Friday, January 26, 2007

FREE Genealogy Conference - Spokane, Washington

We're very lucky here in Spokane to have not only a great genealogy society (the Eastern Washington Genealogical Society), but four (count 'em!) Family History Centers within the county. Not only that, but there is great cooperation between the two organizations, apparent in the annual Family History Conference held each March at the North Stake LDS Church on Regina (for you local yokels, it's the next road north of Pattison's Roller Rink).

Just announced: The 2007 Family History Conference will be held Saturday, March 10, and--as always--it's FREE!

If you wish to purchase a syllabus, you can pre-register, and order a printed copy ($5.25) or receive it on a CD to use at home after the conference ($2.00); you can also request a free syllabus via e-mail, available afterwards.

They also offer a lunch (in the past, it's been catered by Subway, with a sandwich, chips, and bottled water). Cost: $3.75. You are welcome to bring your own sack lunch, if you prefer, or visit a nearby eatery on Division Street/Highway 395, the "Y," or at Wandermere Mall.

What a bargain! Most genealogy workshops or seminars are anywhere between $20 and $50, not counting lunch and a syllabus.

As usual, there are some great topics and speakers. First off, is Ugo Perego from the Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation. He is the keynote speaker...and guess what! They are offering FREE DNA testing! Bring in your four-generation pedigree chart or GEDCOM to participate. You can bring in your spouse and children (age 7 or older) to participate in the DNA testing, even if they don't attend the conference.

Additionally, Donna Potter Phillips and Beverly Smith Vorpahl will be speaking. You may recognize their names from a variety of national genealogy magazines (Family Chronicle, Internet Genealogy, Family Tree Magazine, Ancestry, Heritage Quest), and we are so lucky to have them in EWGS! Joyce Hawkins, who owns Huckleberry's Paper Patch (a scrapbooking supply store) in Spokane Valley will present a creative family history/scrapbooking class. She's the lady that created the multi-page handout on preservation which I give out to all my Online Genealogy students the last night of each quarter's class. Besides, Donna and Bev, Shirley Penna-Oakes and Doris Woodward are from the Eastern Washington Genealogy society, and both are great speakers as well. There are other speakers, some new (to me), and every class looks very interesting! (By the way, you'll see yours truly presenting a couple as well). So go to Grave Concerns and click on the pre-registration to see the classes available. I hope to see you there!

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