Each year, my excitement for RootsTech builds as the date draws near, and every year, I am so happy I attended. Once again, my expectations were fulfilled. I came away from the conference feeling inspired, energized, and feeling just plain lucky to live in a time when so much information and technology is available to help us discover, gather, and connect our families.
Inspiration from the Keynote Addresses
The keynote speakers never fail to inspire, and this year was no different. Steve Rockwood opened the conference and what stood out to me in his address became an underlying theme throughout the entire week: “Discover, gather, and connect your family, past, present, and future.” Family history is not just about our ancestors. We are creating family history now. Capturing and recording that story as it unfolds will be a gift for our posterity.
I love the movie “The Blind Side,” so I was particularly excited to hear Leigh Ann Tuohy’s keynote address. Her inspiring words drove home the powerful message that we can make a difference in the world around us. She said, “Michael Oher is a testament to what happens when you turn around, stop the car, and offer someone hope and offer someone love.” Leigh Ann encouraged us to “Rock your story,” whatever it might be.
David Hume Kennerly provided a journey through history with his incredible photos. His words that have stuck with me: “I’ve spent my life photographing people being themselves.” With a cell phone within reach at all times, I have set a goal to be more intentional about photographing the people around me being themselves. What a gift that will be to them and their posterity.
Finally, Emmitt Smith was delightful. He told the story of his ancestor Mariah and the strength he has gained from learning about her. The words he said that have lingered in my mind: “I appreciate my process a lot more today knowing I am standing on the shoulders of giants.” Isn’t that what knowing our family history does for us? We gain power from those who have gone before.
If you were not at RootsTech or missed the keynote speakers for any reason, they are all very worth listening to. You can access the recordings in the RootsTech Video Archive anytime. Some of them aren’t yet available but I’m sure they will be very soon.
Learning in Classes
I was able to attend many sessions over the course of the week, and I was excited about what I learned! I will be writing more over the coming weeks about specifics, but DNA, reading old German handwriting, pre-1850 research, and the healing power of family history were some of my favorite topics. If you were unable to attend Roots Tech in person, or if you want to watch some additional sessions you might have missed, there are still opportunities for you. Quite a few classes were recorded for the free live-stream of the event and are still available in the video archive. In addition, you can still purchase a virtual pass for the conference, giving you access to 30 additional recordings you can watch on demand. The virtual pass will be available through September 1.
Inspiration for Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
As a temple and family history consultant for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, I am always on the lookout for new and better ways to engage people in family history work. I was really excited about some new things I learned about at this RootsTech Conference. Topping the list are the development of a new app by FamilySearch that is designed with kids ages 8-11 in mind, an all-new discovery experience called “Where Am I From?” and a feature on the home page of FamilySearch.org (before you even log in) called “Learn About Your Family” that can be used to help anyone look up their surname and find a few ancestors to pique their interest and gain a desire to engage with their family history. I heard stories and saw examples about using this feature and I’m excited to begin training people how to use it to share family history anytime, anywhere.
The training by Elder Renlund, Elder Stephenson, and Elder Bednar at the Leadership Instruction Session Thursday evening was so good! I’ve written more about it here. I also loved hearing from Elder and Sister Stevenson at Family Discovery Day on Saturday morning. If you missed either of these sessions, you can watch them here.
Connecting With Cousins and Friends
One of the best parts about RootsTech is connecting with friends old and new and meeting cousins through the Relatives at RootsTech feature on the FamilySearch Family Tree mobile app. I loved serving as an ambassador and meeting fellow ambassadors who share my passion for family history! I was also able to spend time with my friends and mentors Diana Elder and Nicole Dyer of Family Locket as I worked at their booth, and to meet Family Locket’s genetic genealogist Robin Wirthlin in person and spend some time getting to know her, as well as meeting a few fellow Research Like a Pro study group participants in person. I worked in the Family Locket Booth for a couple of hours on different days and had such a great time meeting new people and talking with them about the Research Like a Pro Process.
I also had the amazing opportunity to meet a third cousin I had never met before. She was able to share some family stories with me about our 2x great-grandfather that I had never heard. The identity of his parents is a big family history mystery, and she lit a fire under me to begin a project that has been simmering at the back of my mind for some time now: using DNA to solve this mystery!
Perhaps one of the most memorable parts of the week was when my husband joined me for family discovery day.
Now that the week is over and I’ve recovered, I’m excited to begin sharing some more in-depth information from my week. Stay tuned for articles relating to these topics as well as some ideas and inspiration that came as I spent four days immersed in family history at one of the best places I’ve ever discovered for helping me get energized about family history: RootsTech!
