2006 APH Conference
Other Program Events at the 2006 APH Conference

Multnomah Falls, one of many spectacular waterfalls in the Columbia Gorge
View of the Columbia Gorge at Crown Point

New Member Orientation Session:

Newcomers to APH or the annual conference are invited to arrive a little early Wednesday afternoon so they can attend a new feature this year—an orientation at 4:30pm led by APH President Jeanne Archer. Prior to the opening reception, she will present an entertaining orientation, previewing conference workshops and events and offering tips on how to get the most out of the conference and membership in APH.

Opening Reception:

Surrounded by platters filled with delicious hors d'oeuvres, conference attendees will have a chance to mix and mingle, introduce themselves to each other, catch up with old friends, and begin to look ahead to the stimulating opportunities of the next few days.

Regional Luncheon:

Meet other personal and oral historians in your region during Thursday's Regional Luncheon. Our delicious, catered meal will be set up in four separate rooms with seating arranged by region. This will offer new members a chance, early in the conference, to get to know others in their region who share their passion for preserving the past, and perhaps find a partner to collaborate with on personal history projects. The informal gathering also will give members an opportunity to explore ideas for future regional activities with the group and, where needed, to select a new coordinator for the region.

APH Annual Business Meeting:

The Annual Meeting of the Association of Personal Historians, Inc. will be held at 8:30am on Friday, October 6, 2006, in the Cascade Room at the Doubletree Hotel in Portland, Oregon. The Board of Directors will update the membership on the organization's status, as well as projects that are underway or planned for launch in the coming year, and incoming Board members will be introduced. Members will be invited to suggest ideas and discuss any concerns they would like to see addressed.

Evening activities: VideoShare and Salon Sessions

The opportunities to learn never end at the 12th Annual Association of Personal Historians Conference in Portland—they just change format and focus. On Thursday and Friday evenings, at a less intense pace than our daytime workshops, conference attendees will have the unique opportunity to follow their inspiration.

Video biographers will show clips of their personal history programs during Media Share. We're allowing two evenings for this popular event to permit adequate time for these informal presentations.

Those working in print and creating other products can view one another's work during a Product Show and Tell, where everyone is invited to show samples of their work, then give a brief presentation of the scope of the project, how the work was produced, and how pricing was calculated.

Salon Sessions are informal and are not planned in advance by APH. One or two rooms will be reserved each evening for topics that emerge during the conference. These sessions may be convened by anyone who has an idea or interesting question to explore. Sign-up sheets will be available in the registration area for Salon Session announcements.

Seasoned personal historians who would like to share information about how their businesses are faring and challenges they are facing will have a room set aside for a gathering place.

Community Forum:

See our Community Forum & Town Square page for all the details.

Town Square:

See our Community Forum & Town Square page for all the details.

Panel Presentations:

On Saturday and Sunday, a panel of successful personal historians will share how they developed their businesses and pass on tips for becoming successful in this relatively new field. Another panel will help us understand how we can reach out to people in diverse cultures, inviting them into our organization so we can learn from one another:

• Out of the Box and into the Circle: Personal History in Communities of Color:
  Moderated by Shizue Seigel; panelists: Stephen Hanks, June Schumann, Jose Eduardo González

  In many communities of color, "community" is the operative word.

  Often, communities of color have created useful models for those hoping to maximize resources by working collectively, blending personal history with cultural traditions and political and social history.

  Bringing together volunteers and professionals, and drawing on a variety of public and private funding sources, community projects collect individual oral histories and memorabilia and place them in context. Thus, the entire community can take ownership of a larger mosaic that illuminates values, traditions, and political and social history. These projects also help to amplify our understanding of family, community and nation.

  On Saturday morning, APH member Shizue Seigel will moderate a panel of speakers from diverse cultures who have found creative methods of capturing and preserving individual, family and cultural stories.

• Making a Living as a Personal Historian:
  Moderated by Stephanie Kadel Taras; panelists: Iris E. Wagner, Lettice Stuart, Paula Stallings Yost, James Simmons, Mary Jane Robinson, Mary O'Brien Tyrrell, Pat McNees

  Can you make a living doing what you love to do? On Sunday morning, eight financially successful personal historians will offer tips to conference attendees on what has worked for them.

  The panelists will discuss pitfalls to avoid, fruitful marketing techniques, creating and marketing personal history books or video services, finding clients, looking beyond the obvious, creating company histories, and working with attorneys and others in collaborative ventures.

  This summer, we'll be asking APH members what they'd like to know from these personal historians. We'll send the questions in advance so their written answers can be provided in the syllabus given to conference attendees at the registration table. Then, after brief introductions from each panelist Sunday morning, we'll open the discussion to questions and insights from the floor. What do you want to know about making a living as a personal historian? Here is your chance to ask!

Portland Spirit Dinner Cruise:

See our Dinner Cruise page for all the details.

Tales of the Heart:

A revered tradition at APH conferences, the concluding event Sunday morning will be a time of sharing personal stories about illuminating moments of special meaning for those of us privileged to work so intimately with our clients, many of whom become part of our lives.