RT 1082

“RT 1082.”

Gibberish?

Hardly.


RT1082 is the code assigned to my presentation at RootsTech 2014. I like it. It has an R2D2 ring to it, and that makes me smile.

R2D2. Would't he be cool to have at RootsTech?

Image: Jan SOLO, Wikimedia Commons

I have been looking forward to this adventure for months, and as we get within just days of departure, my anticipation only grows. I have so many people to meet, research to do (yippee!), friends to see again and spend time with, and an entire week of genealogy immersion to enjoy. Without further ado, I would like to take this opportunity to introduce you to my session and those that have agreed to participate in it with me.

“Online Trees: The Root of All Evil?”

This session is a panel discussion, focused on the merits of online trees. It melds together a little bit of me, five panelists, and hopefully an engaged audience that will all come together to create a lively, but also beneficial, conversation regarding the issue of whether or not to place your genealogical research online.


It’s a bit of a hot bed, and I cannot wait to get the discussion going.


After careful planning and consideration, I have invited five people to be on the panel, and I am proud to present them now. In no particular order…

• D. Joshua Taylor, Data Strategy Manager – North America, findmypast.com and President of the Federation of Genealogical Societies.
• Anne Gillespie Mitchell, Senior Producet Manager at Ancestry.com. She is fondly known as "Ancestry Anne"
• Chris Whitten, CEO & Founder of WikiTree
• Laurie Desmarias, Genealogist, Geneablogger at Confusethedead.com and #genchat participant.
• Elissa Scallisse Powell, CG, CGL, Co-Director at GRIP and President of the Board Certification of Genealogists

The session will be conducted on Thursday, February 6, at 2:30 pm in Ballroom A.


I am incredibly pleased to be bringing together a dynamic group of innovators, forward thinkers and leaders in our community for this session. Each of these individuals provides an alternative thought process, a different perspective, and obviously, various backgrounds and experience levels for the conversation to draw from.

I would be remiss if I did not take a moment to thank those that have helped me to get to this point. Speaking at RootsTech has been a goal of mine for some time, and I have had more than one cheerleader on this road.  My wonderful family, my amazing mentor, Kassie Nelson, Rorey Cathcart and Pat Richley-Erickson have been especially helpful, encouraging and are deserving of recognition. 

For those of you who are also attending, I'll see you there! Be sure to connect with me, I love meeting new people. You can tweet me at @ancestryjourney or seek me out some other way. Just be sure to do it! I'm the short girl, with the coffee.

The Countdown Begins

Two years ago, I watched live streamed sessions from RootsTech 2012. I promised myself, less than 15 minutes into the keynote, that I would go. I would go to that conference, attend those sessions, meet those people. More than any other webinar, conference, hangout, or anything else I have ever seen, RootsTech was it. 

And now? 

Not only have I kept that promise to myself by attending RootsTech 2014, I am presenting a session, too. 

Sweaty palms? Check.

Butterflies? Check.

Anxious wake-up-in-the-middle-of-the-night panic moments? Check. 

(Ok, this last one is pushing it a bit. I'm not that nervous!)

What I have more of, though, is friendship and support. 

My mentor will be there. My #genchat friends will be there. Folks that I respect will be speaking, blogging, and otherwise networking (and maybe one or two will even come to listen!). People that I have never met before will be there; thousands of them. 

I always get a little nervous before public speaking, but within five minutes or so, I settle into my topic, and I'm good after that. I enjoy it! Engaging with people, bringing new information to them, sharing something I am passionate about; that is a part of my job I truly enjoy. It fits in so nicely with my three words for 2014, too, doesn't it? 

NGS 2013

While attending the National Genealogical Society Conference last May in Las Vegas, I met some really incredible people. Made some truly lasting friendships, and learned a great deal. Not just about genealogy (that's a given, right?), but about myself as well. I cannot wait to see what happens in Salt Lake City. 

I still have quite a bit to do before we head west, and I'm sure I'll be blogging as I go. If you are planning on attending, please leave a comment so we can connect in person! 

Beyond the conference, the session, and the great folks, I get to spend some time at the Family History Library, too... bliss.