Family History Expos has sponsored a number of excellent genealogy expos in several western states. You can watch a YouTube video with Lisa Louise Cooke and myself describing the company's genealogy expo in Mesa, Arizona last November at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlU2XKmFE90 and also read a number of my earlier articles about the same company's St. George, Utah conferences by going to http://tinyurl.com/qkrspu. Now the same company will sponsor a genealogy expo in the Denver suburbs in Loveland, Colorado next week on June 12 and 13. If you can be in Loveland, I suspect you will enjoy this event.
The events sponsored by Family History Expos (FHE) have always been geared to all levels of genealogists but have been especially successful at attracting newcomers and intermediate-level family history researchers. I suspect the Loveland event will be the same.
Family History Expo’s “Learn the Tech to Trace Your Roots” event will feature national speakers, exhibitors demonstrating the latest techniques and technology, hundreds of door prizes and opportunities to network with experienced professionals.
Keynote speaker Bernie Gracy is vice president of Strategy and Business Development for Pitney Bowes, a Fortune 500 company. Despite his busy professional life, Gracy has spent the last decade tracing his own roots through family history and genealogy. With a master’s degree in computer science and a master’s degree in e-commerce, Gracy has learned all of the tricks to apply his knowledge to high-tech family history.
The event’s line-up of presenters includes professional researchers from Sweden to Hawaii and everywhere in between. Richard Martinez will be among them. Martinez, a West Germany native, has worked in the National Archives and Records Administration’s Rocky Mountain Region for 10 of the past 30 years he has lived in Colorado.
Registered participants will be able to choose from eight different courses offered each hour. Workshops include a course taught by an Abraham Lincoln historian on, “The Wit and Wisdom of Abraham Lincoln.” Other popular topics include, “Finding Your English/Welsh Ancestors,” “Bringing Life to Your Life Stories,” “Beginning the Search of Your Ancestors,” and “Wagon Trains and Indian Fights.”
While there is absolutely no cost to enter the exhibit hall or the opening keynote address, there is a nominal fee to register for classes taught by genealogy experts.
Paid registrants will have the opportunity to meet with a professional genealogist for no additional charge. Registrants can bring a research problem to the event and get help from an experienced family historian in FHE’s unique Ask-the-Pros booth. These professionals normally charge anywhere from $50 to $150 per hour, so this is a great opportunity to obtain advice at a much lower price. Noted researcher Billy Edgington will manage the Ask-the-Pros Group. You can schedule an appointment by sending an e-mail request to expos@fhexpos.com in advance.
The Friday evening banquet will feature Jean Wilcox Hibben PhD, MA, CG and 'Uncle Butch' in a presentation of “Come Away with Me: Time Travel Set to Music.” Banquet tickets are available online at www.fhexpos.com.
The Colorado Expo will be the debut location of the FHE Blogger Bistro & Twitter Café. “We’re learning so much about more and better ways to communicate over the Internet. We want people to take advantage of all the technology that’s out there,” according to Family History Expo’s CEO, Holly Hansen.
All in all, this is shaping up to be a first-class genealogy event. If you would like to attend, or if you would like to obtain more information, take a look at http://www.fhexpos.com.
