Jamboree: Afterthoughts

I apologize for the dearth in Tracing the Tribe's posts - even bloggers need to kick back for a few days once in awhile.

I'm enjoying a visit with cousins in Laguna Niguel. Yesterday we spent the late afternoon on Laguna Beach viewing the water and sunset from a terrace at the beautiful Montage resort. Genealogy does have some competition from Mother Nature!

The just-ended Southern California Genealogy Society Jamboree, attended by some 1,200 people, was an extremely well-run conference. This was my second year and I hope to return in 2009, when access will be easier (hopefully, all exterior and interior construction will be finished!).

Most importantly - and as someone who has been involved in many conferences over the years - Paula Hinkel, Leo Myers and their entire crew of dedicated volunteers are great to work with, no matter the simple question or serious problem. Everyone has a smile on his or her face and each was genuinely concerned with making the event an excellent experience for attendees, speakers and vendors.

Despite the inconvenience of construction, things went off without an obvious hitch. And when there were problems, people stepped in to resolve them. I particularly thank Suzanne Russo Adams of Ancestry/TGN for her help with a computer - and Adele's assistance - for my Gen-Blogging powerpoint on Friday morning.

This year's edition of Jamboree offered the opportunity to meet my blogger colleagues in person - a great experience! Craig Manson - a true gentleman - of Geneablogie and I met quite by accident. Read all about it here. He describes some of the sessions he attended.

As befits an event attended by a group of passionate bloggers, many of us were blogging. During our Bloggers' Summit, Elizabeth O'Neal snapped a pix of the panelists, which Dick Eastman then showed via his computer; see it here.

Craig also posted a more formal pix of our group here.

My colleagues have all written about our experiences, and I can only add that it was great to put faces to the names. The roundtable discussions on specific research areas during the late afternoon on Saturday were interesting as our Jewish group's discussion ranged over various topics and resources.

I missed some Sunday sessions I had wanted to hear as I had to leave early for a big family engagement party at the Malibu Jewish Center - congratulations to cousin Jessica and Que!

As a genealogist, I couldn't pass up the chance to see so many family members in one place and catch up with all the new marriages, children, grandchildren and other information. I still have to enter cousin Elias and Chana's 17 grandchildren into the file.

I have a number of Tracing the Tribe postings in draft and am trying hard to get to them. Today's program includes lunch with former IAJGS board member Carol Skydell, who lives near my cousins' home. I'm really looking forward to seeing her again.