Announcements/Business:
SEE OUR REVISED SCHEDULE BELOW
- The Rotary International President’s Dinner: January 25 at the Denver Marriott South, price $75. Rooms are available if you would like to spend the night.
- State of the State presentation: Mental Health focus; January 8 at the Marriott/Denver Tech Center.
- Thanks to Ed for his support of the Rotary International Foundation. He received his Paul Harris + One for his donations to the Foundation.
- All members are getting their new RI member pin!
- The President Elect nominee is under consideration for 2020-2021. Please let Janine know if you have an interest in this office.
- The Conifer High School Warren Miller event raised $1200 which will provide two classrooms for the StarFish, education program for girls in Guatemala.
- The Fitzsimons Interact Club and the West Jefferson Middle School did penny-wars and nickel-wars fundraisers to provide money to purchase malaria kits in Kenya. Suzanne will count the money and report how much they raised.
- Mark reminded members that we can provide their donation to the Conifer Rotary Foundation; get your check to Mark before the end of the year.
- The Boys and Girls Club of the High Rockies will have a chili cook-off in Bailey, January 26. They are looking for sponsors.
- Melony Harris is moving her membership to the Littleton Rotary Club—we will miss her!
- The Mountain Home and Garden Show will now be called Foothills Home, Garden and Lifestyle show. It will be held at the Evergreen High School and the Evergreen Rotary will be in charge for 2019. The date is March 30-31, a month earlier than in the past.
Updates to our event schedule for 2019, also available on our website calendar
- There will not be an evening meeting on December 26th.
- There will not be morning meetings on December 25th and January 1st.
- Our next social gathering will be January 5, 2019, 5-8pm at Christy Cragin’s home. The main dish will be prime rib. Please sign up for the event and for food to share by contacting Janine.
- The Club is returning to weekly Tuesday morning meetings. We will have catered breakfast on the first and third Tuesdays. The food for the second and fourth mornings is being planned: Wes will coordinate having Club members pick up continental breakfast items for the 2/4 Tuesdays.
- The Board meeting will be Monday January 7, 2019
- Our next morning meeting is Tuesday January 8. Bring a gift for our annual “white elephant gift exchange”—we will have catered breakfast.
Program: Forensic Genealogy
Christine Cochran, Our Provenance, Ltd.
Christine Cochran joined us today to talk about making stories of peoples' history for legal purposes. Forensic genealogy definitaion: the application of genealogy to legal issues. It includes land transactions; natural resources and mineral rights, probate (missing and unknown heirs), dual citizenship; repatriation of military remains (no one left behind law), unclaimed bodies, criminal investigations, adoptions, guardianships, and expert witnesses.
The genealogist's tools include DNA analysis; family tree construction, census records, probate records, vital records (birth, marriage, death); FAN methodology (friends, associates, neighbors); precise documentation and citations and more.
Genealogists do not have credentials: buyer beware! However, there is an organization that sets standards: Council for the Advancement of Forensic Genealogy. In addition, there are these professional organizations: Genealogical Institute of Pittsburgh; National Institute for Genealogical Studies.
The term 'genealogist' does not equal 'forensic genealogist': the military requires certification. Liability insurance is necessary for doing forensic genealogy. Private investigators searches are for living people; forensic genealogists deal with deceased persons.
The affect of forensic genealogy for the future: deterrent to criminals' stop serial killers, DNA can provide evidence of persons who were not originally on the “persons of interest” list', limits the number of people who are “persons of interest”, which saves money and resources.