Tag: speaking engagements

Posted on

RootsTech 2019 – CONTEST for a PASS!!! Enter now!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As many of you know I again have the honor of being a Speaker AND an ambassador for the RootsTech 2019 Conference. It is the largest genealogy conference in the world! What an opportunity to see amazing speakers plus be surrounded by those who appreciate the hard work, joy and fun that comes from researching your family’s story.  People who will listen to you talk about your research and NOT have their eyes glaze over – tee hee!!!!

One of the benefits of being both a speaker and an ambassador is that I get to grant one of my lucky winners a FREE 4 day pass to RootsTech to be held from February 27 through March 2, 2019 (a $299 value)!

Pass includes the following:

  • Over 300 classes
  • Keynote/General Session
  • Expo Hall
  • Evening Events

Pass does not include the following:

  • Transportation to and from Salt Lake City, Utah and/or the Salt Palace Convention Center
  • Lodging and Food
  • Paid Lunches
  • Paid Labs

If you have already purchased your ticket, please still enter! You will be reimbursed your ticket price. A great chance to WIN!!!!

To enter my giveaway??  Please just provide your email on my website Lineage Journeys!!!   I will randomly draw a winner’s name from the submitted emails (if you are already following my blog and have submitted your email, just let me know that you want IN!) – drawing on Tuesday, October 30th!  The winner will be notified by email (and then I want to talk with them!) and everyone else will find out here in a post.  So sign up to win!!!!  Yes, YOU!!

Posted on

Speaking at RootsTech 2018!

With a room of people, microphone checks, an interpreter and a whole bunch of enthusiastic and interesting people, my workshop began at 9:30 a.m. !!!

There were great questions, support from friends and even a French expert in the room (thankfully, I didn’t know until later, right?!) who told me that I did an excellent job and that he enjoyed my presentation …. whoa!!

The audience had some great questions and they all provided their emails and a list of the surnames they are researching so that we can help them with their research!  A document, listing all of them with these names, is being shared with them all in the hopes that they will make progress toward documenting their French-Canadian and Acadian families.

It was fun to be presenting to an international group – there were people from all over the United States but also Canada, France, Brazil ….. and those are the ones that I know!  And afterwards, people were stopping me in the hall to continue to ask questions – if you are reading this and have questions, please don’t hesitate to email me at judynmuhn@gmail.com.  I LOVE doing genealogy!!!

The day ended marvelously – with research!!!

Two of my clients are benefiting from my presence in Salt Lake, just a small walk from the Family History Library!  Rows on rows of microfilm, digital content, books, maps and so much more!  I haven’t been here since 2001 I believe and the updates/renovations/new art are beautiful, easy-to-use and empowering.

A truly sweet and helpful volunteer showed me the new way to make copies, create images from online content and even gave me a print card WITH MONEY ON IT!!!  She was awesome – and that has been my experience here at the FHL for years – volunteers eager and ready to help you.  She shared some amazing spiritual things with me – we had a lovely conversation.  What a blessing she was!  And I found things – lots of things for my clients.  Can’t wait to share.

Posted on

Arrived at RootsTech … wow!

OMG …. this is AMAZING!!  RootsTech 2018 … I made it and I’m so excited!!!

While it is just Tuesday night, I’m attending the Media Dinner, sponsored by FamilySearch, and an opportunity to get an advance look at what will be happening during the week.  In addition to being an Ambassador ( you post stuff on social media), as a Speaker and participant, I want to be “in the know” about it all as a First-Timer!!!

Meeting up with friends is a big, fun part of the conference and having some time to settle in was great.  The lines, while long, at registration moved fast AND I got to go to the really short (no one ahead of me!) VIP line to check in.

Then the Media Dinner!!  Some tools here at the conference are the overall conference app – guides you to the workshops, helps with what is in Expo Hall, and more!  You can see a list of attendees and connect with them if you are tracking someone down …. and who the keynote speakers are, where there is food, the day’s happenings, alerts and more!!!

A REALLY fun thing this year – using your family tree from FamilySearch to link to all of the attendees at the conference who have linked their trees – and you get a list of everyone attending who is your COUSIN!!!!!  OMG!!  I have over 200 people here who are related to me (mostly through my French-Canadians!) and I’ve reached out to see if we can meet …. stay tuned for possible pictures of “Cousin Connections”!!

We saw a teaser film of Relative Race too!!!  It’s from BYU TV … while you can get it easily here in Utah, the rest of us can view it on Google TV and other programs that pull from around the country.  The show is based on four teams of two family members.  They provide their DNA which is tested.  Family members from around the country then are found and the teams are given clues and maps (NO GPS allowed!!) to find the locations of relatives in the United States and must drive there the fastest to win.  When they knock on the door at the address provided, the person that opens the door is a previously-unknown relative!  It kinda got me choked up watching it as some of the meetings were very impactful.  I’m looking for this when I get home!

