Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Getting Ready for SCGS Jamboree

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Are you going to the Southern California Genealogical Society (SCGS) Jamboree this coming weekend? I am, and I hope to see many of my readers and genea-blogging colleagues there.

The Genealogy Jamboree is at the Los Angeles Marriott Burbank Airport Hotel from Friday, 11 June to Sunday, 13 June. The updated conference program schedule is here.

I'm trying to get ready for it - listing things to pack and to bring. Some of the genea-bloggers have posted helpful suggestions in recent months, including:

* George G. Morgan hosted a Webinar titled "Getting the Most out of a Genealogy Conference" and it is on RootsTelevision.com. It is also on the SCGS website -- see http://www.scgsgenealogy.com/RootsTV.htm for all SCGS videos.

* Sue Maxwell wrote Prepare Before Attending a Genealogy Conference on her Granite Genealogy blog.

* Amy Coffin wrote Pre-Conference Prep and The Rock Star's Guide to Genealogy Conferences on her We Tree blog.

* Elyse Doerflinger wrote Preparing For A Genealogy Research Trip on Elyse's Genealogy Blog.

* Michael John Neill wrote an article about Preparing for a Genealogical Conference.

* Thomas MacEntee listed the known genea-bloggers coming to Jamboree in Who’ll Be At #scgs10 Jamboree? on the Geneabloggers blog.

Linda and I are taking the Amtrak train from San Diego to Burbank on Friday morning - it leaves San Diego at 6:10 a.m. and gets there at 9:30 a.m. On Sunday, we will catch the 4:25 p.m. train at Burbank and be in San Diego at 7:50 p.m. The San Diego Genealogical Society arranged the trip and handled all of our reservations. There are at least 25 San Diego area genealogists going on the train, and more are driving up.

So what am I going to pack for the conference (besides the train tickets, money, some clothes and bathroom stuff)? I asked on Facebook what I should take, and here is the list so far (many of these were covered by the articles above):

* conference program schedule
* business cards (with surnames on the back, useful for drawing pots)
* address labels (useful for raffle tickets)
* laptop (useful for blogging...)
* USB flash drives with GEDCOM files (for transferring data)
* digital camera (and batteries), plus camera USB cable
* Flip video camera for brief vignettes (want to be a Facebook star?)
* Hawaiian shirt for Sunday
* Genealogy T-shirts (the Geneaholic, the Einstein genealogy, the Genealogy is like sex...)
* Notepad and pens for conference sessions (there are conference sessions?)

I am scheduled to be part of the GeneaBlogger Blogger Summit 1 panel from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Saturday morning, along with Elyse Doerflinger, Miriam Midkiff, Thomas MacEntee, and perhaps a replacement for DearMYRTLE.

I'm ready, I'm stoked, I look forward to seeing my genea-friends in the lounge, in the exhibits, at the meetings and dinners. I also look forward to make new friends - if you see me, please stop and say hello. Now where did I put my big bag of M&Ms?

By the way, if you have other suggestions for things to take with me, please make a comment!

2 comments:

Susi's Quarter said...

Remember the chargers for the articles you use. Camera, computer, and any other charging device.
See you tomorrow.

Skip Murray, Co-Director Unclaimed Persons said...

I like to take one of those small bags or suitcases that has a handle you can extend and wheels on it. It is so much easier to stuff all the goodies from the booths in it and wheel it around than it is to carry a heavy bag full of stuff! I also like to take a water bottle with me that I can keep in my bag. Because sometimes I talk too much a get really thirsty!

Have a great time!