Earlier this year I had the pleasure of wearing many hats at the RootsTech/FGS conference held in Salt Lake City, Utah.  In fact I’d say it was a tad too many!  I loved getting to present to such a wide and diverse crowd of genealogists, but I also was WORN out! Did I mention I was helping with our exhibitor booth for The In-Depth Genealogist too?  Yea, four presentations, a booth, and being in the presence of the Family History Library was just so overwhelming.  So this coming conference I’m going to stick with manning our booth and being a RootsTech Ambassador!  It’s going to be a great time and I might even have time to attend some of the presentations this time!  Crazy, huh?

I debated on whether I was going to attend because taking a week off from work is challenging. As an engineer there really isn’t a “down” time to our projects. Regardless of the time of year there is NEVER a good time to take a vacation.  So I mulled and pondered and decided, “YES!” After all I want to go and hear the Mormon Tabernacle Choir again! I want to actually get to do some research at the FHL this time. I want to go to a presentation. I want to spend more time hanging out with my genea-buddies.  Oh yea, I’m getting pumped up about it.

One of the cool things about being an ambassador is that they let you give away a registration to the conference! Not only am I getting a “behind the scenes” view of the conference, but I’m also helping promote and encourage others to attend.  Yay! Of course I’ll be there so what other incentive do you need to go?  Just kidding, but really it’s going to be a great time and so much learning and exchanging of ideas will be happening that it really is a “don’t miss.” The first part of the conference is something called the Innovator Summit which starts on February 3rd. I was fortunate to attend some of the sessions last year and it was really interesting to see the up and coming developments in the works. The past few years have been pretty focused on storytelling and apps that augment your ability to share with your family.  I think that is one area that has continued to resonate with so many.  After all when we make genealogy into more than names and dates it’s so much easier to relate to! That’s how you hook your relatives into genealogy and find that family member to pass down your research. One of the sessions that I am looking forward to is “DIY Small Business Guerrilla Marketing Strategies” which will be a panel discussion with Allison Dolan (Family Tree Magazine), Lisa Louise Cooke (Genealogy Gems) and Jenna Mills (Genealogist’s Marketing Sourcebook). These ladies are rockin’ the genealogy world and I can’t wait to learn from them. Another session I want to attend is “Get Your Startup Taken Seriously by a Big Company” presented by Tammy Hepps

The next few days include morning keynote presentations that are excellent.  Last year there were great speakers and I’m sure this year will be no different. There are a number of awesome presentations you can attend including many of my geneabuddies like Peggy Lauritzen, Thomas MacEntee, Tessa Keough, Drew Smith, Amy Johnson Crow, Michelle Goodrum and Julie Goucher. Yep, several of the writers from The In-Depth Genealogist will be presenting.  Way to go! And this is just the tip of the iceberg. There are tons of excellent speakers that will be there and you can get to know them beyond their web presence.

So if you can “get away”  February 3–6, 2016 please make plans to join me at the Salt Palace Convention Center for RootsTech 2016. It’s going to be a blast. Stay tuned as I highlight some of my favorite speakers in the coming months.