SPEAKERS
We welcome our amazing group of presenters to the 22nd Annual Family History Fair in beautiful Tyler, Texas, when the roses are in full bloom, during Family History Month! This conference will be held at the W. T. Brookshire Conference Center, part of the Rose Complex, a state-of-the-art conference center, large enough to hold our growing conference! It will be held on SATURDAY, OCTOBER 12th, 9 am to 4 pm, FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. All of the classes are free except 4 Hands-on Workshops, $20 each.
Jim Thornhill
Keynote Speaker
After 15 years of family history research, Jim Thornhill embarked on a second career, applying his existing experience in research, critical thinking, writing and speaking to genealogy and started Heroes of the Past, a company that seeks to delight clients and tell them about the heroes of their pasts. Jim is a professional genealogist and the chief researcher for Heroes of the Past.
Thornhill is a graduate of the Gen Proof and Pro-Gen professional genealogy course, Texas and Advanced Southern Research (TIGR) as well as attending countless live classes and virtual presentations. He is Past President of the Dallas Genealogical Society, an author for Stirpes, the Journal of the Texas State Genealogical Society, and has spoken for the National Genealogical Society, the Texas State Genealogical Society, and many local societies in North Texas. Jim is a native Texan who has been living in the Dallas area his entire life and has roots in pre-civil war Texas and Mississippi.
Lynne Jackson
Special Guest Speaker
Lynne M. Jackson is a prominent public figure who has spent her life telling the story of her ancestors. She is the great-great-granddaughter of Dred and Harriet Scott. A story of courage, fear, and faith to claim one's right to freedom, by the law of the land, and by the conviction that all human beings have the dignity and right to stand up for their freedom. --Learn More About Dred & Harriet Scott--
Jackson is a remarkable woman, holding a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Marketing from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. She is also a graduate of Alleda Ward Wells Piano Studio of St. Louis. Serving on many boards, in leadership positions, and as a businesswoman, Jackson is well-rounded and experienced, using her platform to advocate for civil rights.
In honoring her ancestry and her great-great-grandparents, Jackson founded and became President of the Dred Scott Heritage Foundation whose 3 pillars are commemorating, educating, and reconciling. This nonprofit organization carries out their 3 pillars by educating others on the events surrounding Dred Scott and the movement of civil rights in the United States.
Todd Powell
Product Portfolio Director
Robert Kehrer
Senior Product Manager
Sarah Hammon
Senior Marketing Manager
Ryan Plumb
UX Design Manager
Patti Gillespie
Professional GenealogistPatti Todd Gillespie brings energy and humor to her classes. An avid hobby genealogist for 30 years, Patti formed Family Lines & Stories, her own research company, 6 years ago. She researches for clients and speaks to groups, small and large, in and out of Texas. A former teacher of French & English, Patti very much enjoys presenting. She assisted and presented at TIGR 2019 and is currently serving on the FGS 2020 program committee. In 2019 Patti spoke at RootsTech, served as past president of Lone Star APG, and continues as a founding member and 3rd term President of the Wise County Genealogical Society (WCGS), while serving as one of the Commissioners of Wise County Historical Commission; in 2018 she was asked to be the secretary for Texas State Genealogical Society (TxSGS). Patti has served in a multitude of leadership roles. She also attends as many conferences and watches as many webinars as possible while managing clients, husband, children, grandchildren, rescue dog and acreage in Decatur, Texas.
Dr. Ana Krahmer
Director, Digital Newspapers Program, University of North Texas LibrariesDr. Ana Krahmer oversees the Texas Digital Newspaper Program, the largest single-state, open-access repository of digital newspapers in the U.S. In her work, Krahmer builds partnerships with groups across Texas to assist them in digitally preserving and building access to their newspaper collections. Dr. Krahmer helps collaborating partners obtain grant funding and then manages their digital newspaper projects to completion. At present, the Texas Digital Newspaper Program hosts over 11.3 million newspaper pages, and every page represents a collaborative endeavor in digital preservation.
Tina McGuffin
Tina serves as the 3rd Vice President of the East Texas Genealogical Society and Family History Fair Committee Member. She wears many hats and also serves as the Executive Director of the Harrison County Historical Museum. Tina is also a Professional Genealogist. Last year, she was one of only 40 people per year selected for an invitation to participate in the Genealogical Institute of Federal Records with an intensive week of study at the National Archives in Washington, DC.
Patti Huff Williams
Professional Genetic GenealogistPatti is a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists, National Genealogical Society, Texas State Genealogical Society. She is the General Meeting Administrator & former Director of Education for the Dallas Genealogical Society. She has attended a multitude of conferences & lectures to develop her skill in Genetic Genealogy. She received her Certificate in Genealogical Research from Boston University, and attended Diahan Southard's 5-week DNA course. Patti worked as a marketing coordinator for ten years and nine years for motivational speaker and author Zig Ziglar as a sales representative, seminar facilitator, and speaker. Patti and her husband, Gary Smith, led marriage conferences and held leadership positions in her church for 21 years.
