One event being held in a few weeks is a genealogy conference that has a most unusual name: the Genealogy Conference and "Land Cruise." This five-day genealogy conference will be held in rural Orkney Springs, Virginia, but will attract attendees from all over the U.S. Indeed, it will be a national event but with much lower costs than most other major conferences which are typically held in downtown (expensive) cities.
Wholly Genes is well known in genealogy circles as the producers of The Master Genealogist, a top-of-the-line program for Windows. The company also produces Family Tree SuperTools, an add-on product that provides additional capabilities to Family Tree Maker, Personal Ancestral File, Legacy, and other genealogy programs. Finally, Wholly Genes also produces hundreds of CD-ROM disks containing classic genealogy reference books. Wholly Genes has held four annual genealogy cruises with internationally-known speakers and exotic ports of call in sun-drenched tropical islands or to Mexico.
This year, the company decided to switch from tropical cruises to a somewhat more traditional genealogy conference at a rural "retreat." This year's event will again feature well-known speakers, good food, and interesting scenery; but, the accommodations and surroundings will be radically different: the Shrine Mont Conference Center in historic Orkney Springs, Virginia, in the historic Shenandoah Valley.
There is one side benefit that I suspect all the attendees will appreciate: this year's seminars will be offered at much lower costs than attending similar seminars on a cruise ship.
Orkney Springs is about a two-hour drive west of Washington D.C. This setting provides an inexpensive venue for the genealogy presentations while its proximity to Washington D.C. offers the opportunity to follow lectures with an all-day research trip to the research repositories of the nation's capital.
The Shrine Mont Conference Center is centered around a beautiful 19th-century hotel in the Shenandoah Valley, nestled in the foothills of the Great North Mountain. The genealogists will fill the hotel, and it will be a "genealogy week."
This year's speaker list includes several of the most respected and knowledgeable professional genealogists and researchers of today, including:
- John Philip Colletta, Ph.D. - a popular speaker, prolific author, and expert on research at the Library of Congress, among many other topics.
- Marie Varrelman Melchiori, CG, CGL - a full-time researcher for 30 years, an expert on the National Archives, military records, and other topics.
- Patricia O'Brien Shawker, CG - the Director of the National Institute on Genealogical Research, author, and an expert on research at the DAR Library and National Archives, among other topics.
- Craig Roberts Scott, CG - publisher, professional researcher for more than 23 years, and an expert on a wide variety of record types and resources, including colonial, Civil War, federal records, migration, military, Quaker, and government publications.
A full list of all the lectures is available at http://www.whollygenes.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?screen=CRUISE#speakers.
In addition, users of The Master Genealogist (TMG) software will also have the opportunity to learn from some of the most experienced TMG users, including:
- Bob Velke, President of Wholly Genes Software;
- Lee Hoffman, beta tester and compiler of "Getting the Most Out of The Master Genealogist";
- Terry Reigel, beta tester and author of "Primer for The Master Genealogist," and
- representatives of the Wholly Genes technical support staff.
However, please do not think that this event is aimed solely at users of The Master Genealogist. It isn't. In past Wholly Genes Genealogy cruise/conferences, attendees have included users of other Windows programs, Macintosh users, and even a few who did not own computers. I suspect this year's event will attract the same. The agenda certainly provides something for everyone.
This year's conference will start with a day and a half of lectures about methodology, repositories, records, and finding aids in D.C. (including the National Archives and Records Administration, the Library of Congress, and the DAR), followed by a full-day research trip to Washington D.C. (the "land cruise" part), and then another day and a half of presentations, among other activities.
In addition to the genealogical lectures of interest to all researchers, there will be a number of presentations about The Master Genealogist (TMG) software. Those lectures will start Saturday after lunch, a schedule that gives those who are not interested in the software presentations the option of registering for only the first three days of the conference.
None of the lecture times will overlap, so you won't be required to make choices and miss something.
There will also be one-on-one opportunities with the speakers, hosted breakfasts (small group meals with a speaker), as well as welcome and farewell mixers.
For spouses or others not interested in the research trip to D.C. on Friday, there will be coordinated trips to local caverns, vineyards, orchards, museums, antique shops, and/or other local attractions.
This year's conference is limited to 200 people. The Wholly Genes web site says that the event was 98% sold out as of July 1st. With a maximum of 200 people, 98% sold out would indicate four vacancies left. However, Wholly Genes president Bob Velke told me that a couple of people canceled in the past few weeks due to medical issues; so, he does have a few more openings left. I suspect they will be snapped up before long.
If you would like to attend a first-class genealogy conference in a few weeks, you can do so if you sign up now. Should you procrastinate, however, you probably will miss out on this event.
You can learn more about this innovative genealogy "retreat" at http://www.WhollyGenes.com/conference.htm. Check out the pictures of the accommodations.
