TGP 15 Rebecca Whitman Koford – Maryland Research
Featured Guest
Rebecca Whitman Koford, CG
Rebecca Whitman Koford, CG is a professional genealogist in American research with special emphasis in Maryland. She has been interested in genealogy ever since the age of five, when she could read her parents’ collection of old handwritten family group sheets.
Rebecca has been taking clients and lecturing since 2004. She has spoken for the Maryland State Archives, Banneker-Douglas Museum in Annapolis, Maryland, Kensington Family History Conferences, Baltimore Family History Workshops, the York Family History Conference in Pennsylvania, The Reginald F. Lewis Museum in Baltimore, and for groups in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware. Rebecca is a member of DAR, NGS, MDHS, NYG&B, and former Assistant Director of the Columbia Family History Center, and is a Certified Genealogist.
She was the Treasurer for the National Capital Area Chapter of the Association of Professional Genealogists and taught Beginning and Advanced Genealogy courses for Howard Community College until her move in 2010. She now volunteers at the Family History Center in Frederick. She was coordinator for the 4th and 14th ProGen (peer-led group study of Mills’ book Professional Genealogy) and 16th GenProof (peer-led group study of Jones’ book Mastering Genealogical Proof) online study groups and is currently enthusiastic about the Preserve the Pensions: War of 1812 project sponsored by FGS. Rebecca is head genealogist for ReelTributes, a genealogical documentary company, and she invites you to view her monthly blog articles at www.reeltributes.com. She lives in Mt. Airy, Maryland, with three active teenagers and a very patient husband.
Contact Links
Rebecca’s APG Profile
Rebecca – Google+ page
APG National Capital Area Chapter
One Action Genealogists Can Take Right Now
“Find people who are in a genealogy career. Go and join your local APG group. “
Recommended Book
The Researcher’s Guide to American Genealogy by Val D. Greenwood
Productivity Tool
The templates Rebecca uses (created in MS Word) to keep herself organized
Advice
“Enjoy the journey.”
Action Item
This week let’s focus on your most fun project! Is there is a project than stands out more than others? Perhaps a client that was great to work with or a project that was really fun?
ACTION: The first step in your action item this week is to identify one or two projects that standout for you, either as the most fun, the most challenging or for some other positive reason. Make a list of those projects. It can be a client project, one that you’ve done for yourself or for family or friends.
Next contact the person you did the project for whether that is a client, family or friend, and ask them for permission to use the information about the project in an article or lecture so that you can teach others. Yes, even if it was for family or friends you need to contact them and ask for permission. Get the permission in writing. If anyone has privacy concerns let them know that you will not include their personal information in your finished product.
We’re not going to take the next step yet of turning the project information into usable content to be shared. For this week, simply select the projects and ask for permission. Asking for written permission is the most important part. In a future episode we will discuss what to do with the project so that you can transform it and share it.
Direct Link to this post: http://www.TheGenealogyProfessional.com/rebecca-koford