Hotel Rervations Now Open for FGS 2020 Conference

The Federation of Genealogists annual conference will be held in Kansas City, Missouri on September 2 – 5, 2020. I’ll be there and I hope you will be too. Watch our #FGS2020 page here to learn more about my activities at #FGS2020. 

If you’re planning to attend, now is the time to book your hotel reservation. Rooms can fill up very quickly.

Here are all the details from the press release from the folks at the Federation of Genealogical Societies. 

FGS conference hotel reservations

HOTEL RESERVATIONS NOW OPEN FOR THE FGS 2020 CONFERENCE IN KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI

*1/11/2020** – Austin, TX*.

FGS is pleased to announce that hotel reservations are now open for the 2020 Conference to be held in Kansas City, Missouri.

The Kansas City Marriott Downtown is now taking reservations for the 2020 FGS Family History Conference, “Blazing Trails in the Heart of America” The conference will be held September 2-5, 2020. This hotel is set in the heart of the downtown district and connects via walkway to the Kansas City Convention Center where the conference will be held.

FGS 2020 Conference room rates are available Saturday August 29, 2020 until Tuesday September 8, 2020 (subject to availability). Reservations must be made by August 3, 2020 to secure the conference rate.

Kansas City Marriott Downtown

200 West 12th Street, Kansas City, Missouri 64105

Full details and links for FGS discounted reservations can be found on the FGS website here.

FGS 2020

Screen shot of FGS conference website.

Conference hotels fill up quickly, so it is not too early to make reservations. We look forward to seeing you in Kansas City!

About the Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS)

The Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) was founded in 1976 and empowers the genealogical and family history community, especially its societies and organizations, by advocating for the preservation and access of records and providing resources that enable genealogical organizations to succeed in pursuing their missions.

FGS helps genealogical societies and family history enthusiasts alike to strengthen and grow through online resources, *FGS FORUM *magazine, and through its annual national conference which provides four days of excellent learning opportunities for both societies and family history enthusiasts.

FGS launched the Preserve the Pensions project in 2010 to raise more than $3 million to digitize and make freely available the pension files from the War of 1812. Fundraising was completed for that project in 2016 and the digitization continues. FGS was also the driving force behind the Civil War Soldiers and Sailors project alongside the National Parks Service.

 

RootsTech 2020 SLC Opens Registration

It’s time for genealogists to start making plans for the RootsTech 2020 conference to be held in Salt Lake City, Utah.

I’ve been attending and speaking at RootsTech since 2011, the second year that the conference was held. It’s been so rewarding to be a part of the evolution of this event! This 10th anniversary in 2020 promises to top them all. 

Lisa Louise Cooke at Rootstech 2019

I’ll be delivering four presentations this year: 

  1. Reconstruct Your Ancestors’ Stories with Google
  2. Genealogy in Your Ears: Podcasters Talk Podcast 
  3. 3 Cool Cases Solved: How to Identify Your Photos (premiering at RootsTech!)
  4. The 2020 Genealogist’s Google Search Methodology

Lisa Louise Cooke is a speaker at RootsTech 2020

Each year holds new surprises and opportunities to connect with your fellow genealogists. Below is the recent RootsTech press release providing all the details on registration. And here’s a tip: If you’re travelling from out of town, book your accommodations right away. Some hotels have already sold out. 

RootsTech crowds enjoy the many attractions of the popular annual event.SALT LAKE CITY (18 September 2019)—

FamilySearch International has announced that registration for RootsTech 2020 Salt Lake City is now open.

RootsTech is a popular 4-day annual family history and technology conference where individuals and families are inspired to discover, share, and preserve their family roots, heritage, and stories.

The 2020 conference will be held February 26–29, 2020, at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. For more information, visit rootstech.org/salt-lake. Discounts are available for early registrations.

In 2019, RootsTech attracted over 20,000 attendees from 38 different countries and all 50 states.

RootsTech 2020 will celebrate its 10th anniversary and the distinguished honor that it is the largest genealogy conference of its kind in the world.

The conference will feature a full lineup of inspiring and well-known keynote speakers, over 300 informative sessions, including hands-on computer workshops taught by industry professionals; interactive activities and helpful exhibitors in the expo hall; and entertaining events—all designed to inspire and empower personal family discoveries.

RootsTech 2017

Conference Details

The theme for RootsTech 2020 will be “The Story of YOU.” Many of the classes, keynote address, and venue décor will reflect this theme.

“At RootsTech, we believe that the stories we’re creating and preserving today are just as important as the stories of our ancestors,” said Jen Allen, event director. “Reflecting on and celebrating each of our personal journeys is an important part of family history that we are excited to explore at the 2020 conference.”

