Three weeks ago I had the opportunity to attend the Federation of Genealogical Societies Conference in Knoxville Tennessee. This was the fifth FGS conference I have attended. Conferences are a great resource. They offer the opportunity to learn something new practically on an hourly basis.
You also get to meet some great people. I stopped by the booth for the Illinois State Genealogical Society who are hosting the conference next year in Springfield Illinois. This provided me with the pleasure of meeting Thomas MacEntee of Geneabloggers and as a result I am now officially a Geneablogger.
It helped that the bloggers at the conference were wearing beads and had a Geneablogger ribbon attached to their nametags. So when I saw someone with the beads or ribbon I asked about their blog. One such person was Greta Koehl of Greta’s Genealogy Blog.
The array of speakers and topics provided lots of new learning experiences. Of course, at least once, there is always a time when there are two great lectures that you want to attend but they are on at the same time. It is very frustrating to have to choose. Thankfully there is also a back up plan of purchasing a recording of some sessions. You have to hope that one of the two that you are interested in will be recorded.
The Exhibitors Hall is always a great place to find new items, meet people and just have a good old browse. I met Bev and Lew of Fun Stuff for Genealogists. I picked up a cross stitch pattern for a family tree. They had shirts, sweatshirts, mouse pads, charts and other things too numerous to mention. You can check out their website to find out more.
I had never been in Knoxville before so Wednesday was a day that provided for a tour of the city. They have a trolley service that is free within the city and thankfully is also air conditioned. It was very hot in Tennessee but then we have been having a similar summer here as well. A walking tour of the old city provided some interesting architecture and the East Tennessee Historical Centre was a wealth of information. I really enjoyed the exhibition of the Appalachian people through photographs, recordings and artifacts.
If you get the chance to go to a genealogy conference either the Ontario Genealogy Society Conference, National Genealogical Society Conference or the Federation of Genealogical Societies Conference I would highly recommend the experience. You never know what you will learn or who you may meet at a conference.
©2010 – Blair Archival Research
It was great to meet you at #fgs10 in Knoxville and so glad you could meet the other members of GeneaBloggers. I also think your written summary of your experience is very helpful to other genealogists especially those wondering if attending a national conference is worth the effort.
Thank you Thomas.
Thank you for the recap. I didn’t take the trolley, but I sure thought about it. Knoxville was such a lovely city. Glad to hear you had a great time, too!
Thank you for the comment Amy. Knoxville was a great city. I forgot to mention that I followed the FGS blog before I went on the trip and as a result got lots of great tips about getting around the city and places to see. Have fun at the Family History Expo in California.