About The Family History Guide Association

How We Got Started ...

In 2014, Bob Taylor volunteered as a family history consultant at the new Sandy Granite Family History Center. He noticed that many guests to the center asked the same questions, so he created a website to answer those questions. Using his background in instructional design, he built a learning framework into the website: Projects, Goals, Choices, and Steps.

He and Bob Ives, the Technology Coordinator for the Sandy Granite Family History Center, soon formed an LLC company to promote the website. This later became a 501(c)(3) non-profit charitable organization, The Family History Guide Association, which opened the door to tax-deductible contributions. The Family History Guide website remains free to use and free of advertisements.

Since then, the website has grown and improved dramatically. Some notable milestones include

• Launch of the website in 2015
• Creation of a Board of Directors and Management Team
• Approval by FamilySearch as an official training partner
• Inclusion of Learning Paths on the website for Ancestry, MyHeritage, and Findmypast
• Welcoming visitors to the website from over 150 countries

What We Do

• Learning and Activities: Involve more people in family history activities and learning by sponsoring the website for The Family History Guide.
• Training: Promote family history training, from individuals to groups, by means of the training materials in The Family History Guide.
• Presentations: Enable representatives of The Family History Guide Association to present The Family History Guide at trade shows, conferences, family history fairs, etc.
• Social Media: Promote The Family History Guide and the Association through social media.
• Webinars: Sponsor webinars given by representatives of The Family History Guide, such as through Brigham Young University.

Meet the Board of Directors

Chairman: James Tanner

James L. Tanner has spent over 34 years in genealogical research and is the avid Blogger of "Genealogy’s Star" and "Rejoice, and Be Exceeding Glad". He spent eight years as a missionary at the Mesa, Arizona FamilySearch Library and is presently serving at the BYU Family History Library. James is a frequent presenter at family history expos and conferences around the U.S. and Canada.

James previously owned a retail computer business and an Apple Macintosh software company, and he is a professional photographer. He holds a B.A. in Spanish and an M.A. in Linguistics from the University of Utah, as well as a J.D. in Law from Arizona State University. He spent two years as an Intelligence Analyst in the U.S. Army and 39 years as an Arizona trial attorney. James and his wife Ann have seven children and 33 grandchildren.

Vice President and Executive Director: Bob Ives

Bob Ives, Executive Director for the Family History Guide Association, received a Master's Degree in computerized curriculum design and went to work as the Director of Instructional Technology for the Utah State Office of Education. Bob was instrumental in the spread of technology in the state and the development of cutting edge programs such as satellite distance learning with IBM.

He later formed his own technology consulting and training company, Educational Renaissance, Inc. and worked as an IBM business partner for 15 years. He has traveled across the U.S. and the Pacific as a trainer for IBM Educational Systems, as well as McGraw-Hill and Allyn & Bacon. Bob has served on state and national committees such as the NCTM Technology Committee and the Governors' Computer Literacy Task Force. He has given presentations across the United States, Canada, Singapore, Australia and Malaysia.

Bob is currently the Technology Coordinator for the Sandy Utah Granite Family History Center, the third largest FamilySearch center in the Salt Lake Valley. He and his wife Dawn have two sons and four grandchildren. Bob has a B.S. from Brigham Young University, an M.Ed. and Administrative Certification from the University of Utah. He has also served as an adjunct professor for Utah State University.

Director of Development: Bob Taylor

Bob Taylor has been actively doing family history for over 25 years. He has combined his passion for genealogy with his background in instructional design to produce an industry-leading learning resource for family history—The Family History Guide website.

Bob earned his BA degree from Brigham Young University and MA degree from California State University, Los Angeles, both in Music Education. A career change led him to instructional design and technical writing, where he has worked for large technology corporations such as Intel and Western Digital. At Intel University, he redesigned key training courses for employees and managers worldwide, as well as teaching management courses in the western U.S. He has authored many online and written learning systems, helping others accelerate learning in technology, music, and family history.

Bob has been a featured presenter five times at the RootsTech Conference in Salt Lake City, as well as the WikiTree International Symposium for 2022. Bob has presented at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Riverton FamilySearch Library, and the BYU Family History Conference. He has also presented to genealogical societies in over 20 U.S. states and in Canada.

