Fishished

No, not with my genealogy, that should be at least another year or so.

I've competed the NGS Home Study Course and the ProGen Study Group. Both courses were enjoyable and informative, although, I probably could have done better if I had not overlapped the courses and focused on each one separately.

Next, I am planning on taking the "Gen Proof" study group using the Mastering Genealogical Proof by Thomas W. Jones beginning in September.

After that I plan to tackle the certification process through the Board for Certification of Genealogists.

I am a member of the National Genealogical Society and am thinking of joining the Association of Professional Genealogists at the subscriber level. I definitely need to work on my networking and joining more associations and local groups should become a top priority.

Goals for April

1.  Finish my biography of my great grandfather Dennis McFadden for the final NGS-HSC assignment.      I have most of the information I need, however including only relevant information and leaving out extraneous filler is proving to be difficult.

2.  Devote sufficient time to this months ProGen assignment-A proof argument for my great grandmother Sealy (Celia) AUTREY Sample.  Unfortunately on some of the assignments I didn't spend as much time as I should have and felt that I rushed the assignment.  I still learned a lot but don't think I did as well as I could have.

3.  Continue organizing my files and notes and entering my information into the Reunion software.

4.  I'm not able to attend any of the national conferences this year so I need to look for more local events.  First I'll sign up for the Angelina College Genealogy Conference in Lufkin, Texas.

5.  Be more consistent on posting here and start citing any sources used according to Evidence Explained.

6.  Start planning for genealogy research trips.  My first one will most likely be to Robertson County, Texas to look for Sealy's mother Dianacy "Dicy" Autrey who may have lived there and operated a store with her husband John Mabe.

7.  Decide on whether to get an iPad or iPad mini.  The Reunion app would be helpful especially at conferences and short genealogy trips.

ProGen Study Group

I am currently working on a contract for research and a fee schedule for my ProGen Study group. 

Our assignments for this lesson are:

· Chapter 6 – Executing Contracts by Patricia Gilliam Hastings J.D.

· Chapter 10 – Setting Realistic Fees by Sandra Hargreaves Luebking

Unfortunately, I can't seem to get these finished as early as I'd like to, although in my defense I did just get back from Michigan for a wedding so things have been a bit hectic of late.

The first thing I plan to do is come up with a simple contract.  Most of the examples I have seen divide general research and speaking duties, but to save time I may include them both in one form and see how it flies with the group.

Next, I need to identify my annual salary needs by determining billable hours, calculating the hourly fee and profit margin. The formula for setting fees is: Hourly Fee = (Salary + Expenses + Profit) / Billable Hours.  

Since I am not currently considering quitting my job and relying only on genealogical research for my living, this is more of an exercise for the future, but at least I'll have something to draw on when the time comes.