RootsTech 2020 will also introduce learning forums—new class sessions covering a variety of specialized topics including: records access and preservation, innovation and technology, and DNA. One of these forums will be offered on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.

RootsTech 2020 will officially begin on Wednesday, February 26 with class sessions beginning at 8 AM MT. Wednesday’s general keynote session will begin on the main stage at 4:30 p.m. Steve Rockwood, CEO of FamilySearch International, will be the featured keynote speaker.

General keynote sessions on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday will begin on the main stage at 11 AM MT and will lead directly into the lunch hour.

Read more about what’s new at RootsTech 2020.

International speaker Lisa Louise Cooke at RootsTech

RootsTech Conference Pricing

Early bird discount pricing is available for a limited time on 4-day passes at just $169 (a $130 discount on regularly priced passes). Single day RootsTech passes are also available for $99. Both one-day and full conference passes include access to the popular expo hall and keynote sessions. Early bird pricing ends October 11, 2019.

Family Discovery Day at RootsTech 2020

Registration for Family Discovery Day is also now open.

The event takes place on Saturday, February 26, 2020, and is designed for families and members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

This free 1-day event includes inspiring messages from Church leaders; engaging classes for families, youth, and young single adults; and evening entertainment to inspire and help families make family history connections.

Fun at Rootstech

My kids and their friend having fun at RootsTech

Family Discovery Day attendees will also have access to all the interactive activities and exhibitors found in the RootsTech expo hall. Event details, including speakers and class sessions, will be made available soon at RootsTech.org.

The event is free, but registration is required.

Considering Going for the First Time?

If you’ll be attending RootsTech for the first time, we’ve got loads of tips that will help make your experience awesome. Read my article RootsTech questions: Tips for attending world’s biggest genealogy event. 

rootstech guide first-timers

Looking for a Smaller Genealogy Event?

If you enjoy a more intimate genealogy event setting, consider joining me at Genealogy Roots. It’s two days of genealogy education with me and my special guest Geoff Rasmussen of Legacy Family Tree Webinars. It’s coming soon: October 10 & 11, 2019 in Sandy, Utah, just 25 minutes south of the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. Learn more and get the early-bird special on tickets here

Genealogy Roots 2019

MyHeritage LIVE 2019

Genealogists from all over the world – get ready to have some fun! MyHeritage has just announced the second annual MyHeritage Live! Conference. A brand new location, new speakers, and the hottest topics on all things family history makes this a once-in-a-lifetime experience you won’t want to miss. Read on for all the details about the event and how to register. 

Following the resounding success of MyHeritage LIVE 2018, their first-ever user conference, which took place in Oslo, they have decided to host it again in 2019! MyHeritage LIVE 2019 has just been announced and will take place on September 6-8, 2019 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands at the Hilton Amsterdam Hotel. This prime location is south of central Amsterdam, near the museum district, and MyHeritage has arranged a special rate for guests who choose to stay at the hotel.

In addition to a plenary session from MyHeritage Founder and CEO, Gilad Japhet, there will be genealogy and DNA lecture tracks, as well as hands-on workshops to walk attendees through MyHeritage tools and features step-by-step. The MyHeritage support team will be on hand throughout the conference to assist with any questions.

Special evening events and lunches will give everyone the chance to meet other MyHeritage users from around the world and mingle with MyHeritage staff and experts.

Here’s a recap of MyHeritage Live! 2018 in Oslo, Norway:

Conference tickets include access to lectures, workshops, coffee breaks, lunches on Saturday and Sunday, a Friday night drink reception, and the famous MyHeritage party on Saturday night, all of which you don’t want to miss!

Early Bird Registration is available through July 31, 2019 and spaces are limited, so book now and mark your calendar!

Click here to visit the event page for all the details and register now!

About the Author: Lisa Louise Cooke

About the Author: Lisa Louise Cooke

Lisa is the Producer and Host of the Genealogy Gems Podcast, an online genealogy audio show and app. She is the author of the books The Genealogist’s Google Toolbox, Mobile Genealogy, How to Find Your Family History in Newspapers, and the Google Earth for Genealogy video series, an international keynote speaker, and producer of the Family Tree Magazine Podcast.

A Genealogy Speaker’s Life

Join me for a peek inside this speaker’s life. Last week I was in Provo, Utah for the BYU Conference on Family History & Genealogy, with production assistant (and awesome daughter!) Hannah by my side. It was a full week of teaching (6 sessions), interviewing, and visiting with an enthusiastic group of genealogists. We also managed to fit in some mother / daughter time in majestic Sundance, Utah. Click here to see if I’ll be speaking near you, then scroll down for the slide show:

One of 6 presentations at BYU
Lisa speaking at the BYU Family History Conference

One of 6 presentations at the BYU Family History Conference.

