The Envelope, Please: An Awards Ceremony Family/Friends

The Envelope, Please: An Awards Ceremony for Family and Friends with Duane Roen
The first Academy Awards ceremony occurred in 1929, the Emmys in 1949 and the Grammys in 1959. And many more annual awards have been added since then. But it’s time for one more: The Family and Friends Awards for our family members and circle of friends. Of course, there are many possible categories, and each category can—if you wish—have two divisions: one for family members and one for friends. And feel free to add a division for co-workers if that seems warranted. Fleshing out your reasoning for selecting each honoree is likely to bring up memories and stories that will bring rich and colorful details into your family history writing. Once you have compiled the list of winners, you can decide whether to keep it to yourself or share it with each winner privately. If you are especially bold and courageous, you might even share it on social media.  Use your wisdom to make that decision.Please bring paper and a pencil/pen to class.Meet your instructor: Duane RoenDuane Roen has been tracing his roots since his teenage years, building a database with more than 32,000 ancestors. He and his wife, Maureen Roen, have also been recording their family history since 1978 by writing more than 19,000 daily journal entries on their children and other family members. Combining his professional and personal interests, Duane worked with colleagues to establish courses on writing and recording family history at Arizona State University. He also is founding coordinator of the Project for Writing and Recording Family History in the College of Integrative Sciences and Arts at ASU.