in Melbourne, Australia this was a wonderful weekend for the Solomon family, and for all researchers, who had the opportunity to see what a great family can accomplish. thanks for letting me a part of it.

Rootstech 2012 Salt Lake City, Utah Feb 2-4

London, England 25 Oct- 6 Nov 2011

It was my great pleasure to fly to London, England for the annual conference of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Great Britain. This year instead of just being able to enjoy it, I was one of the presenters. It was so wonderful to be able to reunite with so many good friends and also make many new ones. My thanks to everyone for their friendship.
I do always enjoy my time in London, I just never no what to wear. I hope my outfit below didn't stand out to much. London, is such an incredible city, and home to one of my favorite places in the world. The picture below is of Hyde Park. It is such a tranquil, peaceful place, away from the busy city.

Los Angeles, California 16 Oct 2011

On Sunday morning I flew out of Salt lake City for a great day in southern California. I spoke twice at the Assisted Research Day of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Los Angeles, which was held in the Los Angeles Family History Library. I was able to talk about how to get the most out of using Familysearch.org and the Knowles Collection. It was a nice visit and its always enjoyable making new friends. Thank you to everyone at the society for all you did to make it so nice.

Washington D.C. 12 -19 Aug 2011

The 2011 IAJGS conference is being held in Washington D.C. It is an absolutely incredible place for a conference. What is even better is this is my first ever visit to our nations capital. Being in this city with its rich history and having a thousand or so people learning how to best research their Jewish ancestors seems like a perfect match.

At this years conference I am working with John Kitzmiller as we try to teach the attendees how best to use http://www.familysearch.org/ so that it will become a valuable tool in their search.

The vendor area has been closed at about 5 PM, which has allowed for me to visit a couple of the historical sites. Seeing the Washington Monument for the first time is an experience that I don't think can be described with words. I found myself thinking of all those who risked so much that we may all have the freedoms we enjoy today. While in Washington, I couldn't wait to visit the World War II memorial.

During the war, my father's brother lost his life when he was killed in action while serving in the Navy. It was a very touching moment to find his name in the records of those lost. Even though his body was never recovered, its nice to know he will never be forgotten. He will never have the same resting place as those heros buried at Arlington National Cemetery, but he is still a great hero and an example of paying the ultimate price for his country.

May those who live in the White House always remember those who served and died.