 "There's something for everyone," says Stephanie Carboneti, co-chair
of the fall conference. "We want to provide a conference for all
levels of interest, whether it's someone who hasn't started
researching their ancestors yet and doesn't know where to begin, to
people just wanting to hone up on their research skills. There's so
much to choose from!"This year's conference, entitled "Family
History in Profile," is being co-hosted by the Winnebago & Boone
Counties Genealogical Society and will feature nine nationally and
regionally known genealogy research experts who will lead more than
15 workshops on such topics as "Breaking Through Brick Walls," "Facebook
for Genealogists," "Our National Archives" and "Discovering the Real
Story of Your Immigrant Ancestors."
Cabonetti says this year's conference also will include two
workshops on Saturday for young people interested in genealogy.
First- through fourth-graders will meet from 9:30 to 11 a.m., and
fifth- through twelfth-graders from 1 to 4 p.m.
"If we can spark an interest in a young person, then they will
carry it all through their life," she adds. "When young people do
family research, they have the benefit of being able to talk with
older members of their family who are still alive and who can
provide them with valuable information."
Scheduled presenters include John Philip Colletta, Ph.D., a
Washington, D.C.-based genealogy lecturer who has worked at the
Library of Congress, taught workshops at the National Archives and
is a faculty member of the Institute of Genealogy and Historical
Research at Samford University; Thomas MacEntee, Chicago, organizer
of the 2,000-plus member GeneaBloggers, lecturer and teacher of
online webinars; Dr. Daniel Hubbard, a former particle physicist who
owns Personal Past, which focuses on American, Canadian and Swedish
records; Jeanne Larzalere Bloom, trustee and treasurer of the Board
for Certification of Genealogists, and a full-time professional
researcher specializing in Chicago and Cook County records.
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Other presenters are Dr. Gary K. Hargis, past president of the
ISGS, president of the Fox Valley Genealogical Society in Naperville
and director of the Genealogical Institute of Mid-America; Oriene
Springstroh, founder and first president of the Fox Valley
Genealogical Society, and past editor of the ISGS "Quarterly"
magazine; Larry Pepper, owner of PepperPhotograph.com and an expert
on restoration of old photos; Dave McDonald, director of the
National Genealogical Society and president of the Board for
Certification of Genealogists, whose research focuses on the Midwest
and Plains states, New England, the UK and Germanic Europe; and
Kathy Carey, a district director and past Illinois state registrar
and organizing secretary for the Daughters of the American
Revolution, and a volunteer genealogist.
Carbonetti says the Illinois State Genealogy Society conducts
these conferences annually at different locations around the state
in part to provide information and generate an interest in the
people who helped establish and develop Illinois, and to encourage
people to seek, preserve and make Illinois family history data
available.
Enrollment for the youth workshops is limited. Special early
registration pricing for the conference is available. To register
for the conference or the youth workshops, to download registration
forms or to get more information, visit
www.ilgensoc.org.
[Text from file received from the
Illinois State Genealogical Society] |