Well, that’s it for day one at RootsTech 2018!!!  Watch for more!

Posted on

RootsTech 2018 is coming!!!


Yes, that is ME – Speaker! I’m SOOOOOO excited! Offering two classes – Acadians & French-Canadians in North America and You CAN Take It With You! Mobile Technology for Genealogy. Can’t wait! I leave Tuesday and begin the incredible, the scary, the fun, exciting and learning opportunity that is being a speaker at the LARGEST genealogy conference in the world! Yes, you heard me .. the world!

Roots Tech 2018

RootsTech 2018 has over 300 classes, keynote speakers, an Innovation Showcase, networking, learning, meeting new people – I’m already hooking up with some likely cousins (all French-Canadians and Acadians are somehow related!) and a client from my Lineage Journeys work. And a helpful and kind participant in one of my workshops who is also an Acadian descendant….and friends from here in Michigan. And more … right? This is aligning to be so cool … can you tell that I’m excited! Watch for updates!

Posted on

As this year ends …

WishingYouTheBestHoliday Dec2017

As 2017 draws to a close, and I’m writing with just another day away from Christmas, Hannukah and Winter Solstice are behind us and Boxing Day, Kwanzaa, and New Year’s coming, I’m reflecting on family, research, change and the coming year.

This year was the one with a trip to Australia/New Zealand (part pleasure trip and part research trip), the selling of our home of 18 years and downsizing into a new home, much in the way of our Native ceremonies and family, and new jobs for both my husband and me … well, yes, it has been “interesting”.

But through it all, I am reflecting on the blessings …. getting to know new genealogy clients (through my work at Lineage Journeys) and their families (past and present), learning much new information at the various genealogy conferences I’ve attended (IF you haven’t gone to a conference, even a local one, you are missing out on learning so much, AND making great connections with fellow genealogists!), and building relationships in the genealogy community that I hope will be mutually beneficial.

Speaking engagements have been picking up, and the continuation of my relationship with my local library through monthly presentations, has been a great gift of learning too. Yes, mostly I love to speak because it gives me the chance to learn from others. Yes, I give them information but, more importantly to me, they give me their enthusiasm and excitement for the “hunt” of their family, information about resources that they have found that are helpful, and just the fun of meeting yet another person who is hooked to this hobby that we call genealogy. Searching for our families and where they came from and what they experienced is a unique and growing passion of so many of us – and I so love meeting others that I share this love with!

In this new year, this blog will look different – I’m revising and updating this site and the matching website and pages for my work. With the help of technology, graphic design, wordsmithing, and some great women who are helping me think it through, you will soon see a fresher design and content. I plan to blog more in the new year and share more about resources, sites and helpful information that I find. So please “stay tuned”!!!

Until then, may you experience the peace, joy, hope and festivities of the season with good health and prosperity in the new year!

Posted on

A GREAT GENEALOGY CONFERENCE

VISITING WASHINGTON, D.C. & ATTENDING A GREAT GENEALOGY CONFERENCE!!!

DAR Entrance

Having JUST returned (it was just over a week ago) from the Association of Professional Genealogist’s (APG) Professional Management Conference (PMC) in Washington, D.C., there were SOOO many things learned to pass along!First – don’t go to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA for short), or the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR for short) Library and Headquarters or any of a number of locations when researching without preparing ahead! These are amazing research facilities but with millions of records, categories, topics and time periods, you will waste alot of time if you haven’t looked at the catalog online.

As I knew for months that I was going – that’s me (my company is Lineage Journeys) at the top sharing my Poster Session entitled What’s In A Name: Clues to Ethnicity & Name Changes – so I began early on to do my online research. Thanks to the APG for the helpful webinars on getting around D.C., the archives and more, I was prepared and ready. The focus of my one day of research (I SOOO wish I had more time and money to do this!) was my husband’s family’s descent from a number of Revolutionary War soldiers. Because others have become DAR members from descent from the same ancestors, I found those applications online at the DAR’s great website (https://www.dar.org) so I was prepared to walk into the library and obtain the documents that were used to prove their lineage.

Was I about to be amazed!!!! Would you look at this incredible room?? This is heaven to a genealogist, besides the spectacular architecture, right?! Not only did I easily obtain the documents that I wanted about my husband’s Revolutionary ancestors (really??! A birth record from 1750 and more!) but I was in this environment that was comfortable, helpful (the staff and volunteers of the library are gracious and warm) and I was given good advice, guidance and maximized my time so well that I was able to take a leisurely stroll back to the Metro for the ride back to the hotel.

So my big tip for today? PLAN AHEAD, RESEARCH AHEAD, and by all means, LEARN about where you are going AHEAD so that you use your time well.