Join Me in Surf City!

**Gena's Note:  A new genealogy conference is being sponsored by the Orange County California Genealogical Society in March. Join me for a day of genealogy in Huntington Beach.

The Orange County California Genealogical Society (OCCGS), celebrating their 50th Anniversary, will be hosting the inaugural “Genealogy BASH and Book Faire” on Saturday, March 2, 2013 at the Huntington Beach Central Library.

Ten of Southern California’s best family history speakers will give talks on subjects ranging from how the Internet is changing genealogical research to DNA testing for genealogy. Speakers include Barbara Renick, Randy Seaver, Jean Wilcox Hibben, CeCe Moore, Norma Storrs Keating, Dawn Thurston, Linda Serna, Brian Speckart, Richard S. McFarlane, and Gena Philibert-Ortega. There will be 20 lectures in four sessions from which to choose. There is a wide range of subjects that will be of interest to anyone who is researching their family roots. Seating is guaranteed if pre-registered on their website, www.occgs.com. There is a fee to attend the lectures. Parking is free in the large library lot.

Those just beginning their quest for their family’s history will have the opportunity to learn from professionals in free classes also held throughout the day. Free sign-ups are on the organization’s website, www.occgs.com.

There are two title sponsors for the event, Findmypast and FamilySearch. Both will have company representatives available to discuss their products. There will also be additional exhibitors in attendance and the exhibit hall is open to the public.

OCCGS manages the 20,000 volume Genealogy collection at the Huntington Beach Central Library. The public is invited to visit the collection and have a guided tour.

There will be a Book Faire for people who want to add to their personal genealogical library. Prices for the books and other genealogical materials at the Book Faire are at bargain basement prices. The Book Faire is free and open to the public.

The Huntington Beach Central Library is located at 7111 Talbert Ave., Huntington Beach, CA 92648. Doors open at 8:00 AM and the first session starts at 9:15 AM. See the OCCGS website,
www.occgs.com, and click on the BASH button for full details and registration information.

Contact Information:
Hal Horrocks
Phone: 714-296-6114
Email: president@occgs.com
Website: www.occgs.com

Hurry! Discount to Family Tree University Conference

I'm excited to be presenting two sessions at the Family Tree University Virtual Genealogy Conference happening September 14-16. I will be presenting Top 10 Tools for Social History and Cook Up Answers About Immigrant Ancestors. You can check out the conference schedule here.

To take advantage of the early bird pricing, attendees should click this  Register link at  and enter discount code FTUVCEARLY at checkout.

Hurry! This offer ends soon. The early bird registration period for the conference ends this Friday, August 10, at 11:59 p.m. Early bird registration costs $159.99, and is a savings of $50 over the regular registration fee. 
 

My Three Must Do Activities for NGS 2012

It’s hard to believe but in less than a week the National Genealogical Society Annual Conference  will converge upon Cincinnati, Ohio. You may be aware by now that I have been chosen to be one of the Official Bloggers for #NGS2012. (Thank you NGS for that honor). 

As I think about the conference I also started to think about what I hope to get out of the experience. Conferences can be an expensive proposition so it seems appropriate to set some goals about what I want to achieve by attending NGS. Now I have attended many NGS conferences and have always found them to be worthwhile. My three goals for this conference are below.

• I’ve already marked the conference schedule with everything I want to see. And like usual I have marked multiple presentations at the same hour. I am hoping to use some of my time attending presentations that stretch my thinking. Because there is no earthly way I will get to all the presentations I would like to see I do plan on buying audio files of presentations that were recorded that I did not have a chance to attend. I love audio files and listen to them again and again for ideas of how I can enhance my own research.

• One of my big plans is to network. I’m excited about the release of my new book From the Family Kitchen (F + W Media, 2012) and am looking forward to showing it to everyone. I will also be signing my book at the Family Tree Magazine booth on Friday at 1pm. But I am also excited at hearing about other projects that genealogists have been working on. The excitement that a conference can provide is a great shot in the arm for tackling new and existing projects when you get back home.

• Tour the Exhibit Hall again and again. I’m always curious to see what’s new in the world of genealogy. From what books I must have to the latest gadgets, I will be spending some time looking around the exhibit hall to see what is new and can enhance my research.

So that’s my list. What are your three must do activities for NGS 2012?

What If You Can't Go?: RootsTech 2012 Edition

Last year for the FGS conference I posted an article on how to "attend" the conference from home.  What If You Can't Go To FGS 2011 was a look at ways you could still participate in the conference from home and even look towards attending in 2012.  I thought it fitting to post an update for those unable to go to RootsTech this year. All is not lost, there are still ways you can participate.

Download the RootsTech Syllabus. I love that RootsTech has provided the syllabus for the conference for free on their website. This allows everyone to share in what is happening  and for those of us not able to attend, we can still benefit from the presentations. To download the syllabus, see  the RootsTech Downloads page.

Follow RootsTech on Twitter. By using the RootsTech hashtag #rootstech you can follow the latest news from  the conference including information about vendors, presentations and events.

Check out the RootsTech Bloggers. Whether you follow them on Facebook, Twitter,  or their blogs, you are sure to learn about what is happening both during and after the conference. Click here for a list of RootsTech Bloggers.

Attend RootsTech from Home. RootsTech is live streaming 14 presentations starting on Thursday. You can find the list of presentations and times by going to their homepage and scrolling down.

Be a Winner. RootsMagic is holding an online scavenger hunt where you can win an iPad 2. Winners will include both RootsTech attendees and non-attendees. Look for the announcement tomorrow about which blogs will have clues. To learn more about this giveaway, see the RootsMagic  blog.

What About Next Year? In my original posting for FGS 2011, I wrote "The FGS conference (or RootsTech) is yearly,  start planning now to attend next year. With 12 months until the next conference you can work on finances, clearing your calendar and arranging for someone to take care of family members or even bring them with you. (Those who know me often see my kids trailing behind me.) I have written before on this blog and also in an article for Internet Genealogy about saving money so you can do more genealogy.  And I mean it. Yes, I use coupons, specials and discounts so that I can save money and go to conferences. Save money now to store away but also consider ways to save during the conference like finding a roommate, shopping for travel deals, etc. Start now, it's always great to have something to look forward to."

It's impossible to go to every genealogy conference. Fortunately, conference organizers are finding ways for those unable to attend to still participate. Take advantage of these opportunities and let conference organizers know how much you appreciate attending from home.