I've been involved in family history research for the past 17 years or so, starting around age 15. Admittedly, I've not focused on Find-a-Grave as a platform until relatively recently, so I'm embarking on this gradual transfer of vital information from my private tree to this site (inasmuch as the updates are multi-sourced and verifiable via actual uploaded documents).

A bit of information on my background: I worked as a Research Assistant for a librarian/historian/Associate Dean of the BYU Harold B Lee Library for 3 years while attending BYU. He oversaw operations at the BYU Family History Library and HBLL Special Collections, while also working as a historian, so my time as an assistant was mostly spent in microfilm and printed source materials. I've spent probably hundreds of hours imaging microfilm. Over those years I became reasonably familiar in the early history and founding families of Bedford, Franklin, and Campbell Counties in Virginia, as well as the overall history of Colonial Virginia. I also worked under the director of the BYU Family History Library during that time, and attended staff meetings and training.

I served as a volunteer off and on in the Family History Centers of the places I've lived since college. Most recently, I've been charged with volunteering as a director of the local community FamilySearch Center here in Boynton Beach, FL, so I'm looking forward to potentially incorporating the Find-a-Grave platform in community service projects to document memorials here in South Florida.

I don't claim to be a "Master Genealogist/Family Historian" in any regard. One hour a day for 365 days a year, would still require about 28 years of consistent research to reach that 10,000 hour mark (and one hour a day in perpetuity is no easy task—so probably closer to 35-40 years). I'm probably in the realm of about 6 hours a week on average across all years, so I'd say I'm at maybe 4,800-5,200 hours by this point (probably a conservative estimate).

Anyway, maybe I'll get there someday, but even the masters never stop learning, and it seems we're all at different points in the same journey of discovery. To those who have volunteered on here for upwards of 15-20+ years—your dedication is absolutely amazing, and I commend you for your continued service!

I've been involved in family history research for the past 17 years or so, starting around age 15. Admittedly, I've not focused on Find-a-Grave as a platform until relatively recently, so I'm embarking on this gradual transfer of vital information from my private tree to this site (inasmuch as the updates are multi-sourced and verifiable via actual uploaded documents).

A bit of information on my background: I worked as a Research Assistant for a librarian/historian/Associate Dean of the BYU Harold B Lee Library for 3 years while attending BYU. He oversaw operations at the BYU Family History Library and HBLL Special Collections, while also working as a historian, so my time as an assistant was mostly spent in microfilm and printed source materials. I've spent probably hundreds of hours imaging microfilm. Over those years I became reasonably familiar in the early history and founding families of Bedford, Franklin, and Campbell Counties in Virginia, as well as the overall history of Colonial Virginia. I also worked under the director of the BYU Family History Library during that time, and attended staff meetings and training.

I served as a volunteer off and on in the Family History Centers of the places I've lived since college. Most recently, I've been charged with volunteering as a director of the local community FamilySearch Center here in Boynton Beach, FL, so I'm looking forward to potentially incorporating the Find-a-Grave platform in community service projects to document memorials here in South Florida.

I don't claim to be a "Master Genealogist/Family Historian" in any regard. One hour a day for 365 days a year, would still require about 28 years of consistent research to reach that 10,000 hour mark (and one hour a day in perpetuity is no easy task—so probably closer to 35-40 years). I'm probably in the realm of about 6 hours a week on average across all years, so I'd say I'm at maybe 4,800-5,200 hours by this point (probably a conservative estimate).

Anyway, maybe I'll get there someday, but even the masters never stop learning, and it seems we're all at different points in the same journey of discovery. To those who have volunteered on here for upwards of 15-20+ years—your dedication is absolutely amazing, and I commend you for your continued service!