On the Road Again

If you read this newsletter regularly, you already know that I travel quite often. By the time you read these words, I should be on a coast-to-coast flight en route to the Southern California Genealogy Jamboree being held this weekend in Burbank. I am looking forward to this trip: I was at the same conference last year and loved it. I suspect this year's event will be at least as good, if not better.

I am flying on Thursday. The conference is being held Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Hooray! A conference that is held on both weekend days! I'm taking a red-eye flight back Sunday evening, leaving at midnight, and should arrive home early Monday morning.

The Southern California Genealogical Society goes "all out" on their annual Jamboree and usually attracts 1,000 or more attendees. The facility used at the Burbank Marriott Hotel and Convention Center is just about the right size for an event of this type.

Quoting from the Society's web site:

"This year's Jamboree will offer an unprecedented 55 speakers and nearly 100 lectures, a full exhibit hall, and lots of special events and activities," according to Paula Hinkel, Jamboree co-chair.  "Jamboree has earned the reputation for being fun, well organized, with exceptional speakers and vendors.  This year will be all that and more."

The exhibit hall will host software and online database companies, vendors, societies, heritage and lineage groups, authors, and book sellers. Some exhibitors feature services including photo restoration, book repair, and production of beautiful pedigree charts and maps.

Collaboration is the word for this year's Jamboree.  Several organizations will be participating as sponsors and providing speakers.  Their support and participation is greatly appreciated.  Sponsors include:

• Ancestry.com / The Generations Network (Andrew Wait, Sr. VP; Suzanne Russo Adams, AG; Anna Fechter);
• FamilySearch.org  (David E. Rencher, AG, CG, FIGRS, FUGA; Paul Nauta;
• New England Historic Genealogical Society  (D. Brenton Simons; Michael J. Leclerc; Christopher Child);
• British Isles Family History Society - U.S.A  (Ivan C. Johnson, Ph.D. and Peggy Wishon).;
• Creative Continuum  (Tom Underhill);
• California State Genealogical Alliance  (Cath Trindle, CG);
• Family Tree DNA  (Bennett Greenspan)
• National Genealogical Society  (Julie Miller, CG)
• Legacy Family Tree  (Geoffrey Rasmussen)
• Generation Maps  (Janet Hovorka MLS);
• Youth Genealogical Association  (Kids' Family History Camp).
• Salt Lake Plaza Hotel (grand prize of 7-night stay)
• Pam Wiedenbeck (Jana Sloan Broglin, CG)
• Geneabloggers

Jamboree has several speakers who form the core of the lecture faculty and who are frequent presenters at the conference.  These speakers include Jana Broglin, CG; Bruce Buzbee;  Bill Dollarhide; Arlene Eakle, Ph.D. FUGA; Wendy Elliott, Ph.D., FUGA; Bennett Greenspan, Leland Meitzler, Geoffrey Rasmussen, George G. Morgan and Drew Smith, and Elaine Alexander among others.

A number of speakers will be making their Jamboree debuts this year:  Tony Burroughs, FUGA; DearMYRTLE; Maureen Taylor; Jean Wilcox Hibben, Ph.D., CG; Feargal O'Donnell of the Irish Family History Foundation; Tom Kemp; Lisa Alzo, and many others.  David E. Rencher, AG, CG, FIGRS, FUGA will return after a few years' absence.

The Friday night banquet keynote will be delivered by Dr. Tukufu Zuberi, one of the stars of PBS's series, "History Detectives."  Other activities will be this year's version of the very popular "Effective Society Management" panel discussion on Saturday morning, dinner with David Rencher on Saturday evening, and "The Art of Mourning - A Victorian Obsession" for a cheerful start to the day on Sunday.

Last year's Blogger Summit was such a success that it is being repeated in 2009.  "Blogger Summit 2:  Son of Blogger" will feature many of the leading information leaders in the geneablogging community today:  Lisa Louise Cooke; DearMYRTLE; Dick Eastman; Leland Meitzler; TheAncestryInsider; Craig Manson; George G. Morgan; Stephen Danko, Ph.D.; and Schelly Talalay Dardashti.

Friday morning features several free sessions, including:  Librarians' Boot Camp (Thomas J. Kemp); Beginning Genealogy Part 1 (Beverly Truesdale); Beginning Genealogy Part 2 (Lynne Parmenter); and Kids' Family History Camp (Starr Campbell, Hailey Campbell, Michael Melendez, Maureen Taylor and Jeanne Wilcox Hibben, Ph.D., CG).

You can read more at http://www.scgsgenealogy.com/2009jam-home.htm.

I will insert my normal disclaimer that I use every time I travel: I do expect to be traveling with an assortment of laptop computers, a wireless "air card" and wi-fi equipment, modem, and other gadgets. I expect to post articles to this newsletter more or less daily during my travels. I even hope to post a few photographs taken at the Southern California Genealogy Jamboree.

I will also be walking around the Jamboree with a TV cameraman and we hope to record a few video interviews with some of the people there. You can look for those videos to appear in future weeks on Roots Television.

However, don't be surprised if I miss a day or two of newsletter articles this week because of my schedule or because of possible hardware malfunctions.

Also, don't look for any new articles from me on Monday as I'll probably be sleeping after taking that coast-to-coast red-eye flight leaving at Sunday midnight!

Comments

[Cathy Walters]

Dick, If you run into Dorothy Koenig-give her a hug from her MN Mietzner cousin. I have been trying to find a current e-mail of hers-no luck- not even a closer cousin can't find.She used to work for Southern CA collage and Genealogical Society.Ludwig Alexanders great grand wishing you lots of fun,luck & lots of fellowship-what we call -talking genealogy.