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!
Lineage Journeys 