Your Society needs you

Re-posted from the OGS eWeekly Update 25 Jan 2014

Calling all OGS members who want to see the Society's future stretch ahead as far as the past lay behind, The OGS Nominations Committee is calling for applicants and nominations for

President: to serve for two years (2014 – 2016)

The President is responsible for the general management and supervision of affairs and operations of The Society (see Bylaws article 5). Please note that all Board positions are unpaid volunteer positions with expenses being reimbursed as per Society Policies.

The position of President is open to all members of The Society who are: individual, family, life, honorary or student members aged 18 and older. To be considered for the position of President, a member must show that he or she has relevant experience and a vision for The Society. Experience can be gained from paid employment, self-employment or from volunteer activities.

As per the Not-for-Profit Corporations Act, 2010 - Part IV: Directors and Officers, elections will occur at The Ontario Genealogical Society's Annual Meeting on Saturday, May 3, 2014, during the Society's Annual Conference.

For more information about this and other positions seeking applicants as well as instructions on applying for any of these positions, please log in to the OGS Members Only Area or contact Provincial Office 416-489-0734. 

Heritage Day

Having Fun with Heritage by Celebrating Historic Places Made for Play! 

Ottawa Heritage Day and Heritage Showcase 2014Tuesday, February 18 from 11:30 AM to 2:00 PM
Jean Pigott Hall, Ottawa City Hall, 110 Laurier Avenue West

Heritage Day is a nationwide celebration encouraging all Canadians to explore their local heritage, to get involved with stewardship and advocacy groups, and to visit museums, archives and places of architectural significance.
Members of the public will mingle with heritage exhibitors and costumed characters, enjoy live music, and learn about services, public programs and special initiatives offered by Ottawa’s heritage organizations and communities.

Serving Your Society

I recently did a study of all the Branches in the Ontario Genealogical Society and found that we had about 75% of the volunteers need to run the organization. That means that those few who are willing to give up their time, had to do more than they should have. It also means that many had to stay on far longer than expected to serve the rest of the members.

The alternative would be to let our organizations fold and leave the hobby to the large commercial outfits like Ancestry and Find My Past. Those of us with experience in the hobby know that many of the commercial organizations barely touch the surface of genealogy and are interested in little that does not contribute to their profits. If you believe that I am just preaching doom, check out where Haldimand Branch of OGS is today...Gone. And they are not the only one on death's door, in OGS and outside.

What can you do? The Call for Nominations is out for both Ottawa Branch and the Ontario Genealogical Society. Consider taking on a task. Even if you don't have all the necessary skills, it's an opportunity to learn. And all the studies say that we live longer if we keep our brains active.

For more information about  positions at the Provincial level as well as instructions on applying for any of these positions, please log in to the OGS Members Only Area or contact Provincial Office 416-489-0734.

In Ottawa Branch, we need to fill the vacancies at Vice Chair and Secretary. We also need to find replacements in many of the other positions such as Newsletter Editor, Gene-O-Rama Chair and lead of the Irish Research Group. New positions that need to be filled include Publicity and Social Media. If you are interested an any of these tasks, contact Mike More at pastchair@ogsottawa.on.ca 

Branch meeting - January 25

This month we have not one but TWO excellent speakers. First we will have Matthew Moxley from the Mississippi Valley Textile Museum who will be showing us how to use the free online database of digitized Almonte Gazettes.

Next we will also have Kyla Ubbink, OGS Ottawa board member and conservator extraordinaire, who will be showing us how to use a free software called RetroReveal to uncover hidden text, see faded inks and photographs, and discover what may lie beneath.

When: Sat, January 25, 1pm – 3pm
Where: City of Ottawa Archives, Room 115 (map)
Schedule:
1:00-1:30: Networking - tea, coffee, cookies
1:30-2:15: "Using the Almonte Gazette online database" (Matthew Moxley)
2:15-3:00: "RetroReveal for Genealogists, a Digital Forensics Tool" (Kyla Ubbink)


More details are on our website: http://ogsottawa.on.ca/.

This meeting will be webcast for those who can’t attend in person at: http://genealogicalstudies.adobeconnect.com/ottawaogs/

See you there!

90 schools now in Toronto war memorials database

Volunteers with the Toronto Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society have added about 3,000 new names since the fall of 2013 to For King and Country – the growing online Branch database of school memorials commemorating Toronto students and staff who volunteered for active service in the two World Wars and other military conflicts. This searchable collection now contains 90 schools and more than 35,000 names, with transcriptions and photographs of school war memorials, along with historical background and links to other useful school and community websites. The newest schools in the database are Oakridge Public School and Danforth Technical School. Danforth Tech holds the distinction of being the alma mater of a staggering 2,235 volunteers—students, graduates, teachers and other staff—more than any other school in the British Commonwealth—and it maintains an impressive archive of records, housed in its War Memorial Library. Explore For King and Country now at www.torontofamilyhistory.org/kingandcountry/, and contact co-ordinator Martha Jackson at kingandcountry@torontofamilyhistory.org if you would like to get involved with this project.

Gwyneth Pearce

Secretary – Toronto Branch, Ontario Genealogical Society

publicity@torontofamilyhistory.org

Now on Facebook and Twitter @TOFamilyHistory

Gene-O-Rama 2014

Ottawa Branch Ontario Genealogical Society

Presents the 30th

GENE-O-RAMA

March 21-22, 2014

Confederation Education Centre
1645 Woodroffe Avenue, Ottawa
(corner of Hunt Club and Woodroffe)

Speakers, Marketplace, Computer Room
Featured speaker: Jane E. MacNamara
(www.dundurn.com/authors/jane_e_macnamara)

For the latest details as they become available: ogsottawa.on.ca/geneorama/ 

For more information e-mail: conference@ogsottawa.on.ca

Register On-Line at  ogsottawa.on.ca/Gene-O-Rama

Back up time!

Just a reminder to back up your genealogy data files and pictures. Also, remember to do this after you have had a busy day entering new information.