Meet the Tour Staff

The Salt Lake Christmas Tour has been highly successful for over two decades because we have the highest ratio of professional researchers to attendees of any research tour using the Family History Library. You've always got the help you need to overcome your difficult research problems!

Tour Host: Leland Meitzler

Mother Hen: Donna Potter Phillips

Researchers: Arlene Eakle, Linda Brinkerhoff, Loni Gardner, Kevan Hansen, Wade Hone, George Ott, Joy Price, Dwight Radford, Afton Reintjes, and Trudy Schenk.

Photographer: Bill Balter

Breakfast Coordinator: Dee Cattaneo

Professional genealogists will help you every step of the way

Most of our professional researchers can be found in the library - helping in the area of the library which matches their expertise - from about 9 am to 5:30 or so. We also have a couple pros that work the evening shift. So if you need assistance between 5 and 9, someone is there to help.

Attendees sign up for half hour blocks of time with the professionals. There are enough pros that most attendees can work with someone whenever they need assistance. I've found that from mid-week on or so, it's often possible for attendees to get professional assistance without having to sign up ahead of time.

Can't read the language? No problem - chances are, one of our professionals can. Are you stuck on a line and don't know what to do or where to turn next? Our pros can help you get that line moving again.

There's never any reason on a Salt Lake Christmas Tour for any attendee to be sitting around stuck on a project. There's always someone waiting to help out.

Our professionals use the library on a regular basis

The Salt Lake Christmas Tour only uses the best professional researchers to work with our attendees. Our professionals are intimately acquainted with the library and its holdings. These researchers work in the library nearly every day and know where to locate materials at an instant's notice.

Compare this with other popular tours to Salt Lake, using well-known genealogists as their "helpers" - genealogists that only use the collection once or twice a year. Who do you think can help you find your ancestors better? Someone that uses the library every day - or someone who comes to Salt Lake once or twice a year?

Another plus for the Salt Lake Christmas Tour is that if one professional can't seem to help you find your ancestor, there are nearly a dozen others that might be able to. Great minds don't always think alike. Take advantage of all our great professionals