Turn Around—Two Words That Have Changed Many Lives

Posted on February 28, 2020 by Lynn Broderick @thesingleleaf

Yesterday Leigh Anne Tuohy gave an inspirational keynote on the RootsTech main stage. Her story made some of us laugh and some of us cry. Some of us laughed and cried. She was so gracious in her presentation and she was most gracious when she first met Henry the Sleuth!

“Turn around”—two words that altered Leigh Anne and her family’s life. Those words brought Micheal Oher into her family and made the difference that inspired the movie, The Blind Side, through a series of miracles.

She praised the audience for the genealogical research that they do to help others find family. She encouraged the audience to “Write [their] story.” RootsTech has posted the recording. I highly recommend it for your viewing.

Today’s live-stream sessions at a glance are as follows:

This is brief. More to come. It’s Friday! Two more days of this fabulous conference! Whatever your plans, have a wonderful day!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I am designated as an official ambassador to the RootsTech Conference and, as such, I am provided complimentary admission and other services to accomplish my duties. Nevertheless, I have been with RootsTech since its inception and with its predecessor for many years as a paid participant. As always, my coverage and opinions are my own and are not affected by my current status. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

RootsTech Celebrates 10 Years!

Posted on February 27, 2020 by Lynn Broderick @thesingleleaf

Yesterday was the first day of RootsTech 2020. Sessions were held as early as 8 a.m. and the keynote address was delivered in the afternoon. It was no surprise that we would reminisce about the first ten years. “The idea of a technologist getting together with a genealogist is the reason RootsTech is here today,” said Steve Rockwood, CEO of FamilySearch International. “Family history is continuously being written. Your story matters. We don’t just study family history. We live family history.” If you missed the #RootsTech10 Years celebration and Steve Rockwood’s keynote address, it is now available at RootsTech.org.

It’s another day of live-streamed sessions. Just log on to RootsTech.org.Also, if you love Relative Race, and you are at the Salt Palace Convention Center, you’ll want to catch the Relative Race session at 1:30 p.m. TODAY in Ballroom B! You may also like the Relative Race challenge offered in the Expo Hall. There’s some great swag for those who complete this challenge.

Jenna Mills, a.k.a. Seeking Surnames, found me in the Media Hub. It’s time for #GenChat photos! There are new signs, so no #GenChat attendee will get away with an old photo. (Using an old photo is kind of like some women in the U.S. Federal Census—they get younger than ten each census year!)

It’s great to catch up with friends and make new ones. Jenna and I met at RootsTech in person a couple of years ago, but this was the first time I had the opportunity to meet Diana Richie. Connect. Belong. at RootsTech. Here they displayed their signed copies of Nathan Dylan Goodwin’s mystery novels. Have you read them?

Besides Nathan and many other vendors in the Expo Hall, you can record “The Story of You” just like the segments shown in the opening keynote address. Once your story is filmed, it is sent to you via email as a keepsake.

Finally, at the end of the day, interviews began in the Media Hub. First up was Thom Reed from FamilySearch. Thom has been active in promoting Black History Month. You can read more about it here.

I do my best to follow what’s happening on social media during the conference and on Twitter it was mentioned that “#NotAtRootsTech FOMO” (Fear of Missing Out) was “currently happening.” I could only reply that even if you are at RootsTech, there is so much going on that a person still might suffer FOMO! RootsTech: Truly amazing! Potentially overwhelming! Very rewarding! (Or, would “exhausting” be a more accurate term?)

With day one in the books, this post may be an example of the potpourri of activity going on at RootsTech. It’s onto Day 2!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I am designated as an official ambassador to the RootsTech Conference and, as such, I am provided complimentary admission and other services to accomplish my duties. Nevertheless, I have been with RootsTech since its inception and with its predecessor for many years as a paid participant. As always, my coverage and opinions are my own and are not affected by my current status. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

#RootsTech10Years: a Compendium of Content

Posted on February 19, 2020 by Lynn Broderick @thesingleleaf

RootsTech is a family history, genealogy, storytelling, technology conference hosted by FamilySearch International each of the past nine years at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. It has become the premiere event in the industry and a big family reunion. It attracts people from all, or almost all, 50 United States and dozens of countries. In honor of this year’s #RootsTech10Years celebration, I created a page listing a compendium of RootsTech content. It’s always convenient to have material available all in one place.

This year is destined to the best yet as RootsTech will host a look back from the beginning and host keynote speakers: Leigh Anne Tuohy, David Hume Kennerly, and Emmitt Smith. It seems like RootsTech organized this year’s event perfectly for my game—genealogy football!

There is still time to register for onsite attendance and/or register for the virtual pass which will provide delayed recorded sessions for the coming year! In addition, there is always live-streaming of keynote and other sessions of the conference. Unfortunately, I have confirmed that the entertainment portion of the conference, Ryan Hamilton on Friday night, will not be live-streamed or recorded for later viewing.

RootsTech has helped people make many family connections and find relatives around them right at this event. In the process it has supported an environment in which many people have formed lasting friendships and helped propel the genealogy community into the global sphere. This year’s theme is “The Story of You” and complements my essay, The Story of the Single Leaf. Won’t you join us for this epic event?