29th Annual IAJGS Conference on Jewish Genealogy, Philadelphia, August 2-7, 2009 Wednesday, August 5, 2009 is LitvakSIG Day at the International Conference on Jewish Genealogy, co-sponsored by the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies (IAJGS) and the Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Philadelphia (JGSGP.

Below is a list of scheduled LitvakSIG activities. For synopses of talks, biographies of speakers, and a summary of what will take place during the LitvakSIG meeting please consult the program schedule at www.philly2009.org

In addition to these scheduled items, we are planning various informal social events, opportunities for Dues-Paying Members of LitvakSIG (Join LitvakSIG ) to interact with our guest, Regina Kopilevich, from Lithuania, and related conference programs that we think will be of particular interest to Litvaks.

The LitvakSIG program will be on Wednesday, August 5 starting at 11 AM as follows:

11:00-12:30 PM: David Hoffman: "Town-Wide Research: Recreating your Ancestral Shtetl"

12:30-2:00 PM: LitvakSIG Luncheon Regina Kopilevich: "Visiting your Ancestral Shtetl in Lithuania and Belarus"

2:00-3:15 PM: Howard Margol: "The Present and Future of Lithuanian Research"

3:30-4:45 PM: Regina Kopilevich: "Cataloging and Restoring Jewish Cemeteries in Lithuania and Belarus"

5:00-6:15 PM: LitvakSIG Annual Meeting

Regina Kopilevich is an experienced interpreter and researcher in the Lithuanian archives, and an sophisticated guide for Jewish shtetl roots trips to Lithuania and Belarus. Regina plans all aspects of these individually tailored trips. She is very adept and experienced at reading tombstones, cataloging and restoring Jewish cemeteries. She translates vital and other genealogical records for LitvakSIG. Regina is fluent in English, Russian, Lithuanian, Hebrew, and Yiddish. Regina will be available to provide translation help in the Resource Room. She is a native Litvak who completed her education at Vilnius University and later received graduate training at Hebrew University.

David Hoffman and Howard Margol will both be giving talks, updating ongoing research at the SIG district and town levels with new data. We have 1 1/4 hours set aside for our annual meeting. In addition to finalizing our election, conducting a formal meeting, and providing an opportunity to introduce Board members, District and Project Coordinators, we will introduce and demonstrate our brand new LitvakSIG.org and LitvakSIG.com (Members Only) websites.

Look for additional information in the LitvakSIG Digest about Birds of a Feather meetings being conducted by shtetl and district research groups, and opportunities for social interaction between our Members and Regina.

We are looking forward to seeing you in Philadelphia!

For the LitvakSIG Conference Planning Committee,

David Hoffman, President, LitvakSIG
Howard Margol, Immediate Past President
Judy Baston, Digest Moderator and Board Member