The Polish Genealogical Society of America held its meeting on November 9, 2008 at 2:00 p.m. The guest speaker was Mike Karsen.

Mike Karsen is a professional speaker and a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists (APG), the Genealogical Speakers Guild (GSG), and is currently President of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Illinois. He speaks on family legacy topics both locally and nationally, presents conference programs, and is on the faculty of The Newberry Library and Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies in Chicago. Mr. Karsen is the author of the JewishGen website "Guide to Jewish Genealogy in Chicagoland" and has published articles on genealogy. He holds an undergraduate degree in mathematics/computer science and a master's in operations research. He also has the experience of 30 years in telecommunications management field.

The topic of discussion was “Write Your Family History Now!” His first revelation was surprising that only 10-20% of any audience will say that they started writing their stories. We as genealogists are good at researching and collecting information about our families, but few of us write it down in such a format that others can easily access. Mr. Karsen emphasized the importance of getting as much as we have in a written format so it can be passed out to family members. The written format does not have to be a hard bound book-- it can be as simple as putting it in a 3 ring binder, or it could be as small as a stapled pamphlet. Mr. Karsen showed us four examples of his writing on various family groups. Some of his writings were the result of trips he planned to meet family members in Australia or Europe. He wanted to show them the information he had about his U.S. family in hopes that they could fill in the blanks for his relatives elsewhere. And once relatives read your genealogy books, some will be able to give more information of which we’re not aware.

Most everyone in the audience agreed that it was something that we all intended to do someday. Mr. Karsen emphasized that the longer we put it off the less chance we are to actually write it at all. Start small, set aside an hour a day or an hour a week and start writing-- any little amount will help. He offered us a program, which he named Legacy Pledge, offering individuals the opportunity to consult with him and pledge to write and complete their family histories. Mr. Karsen offered a CD with samples of his books and lecture to those who provided their e-mail addresses. He stated that he would contact them every 3 months with a short email such as: Have you begun your writing yet? Everyone enjoyed his presentation and it was an enjoyable afternoon.

If anyone is interested in more information about Mike Karsen, please go to www.mikekarsen.com and read about other topics on which he lectures and where he can be seen.