July 25 - And The Guest Author Is . . .

JANET HOVORKA
The Chart Chick
Generation Maps

Use those family photographs - that's the mantra here at Shades. What better way to use those photographs than to create a beautiful decorative family heritage chart. And who better to show us the way than Janet Hovorka, The Chart Chick and owner of Generation Maps.

Janet will introduce Shades readers to some of the fantastic charts created by her customers. Fabulous charts using photographs to express family heritage. Charts that their owners have generously agreed to share. Janet will show you some of her own creations, and also the ones she would never have dreamed of creating. You are sure to find some new ideas for your own family history displays.

Janet and her husband Kim Hovorka own Generation Maps, an online genealogy chart printing service. Generation Maps came about when Janet inherited a large amount of genealogy from her mother and grandmother, both wonderful genealogists.

As she explored and cataloged it, she tried several times to get "the bigger picture" by charting out how it all related. At one point, Kim, a GIS coordinator and map printer, decided to plot out the 6,000 person computer file. And thus, Kim and Janet had found a place they could combine their talents and their favorite pastime in one place.

They pride themselves in being able to print *any* kind of genealogy chart, from beautiful fine art pieces to 600 foot family reunion charts for writing on. At first, Janet only wanted to print working charts--to write on and add more information to--to help genealogists with their research. She didn't want to let anyone frame a chart and say their genealogy was "all done" -- a personal pet peeve.

But as they branched into decorative charts, she has become very passionate about keeping your family history out where you see it and where it can inspire you and affect your life. Janet loves traveling to genealogy conferences and working with genealogists--the greatest group of people in the world.

Janet writes The Chart Chick blog, has recently become addicted to Facebook, and is preparing for her first triathlon in August. She has written for many publications, including genealogy publications in: NGS News Magazine, Digital Genealogist, Meridian Magazine, and the BYU Family Historian.

Janet currently has 13 active genealogy lectures, has delivered hundreds of lectures at regional and national conferences, and helped numerous people find out more about their family's history.

One of Janet's greatest genealogy accomplishments was the completion and publication of her Mother-in-law's oral history just one year prior to her untimely death. Janet's current genealogical interests include a Swedish Anderson line of her mother-in-law's and extracting the genealogy work of Joseph Hatten Carpenter, her patriarchal Great-Grandfather.

Unfortunately, starting a genealogy business is one of the worst things one can do for their own research, but Janet enjoys learning about the family history of others as well as her own.

Join us July 25, when Shades welcomes Janet Hovorka, The Chart Chick, and the wealth of information on decorative family heritage charts she will share with us.

See You Then!

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Janet Hovorka received a B.A. in Ancient Near Eastern Studies and a Master's degree in Library Science from Brigham Young University. She studied Hebrew, Arabic, Greek, Egyptian Hieroglypics, and German, and lived in the Middle East for a year carrying gas masks around during the first war with Iraq. She accepted teaching and library positions at BYU and Salt Lake Community College before having her three wonderful children.