Secretary/Treasurer: Ann Tanner

Ann Wessman Tanner was born and raised in Salt Lake City, Utah, graduated from the University of Utah and taught English. She married James Tanner many years ago and is the mother of five daughters and two sons, all of whom are married and living around the country. Ann and James lived in Arizona for the past 43 years, then moved to Provo, Utah two years ago.

Ann served two Church Service missions at the Mesa FamilySearch Library and currently serves at the BYU Family History Library where she coordinates the Sunday classes, teaches, and prepares training for the missionaries at the Library. She owns a printing and computer design company in the Provo, Utah area.

Scott Anderson: Director of Public Relations and Funding

Scott Anderson attained a BA degree from the University of Utah in Psychology, a Master's degree in Counseling and Guidance and a PhD in Marriage and Family Therapy both from BYU. He taught in the Church Education System beginning in 1972, with the majority of his career as a faculty member at the Orem Institute of Religion. He is a published author and lectures for BYU Education Weeks, Especially for Youth, and various other venues, including the Governor's Conference On Families and the Utah Freedom Academy. Dr. Anderson recently retired from working as a therapist at Suncrest Counseling Center. He enjoys home improvement projects, family history, humanitarian service, and had a great time running a marathon with his daughter. He and his wife, Angelle, reside in Bluffdale, Utah.

Industry Relations: Sue and Paul Maxwell

Sue Maxwell is an experienced genealogist, speaker, trainer and mentor, with an emphasis in technology and social media. She publishes the Granite Genealogy blog site and has been actively involved in the genealogy community since retiring from her management career. Sue has served as Vice President of the Utah Genealogical Association and currently serves as an Area Temple and Family History Consultant under FamilySearch direction.

Paul D. Maxwell retired after working 30 years in the IT industry. His areas of expertise included database administration, systems performance, and network management. Paul also serves as an Area Temple and Family History Consultant under FamilySearch direction. Paul and Sue have one son and six granddaughters. In addition to spending time their family, they love to travel.

Meet the Staff

Angelle Anderson: Director of Marketing

Angelle Anderson is a certified family historian (BYU-Idaho) and attained a BA degree in Elementary Education from BYU. She is serving as a Temple and Family History Consultant in the Riverton YSA Stake. Angelle has presented for BYU and BYU-Idaho Education Weeks, Especially for Youth, and BYU Women's Conference. She enjoys hosting several family history Facebook groups, including Ideas for Family History Fun and sharing "Friday Fun" posts in The Family History Guide - Trainers, Consultants, Directors. Angelle and her husband, Scott, are parents to seven children and grandparents to thirty grandchildren (currently being trained as future family historians!).

Miles Meyer: Director of Education

Miles is a scientist by training and has been active in genealogy for over 25 years in a variety of ways. His expertise revolves around new technologies, internet research and FamilySearch. He is the principal researcher for OurAncestories Genealogy, a Family History Consultant, and current Director of the Vero Beach Florida FamilySearch Center. He has presented at a variety of international genealogy conferences, including RootsTech Salt Lake (2019, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024), RootsTech London (2019), The Genealogy Show UK (Spring, Summer and Winter 2022), The Society of One Place Studies Conference UK (2023), and the One World One Family Conference Toronto (2021). Additionally, Miles has been a beta tester for several genealogy companies. And when he has time, Miles also manages several blogs on genealogy-related activities.

Brent Bunker: Content Specialist

Brent Bunker has been active in doing genealogy for the past 50 years. He has been a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist for the past 39 years and is living in Newport Oregon. Brent has served as a volunteer in the Newport Oregon FamilySearch Center, and he has travelled to Scotland, New England and Switzerland researching his family history. He writes a weekly newsletter for Family History Consultants giving training and inspiration. He is the father of 8 children and 29 grandchildren.

How You Can Help

• Donate: Click the Donate button below to make your contribution to The Family History Guide Association.
• Social Media: Introduce your family and friends to the website for The Family History Guide via social media, and like our Facebook page or join our Training and Consultant Facebook group.
• Volunteer: Contact us at info@thefhguide.com for volunteer opportunities.

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