16 February 2009

Southern California: Get ready for Jamboree 2009

The 40th Genealogy Jamboree will feature more than 50 national and international speakers, including quite a few geneabloggers. More than 100 sessions will be featured this year, 25% more than in 2008, at the Southern California Genealogical Society event.

The conference schedule has just been posted for download at the Jamboree Blog.

Among the great offerings will be the second edition of the Gathering of the Geneabloggers - Summit 2: Son of Blogger - set for 9.30am Saturday.

George G. Morgan will moderate and the panel will likely include (some people with an * are still working on their schedules - like me!) DearMYRTLE, Juliana Smith*, Leland Meitzler, Dick Eastman, Stephen Danko, Ph.D., Lisa Louise Cooke, Schelly Talalay Dardashti*, Craig Manson* and The Ancestry Insider.

The dates are June 26-28, at the completely renovated Burbank Airport Marriott Hotel and Convention Center. Jamboree is also taking over the main hotel's ballroom for the entire weekend, to provide for the expected crowds and allow more space for additional programs.

Jamboree is headed by creative co-chairs Paula Hinkel and Leo Myers and their capable staff of smiling volunteers, who certainly provide inspiration for all event-planning societies and organizations. I have really enjoyed working with Paula for the past few years.

The program offers sessions on research techniques for traditional brick-and-mortar record sources, digital resources, DNA in genealogy, organization, and several that are geography-specific. Although today's genealogists need to know the time-tested research skills used in earlier generations - not everything is online - they will also take full advantage of all resources available, including the newest technologies.

Participants include, as speakers and exhibitors, leading genealogical organizations and societies, including Ancestry.com, FamilySearch.org, New England Historic GenealogicalSociety (NEHGS), the National Genealogical Society (NGS), the Federation ofGenealogical Societies (FGS), and California State Genealogical Alliance (CSGA). Several Southern California societies will also be in attendance.

This year's theme focuses on British Isles research (English, Irish, Scottish and Welsh). Featured speakers include Feargal ODonnell, Irish Family History Foundation executive director (County Kildare, Ireland), and David E. Rencher, director of planning and coordination, Family History Department, FamilySearch.org, Salt Lake City. They will address special challenges for searching Irish ancestry. British Isles Family History Society speakers will also appear.

Among the speakers:




Suzanne Russo Adams, Ancestry.com
Elaine Alexander, author
Lisa Alzo, author, lecturer
Ron Arons, author, lecturer
Jana Broglin, CG, FGS and Ohio State Genealogical Society
Tony Burroughs, FUGA, genealogist, author, lecturer
Bruce Buzbee, RootsMagic
Starr Hailey Campbell, Kids Family History Camp
Chris Child, NEHGS
Lisa Louise Cooke, Genealogy Gems Podcast
Stephen Danko, Ph.D., StephenDanko.com
Schelly Talalay Dardashti, TracingTheTribe.com
DearMYRTLE, popular blogger, podcaster, lecturer, author
William Dollarhide, noted genealogical author, lecturer
Arlene Eakle, Ph.D., FUGA, The Genealogical Institute
Jim Ericson, World Vital Records
Wendy Elliott, Ph.D., FUGA
Jim Ericson, World Vital Records
Anna Fechter, Ancestry.com
Joy Fisher, US GenWeb
Bennett Greenspan, FamilyTree DNA
Mike Hall, FamilySearch.org
Jean Wilcox Hibben, Ph.D.
Janet Hovorka, MLS, "The Chart Chick" and Generation Maps
Ivan C. Johnson, Ph.D., British Isles Family History Society
Thomas J. Kemp, GenealogyBank.com
Michael Leclerc, NEHGS
Betty Malesky, CG
Keith McCarty, Geni.com
Leland Meitzler, Everton's Genealogical Helper, FamilyRoots Publishing
Dennis Meldrum, FamilySearch.org
Michael Melendez, Kids Family History Camp
Cheri Mello, educator, DNA lecturer
Julie Miller, CG, National Genealogical Society
George G. Morgan, The Genealogy Guys Podcast
Feargal ODonnell, Irish Family History Foundation, Ireland
Lynne Parmenter, SCGS Beginning Genealogy
Michelle Pfister, Ancestry.com
Larry Proctor, Light Impressions
Geoffrey Rasmussen, Legacy Family Tree
David E. Rencher, AG, CG, FIGRS, FUGA
D. Brenton Simons, President/CEO, NEHGS
Drew Smith, MLS, The Genealogy Guys Podcast
Tim Sullivan, President/CEO of The Generations Network
Maureen Taylor, The Photo Detective
Cath Trindle, CG, FGS and the California State Genealogical Alliance
Beverly Truesdale, SCGS Beginning Genealogy
Tom Underhill, Creative Continuum
Marston Watson, royalancestry.org
Peggy Wishon, British Isles Family History Society

Co-chair Paula Hinkel mentions that 2009 promises to be an exceptional genealogy year. "Patchwork heritage" was mentioned by President Obama in his Inaugural Address. NBC will begin airing, on April 20, the US version of the runaway BBC hit "Who Do You Think You Are." Every day, there are new websites, online databases and new books.

With genealogy in the spotlight, this year could see great numbers of newcomers joining the ranks of researchers already exploring their unique family histories.

To learn all conference details as they are announced, sign up for email alerts at the Jamboree blog.

4 comments:

  1. Thanks so much for blogging this great post, Schelly. We are hoping that you'll be with us again this year. You're such a great Jamboree supporter! We promise that this year you'll have wireless Internet AND early bird registrants (and speakers) will receive both printed and CD versions of the syllabus.

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  2. I am trying my best. SCGS runs a great event every year and I don't want to miss it ... or "Son of Blogger"!

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  3. Anonymous5:56 AM

    Is the Jamboree a yearly event? Is it always in the Los Angeles area?

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  4. Yes, the Southern California Genealogical Society - with HQ in Burbank - runs this as an annual event. This is the 40th edition. The target area for participants includes adjacent states as well as northern California. And they do come from all over!

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