Countdown to RootsTech--Tips for the Conference and Special Offers

The following is from RootsTech.

RootsTech Countdown Are You Ready for RootsTech 2013? With just a few more days until the conference, we've got a few last minute tips to help you get ready. Tip #1: Pick up your registration materials on Wednesday night. Avoid the lines and crowds at registration by checking in early. Registration will be open from 4:00-8:00 p.m. on Wednesday night and re-open at 7:00 a.m. on Thursday morning. Tip #2: Arrive early. The General Keynote Sessions are very popular and are something you won't want to miss. They will be held in Hall 1 and start every morning at 8:30 a.m. Doors open at 7:30 a.m. for general seating, so arrive early to get your seat.  Classes are on a first-come, first-seated basis. Class rooms have limited seating, so arrive early and have a second choice in mind in case a classroom is full. Workshops are a popular activity at RootsTech. Due to the limited seating available in the workshop computer labs, preregistration is required. If you preregistered for a workshop, please arrive early to claim your seat.

Tip #3: Plan your schedule with the RootsTech mobile app. The RootsTech mobile app provides easy-to-use interactive capabilities to enhance your event experience. You can stay up-to-date with the latest conference announcements and changes, plan your daily session schedule, and follow show chatter on Twitter. For iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, and Android phones: visit the App Store or Android Market on your device and search for RootsTech 2013. Download the mobile app as you would any other. More information on downloading the mobile app is available in the conference guide.

Tip #4: Get excited for the Expo Hall. With over 100 vendors at RootsTech, there will be lots to see and do at the Expo Hall. The Expo Hall opens at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday and at 9:30 a.m. on Friday and Saturday. Tip #5: Dress for Utah weather and the convention center. Utah weather in March can be kind of tricky. There's certainly a chance of sun, rain, wind, and snow-all in the same day! Daily temperature averages during the conference will be in the low 40's with a chance of rain on Thursday.  Business casual is the recommended dress code for RootsTech. Be sure to wear comfortable shoes for walking around the Expo Hall. And consider dressing in layers, with a light jacket or sweater in case the temperature inside the Salt Palace is cool. Tip #6: Parking in downtown Salt Lake City. If you're commuting to the Salt Palace Convention Center, we recommend you consider public transportation likeTRAX or FrontRunner. P arking is available at the Salt Palace, City Creek Center, and in surrounding parking areas. Click here for parking information. SPECIAL OFFERS FOR ROOTSTECH ATTENDEES Keynote speaker, Jyl Pattee, is offering RootsTech attendees a free copy of her ebook, Family History-40 Ideas for Capturing your Family's Story. Preserving your family's life story doesn't have to be a daunting or overwhelming task. The project can be as easy as capturing simple yet meaningful moments every day.    It's available for download here.

Also from MyHeritage: ROOTSTECH 2013 CONFERENCE SPECIAL! 14 months for just $69.95! Expires March 24, 2013 WorldVitalRecords provides you with more than 4 billion historical names including Family Tree records, newspaper, SSDI, UK and US census and more!

RootsTech Fun Begins with a RootsMagic Treasure Hunt

As a RootsTech Official Blogger I am excited about this weeks coming events.  One fun tradition at RootsTech is the RootsMagic Treasure Hunt. There will be two winners, one a RootsTech attendee, the other an online participant. The prize is an iPad!

My clue can be found on the home page of Renee's Genealogy Blog.

The following is from RootsMagic.

It's been a tremendous last few months here at RootsMagic. We've been busy with the new releases of RootsMagic 6 and RootsMagic for iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch. We're also excited to participate in one of the largest genealogy events in North America- RootsTech!

We want to celebrate these momentous events with you, our loyal users! And what better way to celebrate than with a treasure hunt where you could win one of many prizes including an iPad (4th generation)!

Online Treasure Hunt

Once again, we've partnered with 15 of the best and brightest genealogy bloggers who will be reporting at the RootsTech conference. Each blogger will place one of 15 clue words on their website

From Thursday, March 21 through Wednesday, March 27, 2013, visit http://www.rootsmagic.com/treasure for a complete list of the blogs where the 15 clue words can be found. Visit each blog, collect all 15 clue words, and you could win software, prizes, or an iPad!

Enter at RootsTech or at Home

Once you've collected the clues there are two ways to enter. The first is at the RootsTech conference itself. Pick up an entry card at the RootsMagic booth (#401) in the Exhibit Hall. Write the clue words on the back of the card and return it to the RootsMagic booth in the Exhibit Hall by Saturday, March 23 at 1:20 pm. At that time, we will hold the prize drawings. You must be present to win.

