By the time you read these words, I should be en route to Salt Lake City to attend the RootsTech 2013 conference, followed by a side trip to Las Vegas, and then back to Florida about nine days from now.
The trip to RootsTech promises to be very interesting. I hear the conference already has more than 5,000 attendees pre-registered and they expect more to purchase tickets at the door. This is going to be one huge show!
The conference has been expanded with an exhibits hall that is 40% larger than previous years. There will be 250 informative sessions and interactive workshops, more than ever before.
Keynote speakers this year include:
- Dennis C. Brimhall, President and CEO of FamilySearch International.
- Syd Lieberman, a nationally acclaimed storyteller, an author, and an award-winning teacher. MSyd has written stories for some of America's leading institutions and agencies, including the Smithsonian; Historic Philadelphia, Inc.; NASA; and the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center.
- D. Joshua Taylor, MA, MLS, Business Development Manager - North America for brightsolid online publishing, the creator of findmypast.com. A nationally known and recognized professional genealogist, lecturer, genealogical author, and researcher, Taylor is the current president of the Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) and the former Director of Education at the New England Historic Genealogical Society.
- Jyl Johnson Pattee, founder of Mom It Forward Media, a digital agency and network of social media influencers.
- Timothy Sullivan, President and Chief Executive Officer and a director of Ancestry.com.
- David Pogue, personal-technology columnist for The New York Times. He is also an Emmy Award-winning tech correspondent for CBS Sunday Morning and the current host of NOVA ScienceNow.
- Gilad Japhet, Founder and CEO of MyHeritage. A rare mix of hardcore genealogist, hands-on technologist and visionary, Gilad is one of the most influential people today in the advancement of online genealogy. Gilad has grown MyHeritage into the world's second largest genealogy company with 72 million registered users and 1.5 billion family tree profiles.
If you are also attending RootsTech 2013, drop by the MyHeritage booth and say "Hello!" I'll be there when I am not attending sessions or wandering the exhibits hall, looking for new things to write about.
Of course, my favorite part of RootsTech is the EOGN Dinner that I host shortly after the close of the conference. We have 80 genealogists signed up so far for the dinner. Details may be found at http://goo.gl/eNaKK and at http://goo.gl/W7YKZ.
I hope to publish daily reports from the RootsTech conference and especially after the EOGN Dinner being held on Saturday evening. I'll be traveling with a laptop computer, two 4G/3G wireless modems, and wi-fi capability. I should have connectivity!
I will leave Salt Lake City on Sunday and go to Las Vegas. This is a business trip. Honest!
Actually, I am not a gambler. I usually get to Las Vegas once or twice a year but never spend a dime in the casinos. This year, I hope to make arrangements for the EOGN dinner to be held after the National Genealogical Society's conference ends on May 11. I'll be meeting with at least two banquet managers at two different facilities.
Of course, I also might take in a show or two while I am there. I do love the shows in Vegas.
Despite the online access most everywhere, please do not be surprised if I miss a day or two of new articles from time to time. While I should have connectivity most everywhere, I often find that I do not have time! That is especially true when I am attending conference activities for twelve or fourteen hours a day.
See you at RootsTech!
