October 18, 2025 9am to 3pm
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This free event has something for everyone:
Classes for all skill levels. Scroll to view class descriptions & Instructor biographies.
Two hours of children's activities.
Local genealogical societies and historical organizations.
Lunch provided.
Doors will open at 8:30 am. Registration will open on September 17th.
This event will be held at the Hayden Lake Family History Center, 2293 W Hanley Ave, CdA, Idaho.
Together - 9:00 am
Together - 9:00 am
Deborah White is our keynote speaker.
CLasses
CLasses
Beginner (B), Intermediate (I)
Session 1 - 10 am - 10:50 am
FamilySearch 101 & 102: From Signing In to Adding and Editing People (B) If you are new to FamilySearch or just need to refresh your skills, this class will take you from creating an account to adding your family to the tree. Randy Pixton
Researching Land Records (I): This class will look at why we need to research land records. I will cover the first transfer of land, metes and bounds legal descriptions, Federal Land Grants, legal descriptions of platted land, homestead patents and so much more. This class will help you no matter where you are in your research. Pam Heath
Temple and Family History Training: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints training for callings in TFH leadership and consultants. Training led by Hayden Lake Stake.
Youth Battleship (ages 11 - 18) Work individually and as a team to accomplish Family Search tasks and earn “hits” to sink the battleships! You’ll get to move around, work with friends, and earn treat prizes. Bring a chromebook or laptop if you have one. FamilySearch account log-in required. Heidi Chapman
Session 2 - 11:00 am - 11:50 am
FamilySearch 103: Searching and Attaching Sources (B) Learn to find and attach sources in FamilySearch. Sources not only help support facts and relationships in the tree, but often lead to additional family members. Rhonda Budvarson
FAN Research (B,I): FAN refers to Friends, Associates, and Neighbors. In this class we will learn where to go when we are trying to research these individuals. Places like the Census, City Directories, Land Records, Google Books and more. This is a fun class, and I think you'll be surprised what you can find. Pam Heath
AI Journaling (B,I) Richard Dance
Discovery Experience for Youth (ages 11 - 18) Jeni Bitnoff
Session 3 - 1:00 pm - 1:50 pm
FamilySearch 104: Adding Memories (B) Share photos, stories, even audio by adding and tagging relatives. These memories help us connect to ancestors on a whole new level, making them more than a name and date. Jenn Potter
Intro to FamilySearch Labs: What are they? And why you should get involved. (B, I) FamilySearch Labs are innovations geared toward improving functions in the FamilySearch family tree. Currently, the labs being worked on are geared toward improving tree accuracy, utilizing AI (artificial intelligence) to help with your research, improving the merge function, and having better information available in the change log. If you are interested in trying out and commenting on groundbreaking family history technology as it is developed, FamilySearch engineers want to hear from you! Rhonda Budvarson
DNA Genealogy Basics: What is it and things to think about (B) This class will cover what DNA genealogy is, how it is used, best practices, and some things to think about when embarking on your DNA research journey. Ray Aust
Session 4 - 2:00 pm - 2:50 pm
Digital Newspaper Research (B) What can you learn from an old Newspaper? Newspapers contain a wealth of information about births, marriages, deaths, and everyday events. Learn about available newspapers online and gather ideas and strategies to effectively search for information about your ancestors specifically using Newspapers.com. Kim Cannon
DNA Genealogy: Websites, tools, and techniques (B,I) This class will discuss the various DNA databases and their features for identifying relatives, additional online tools for taking a deeper dive into DNA genealogy research, and examples of how these resources and research techniques can be used to identify and verify family members. Ray Aust
Discovery Experience (B,I) Jeni Bitnoff
Meet the Instructors
Meet the Instructors
Pam heath
Pam heath
Researching Land Records (I) 10 am - 10:50 am
FAN Research (B, I) 11 am - 11:50 am
Pam is a member of the Kootenai County Genealogical Society and currently serves as their secretary. She is also the Education Coordinator for the Foothills Genealogical Society of Colorado.
Randy pixTon
Randy pixTon
FamilySearch 101 & 102: From Signing In to Adding and Editing People 10 am - 10:50 am
Randall lives in Hayden Idaho and has lived his dream .
Family History is his passion, and he has helped hundreds of people around the world with their personal journey searching for their own families. He served as fulltime missionary with his wife at the Church Headquarters mission training Senior missionaries on Family Search. Teaching the basics to advanced techniques. He also served in the discovery center in Salt Lake and then went on to serve at Roots Tech for Family Search. The draw to be continually involved took him to George UT where he and his wife served two years as Church service missionaries at the Family Search Discovery center. Helping people learn the basics and find those missing ancestors.
Hobbies, Fishing, Adventures, Traveling around the world with his sweet heart . Loving the Joy of my grandkids.
Jenn Potter
Jenn Potter
FamilySearch 104: Adding Memories (B) 1:00 pm - 1:50 pm
Jenn has lived in Northern Idaho for 4.5 years, she loves exploring and spending time with family outdoors especially camping and 4-wheeling. Jenn has 34 nieces and nephews who all keep her life interesting and so fun. Jenn enjoys dabbling in family history and loves to help others get started down their own family history journey.