We didn't want those who aren't able to attend RootsTech in person to feel left out so we're holding a second drawing and giving away more prizes including a second iPad. To enter this drawing, visit http://www.rootsmagic.com/treasure anytime between Thursday, March 21 and midnight MST on Wednesday, March 27, 2013. Fill out the online form to be entered into the second drawing. You may enter both drawings but one entry per person, per drawing. Winners will be picked at random and notified via e-mail by Friday, March 29, 2013.

Remember, the treasure hunt doesn't begin until this Thursday. Good luck!

About Genealogy Readers' Choice Awards 2013 Voting Still Open

If you haven't already done so please take a moment today to vote for your favorite genealogy software, app, websites and blogs in About Genealogy Readers' Choice Awards 2013. Voting ends midnight (EST) March 19, 2013. The winners will be announced March 27, 2013.  You can vote once a day.

I work for RootsMagic and would love to see us win in the following categories.

• Best Genealogy Software (Windows)
• Best Tool for Putting Your Family Tree Online
• Best Online Genealogy Tool or Mobile App

Vote at: http://genealogy.about.com/od/best_of/tp/readers-choice-2013.htm?nl=1

Companion Workbook Now Available for Zap the Grandma Gap

The following is from Family ChartMasters.

Most parents and grandparents would do anything and everything to raise the youth in their family to be successful adults. There are play groups and preschool lessons, music and dance, sports, tutoring and youth groups, the right schools, the right nutrition, etc.etc.  However, many people miss one of the most basic and foundational things that can set a child up for success in life—teaching their child about their family’s history. 

To help, Family ChartMasters has published another unique resource that looks at family history in an engaging and youthful way so that anyone can easily engage the youth in their family with their history.  In conjunction with her corresponding lectures at the RootsTech conference this week, Janet Hovorka has written the new  Zap the Grandma Gap Power Up Workbook: The Particulars About How To Connect With Your Family by Connecting Them To Their Family History, a hands-on book with step by step instructions, procedures, templates and resources that will help teach the next generation to love their heritage.  In the fill-in-the-blank book you will find:

• ·         Brainstorming activities to spark ideas
• ·         Suggestions for travel
• ·         Checklists and invitations for parties
• ·         Outlines for children’s books and activity books
• ·         Templates for games
• ·         Designs for recipe cards and ornaments
• ·         Surveys of the best websites
• ·         Ideas for incentives
• ·         Lists of interview questions
• ·         And instructions and templates for many other activities

This book discusses many ways to combine a family’s specific heritage with the specific interests of their particular youth.

The workbook is a companion to the book Zap the Grandma Gap: Connect With Your Family by Connecting Them To Their Family History.  This new book has already inspired families throughout the world about the importance of family history in connecting today’s families.  In it parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles can learn:

• ·         How to prepare for further curiosity by infusing their surroundings with their history.
• ·         Why plugging into the net is the easiest way to plug their family into their past
• ·         How to utilize your talents to teach their family about their history
• ·         Why discovering the surrounding history together makes their progenitors come alive.
• ·         How to pull their posterity close by carefully creating and recording today’s history.
• ·         Why it is important to simplify their family’s story their family can appreciate the past.

Author Janet Hovorka comes from a family that practices the principles found in this book.  As a librarian, she helped people at the BYU library with their family history research but was completely uninterested in her own. Janet inherited a large amount of genealogy from her mother and grandmother, both wonderful genealogists who lived family history in a way that was attractive and inviting.  Eventually Janet woke up to the soul satisfaction of learning about her past.  Most recently she has found great joy in encouraging her teenage children's genealogical interests. Janet has returned this last month from speaking at the Who Do You Think You Are Conference in London, and the North Florida Genealogy Conference where she gave several lectures about engaging the next generation with their family history.  Among other topics, she will be speaking this weekend at the RootsTech conference on “The Cool Parts of Genealogy: Engaging My Teenagers Case Study.”  Understanding the good and the bad in their own family history can help anyone deal with their family members and their lives in a more healthy way. 

Zap the Grandma Gap Power Up Workbook: The Particulars About How To Connect With Your Family by Connecting Them To Their Family History by Janet Hovorka is available now at www.zapthegrandmagap.com, at bookstores and by calling 801-872-4278.  A 24 page excerpt of the workbook and a 28 page excerpt of the book are available for free on the website along with downloads of other supporting materials.  Sign up on the homepage for a free 52 week e-newsletter with even more ideas on how to engage the next generation with their family history.

About the Author:  Janet Hovorka received a B.A. in Ancient Near Eastern History and a Master's degree in Library and Information Science from BYU.  She and her husband Kim Hovorka own Family ChartMasters (www.familychartmasters.com) —official, award winning printers for most of the genealogy software and database companies.  She is currently serving as President of the Utah Genealogical Association and teaches courses in library skills and genealogy at Salt Lake Community College.  Janet writes the The Chart Chick blog (www.thechartchick.com), has written for numerous genealogy publications, and has presented 100s of lectures all over the world to help people learn more about their past.