St George Family History Expo Experience

More than 1500 avid genealogists were gathered this weekend in sunny St George Utah for the Family History Expo–and Ray & I were one of them & loved every minute of the excitement:

1. There was a full exhibit hall with software, genealogy how-to books, gadgets with internet and smart phone apps.
2. Classes on these same topics to interest all levels of expertise and knowledge.
3. Ask-the-Pros booth manned by genealogy experts.
4. Prizes given away every hour.

We were there with some wonderful friends from Sandy, Fred & Janis, this is the 4th year we've gone down together, and we have a blast.

The lines for registering were extremely long, so we just stepped out of line and enjoyed the exhibit hall, perusing all the booths, talking to the experts who manned them & extracting as much info from them as we could.

 Susan Easton Black, who is a professor of Church History & Doctrine at BYU in Provo. She is also an author of several books related to Joseph Smith Jr, and the early hsitory of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, gave the Keynote Address "Your Family History Starts Here".  When she stepped up to the tall podium she disappeared behind it because she is so short, but cute and jolly, so she had to step beside it so we could see her... she has a really good sence of humor.

Afterwards we all went to our separate classes, going 4 separate ways, and meet back at different times for lunch or dinner breaks, were we would talk & compare the different topics.  There were such classes as:
   1. Top 10 Data Issues in new FamilySearch & How to Avoid Them
   2.  Internet Family Tree Building with AGES-online
   3.  Basic Sources: 1775 - 1815
   4.  How to Document your "Common Man" Ancestors in British Land Records
   5.  Diseases, Disasters & Distress: Bad for your Ancestors, Good for your Genealogical Research
   6.  Interview Like a Pro & Get Stories - not just Answers!
   7.  Getting the Scoop on Your Family History in Newspapers; and it goes on & on.

We had a wonderful time.

Make this your priority next year, last weekend in February, and enjoy the excitement of learning & having fun while doing it.

Go to Family History Expo to see what other expo's there are in your area.