I missed the party

 I missed a party on the Australian geneacalendar last night.

Twelve months ago my genimates Fran, Pauleen and Sharn launched their Australian Genealogy weekly  Twitter chat, #ANZAncestryTime. I was flattered to be invited to be a host so merrily joined the team even though I had found my earlier forays into Twitter chats quite stressful.

I soon found the fast paced Australian sessions similarly stressful.  I soldiered on in the team for a few months but decided to pull the plug on my involvement as I found the format was all a bit too fast for this old girl who is hampered by a lack of keyboarding skills and who likes to mull over things before jumping in. I now enjoy looking through the #ANZAncestryTime posts at my leisure on the morning after the chats and follow up on anything that sparks my interest. I adhere to the old adage that there are horses for courses and I just wasn't the right jockey for this venture.

I congratulate Fran, Pauleen and Sharn  for their commitment and perseverance to this venture and wish them many happy years of geneatweeting.

Rootstech London 2019 - Pass Giveaway

Rootstech London 2019 - Pass Giveaway

One of the perks of being a RootsTech London Ambassador is that I receive a free pass to the event for myself and one to give to one of my genimates.

Each year I pack my bags and make the long trek from Australia to Salt Lake City to attend Rootstech, The Greatest Geneashow on Earth.This year I have added RootsTech London to my travel calendar. RootsTech London will be held at The ExCel Centre London. from 24-26 October 2019.

My Free Pass Giveaway provides me with an opportunity to give someone else a chance to experience the excitement and education Rootstech offers.

The winner of this competition will

 receive a complimentary RootsTech London  Pass with access to:

• Over 150 Classes
• Keynote / General sessions
• Expo Hall
• Evening Event

This 3-Day Pass does not include airfare, hotel or the coverage of any other expenses. If the winner has already registered for RootsTech London, the original registration fee will be refunded.

What do you need to do to be in the draw?

This year I have followed the lead of fellow Australian Rootstech Ambassador, Fran Kitto, and am using KingSumo to host my competition. 

Enter by following this link:
https://kingsumo.com/g/q6d5h7/geniaus-rootstech-london-free-pass-giveaway

101 Reasons to Attend #congress_2018 - The Unexpected

In a comment on my very first 101 Reasons post Fran Kitto said " One "reason to attend" is that you learn something you do not even expect to learn. 

I even wrote about this from the Qld conference last weekend. http://travelgenee.com/history-book/ I was so underwhelmed by the talks when I read about them before the conference yet every one I attended was great and I learnt something from each."

Spot on Fran! The surprise outcomes we take away from events such as Congress add value to our experience.

One of those may be meeting up with Fran!

Fran Kitto (L) with Sharn White and Kerry Farmer (R) at Congress in 2015 (They are all returning in 2018)

Caitlin and The Camera - at Rootstech

As I was setting up for my Lost Cousins Downunder? talk at Rootstech this morning I looked around for someone to take a couple of happy snaps. I entrusted Caitilin with my camera knowing it was in good hands and I wasn't far wrong - she took 83 photos during my session. I have very few photos of myself in flight at a gig so I really appreciate Caitlin's contribution (and she tweeted all through my talk too).

THANK YOU CAITIE

It was great to have some supporters in the audience too. Thank you Fran and Hlary

Supporters: Fran, Caitie, Hilary

Here are some of Caitie's photos:

Add caption

His descendants went all over the place

This lady came all the way from Texas for my talk

Thank Heavens that's over.

And the winner of my Rootstech competiton is....

...Fran Kitto aka TravelGenee from Australia.

Fran who is active on Google+, Twitter and in the geneablogging world submitted her post Preparation for RootsTech for a First Timer  as her entry in the competition and it was the lucky one to jump out of GeniAus' hat. 

Congratulations, Fran, you will now have a few extra dollars to buy some of the geneatreasures on sale at Rootstech this year.

I hope you have time to sahre your Rootstech excitement via social media.