This is my second post on the FGS conference in Springfield Illinois. You can find part one here.
Thursday was a very long day. I was helping out at the booth for the National Institute for Genealogical Studies in the marketplace. The marketplace was supposed to open at 10 am but they opened at 9:30 because they just could not wait to get in.
I was able to attend a few lectures during the day and the market place was open until 8 pm. It was great to meet all the different people attending the conference. Some were already students but many became first time students as the National Institute provided a coupon for a free course called “Google for the Wise Genealogist” in the bag given to registrants.
During the day I got to meet many of the bloggers who I read on a daily basis and it was nice to put a person behind the written word. In the evening Geneabloggers held a social evening so I went to that when the marketplace closed. It was a long day but I enjoyed myself.
On Friday I had the opportunity to interview Randy Seaver. He was my premier interview and I will have his interview on this blog in the very near future. Other bloggers I interviewed during the conference were Thomas MacEntee, Gena Philibert Ortega and Lisa Alzo. These interviews will also be put on the blog in the near future.
While working at the booth and doing my interviews I managed to find time to attend a few lectures. Thankfully some of the lectures were recorded so I was able to purchase them.
Saturday was another long day. I finished off my interviews and attended more lectures. The marketplace closed at 5 pm so we packed up and started the drive home. We drove for five hours on Saturday night and then continued the drive home on Sunday.
The conferences are always busy, exciting, eventful and tiring but any time I get to attend a conference I will always say yes. I really enjoy everything to do with a conference from meeting new people, catching up with old friends, learning new things, seeing new places and I usually find something new that increases my passion for genealogy even more.
If you get a chance to attend a conference I would highly recommend it. There is Rootstech in February and the National Genealogical Society is on May 9-12, 2012 in Cincinnati Ohio. The Ontario Genealogical Society Conference is June 1-3, 2012 in Kingston Ontario. Next year’s FGS Conference is in Birmingham Alabama 29th August to 1 September.
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