Remembering RootsTech

RootsTech.org

Compared to the photo above, the first RootsTech Conference, held in 2011, was a quiet affair. The official attendance was around 3000 people. I was invited to attend as an official "Blogger." There were about a dozen of us. I have been an official blogger or Ambassador and every RootsTech Conference since the beginning. As a side note, from the current list of "Ambassadors", it looks like there a still a few of us scheduled for the 2019 Conference.

Back in those early conferences, the emphasis was more on "tech" than the more recent conferences. During the first few conferences, I spent much of time going to classes and writing. One of the high points of all the conferences was the introduction of the FamilySearch.org Family Tree program. For me, another interesting experience was my substitute presentation as a "Keynote" speaker for MyHeritage.com. At RootsTech 2017, I spent most of my time presenting for The Family History Guide, where I serve as the Chairman of The Family History Guide Association. I missed physically attending RootsTech 2018 because of our serving as Full-time Senior Missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Washington, D.C. North Mission. We are Records Preservation Specialists digitizing records at the Maryland State Archives in Annapolis, Maryland. I am looking forward to being back, in person, to the RootsTech 2019 Conference.

Except for a few minutes to eat or rest, I am usually busy every minute I am at the conferences. In the last few conferences, it seems like I lose my voice about half-way through the conference but get it back after I keep talking.

This next year's RootsTech 2019 Conference will be better than ever. It will be held from February 27th to March 2nd at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City, Utah. I will probably be attending the BYU Family History Technology Workshop the day before and then traveling from Provo, Utah up to Salt Lake City for the Conference.

I hope I will be seeing some of my readers there at the Conference. I am not hard to find.