“Genealogy on the Internet: How to Turn a Name into a Treasure Trove of Family History”

Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Orlando Proudly Presents

Featured Speaker Elise Friedman

ORLANDO, FL, December 8, 2011 — The Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Orlando (JGSGO) proudly presents featured Speaker of the Month, Elise Friedman. The topic she will present is "Genealogy on the Internet: How to Turn a Name into a Treasure Trove of Family History".

The internet is a rich source of information for tracing your family history.  From only a single name, you can quickly gather a treasure trove of genealogical documents -- vital records, census records, military records, immigration and naturalization records and much more!  Join us to learn about the many internet resources that are available for researching and building your family tree, and watch as we discover the extended family of Harry Friedman by using those resources.

Elise Friedman is a professional genealogist, specializing in Jewish genealogy, genetic genealogy, and technology. She is an experienced lecturer. She has researched her own family history for more than 10 years, and has roots in Belarus, Russia, Poland and Ukraine (formerly Galicia). Ms. Friedman volunteers as JewishGen’s DNA Projects Coordinator, manages several DNA studies through Family Tree DNA, and co-authored a genetic genealogy case study that was published in the AVOTAYNU and FORUM genealogy journals. Ms. Friedman is a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists, Genealogical Speakers Guild, International Society of Genetic Genealogy and Jewish Genealogical Society of Palm Beach County. She holds a B.S. in Computer Engineering from The Pennsylvania State University, and is a former Information Technology professional.

Keeping with Ms. Friedman’s “treasure trove” theme, we will be offering a treasure trove of door prizes from your favorite genealogy vendors. New members who join at the meeting will also be eligible to enter into a drawing for a very special door prize valued at $100.

This will be the JGSGO’s first meeting at the Southwest Orlando Jewish Congregation. New location, new time, great program, great mavens, and great prizes! If you ever thought about starting on your family history research journey or really making the most of internet-based research, this is the meeting for you. Don’t miss out!

DATE: Sunday, December 18, 2011

TIME: 1:00 P.M. – 3:00 P.M.

LOCATION: Southwest Orlando Jewish Congregation, Social Hall, 11200 South Apopka Vineland Road, Orlando, FL 32836

FREE: Open to the public

JGSGO & SOJC Partner in Pilot Program

Bringing Jewish Genealogy Education to the Southwest Orlando Community

ORLANDO, FL, November 29, 2011 — The Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Orlando (JGSGO) and the Southwest Orlando Jewish Congregation (SOJC) have partnered to launch a Jewish Genealogy Pilot Program. Beginning in December, the SOJC will host several JGSGO monthly programs.

For 20 years, the JGSGO held its monthly programs exclusively in north Orlando. During the Pilot Program, meetings will be held at the SOJC in rotation with the Congregation of Reform Judaism (CRJ). “As the greater Orlando area continues to grow, it becomes increasingly difficult to make our programs accessible to the community at large. Through our partnership with the SOJC, we can now bring Jewish genealogy education to the southwest Orlando community. We also will be varying our meeting times to be accessible by those who prefer evening to daytime and weekend to weekday meetings,” remarked JGSGO President, Jerry Kurland.

The JGSGO’s events and programs provide the latest information on how to research your Jewish ancestry. Programs are offered for those who are beginners as well as experienced in genealogical research. The meetings provide an interactive venue where those just starting their search can interact with and be mentored by more experienced Jewish genealogy mavens.

While there is an ever growing abundance of genealogy data on the internet, the programs offered by the JGSGO help you to know how to use both on-line and off-line resources more effectively and efficiently – including those resources specific to tracing Jewish ancestry. All meetings are open to the public. JGSGO members can additionally access data and archives on the JGSGO private blog.

“We are enthusiastic to partner with the JGSGO in this Pilot Program as their mission fits well with the SOJC core values of education and family. We are excited to host the upcoming JGSGO December 18^th annual meeting,” remarked SOJC President, Michele Fischer. “We promise a great program to quick start your Jewish genealogy pursuit. We will also have many fantastic door prizes. This will be a meeting you cannot afford to miss,” added Marlis Humphrey, JGSGO Vice President of Programs and Publicity.

About the Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Orlando

The Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Orlando (JGSGO) is a not for profit organization dedicated to sharing genealogical information, techniques and research tools with anyone interested in Jewish genealogy and family history. For more information, visit our blog at www.jgsgo.blogspot.com .

About the Southwest Orlando Jewish Congregation

Founded in 1982 and renamed in 1994, SOJC’s mission is to be a vibrant Southwest Orlando community for Jewish spiritual enrichment, values, education and social enjoyment. Since our very beginning, SOJC’s core values have remained rock steady as we proudly proclaim we are a conservative, egalitarian, family-oriented, inclusive and welcoming community. For more information, visit our website at www.sojc.org . 

"How Do We Share and Preserve Memories in a Digital Era" Webinar

Daniel Horowitz, IAJGS Director-at-Large and Webmaster, will present a webinar, from Israel, on sharing and preserving memories in a digital era. The webinar will be held this Sunday, November 20, 2011, 12:30 PM - 1:45 PM EST.

Learn the different options you have and the best way to digitally collect, store, preserve, publish and share your research and material gathered over so many years, to let young generations enjoy, contribute and continue your work.

Today you have a lot of options to store and share all your research material, no matter if we are talking about text, images, videos, documents or sound. Starting from the capture tools (audio recorders, cameras, cellular and scanners); to sharing physical products (CD’s, DVD’s, portable disc, electronic photo frames) or the Internet itself. Internet is the perfect place to share and preserve all your memories. You have the option to publish your material from a completely private to a completely public way, and all the levels in between. You can ask for collaboration or simply display the information, people can only see or download a copy of your material; you can control every aspect. There are all kind of easy-to-use tools and resources that facilitate us the work of setting up websites, blogs, wikis or any other way you decide to publish the information.

The webinar is free. Register in advance at: https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/657787406 .