APH Feature Story: Regional Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACTS:

CONFERENCE CHAIRS: John Morrison, Jennifer Morrison AfterWord Professional Historians LLC 1741 Chamberlain Ave SE Grand Rapids, MI 49506-4560 Phone: 616-248-2706 e-mail:

APH MEDIA CONTACT: Sarah White 50 S. Fair Oaks Avenue Madison, WI 53714 Phone: 608-347-7329 e-mail:

A couple in Denver celebrating their 65th wedding anniversary receive a special gift from their children and grandchildren: memories of their early years, preserved on a DVD incorporating old photos, voice recordings, home movies, and spoken tributes from family and friends. Monica Younger of Denver-based Personal History service Digital Family History produced the DVD.

A retired businessman in Montreal, Canada writes his life story, profiling a business that had strengthened him both financially and in his character. Collaboration with Personal Historian Kate Winters led to a well-written autobiography. Proceeds from sales of this book have been responsible for new sponsorships of at least ten children through increased awareness of World Vision, his favorite charity.

The death of her mother left a Tucson woman wishing she'd captured her mom's stories while she was still alive to tell them. She longed to preserve the memories of other family members still living—but how to do it? A Family Legacy Video workshop led by Personal Historian Steven Pender showed her the way. She and her husband are now excitedly creating family history documentaries of their very own.

Personal Historians are savings lives, one story at a time

Recording your personal or family history helps put your life's journey in perspective and offers insights into the themes and meaningful events in your life. It's a process that can touch you deeply and create a strong feeling of satisfaction.

There may be other discoveries for you, too, in the course of remembering past years. By exploring the lives of your parents and grandparents, for instance, you might gain insight into your family's health history or discover talents and affinities that run in the family. You might also reconnect with long lost relatives or develop a new understanding of continuity with your family.

Your stories can provide a link with the past for future generations—a priceless gift for loved ones that will be treasured beyond material goods. By recording your experiences of living through certain times and places, your children, grandchildren and even great-grandchildren will be able to see the past through your eyes, enriching them immeasurably. They will have a model for overcoming hardships or seizing opportunities because you were willing to share the lessons you learned and the values you developed.

Dedicated Personal Historians

The APH focuses on providing educational and training opportunities to help professional personal historians build their personal history businesses. Members of APH will gather in Grand Rapids Nov. 2-6 for its 11th annual professional conference.

Those interested in pursuing personal history as a profession or as a personal hobby are encouraged to attend. APH conferences are a great way for individuals to learn skills for preserving life stories in a variety of formats.

ONLINE RESOURCES FOR JOURNALISTS INTERESTED IN PERSONAL HISTORY:

For more information on the personal history profession, visit the Web site of the Association of Personal Historians, Inc. (www.personalhistorians.org). Journalists will find the APH Backgrounder in the "Personal History News" area on the site, as well as a number of other "success stories" like those in the first paragraphs of this story.

The Minnesota Chapter of the APH has produced a website, www.gotstories.org, where Journalists will find a News section and other resources for individuals interested in preserving their stories.