I recently attended my first RootsTech in Salt Lake City, UT. It was one of the most amazing experiences I ever did. It was my first solo trip to travel across the country that wasn't for work reasons. I'm very thankful and appreciative to my family and friends for pitching in for me to go this year. I had the privilege to come in a day early to research at the Family History Library and then attend the entire conference, including some of the innovator summit sessions.
RootsTech was held in the Salt Palace Convention Center. This place was pretty huge - you had multiple ballrooms on the main level, and then classrooms going on and on for another two floors. Depending on when your next session was, you needed to hustle a little bit to make sure you found the correct room and were able to get a good seat. The featured lunches were all the way across the convention center on the 3rd floor. You definitely worked up an appetite by the time you got there. The Expo Hall housed hundreds of vendors. I've never seen so many genealogy related companies! It's very easy to get overwhelmed. I took time during when a lecture was being held to walk through and check out what was there. Of course I found my way to Maia's Books and perused the latest book selections while it wasn't so crowded.
I highly recommend that each genealogist go to RootsTech at least once in their lifetime. Get out there and network. So many great people in the industry as well as doing it for fun. There's always something new to learn.
Here's a Recap of Each Day including the Sessions I Attended and the Links to the Sessions if Available:
Wednesday (2/8)
Innovator Summit General Session: Liz Wiseman was the key note speaker. Liz Wiseman spoke about her rookie moment and how to embrace it to succeed in business.
Sessions:
Industry Trends and Outlook: Panel Discussion with Ben Bennett; Craig Bott; Heather Holmes; Nick Jones; Robert Kehrer
Innovation: Best Practices and Applications - Cyndi Tetro
NextGen Genealogy Network Meetup - I co-coordinated the meetup for NextGen genealogy members for a casual lunch. We had a great turnout!
3D Printing the Past - Joey Skinner
Deciphering Foreign Language Record - Randy Whited
Jewish Genealogy Resources on the Internet - Daniel Horowitz
Welcome Party: We Don't Need Roads - this was the kickoff party and was a lot of fun. The theme was 80's so 80's dance music, 80's video games, candy bar. This was so much fun!
Thursday (2/9)
General Session: The Scott Brothers (Jonathan and Drew) keynoted the presentation. The Scott Brothers' presentation was fabulous! They also took photos with RootsTech attendees afterwards.
How to Use DNA Triangulation to Confirm Ancestors - Kitty Cooper
FamilySearch Sponsored Lunch: Who Moved My Microfilm?
Tips for Tracing Your Jewish Roots - Schelly Talalay Dardashti
Organizing Evidence to Reveal Lineages - Thomas Jones
RootsTech Opening Event: Music It Runs in the Family - Fabulous performances by the Mormon Tablernacle Choir and guest soloist Dallyn Vail Bayles. It was touching to hear stories from Oscar "Andy" Hammerstein about his family.
Friday (2/10):
General Session: LeVar Burton was the key note speaker. His speech was very emotional and there was not a dry tear in the house when he was presented with his ancestry.
Innovator Showdown Final: One of my favorite parts at RootsTech is learning about some of the latest start-up companies and the products they developed. Congrats to the winners!
FindMyPast Sponsored Lunch. A Narrative Worth Telling: The Family History Journey - Jen Baldwin
Finding Books, Books, Glorious Books - Helen Smith
How Do I Find That? Secrets to Find Unique Sources - Joshua Taylor
MyHeritage RootsTech After Party - This is an invite-only party I had the privilege of going as a guest. Great food, fun games, and karaoke.
Saturday (2/11):
General Session: Buddy Valastro was the key note speaker. I always love hearing stories about his family. And of course there was a cake decorating contest that was being judged.
Finding My Irish Story: Going Beyond the Free Stuff - Brian Donovan
Creating Google Alerts for Your Genealogy - Katherine Wilson
RootsTech Closing Event: Celebrating Life with Music and Cake: Great performances by all of the dancers!
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