| THE GENEALOGICAL FORUM’s Thursday Evening E-News Edition November 21, 2019 |
| Curious about the status of your GFO Membership? We’d love to have you as a GFO Member! |
| gfo.org | 503-963-1932 | info@gfo.org Be sure to check the complete GFO CALENDAR. Also, don’t miss the current issue of The Forum Insider |
| Not many readers responded to our Survey last week asking about participation in our upcoming Giving Tuesday – which has us a little concerned. Of those that did, there was good mix of all day, morning, and afternoon participants. We need your help! Remember, volunteering for Giving Tuesday will entitle you to a free GFO pass which you can use later or pass on to someone else. And there will be food! For GFO, GivingTuesday isn’t about fundraising. It’s about banding together for a volunteer blitz to accomplish one large task. What if all GFO’s members came together on just one day to give back by lending their time and talent? |
| Please save the date: December 3rd and come to the GFO all or part of the day to help. GFO will provide pastries, fruit, and coffee in the morning, pizza and pop in the afternoon. You provide the people power. Please give some time. |
| GFO Star: Kelly Thornburg |
| Our GFO Star for December is Kelly Thornburg. When the GFO needed volunteers for its for its annual financial review, Kelly offered to help. She has decades of accounting experience and happens to be the mother of our incoming treasurer Erin Randall. While not a GFO member, we welcomed a set of “outside expert” eyes. She lives in Pendleton, and drove over three hours – twice! – to help pore over long columns of numbers and match up receipts in working sessions of the Financial Review Committee. A million thanks, Kelly! |
| SPECIAL OFFER! If you give a GFO membership as a gift, we’ll give you two extra months on your current membership! If you give two gifts, you’ll get four extra months. Give the meaningful gift of family history this holiday season with a membership to the GFO. It’s so easy. Visit our gift page for information. |
| All memberships will begin January 1, 2020. Orders must be received by the GFO by December 10 to be fulfilled by Christmas. |
| All communications are done via email, and you must be able to download and print the class notes. Bring a sack lunch, snacks, and a beverage so you can keep going as the class does. GFO members may attend for free, non-members $20. |
| You’re Invited to a Grand Opening! |
| The Clark County Genealogical Society has moved. Come celebrate their grand opening at their new research library on December 7, at 5 p.m. Address: 3205 NE 52nd St., Vancouver, WA 98663 Please RSVP to ccgslibrarian@outlook.com. |
| If you work at Intel – or at any company that offers matching funds to charitable organizations – you have the chance to double your donations to the GFO! |
| If you’re unsure if your company provides matching funds to the GFO, inquire with your HR department. |
| What may qualify for matching: ▪ General monetary donations to the GFO ▪ Membership dues ▪ Volunteer hours (Intel matches hours at $10/hour) For Intel, the following people are eligible to request matching donations: ▪ Active U.S. blue badge employees ▪ Spouses of Active U.S. blue badge employees ▪ U.S. Intel Retirees *Tip: For Intel Donors who want to reduce the amount of fees taken out of your matching donation, you can make a payment directly to the GFO and then submit a match request through Intel’s Benevity Portal. If you make a payment to GFO via PayPal or credit card directly through Benevity, they will take out management fees of up to 3%. Your company may offer a similar payment alternative. |
| This week we have a surplus book that’s just plain fun. The Forecast Atlas of the World prepared by the Kiplinger Washington Editors, who, in 1964, took a stab at forecasting the future. This 300-page, hardcover book is chock full of full-color spreads on topics ranging from space technology to population growth to climate. |
| But it’s not just future casting. It also holds reams of factual statistics on all 50 United States. This
snapshot in time can be yours. It’s in very good condition with no
marks inside, but with some wear on the edges of the cover. Pick-it-up price: $10 Mail-it-to-you price: $15 Please email booksales@gfo.org if you’re interested. |
| New Survey: Thanksgiving Traditions Thanksgiving is right around the corner. We’d like to know if you have family traditions or recipes you’ll be including this year. |
| Saturday, November 23rd DNA Beginners 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. will have two guest speakers, Phyllis Coyne and Sheryita Mason-Cruise. Besides their presentations, Emily Aulicino will speak on two short topics: Quick Tips for Finding Common Ancestors in AncestryDNA and atDNA Tools: CAUTION . Download handouts here. Burgeoning Connections and Surprises through DNA Matches. Speaker Phyllis Coyne will share her journey as a beginner using DNA match results to expand her family tree. She has experienced the exhilaration of finding previously unknown connections, long lost cousins, and family secrets with the supportive genealogical comradery of newly discovered relatives. Finding Ancestors And Connecting Living Family With DNA Testing. Our second speaker, Sherylita Mason-Cruise, will share some examples of how she located birth family for her family members as well as finding biological family for her friends. She has united testers with their siblings, and confirmed connections to prove their parents. Every path to breaking a brick walls is different, and the more ideas you get from those who are successful, the better chance you have in eliminating your dead-ends. You are welcome to send your questions before the meeting. Email: dna@gfo.org Sunday, November 24th Library Work Party 9:00 a.m. – Noon There’s another work party at the GFO library today! We’re getting ready for GivingTuesday. There’s lots to do and we’d love to have your help. Doors open at 9 and work usually wraps up around noon. Some people come for just an hour or so; others work the full time. You are welcome to do either. Any time you can share is valuable. Hope to see you there. Wednesday, November 27th GFO Library Closes at 1:00 p.m. Thursday, November 28th GFO Library Closed for Thanksgiving. |