Dr. Rochell McWhorter
Rochell McWhorter is an avid FamilySearch user and currently serves as the Director of the Tyler Family History Center. She enjoys preserving "memories" such as letters, photographs, documents, audio clips, and stories of her ancestors and helps others to do the same. She recently exceeded 100,000 contributions to the FamilySearch Tree. Dr. McWhorter earned her PhD from Texas A&M University and works as an Associate Professor at The University of Texas of Tyler where she teaches business courses for undergraduate, masters, and doctoral students. She utilizes various techniques in her classroom such as visual social media, infographics, digital badges, augmented reality, and she is a champion of service-learning.
Milton Wallace
Genealogy EnthusiastFaith and excellence guide Milton Wallace. This motto has shaped his success in education, business, and community service. Milton is a Texan at heart! He was born in Tyler, grew up in Chandler and Terrell as an only child. His parents instilled strong values: his father through factory work, his mother as a teacher. Milton pursued his passion for education at East Texas State University (now Texas A&M-Commerce), earning both Bachelor's and Master's degrees. His career began at 21, teaching middle school math in Commerce, Texas. During his career in Education, he served in many capacities, including assistant principal, and principal. Since retiring from this career, he Milton now serves on the Chandler City Council. His also occupies his time with a travel business, crafting dream vacations, All Nations TV, connecting the Christian community worldwide to promote God’s word through preaching and song, and leads the East Texas Gospel Music Professional chapter of The Gospel Industry Network.
In his free time, Milton enjoys genealogy and planning family activities, such as Family Reunions!
Paula Perkins
Paula is a 6th generation Texan, whose family history interest began when her parents took her to visit “cousins” and her maternal grandmother shared stories, photographs and letters, which she inherited. She is currently serving as Collin County Genealogical Society President and eNews Editor, and TxSGS District I Representative. Paula is the TxSGS Early Texans DNA Chair & Project Administrator with FamilyTreeDNA and TXGenWeb volunteer county coordinator. Paula is founder of PSGenealogy Services & Webinars, featured guest lecturer, genetic genealogist, and has authored several articles published in genealogical society publications.
Michele Bailey
Michele Bailey, a Texan by choice since the age of 12, is a dedicated genealogist with a deep passion for helping others discover their roots.
Leveraging 30 years of research experience and 12 years managing a title company, Michele possesses a unique skillset for navigating historical records. She thrives on sharing her knowledge and empowering others to refine their research techniques.
Currently Michele is serving her fourth term as President of the East Texas Genealogical Society. She serves as the Director of the FamilySearch Center in Athens, Texas, volunteers on projects with FamilySearch, actively engages in community outreach and serves as the Event Coordinator for the annual Family History Fair in Tyler.
Debra D. Christian
Debra D. Christian is a military brat born at Fort Riley, Kansas, and lived across the world with her parents from base to base. Debra came from a humble beginning but had ancestors of strong character. She graduated from Texas College, Tyler, Texas, an HBCU in 1977 and pledged AKA-Gamma Omicron Omega Graduate Chapter in 1984. Debra experienced a fulfilling career with Goodyear Tire Company for approximately 30 years (1977-2007), from which she retired; however, her work was not done yet. She has excelled as Director of the Christian Restoration Community Residential Care Program, Inc. (CRC), which she founded in 2007. She has acquired apprenticeship programs with both instructional as well as on-the-job training for veterans. Debra’s father,
a former combat soldier, inspired her to found the CRC upon discovering that veterans required care following their return from deployment and assimilation into civilian life. Debra has followed her heart with many other accomplishments to help veterans and especially homeless veterans at getting their lives back. She became a noted author of the book, “From Slavery to Bravery,” currently sold on Amazon. The novel depicts the life of her slave ancestors who acquired a massive amount of property in several counties in the State of Texas. It reveals a story of dedication, commitment, family, fraud, deceit, and perseverance. Some of Debra’s distinguishing accomplishments include: Current President of District 3, State of Texas American Legion Auxiliary, Current Commander – DAV – Auxiliary Unit 6, Tyler, Texas, First graduate of the State of Texas Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veteran Families, VA North TX Healthcare “Volunteer of the Year,” North TX State Hospital VA Dallas, Texas “Volunteer of the Year,” and the Second Woman of Color to ever become a member of the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) Mollie Moore Davis 217, Tyler, Texas (2021), where she is currently the Division Chairman of the Meritorious Committee (2022).
Bethany Jensen
Bethany Jensen recently began serving as the Tyler Texas FamilySearch Center Coordinator. She loves to see people connect with their heritage and discover their ancestors, and has a knack for orienting adults to the technologies that help them do so. Working as an archivist at Brigham Young University years ago, she developed appreciation and skill for curating and preserving significant objects along with records of what makes them meaningful. Perpetual wanderlust takes her on trips to connect with family, living or not, and she’s helped organize large destination family reunions and created family history publications for the Martin and Elizabeth Degen Bushman Family Organization. She recognizes the faith-building, grounding, encouraging influence that learning about family history has had on her family and delights in helping others experience the same.
WILL YOU BE COMING?
Join us in a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in East Texas to hear from industry leaders about family history!
Register Now
