Christmas Genealogy Tour Professionals
The Salt Lake Christmas Tour has been highly successful for 23 years because we have the highest ratio of professional researchers to attendees of any research tour using the Family History Library. You've always got the help you need to overcome your difficult research problems!
Leland Meitzler: Tour Director and Managing Editor of The Genealogical Helper
With a nearly lifelong interest in genealogy, Leland graduated from the National Institute on Genealogical Research in 1982 and began publishing local histories soon thereafter. Upon graduation, he received the Social Sciences Division Award from GRCC in Auburn, WA in 1984. Leland and his brother, Steve founded Heritage Quest in 1985. He has given over 2,000 lectures on genealogical subjects to national, state and local genealogical groups. Leland was the Co-chairman of Exhibits for the Portland National Genealogical Society Conference. In 1997 he was given an Angel Award for his contributions to the annual Gen Tech Seminars.
He also received the Presidential citation Award from the Utah Genealogical Association in 2006. After failing to turn Heritage Quest Magazine finances around in 2006, Leland shut down the magazine and joined Everton Publishers as the Managing Editor of The Genealogical Helper.
Leland and his wife Patty have conducted Salt Lake City genealogy research tours since 1985.
Donna Potter Phillips is the "Mother Hen" of the Tour during your stay in Salt Lake City
Donna makes sure that tour attendees have a successful week. She answers questions and knows just where to point folks that need help. You may also see her in the Library trying to work on her family "lines" when she gets some free time. She teaches genealogy classes for Eastern Washington Genealogical Society and the local community college. She wrote a heritage hunting column for the Spokane newspaper for many years, and writes columns and articles for The Genealogical Helper as well as Family Chronicle. Donna is an active member of EWGS, and has membership in many other genealogical organizations. She has assisted in leading the Salt Lake Christmas Tour since 1986.
Linda Brinkerhoff: Specializes in American research and assists Arlene Eakle
Linda has been personally trained by her mother, Dr. Arlene Eakle, and has worked side by side with her for over ten years. Linda is a professional researcher, consultant, lecturer, and the Publications Director at The Genealogical Institute. Linda is Associate Editor of Family Records Today for AFRA. She is a consultant for tour groups at the Family History Library. She is the author of Vital Records Computer Databases and co-author of Family History for Fun and Profit: the Research Process. She is co-editor of several books including Researching Your Roots in New York (4 vols.), Native American Ancestors, and Huguenot Research Sources. She is currently working towards certification. Linda has traveled extensively doing on-site research in New York, Massachusetts, Virginia, California, and Pennsylvania for The Genealogical Institute's clients and has addressed over 75 seminars.
Arlene Eakle , Ph.D.: Specializes in Great Britain and American research
Dr. Eakle was a co-editor of the 1st edition of The Source, is president and founder of The Genealogical Institute and Family World. She is a professional genealogist with over 35 years of experience, including on-site research at many state archives as well as university and college libraries, county courthouses and public libraries. Arlene has done research in England, Germany, and Canada. She has a 96% success rate. Dr. Eakle shares research tips and shortcuts with clients through consultations. She has addressed more than 300 workshops and seminars in the U.S., Canada and Europe helping seminar attendees solve their genealogical problems. She is author of more than 90 books and newsletters.
Loni Gardner: Specializes in American Research
Loni Gardner is a professional genealogist who knows there's more to genealogy than names, dates and places. She enjoys creating fun ways to share family information through games, puzzles, etc. She is a co-founder of Medical Pedigree Research Services which traces ascending and descending pedigrees for medical research and owner of Gardner Genealogical Services. Loni has compiled the Census Birth Year Chart, mindmaps and other forms to help with organization and research.
Kevan Hansen: Specializes in Germanic Research
Kevan is the author of 10 volumes of the Map Guide to German Parish Registers. He has been addicted to family history research since he was a teenager. After attending college for several years with an emphasis on being an accountant, he decided he would die young from boredom if he pursued his studies and instead began genealogical research full time. Kevan specializes in German research and lived in Germany for a few years. He has worked in many different aspects of genealogy, including tracing ancestry for genetics for the University of Utah, and has written several articles for Ancestry magazine. He is a former president of the Salt Lake Chapter of the Association of Professional Genealogists and is the author of Ancestry's Finding Your German Ancestors: A Beginner's Guide.
