Day Four - FGS Conference

I can't believe it's over!  Today is the last day for the conference, but still so much to learn.  

Started the day with Harold Henderson "Improving your Speaking Ideas".  I realize that good speaking requires submitting to personal criticism, and boy does that hurt sometimes.  But, I was encouraged (a little) by Harold's observation that "Criticism, phrased well, shouldn't hurt."  Which also makes me consider how a deliver criticism to others.  

Another gem I gleaned from Harold, is that "Ideas are a renewable resource."  One idea can have many applications: a tweet, blog post, popular article, instructional article, technical article, local talk, regional talk, webinar, online video, etc.  

I came away from today with "Get Inspired, Get Criticized. Get Improved."  Thanks Harold, for the inspiration.

Ended the day with Lisa Alzo, " Cloud Based Tools Every Genealogist Can Use".  Enough new apps to keep me busy for at least the next month.  

Some of the apps I think I will try in the next few weeks include:

Living Organized

Workflowy

Writing Your Family History App (IPad)

Google Voice

That's all for the 2013 FGS Conference,  making plans next for 2014 NGS in Virginia, then I am leaning heavily toward the combined 2015 FGS/RootsTech Conference in Salt Lake.

Day Three - FGS Conference

Day Three - Where to begin?
Let's just sum up the day with:

Elizabeth Shown Mills
Thomas W. Jones
Debra Mieszala
Judy Russell
Cyndi Ingel Howells
J. Mark Lowe

My head is spinning!  So much to process.....

Day Two- FGS Conference

Thursday (Day Two of the FGS Conference) brought lots of interesting information on the subject of DNA Testing.  WOW!  I felt like I was back in a College Anatomy Class.    In addition to DNA or 'Genea-Genetics' there were also presentations on Midwestern Genealogy Collections, Libraries, and Archives.    

Day One - FGS Conference

Lots going on today!  Started the Day with Cyndi Ingels Howell creator of the genealogy megalist www.cyndislist.com.  Then it was on to listen to Rachel Popma, Indiana Genealogical Society Quarterly Editor, " Content Development for Society Publications".   D. Joshua Taylor was entertaining with "Overcoming 'We Have Always Done It This Way' syndrome".  

Tina Lyon, (above) Indiana Genealogical Society VP, gave a great presentation on "Social Media for Our Societies", and I ended the conference day with "Funding Projects Large and Small".  

Now, getting ready for Conference "After Hours" - tonight looks like dinner with Rachel Popma and Tina Lyons.  We only get to see each other during a genealogy function, but they have become friends, so it is dinner out with "the girls"!  

Lots to learn, and I can see many applications, not just to my local genealogy society, but several other organizations as well.  

NATIONAL GENEALOGY CONFERENCE in INDIANA

So this week (Tuesday-Sunday) I am headed to Fort Wayne, Indiana for the Federation of Genealogical Societies National Conference. FGS Conference I rarely take this much time off, but the prospect of going to a National Conference just four hours from home was too great to pass up!  Today, I am planning my conference schedule, and looking at seminar descriptions.  I am looking forward to learning more about how to incorporate social media into the many roles I play as a local family history volunteer.

Then there is DNA!  DNA testing for Genealogy, Using DNA to Trace Lines of Descent, AncestryDNA: Making the Connection. DNA is a new tool in the Genealogy Community, and I will admit that it can be very overwhelming to process all the information that is circulating about it.

Then, there are the Scanning and Digital Imaging Workshops, Organizing your Digital Images, and using Cloud-Based Tools to make your Family History Writing EASIER! (Yeah, well...maybe!)

All of this is taking place just across the street from the Second Largest Genealogy Library in the USA - the Allen County Public Library.  

Stay tuned to "Reports from the Conference"...

Time to REBOOT my BLOG....

Time to REBOOT my Blog......

     Gee....Where has the time gone?  It has been over a year since I posted anything on my blog, but life has a way of, well, getting in the way!  

     Much has happened in my life in the last 16+ months.  I took care of my Dad for about 7 months, until we finally put him in the local nursing home.  I lost my little brother to a sudden heart attack on New Years Eve.  I married off my youngest daughter in May, and was elected to Brown County Council.

     In all that has happened this past year, I am still helping run our family grocery store, and I still help people with their local history and genealogy questions.

     During this REBOOT, I want to refocus my blog postings to include some of the interesting things I discover while researching in the Brown County History Center Archives.