Interview Time
Lisa interviews Joe Everett of BYU Family History Library

Interview Time: Joe Everett of the BYU Family History Library

Free Time at Sundance, Utah
sundance byu family history conference

The entrance to Sundance, Utah

Lisa and Hannah
Lisa and Hannah at Sundance and BYU

Free Time during the BYU Family History Conference

Hannah in her element!
Hannah photographing Sundance

Hannah in her element!

A River Runs Through It
a river runs through it sundance

A River Runs Through It

About the Author: Lisa Louise Cooke

About the Author: Lisa Louise Cooke

Lisa is the Producer and Host of the Genealogy Gems Podcast, an online genealogy audio show and app. She is the author of the books The Genealogist’s Google Toolbox, Mobile Genealogy, How to Find Your Family History in Newspapers, and the Google Earth for Genealogy video series, an international keynote speaker, and producer of the Family Tree Magazine Podcast.

Come see us at the Federation of Genealogical Societies 2018 Conference

What: Federation of Genealogical Societies 2018 Conference
Where: Fort Wayne, Indiana
Booth: #101 Lisa Louise Cooke’s Genealogy Gems
When: August 22-25, 2018

We can’t wait to see you at the Federation of Genealogical Society 2018 Conference! Genealogy Gems will be rolling out the red carpet for with our free power sessions and prizes. On Saturday, you’ll have the rare opportunity to go behind the scenes and join us for a live recording of the Genealogy Gems Podcast and the Family Tree Magazine Podcast. And be sure to stop by with your smartphone or tablet and we’ll set up the free Genealogy Gems Podcast for you!

Booth 101 Genealogy Gems at FGS 2018

Join us for our incredibly popular red carpet mini sessions while you’re at FGS. We’ll have expert instruction and free prizes at every session, including DNA kits, online courses, subscriptions, and more!

Lisa Louise Cooke will be showing you how to apply your sleuthing skills to find missing trees, as well as create free map collections and stunning family history videos. Shannon Combs-Bennett joins us to provide practical tools and strategies to work with your DNA results and apply them your genealogical research. Special guests also include Mike Mansfield to bust brick walls with MyHeritage, and RootsMagic founder Bruce Buzzbee will give you tips and tricks for using the famous family tree software. Attendees of the conference will find our flyer with the complete schedule in their conference bags. Here’s the full schedule:

FGS 2019 conference Genealogy Gems

We’ll set up the free podcast on your mobile device!
If you’ve never listened to the free Genealogy Gems Podcast, we want to personally invite you stop by the booth on Saturday from 10:00 – 11:00 AM and we will set up the podcast on your mobile device for you! It’s completely free, and totally easy to listen. We’ll make sure you leave comfortable and confident to listen.

Attend free live podcast recordings on Saturday
And whether you’re a podcast listener or not (yet!), you have the rare opportunity to go behind the scenes and watch our live recordings:

Saturday 8/25/18 12:30 – 1:00 PM Family Tree Magazine Podcast
Saturday 8/25/18 1:15 – 1:45 PM Genealogy Gems Podcast

We will have special guest interviews, BIG prizes, and lots of fun!

Mark your calendars for Lisa’s FGS sessions:
Thursday 10:00 – 12:00 Reconstruct Your Ancestor’s World with Google (workshop)
Thursday 3:30 – 4:30 7 Awesome Apps to Captivate Non-Genealogists
Friday 11:00 – 12:00 10 Exciting Ways to Enhance Your Genealogy with Video
Friday 3:30 – 4:30 A Proven Methodology for using Google Search for Genealogy

Register for FGS 2018 Now
If you haven’t registered for FGS, it’s not too late! Head to the FGS website to register, available until August 13, 2018. Fort Wayne, Indiana is home to the Allen County Public Library, which is an incredible resource for any genealogist and makes FGS 2018 is well worth the trip.

Visit our  FGS landing page for all the details about everything that’s happening at the Genealogy Gems booth, and see you at FGS 2018!

 

Lacey Cooke

Lacey Cooke

Lacey has been working with Genealogy Gems since the company’s inception in 2007. You can find her at the Genealogy Gems booth at many conferences and seminars, hosting webinars, and contributing behind the scenes with product development and content creation. No stranger to working with dead people, Lacey holds a degree in Forensic Anthropology, and is passionate about criminal justice and investigative techniques. She loves taking genealogy on the road with Lisa (who just happens to be her mom) and exploring new places.

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