Wade Hone: Specializes in Hungary, Slovenia, Northern Croatia, Scandinavia and American research
E. Wade Hone is a research specialist at ProGenealogists in Salt Lake City. He is devoted to European and foreign language research, and the promotion of European history, geography, and cultural tolerance among high school and college students, in addition to other academic objectives. He recently concluded a thirteen-year tenure as senior partner of Heritage Consulting and Services in Salt Lake City, and has been professionally involved in history and genealogy since 1984. His educational background is in world history and linguistics. He is a national speaker and the author of Land and Property Research in the United States and has also produced numerous multimedia presentations on a variety of genealogical subjects. He lives in the Salt Lake valley and spends portions of most years in the former Austro-Hungary regions doing research, inventory and preservation work to compliment that which can be done from the Family History Library in Salt Lake Ci
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George Ott: Specializes in United States (especially mid-Atlantic States) and Italian research
George has been part of the professional genealogy scene in Salt Lake City for twenty five years. He started as a researcher for Genealogy Services, Inc. in May of 1975 and was the Director of Genealogical Research Foundation from 1977 to 1979. George was on the founding board of the Association of Professional Genealogists in 1979. During the 1980s, George was Director of Research for the Dickerson-Winn Foundation. During the past twelve years, he has lectured on various topics in Pasadena, San Francisco, Spokane and Tacoma and at various functions for the Utah Genealogical Association. In June of 1998, he completed a very successful research trip to Italy. George has a B.S. from Colorado State University.
Joy Price: Specializes in American research
Joy has been fascinated with family history since childhood. She began enrolling in genealogy classes in 1965 and has been an instructor since 1985. Joy became a professional researcher in 1989. Joy is the owner of Joys of Family Research. She is the past-president and founder of the Snake River Family History Connection, Chapter of UGA. She is a board member of the Utah Genealogical Association, Executive Secretary of ICAPGen (Accredited Genealogists), as well as consultant and instructor for Salt Lake Christmas Tours. Joy has an extensive research background and has published several family history books. She is accredited in Eastern states research.
Dwight Radford: Specializes in Ireland, Scotch-Irish and American research
Dwight Radford is a native of Ooltewah, Tennessee. He resides in Salt Lake City, Utah, where he has been doing genealogy professionally since 1986. He can be contacted at radfordut@att.net. Dwight specializes in Irish and Irish immigrant research and travels to the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland yearly to conduct on-site research, as well as to locate ancestral home sites for his clients. Dwight was co-editor of the journal, The Irish At Home & Abroad (1993-1999), and he co-authored A Genealogist's Guide to Discovering Your Irish Ancestors (Cincinnati, Ohio: Betterway Books, 2001).
Afton Reintjes: Specializes in Southern U.S. research
Afton is the Seminar Director for The Genealogical Institute. She has been with the institute for more than ten years. Afton worked as a professional genealogist and has done research for over 25 years. She is also a research consultant, taking clients through the research steps at the Family History Library. She is the author of several books including Tennessee Research, Scotch-Irish Sources of Research, and How to Research a "Little Bit of Indian."
Trudy Schenk: Specializes in Germanic research problems and translation
Trudy Schenk is the leading author and research scholar on Germanic immigration to the U.S. Deciphering the old German handwriting is her specialty as well as finding places of origin in Germany. She was born and educated in Germany and immigrated to America in 1958. Trudy became an Accredited Genealogist (German language specialty) with the Family History Library in 1978. She is the co-author of the Wuerttemberg Emigration Index. She has expanded her emigration research to include Saxony-Meiningen, Baden, and other areas of Germany with 35,000 names on a database at home. Trudy has spoken at many Germanic genealogical seminars and conferences throughout the United States.
Bill Balter
Bill is not a professional genealogist, and considers himself to be a family researcher only. He began attending the Christmas Tour in 1992 fully expecting to find nothing he didn't already know. To his amazement and with the help of an attendee, he discovered a new branch of the family! Because of the friendliness of the staff and attendees on the Tour, he came back as an attendee in 1994, 1996 and from 2000 on, to assist more than do research.
Bill's areas of interest are digital photography & family photos. He currently has over 3,600 family photos from 1906 to the present scanned and cataloged in his laptop. He began teaching classes on scanning in 2001. Since then he has taught classes on scanning, passenger list research and conducted an evening tour taking photos of the Christmas lights in Temple Square. Bill brings his digital camera, scanner and laptop to Salt Lake City and encourages anyone who may be interested in scanning to bring some challenging photos to see how they can be converted to graphics. During the week you will see him at the Library taking photos that he turns into a CD of the Tour highlights.
Bill will be at the airport, on the fly-in Sunday, greeting attendees again this year.
Dee Cattaneo
Dee Cattaneo is in charge of our delightful breakfast hour that we enjoy each morning. Dee is a professional genealogists often found working on client projects in the Family History Library. Dee and her husband, Dick, make our tour shirts for us each year. They also screen and market a variety of genealogy-shirts for infants, children and adults.
To find more ancestors this December, Click Here.
If you're not sure about joining us this year, check out the benefits of a Salt Lake Christmas Tour!
