Roots Television | Og Blog

There are still 44 days left in our Societies and Libraries Contest - plenty of time to keep your clicking finger busy and send some traffic to our site. Remember, any society, library, archive, or genealogical organization is eligible to enter our contest. Just add our link to your site (you can find instructions on our How To Link page), and encourage everyone you know to click on the link and visit Roots Television. The organization that sends the most traffic our way will win $1000! And for you small but spunky societies, take heart, you have just as much of a chance of winning as anyone. Even if there are only 20 of you, and you each visit the site only once a day, that will add up to a whopping 880 referrals. Think what you could do with just a little extra effort?

From what Og can tell, it looks like a lot of you already have the idea. Check out these great links from the following societies and libraries:

Ohoopee Regional Library System

Arkansas Genealogical Society

Og from Roots Television

Og's been keeping an eye on the Societies and Libraries Contest race, and he's excited to see how enthusiastic everyone has been! Large and small organizations alike are in a dead heat for the lead, and it looks like many of you have launched some great link-clicking blitzes. But before your next clicking campaign, Og has a little bit of advice. When you click on the Roots Television link from your websites, make sure you let the page load completely (until the video actually begins to play) before you navigate out of the Roots Television website. You may even want to click on an extra page inside of the RTV site for good measure. Og wants to make sure you get credit for each and every visit! Thanks for all of your hard work!

Og from Roots Television

Roots Television founder Marcy Brown, and Director of Operations Samantha Butterworth, had a chance to tiptoe through the Bingham Cemetery with tour guide extraordinaire Brad Jencks. For those of you keeping track, Brad was the well-deserving winner of our Wild Roots video contest this summer. Only Brad was too busy traveling across the country on a genealogy quest to accept his prize!

When we finally caught up with Brad, he was waist deep in his work as the lookup volunteer for the cemetery and organizing a new Veterans' Memorial. But he made the time to take us on a fantastic tour of the site, introducing us to his favorite occupants and sharing story after story of the living family members who still visit the grounds to pay their respects.

Brad was gracious enough to step in front of the camera and share a few tips for any other scouts looking to undertake a cemetery project. We're happy to welcome Brad to the Roots Television family, and we hope his good work and dedication inspire other youths to take a peek into their own pasts.

Og from Roots Television

First of all, thanks to all of our friends for the many birthday well-wishes! Building Roots Television from the ground up over the last year has been just about as grueling as inventing the wheel!

We've had a great time pouring over all of your entries in the first ever RTV Scavenger Hunt, and as usual, Og has a bit of free advice. Although we would love for you to spend countless hours digging through our extensive video archive for the answers to our latest quiz, don't forget that you can also search our Program Guide. Look carefully at the Scavenger Hunt clues, use your genealogy skills to sleuth out the keywords, plug those into the search box, and you'll be amazed at how quickly you can unravel the mystery. The search function is also a great way to keep an eye on your favorite genealogy topics, track down that conference clip your friend was telling you all about, or find the latest how-to demonstration.

So, Happy Hunting!
Og from Roots Television

There are just a few days left in our Happy Birthday contest. If you missed the first announcement, we're holding the first ever Roots TV Scavenger Hunt. Og has come up with six very tricky questions, listed below. Email Og your answers to enter for your chance to win a fabulous RTV t-shirt. And don't forget the shortcut - you can use our handy-dandy searchable Program Guide to find your way to the answers in record time. Remember, all entries are due by October 15th!

Roots Television Happy Birthday Scavenger Hunt

1. What song did Chris Haley sing at the 2007 FGS Conference?
2. Was the man who raised Bob Zins his real father?
3. Name three famous descendants of the Sockish.
4. What was author Victor Villasenor’s grandfather’s claim to fame?
5. What six required tools of the genealogist does Dick Eastman mention in
his lecture "Putting the Genes in Genealogy"?
6. Name any of Flat Stanley’s ancestors.

Og from Roots Television

There is just one week left in our Societies and Libraries Contest. It's time to dig deep and make a dash for the finish line. Og has noticed some increased activity from a few of our friends. Best of luck to you all!

The Ancestral Irish Research Association

Weld County Genealogical Society

Og from Roots Television

Congratulations to our Birthday Contest Winners -- Mary, Barbara, and Shannon!!!!

Although many of you entered, and several of you answered all of the questions correctly, these three lovely ladies are the lucky winners of some fantastic RTV gear. Still searching for the answers to our first-ever scavenger hunt?

Here you go:

1. What song did Chris Haley sing at the 2007 FGS Conference? "Banana Boat Song", a.k.a Day-O

2. Was the man who raised Bob Zins his real father? Yes!

3. Name three famous descendants of the Sockish. Emmanuel Sockenberyg (Edward G. Robinson), Julius Henry "Groucho" Sox, Lambchop, and the Pets.com puppet

4. What was author Victor Villasenor’s grandfather’s claim to fame? He killed the legendary Bushmaster serpent that was terrorizing his village, a snake that was so aggressive it would attack a man on horseback and charge a train.

5. What six required tools of the genealogist does Dick Eastman mention in
his lecture "Putting the Genes in Genealogy"? pencils, paper, 3-ring binders, computer, internet connection, and bug repellent

6. Name any of Flat Stanley’s ancestors. Rolf Pancake, Charlotte Squeezed, Stacy Squashed, Tom Flat, Hal Flat, George Squashed, Seton Squished

If you missed out on this scavenger hunt, never fear. Keep your eye on the Og Blog for future contest fun.

Og from Roots Television

And the winner is - The Friends of the Allen County Public Library! Congratulations on a stellar performance, and for taking the grand prize in our Societies and Libraries Contest!

But the race was so very close, that Og wanted to recognize even more stupendous societies. So Og is happy to announce that the following four organizations will each take home Honorable Mention and a $100 cash prize:

Muskogee County Genealogical Society, of Oklahoma
Escondido Genealogical Society, of California
Village Genealogical Society, of Arkansas
Eastern Washington Genealogical Society

Thanks to you all for a wonderful run!

Og from Roots Television