Bring on the Keynotes

Many of my fellow Ambassadors for the 2016 Rootstech Conference have been busy sharing details of the Keynote speakers that have been announced for the Thursday Rootstech Sessions. You can read all about them here.

As a foreigner I have only heard of one of the three speakers, Steve Rockwood, but I am not perturbed because the Rootstech organisers have consistently sourced excellent people (most  who were previously unknown to me) as keynotes. Some like Curt Witcher and Jay Verkler (of the amazing hair) have really resonated with me as they shared very strong messages about the Future of Genealogy.

I got to interview Jay Verkler at the first Rootstech in 2011

How about the barefoot boy, Josh Coates, who presented without shoes in wintry Salt Lake City? Judy Russell's keynote in 2014 was a real wakeup call and multi-faceted David Pogue in 2013 (whom I got to interview - watch it here) was a real showman. This year young Australian, Tan Le, had many in tears while Old Rocker, Donny Osmond, took us on a trip down memory lane. And then there was everyone's cousin, A J Jacobs,  who befriended the geneabloggers. I passed on an invitation to interview this funny guy and have been regretting it ever since.

A chat on the couch with Tan Le

A J Jacobs and his geneablogging cousins

 One of the reasons I attend Rootstech is to hear new (to me), inspiring, entertaining and challenging speakers and I am more than satisfied with most of the selections made by the organisers each year.

I don't mind who they serve up - the keynotes will make my trip worthwhile.

And here's that interview with David Pogue: