** Editor’s Note. This Friday and Saturday is the Family History Expo-SLC sponsored by Family History Expos. The following excerpted interview, that ran in the WorldVitalRcords newsletter last week, provides some information on not just the Expo this week but the Expos that Holly and her staff put on throughout the year.
Gena: I have been attending the St. George Family History Expo for years, but can you explain to our readers what an Expo is.
Holly: A Family History Expo is an event that includes professional genealogy presentations on a wide variety of topics designed to help the beginner get off to a quick and successful start. We also have classes that are aimed at helping experienced and professional researcher sharpen their skills. Our Expos have many great sponsors such as your company, WorldVitalRecords/FamilyLink.com and other companies such as FamilySearch, Ancestry.com, Footnote.com, RootsMagic, Generation Maps, and more. Our Exhibit Hall is a place where genealogists can peruse and purchase books to help with their research, ask genealogy exhibitors lots of questions, and they have the opportunity to have personal research consultations with professionals if they have registered to attend the Expo. It is also a great place to try out the latest Internet resources, where you can learn about blogging, twitter, and other social media.
Gena: Specifically, what is the benefit of going to the SLC Family History Expo?
Holly: Wow! That is a loaded question. There are so many benefits that it is hard to name them all. Let me give you a basic list of benefits:
1. Experts teach best practices for successful research and how to avoid common mistakes (Value $25 per class)
2. Receive FREE research consultation (Value $50)
3. Receive handouts for all classes on one CD, there are 10 classes each hour so this is a great tool for getting more information from the classes you are unable to attend
4. Talk directly with genealogy resource providers in Exhibit Hall and try it before you buy it. To learn more about our exhibitors and what there services, see our Web site at http://www.fhexpos.com/events/upcoming.php?event_id=50#exhibitors. Our exhibitors always give away fabulous door prizes (you can view the list online too).
5. Social networking with other genealogists and beginning family history researchers, this is one of the most valuable aspects of the Expo. Yes, you can connect with people who want to help you succeed with your research goals.
6. If you are a Family History Center worker, or a Family History Consultant (LDS Ward Consultant) there are some additional benefits for attending this Expo. FamilySearch is offering three specific Consultant Training classes (details were emailed by FamilySearch to their list of registered Consultants). If any consultant has not received a notice from FamilySearch they should contact Family History Expos for details. To be sure they do not miss information from FamilySearch in the future they should go to http://consultant.FamilySearch.org and register or update to their current email address.
7. As the Banquet Sponsor, Ancestry.com is giving a FREE copy of Family Tree Maker 2010 software to each banquet attendee and there will be 10 drawings for gifts valued at $400.00 each gift.
8. If you can’t attend the whole conference and only have time for a presentation or two, you are in luck, you can register at the door of one or more specific classes for just $12.00 each class.
9. Don’t miss out on our Bloggers of Honor and all the fun stuff they will be tweeting about the Expo. Event attendees just cannot see it all! We have a nice team of bloggers of which you are one and the information that will be forth coming will be helpful to all of us during and after the Expo (even those not able to attend will have fun hearing what is happening while it happens.
Gena: What other Expos are planned for the future?
Holly: Our last Expo for 2009 is the California Family History Expo which will be held in Redding (Northern California) on October 16-17. We have scheduled our 2nd annual Family History Expo in Mesa, Arizona for January 22-23 and our 6th annual St. George, Utah Family History Expo for February 26-27. We are still in the negotiation stages for several additional Expos and they will listed on our website once we have contracts in place. Keep checking our Events Tab on our website at http://www.fhexpos.com/events/ and make sure you are on our free mailing list as we send out announcements for all new events with our free newsletter.
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