Family History and Genealogy Center

Susan Olsen LeBlanc I got my BA at BYU in Family History in 2005 and my AG in 2010. There were a lot of complications along the way. After graduation I continued to get information on job opportunities from the BYU Center for Family History and Genealogy Center. They provide free services to the public. You need to reach out to other genealogists and find a mentor if possible. Be open to doing volunteer work. Keep learning every day. After twenty years I continue to learn through webinars, blogs, newsletters, conferences, institutes, etc. Love the work and reach out to others. A college degree is great, but it only sets your foundation. My work includes every type of research one can imagine. Find your niche, but don't let it limit you and your growth. My blog gophergenealogy.blogspot.com is a reflection of that work.

Roots Tech 2021 Friday Day 2

For Day 2 I tried to listen to all of the Key Note speakers I missed the day before. There were 24 Key Note speakers and 8 Heritage Highlights which I saw only the second one. My favorite speaker was Sharon Leslie Morgan. Then I added to my Playlist for future viewing in the coming year. Of the 1,000+ sessions within eight different tracks there is quite a variety available. Some are a series of sessions. I choose 127 sessions, which means viewing two or three a week. They do vary in length. It is highly recommended that the overall list be examined prior to such an event. One thing about a virtual conference with so many new components is there is little time during the actual event for organizing. There were not really any structured breaks, so knowing the overall schedule one wants to follow is important. 

I spent a lot of time working in Relative Finder. What I loved about the Relative Finder was finding that I match with Pat Richley-Erickson , Peggy Clemens Lauritzen, David E. Rencher, Thomas MacEntee, Judy G. Russell, Karen Stanbary, CG, Thomas Jay Kemp, Tom Jones, Randy (CA),  Ce Ce Moore and over 46,000 others of the one million plus who attended this historic conference. Surely one of the miracles of this pandemic. This group all connect with me and the Tidd family. Another large group of matches are eleven for the Rounds and Strong families. Many of us hope this feature is available in the future!

Roots Tech 2021 Saturday Day 3

It was certainly a great conference. The last session with Elder and Sister Holland was the best. What a sweet couple and their special family. The entire conference was wonderful. From the Main Stage to the Song Contest excitement filled this experience. There were 1500 songs submitted and one could view the musicians and participate in voting. The Graphics, the staging for the interviews, great transitioning were all key to the flow of the conference. The total number of registrants was over one million and from 226 countries. Be sure to check out the Expo Hall, Discovery and Activity Pages. The Guide Me section is extremely helpful and if you have questions use the Help button.  

To the coordinators and everyone who worked so hard at creating this first class experience, Thank you so very much!

 

Roots Tech Wednesday 24 February 2021

Roots Tech Wednesday 24 February 2021 and Thursday 25 February 2021

Just spent two hours at Roots Tech and did not even get to the exhibit hall! The first keynote speaker was great, but there were Internet difficulties with reception problems. Then I moved on to the view some of the pages. On the first page it shows there are 501,203 participants and a map of the 226 places they are globally from. In the Connections portion there are 267,803 people with a total of 55,838,115 matches having been made. There is a map showing where matches are concentrated. The best surprise was when my youngest daughter showed up as my closest match. I have a total of 300 matches, one close relative, two 3rd cousins, twelve 4th cousins, some 5th cousins and the rest 6th and beyond. There is a map showing all of them being from the United States. Then I just kind of looked over the website and took a tour of the Family History Library to see how things have changed there. I will try later to view the keynote speaker. My final stop was the Song Contest where I listened to twelve artists in three categories perform their songs. They are very talented. I look forward to seeing who the winner is. I submitted three, one for each category. Now to get some rest so I will be ready for a full day tomorrow.

Special Interest Groups Online at GFO

 What a full day. I did two genealogy meetings, one with a Virginia Special Interest Group and the other with a German Special Interest Group. SIGs have been happening for a long time at the Genealogical Forum of Oregon. Since spring they do meetings through ZOOM. They average anywhere from about ten to about thirty participants. I am very thankful to be able to spend time with other genealogists. The best part is they are free. One does need to request access, show up a few minutes early and let the show begin. Some have organized presentations and discussions and others are open dialogue chats. They happen at various times. The past few months I have participated with about ten groups. It can be hard to chose when there are more than one at the same time. So, check them out. For those at GFO google them for their web page and then look at the calendar. Free is a very good deal!

Homeschooling Our Children

I taught my older children for three years. Then my father had health issues and I needed to help with him. After they went to school I continued to volunteer in their classrooms. For my oldest daughter, who was bullied by some girls in school, I had her at home for her eighth grade year, the year my last child was born. After all six were in school I was asked to run for the school board. I did and served for eight years. In the meantime I served as Stake Primary President for four years and then taught Seminary for five years. In between I did child care for a few years. Time with my children was so precious to me. Now they are supporting and teaching us while we shift into retirement. They are all very close with each other. They are kind and thoughtful of others. Our health issues are concerning and I can feel a shift in our relationships which are very positive. They also supported and encouraged me through going back to college and getting a BA in family history. I wanted for them to know how important an education is for everyone. So far all have done some college work and they are gainfully employed. They each choose their own path and they are all very independent. So we all know what our limitations are. Life goes on and we must each choose our own path. Whatever you choose to do, do it well!