Hi, my name is Joan and I’m a Genea-Conference Groupie.

Yep, I admit it, I’m hopelessly addicted to attending genealogy conferences.  If I had my druthers (and unlimited funds) I’d spend my time jetting around the world attending genealogy conferences.

The symptoms include random googling of search terms such as “genealogy + conference” and “warm places”.  You see, I live in Canada and considering we just had snow (again!), I’m sure you can understand.

In the last year (May 2010 to April 2011)  I attended no less than 6 Genea-Conferences and events in two different countries.

Here is where this particular Genea-Conference Groupie made her appearance in the past 12 months.

• April 2011. Alberta Genealogical Society. Edmonton, Alberta.
• February 2011.  Rootstech.org, Salt Lake City, Utah (attended as an Official RootsTech Blogger)
• October 2010.  Alberta Family Histories Society – Family Roots Event  with Dick Eastman, Thomas MacEntee and Lyn Meehan.  Calgary, Alberta
  
• June 2010 Southern California Genealogical Society Jamboree, Burbank, California
• May 2010 – Dr. Colleen Fitzpatrick – Alberta Family Histories Society Event.  Calgary, Alberta
  
• May 2010 – Sherry Irvine – Alberta Family Histories Society Event.  Calgary Alberta
  
• January 2010 – Family History Expos, Mesa, Arizona (attended as Blogger of Honor)

And there are more to come.  I will be speaking on the Bloggers Panel in June at the California (SCGS Jamboree) in Burbank, California.

Why am I a Genea-Conference Groupie?

1.  Because I’m an avid genealogist. I love the detective game; the chase, the fun of discovering one’s ancestors.

2. Because I learn something. I attend Genea-Conferences because I learn new techniques and not just about genealogy. I also learn about tools that can cross over to other interests, such as how to search effectively using Google Earth, for example.

3. Because I can share. I like to help and I can share tips and highlights of what I’ve learned.  I believe the recording of one’s family history and keeping accurate genealogy records are important.   Not everyone can attend a far flung genealogy conference.  I don’t share talks verbatim but I do like to take one action item away from every session I attend and share it with my Luxegen Genealogy blog readers so that they too can benefit.

4. Because Genea-Conferences are fun! I love the camaraderie and networking with fellow geneabloggers, genealogists and vendors.

I’m retired and have more time now.  If others can live vicariously through my genealogy conference experiences and I can share the experiences here on my blog, then it makes me feel good. I like to help.

Thomas MacEntee is running a series of posts about Genealogy Conferences this week.  (Genealogy Conferences – The Magic Recipe).

This Genea-conference groupie (me!) is planning to share her experiences based on her perspective of someone who attends a lot of conferences.

You can share too!

I urge you to weigh in with your experiences about genealogy conferences, whether it is one time a year or multiple times or once every five years.

Or if you haven’t been to a conference, why not?   Is it cost, is it distance?  Is it time?

What do you like? What don’t you like?  What would be your ideal genealogy conference?

Are genealogy conferences meeting the needs of those new to genealogy?  Are they meeting the needs of experienced genealogists?  What could be done better?  What is being done well?

You can bet genealogy conference organizers and vendors will be listening.  Your comments will help the genealogy conference become the best possible experience for you and fellow genealogists.

Everyone has a different perspective and background to share.  Every voice has the potential to affect change.

Please comment below.