Early because I can!

Here is a little something for you to chew on for a while. Our last speaker, Sue Schlichting, shared more ideas about how we could get people in the door at HQRL Some were ideas that we have tried or at least talked about, but I thought I would roll out a couple of thoughts for you to think about and share your thinking with each other and me.

1.  A German special interest group she belongs to invites “folks to meet and put their heads together to solve genealogy problems and share their German heritage and successes.  One group does hybrid sessions.  At the holidays, they asked everyone to bring a treat from their German heritage to share.  If you joined virtually, you were supposed to show, tell about and enjoy your own treats. It was a fun way to honor the tradition and share with others.” You could do the same for various other special interest groups. We could do something before or after a speaker on a special interest topic.
2. ” The Omaha public library does a couple of things to help bring folks in.  In March, they hold a Genealogy Week celebration.  Every day has something different to offer.  And every day that week, the local genealogy society staffs a time where they help people get started with their family history or help them problem solve their challenges.  It has been a popular program.  They end the week with a major speaker in the library.” It wouldn’t have to be in March and it wouldn’t have to be as grand as our previous Autumn Quests. It too could be hybrid.
3. “There are special interest groups meeting monthly on DNA, German, Viking, Polish, Writing, etc.” at the Omaha Public Library.

So now it is your turn. I know we have some interest in Germany, Scotland, DNA, and Prussia. Where else? We may have some specific states of interest or where people have met challenges. We certainly have DAR and Civil War groups.  Where might your focus area or topic be. Perhaps we could start a chart in the library where it can be seen and see what interest groups get the most traction. If we get enough interest, we could schedule some interest group time and with some quality promotion get people in to join these groups. They can be self-governing, other than scheduling to avoid conflicts.

Along the same lines, I am looking for some of our own people for a “grow-our-own” speaker program. Do you have a topic, database, strategy, etc. that you feel passionate about and would like to share with your fellow family historians? If you are concerned about teaching, I would certainly be willing to support you in that area. Let me know!

I know that there has been some of this in the past. Maybe it is time to dust the idea off and see where it takes us. Maybe nowhere or maybe it fills the library. Kind of like my research. Sometimes it goes nowhere and sometimes I find something amazing!

Just my thoughts. What are your thoughts.

Heidi Geise, education@hqrl.com