My FGS Conference Experiences

The Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) 2015 Conference is February 11-14, 2015 in Salt Lake City at the Salt Palace Conference Center.  You can register for the conference, see the FGS speakers and schedule, etc. at https://www.fgsconference.org/.

I have been to two FGS conferences in past years:

1)  The 2009 Conference in Little Rock, Arkansas.  We took a Midwest vacation in 2009, and one of the stops was in Little Rock at the FGS Conference - see the trip plan at Off on our Midwest Vacation (posted 27 August 2009).   This was the only significant genealogical experience on this vacation.  I  summarized each day, see:

*  Day 0 at FGS Conference  (posted 1 September 2009).
*  Day 1 at FGS Conference - Post 2 (posted 2 September 2009)
*  Day 1 at the FGS Conference - Post 2 (posted 2 September 2009)
*  Day 2 at the FGS Conference - Post 1 (posted 3 September 2009)
*  Day 2 at the FGS Conference - Post 2 (posted 3 September 2009)
*  Day 3 at the FGS Conference (posted 4 September 2009)
*  Day 4 at the FGS Conference (posted 5 September 2009)

I also made two post-conference posts with photos in FGS Conference Photographs - Post 1 (posted 17 September 2009) and FGS Conference Photographs - Post 2 (posted 18 September 2009). 

2)  The 2011 Conference in Springfield, Illinois.  We took another Midwest vacation, including attending the FGS Conference, and also did some genealogical research in Fort Wayne and Madison, and visited some family towns in Dane and Dodge County, Wisconsin, plus a visit to the Ranslow Smith four Mile Inn at Old World Wisconsin.  The trip compendium, including the FGS days, are in  The Seaver Family History Mystery Tour Compendium (posted 29 September 2011).

The FGS posts are:

*  We're in Springfield, Illinois for the FGS Conference (6 September 2011)
*  FGS Conference Day 1 Summary (7 September 2011)
*  Day 2 (Thursday) at the FGS Conference (8 September 2011)
*  Day 3 (Friday) at the FGS Conference (9 September 2011)
*  Day 4 (Saturday) at the FGS Conference (10 September 2011)
*   FGS Photos - the Geneablogger Lounge (19 September 2011)
*  FGS Photos - Some Vendor Shots (20 September 2011)
*  FGS Photos - More Vendor Shots (21 September 2011)

3)  What do I expect from FGS 2015 Conference in Salt Lake City?

I expect a similar experience to the two FGS conferences I attended, but on a larger scale, much more hectic, and with more educational options.  The 2015 Conference is in a shared venue with the RootsTech 2015 Conference, although there are two separate speaker presentation lists, separate registrations, but a shared Expo Hall and Keynote events.  I expect to:

*  Spend a lot of time in the Expo Hall in the Media Center (as an FGS Ambassador and RootsTech Ambassador).  I may never leave the Expo Hall!  I usually write blog posts, talk with geneabloggers and attendees when they come by, visit many of the exhibitors in the Expo Hall, and watch people.

*  Attend one or two presentations each day in either the FGS or RootsTech tracks.   I haven't picked out which presentations to attend.  Sometimes this is an on-the-spot decision.

*  Enjoy the Keynote talks, the evening social events, perhaps a vendor-sponsored event, and impromptu meals and get-togethers as invited or discovered.  

*  Have at least one day (probably Wednesday) in the Family History Library working on items on my research To Do list.  

Other than that, it should be a lot of fun!

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Copyright (c) 2014, Randall J. Seaver