MONTHLY MEMBERSHIP MEETINGS
Membership meetings are held the second Monday of each month between September and May.
They begin at
1:30 and end at about 3:00 pm.
The meeting place is the First Presbyterian Church located at 12225 N. 103rd Ave., Sun City, AZ.
The meetings are open to the public as well as members.
| MEETING | SPEAKER | TOPIC |
Sep 9, 2013 |
Duane Roen  Duane Roen is Professor of English at Arizona State University, where he serves as Assistant Vice Provost for University Academic Success, as well as Head of Interdisciplinary and Liberal Studies in the School of Letters and Sciences. He is the coordinator of the Project for Writing and Recording Family History (https://sls.asu.edu/ihc/family-history). He has published nine books, and he has authored more than 250 articles, chapters, and conference presentations. |
Duane has compiled a database with more than 32,000 family members. |
October 14, 2013 |
Dr. Eduardo Pagan  Eduardo Pagán, began his college career at Mesa Community College. His many degress include an M.A. from the University of Arizona, and an M.A. and Ph.D. from Princeton University. Dr. Pagán is currently a co-host of History Detectives on PBS. He has served as a panelist for the Department of Education, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Arizona Humanities Council. |
"Hispanic Research in the Southwest" At ASU's West campus, Dr. Pagán teaches classes including "Constitutional History of the U.S.," "The Hispanic Southwest," "American Indians," and "Historical Methods." |
November 11, 2013 |
Suzanne Brayer  Suzanne attended Indiana University and received her BS and MA degrees from Arizona State University. A member of West Valley Genealogical Society, Suzanne has also held offices in the Family History Society of Arizona where she is the current president and where she also volunteers and gives talks. Suzanne has been active in the genealogy field for more than 25 years. |
Suzanne will talk about the Wills and Probates process and the mother lode of clues left to aid our trek along the ancestral trail. Decedent's date of death, names of spouse and children, in-laws, places of residence, land ownership, religion, and military service are just a few of the juicy tidbits these records can reveal. |
December 9, 2013 |
Holiday Traditions in Other Lands |
Various members of our society will be giving three to four minute talks about how the holidays are celebrated in other lands. |
| PRIOR MEETINGS/SPEAKERS | ||
| MEETING | SPEAKER | TOPIC |
September 10, 2012 |
Betty Cook
Betty was born and educated in Southwestern Wisconsin; she has been
researching fourteen family lines for the past thirty years. She teaches
and lectures on several genealogical topics. She is past President of several genealogy organizations and is currently
the President of the Arizona Genealogical Advisory Board. |
Vital Records Alternatives |
October 8, 2012 |
Don Shields
 Shields grew up in Hoopeston, Illinois, a rural community much like that in which Governor Hunt was raised in Missouri. He graduated from Eureka College with a degree in Theatre and went on to successful careers in teaching, coaching, and broadcasting.
|
"Reenactment of Governor Hunt” |
November 12, 2012 |
AAUW Suffragists
 Presented by the Northwest Valley Branch of the
American Association of University Women (AAUW) |
First person accounts of 5 women who where instrumental in pursuing the right to vote. |
December 10, 2012 |
Goffrey D. Rasmussen .jpg) Mr. Rasmussen is a Brigham Young University graduate with a degree in Genealogy and Family History, former Director and Vice President of the Utah Genealogical Assocation, developer of the Legacy Family Tree software program and host of the Legacy Family Tree webninar series, and recently in receipt of the Distinguished Presenter Award at the Salt Lake City RootsTech conference.
|
Cemeteries Go Digital |
January 14, 2013 |
Jean White  Jean is a life member, past president and one of our teachers |
Have you found that you can't access vital records or there are no vital records for the time period your ancestors lived? Do you wonder what your ancestor's did for entertainment? You'll find this information and more in the local newspaper. |
February 11, 2013 |
Bruce Nelson  Mr. Nelson grew up in Mesa, is an artist and performer throughout the theater & film industry in AZ. Mr. Nelson is part of the Arizona Legacy Project.
|
Mr. Nelson will enlighten us with stories of growing up in the Washington Park neighborhood of Mesa. |
March 11, 2013 |
Dr. John Kohl (AKA Jacob Cumley)  Dr. Kohl retird as Dean and Professor Emeritus at Montana State University. Dr. Kohl is active with the Sons of Union Veterans-Picachio Peak Camp, the Sun Cities Civil War Round Table, the Scottsdale Civil War Round Table, and other organizations.
Click here here for handout |
Dressed as a Civil War soldier, Dr. Kohl will be Private/Hospital Stewart Jacob Cumley as he continues the story of the remainder of the war from the viewpoint of the ordinary soldier. |
May 13, 2013 |
Chuck Filteau  Chuck Filteau is a self-taught family historian whose research has produced 11,000 direct descendants of Pierre Filtreau and 90,000 people who are the inlaws of the Filteau (and other spelling variations) families in the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and France. Chuck works with the WVGS Computer Equipment Committee and also teaches classes at WVGS. Click here for Meeting Handout. |
Discover the variety of records and material that are available for Canadian research! |
April 8, 2013 |
Daniela Moneta  Daniela is the Genealogy Head of the McClelland Irish Library in Phoenix. She has a Master of Library Information Studies from the University of California, and holds Certified Genealogist and CG Lecturer designations.
Click here for Meeting Handout. |
Daniela will present a review of the Library content and the various collections, including a photo tour of the premises, and description of the Library's activities. Learn what resources are available to do genealogical research on your Irish ancestors. |