Rhonda Budvarson
Rhonda Budvarson
FamilySearch 103: Searching and Attaching Sources (B) 11:00 pm - 11:50 pm
Intro to FamilySearch Labs: What are they? And why you should get involved. (B, I) 1:00 pm - 1:50 pm
Rhonda Budvarson lives in Hayden Idaho and has a love of family history. She is blessed to have been raised with the belief that “ Family is Everything!” Family photos and stories are a treasure that need to be preserved and shared. And every hour spent working on Family History is a labor of love.
Kim Cannon
Kim Cannon
Digital Newspaper Research (B) 2:00 pm - 2:50 pm
Kim Cannon is the mother of 4 children. She enjoys searching for stories of her ancestors and learning about what life was like for them. She has lived in Hayden for the past 5 1/2 years and loves exploring the beautiful area we live in.
Ray Aust
Ray Aust
DNA Genealogy Basics: What is it and things to think about (B)
DNA Genealogy: Websites, tools, and techniques (B,I)
Ray Aust grew up in a family with predominantly German roots. Both sides were heavily involved with genealogy and family history. As a child one of his prized possessions was a copy of the Ellis Island immigration record of the grandfather he was named after. However, Ray was adopted the day he was born and always wondered what his biological family history might look like.
With research skills developed over a career as an Intellectual Property attorney and the addition of DNA genealogy technology Ray’s interest in genealogy has developed into an obsession. He has identified his biological parents, seven biological siblings, and even identified the biological parents of a grandfather who had also been adopted as a baby and ultimately showed him to be a direct descendant of a Scottish clan. His biological family tree now spans hundreds of years and shows he is predominantly of British Isles, Western European, and Scandinavian decent.
Richard Dance
Richard Dance
AI Journaling (B)
Richard Dance has been associated with genealogy and family history since 1974, when he took some of his original classes from Ben Bloxham at BYU.
In 1975, he wrote the history of his grandfather, and in 2021, the history of his mother-in-law. He has also gathered and distributed CD's within his extended family on family histories.
More importantly, he has been an early adopter of technology, dating back to Radio Shack model III's before IBM or Apple computers ever existed.
Lastly, he is related to both the Mayflower Pilgrim, John Howland, and the Wampanoag Indian chieftain Massosit Ousemequin. He is very grateful they established a treaty for 50 years and didn't kill each other off.
Heidi Chapman
Heidi Chapman
Family History Battleship 101
Heidi is a happy wife and mother of six who enjoys family history, music, outdoors, reading, chatting, and making memories. Her super powers include animal ballon tying and watching YouTube videos to learn how to fix things.
Pam is grateful for the love and support of her husband, Leon, children Daniel, his wife, Kylee, Sam, his wife Abby, Marcus, his wife, Lily, Emmalee, her husband, Gabe, and Elizabeth. Also her cute little grandchildren, Natalie, Oliver, Jack, and Beau.
Pam Williams Duce
Pam Williams Duce
Researching Women 10:00 am - 10:50 am
Immigration 11:00 am - 11:50 am
Can You Search Canada? 1:00 pm - 1:50 pm
Family Search Full Text Search 2:00 pm - 2:50 pm
Pam Williams Duce has been a student of family history for over 30 years and will continue to learn and grow as long as she is able. She has been teaching classes and giving presentations for the last 24 years.
Pam’s love for learning about her ancestors started in her early years through the stories shared by her parents. Though not formally trained, as a preteen she did learn to read upside down and backward, believing it would come in handy when she became an FBI agent. Instead, it was useful while reading to her five children while simultaneously showing them the book.
Family History is full of great mysteries, stranger-than-fiction stories, and emphasizes the importance of all families. The perfect combination to create a deep desire to not only research her own family but also help others discover theirs.
Swedish research and DNA research are her current favorites.
Hayden Lake Stake Primary Presidency
Hayden Lake Stake Primary Presidency
Childern's Activities
Childern's Activities
Presented by the Hayden Lake Stake Primary Presidency. Children ages 3 to 11 are welcome to attend one or both classes. In order to have adiquate supplies. Please click the button below to let us know a contact name and email for the parent and the number and ages of children attending.
Family History Games for Children
Family History Games for Children
Concurrent with Session 3: 2 pm - 2:50 pm
Grab your "passport" and travel back in time while playing family history games. You will travel to a variety of stations and get stamps in your passport along the way!
I Love to See The Temple for Children
I Love to See The Temple for Children
Concurrent with Session 4: 3 pm - 3:50 pm
Come and prepare for our temple with activities, crafts, and more!
Digitizing Workshop
Digitizing Workshop
Richard Dance will demonstrate the digitizing equipment available at the Hayden Lake FamilySearch Center and best practices for using the equipment.
Space is limited so you will need to click the button below to reserve a spot. Make note of which workshop you sign up for, 1 pm workshop or 2 pm workshop. When you register for the conference, do not select a class for the corresponding session.
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