Finally have a chance to catch my breath after the NW Genealogy Conference in Arlington!

The conference started on Wednesday, August 17th with a FREE day for beginning genealogists. There were three classes: Introduction to Genealogy, Secrets of Ten Record Groups and If I’d Only Known. They also had a ‘scavenger’ hunt. All the attendees received a card to be signed by the vendors. A great way to meet and greet.

I was a vendor at this conference and had the pleasure of setting up next to Susan Sullivan owner of FamilyAncestrees. She is a graphic designer and has some fantastic ideas on how to present Family Trees. You can email Susan at familytrees@fmscreative.com .

Next, there was Molli Allen with Origami Owl. She will design a beautiful Living Locket for you. You choose the charms that represent your passions, memories, dreams and the things you love and Molli will capture them in your Living Locket. Check out the web site to see all the different items available.

And of course, there was Lisa Louise Cooke’s Genealogy Gems. Always fun and informative to hear her speak.

The Stillaguamish Valley Genealogical Society  puts on an excellent conference. This year’s theme was “Family Secrets Uncovered – Lost History Found”. The speaker line up was fantastic! Claudia Breland, Lisa Louise Cooke, Blaine Bettinger, Beth Foulk, Donna Potter Phillips, Mary Kircher Roddy……. Are you jealous yet? You can read all about these and the MANY other excellent speakers I didn’t name on the 2016 Classes page. So many topics! So much wonderful information!

One of the things I like best about these conferences is all the knowledge being shared outside of the classes. You get a chance to talk to others who can help work out strategies, offer advice and neverending encouragement. I heard several people talking excitedly about finding living ‘cousins’ sitting next to them in a class. Other high spots were the meetups at the end of the day and a Friday Banquet with Blaine Bettinger speaking on The Science Fiction Future of Genetic Genealogy.

If you missed this year’s conference, don’t despair. Stillaguamish Valley Genealogical Society already has a Save The Date out for next year – August 16th – 19th, 2017. Even better, register before February 15th for early bird prices: Full three day conference: Members $125, non-members $140 Single day: $70

For an in-depth review of the conference, check out the Washington State Genealogical Society Blog

Until next time….. Keep on Searching!

Dame Sheila