RootsTech 2025 More Shenanigans!
Some amazing stuff!
Today was the first official day of RootsTech!
The first thing I did was head to the Official Merch table to get a tiny cute Llama - and they sold out in record time.
First session was “An Ever-Growing Tree: Descendancy Research and DNA Matches”. The class was moved, so I wandered around a short time trying to find it. What I found out is that the classroom portion of the Salt Palace is very confusing if you take the elevator. On one side, it opens to Floor B1 and on the other side Floor B, and they are different… I ended up 3 different times in the same room! :) But, they have super nice FamilySearch volunteers EVERYWHERE, and this young lady and I giggled every time I showed back up at the wrong door. She finally ended up walking me to the right place and we had a chance to chat. Turns out, she and her husband are moving to Houston this summer, so we exchanged info and maybe I can help them decide what part of town NOT to live in. so, I was a tad late, but we helped 2 other ladies find it too. Its fun, because everyone is wandering around this big conference center and trying not be late. Just one big building full of Lemmings with searching faces…
Anyway, the class was informative and interesting, even for 8am. There is a handout, but I feel like the speaker slide deck would have been better to have. I was writing furiously, but don’t think I got it all, there is so much to absorb. I felt like I was in college again, and wish that they would allow us to record on our phones, but it is totally up to the speaker. Each one has a slide at the first of every one, and most say yes to photos but no to recording. sigh Educators, please listen and let us record. I have an old formerly blonde brain, and I have people that need me to go back and share your wonderful tips with them! Ok, I should not complain! I am very thankful for the ones that allow FamilySearch to record them, and I know that speakers need to make their living on these conferences, so, I will write fast.
Here’s another soapbox of mine - geneafriends, after every speaker you hear, PLEASE go up and thank them for coming, and give them some positive feedback. Goodness knows, *I* wouldn’t get up there and talk to a big room full of staring, silent genealogists who just listen, clap (or not) and then walk out! Would you? Tell them you appreciate their effort, please.
Next, the Expo Hall doors opened right at 9:00 am… with a REALLY good western band playing - I was reminded SO MUCH of DisneyWorld when they open the gates to “You’ve Got a Friend in Me”, except this one was a fantastic country/western live band and they were toe-tapping good. I forgot which song it was, but the words were perfect for this Texan to bob as she walked. And the first thing I saw was a HUGE area called RootsTech Park, which a giant tree, a bunch of huge play stuff and these gorgeous glowing ring swings big enough to put your whole body inside, with the largest hydrolytic wire supports I have ever seen. I felt like I was 12 again!
I quickly got busy collecting vendor ribbons and more Relatives at RootsTech. I noticed that my QR code on my name badge is not working, no one seemed to have any insight. I stopped by the Help Desk to chat, pick up my first 2 Relatives, and get my “Early Bird” pin for being one of the first 1000 people to register last fall.
I got some fantastic new t-shirts - I will post photos in them soon! My favorite this year says, “A day without genealogy is like… just kidding, I have no idea!” I also got another one of my favorites from last year, in a new beautiful dark teal color that says, “I maybe kinda sorta have a genealogy obsession. #sorrynotsorry” And I could not resist buying one for my daughter that says, “Genealogy Support Squad”. She loves it!! She flew out last night after a midterm exam. This is her first RootsTech and is having a blast.
It was fabulous to catch up with friends that I have talked to in previous years. There are 2 gentlemen from Storied that I have talked to for 3 years now (yes, both Relatives) and it was a joy to catch up and introduce my daughter. Storied is giving each person here a free storybook, and I can’t wait! How do I decide what to do with this one? Please write suggestions in the comments. Perhaps a Rootsquad book with photos of all of our get-together and those yummy heritage recipes I’ve collected from yall. Yes, even the pork cake, even though NONE of us will ever make it. I wish I could somehow capture the laughter we’ve shared through the years to put on the pages…hmmm… they could embed QR codes that link to saved soundbites. Wait, do they do that? I could record each person telling me the story of their family recipe… projects, projects! Sometimes my feels like it will explode!
I also collected SO MUCH free stuff. MyHeritage was handing out fanny packs and interview your family game cards (again), lots of booths have candy (uh, huh, I need that, right?), stickers and discounts galore. Almost every major booth has Expo Teaching Sessions and RootsTech exclusive deals.
Lunch was an adventure. We waited in the Asian food line on teriyaki chicken. It never came. They kept promising that “some more will be here soon” but when it arrived it was Jung pow chicken and we said, “No way” (I don’t do spicy) and went to the bar-b-q place. They were super friendly and it was yummy, for Utah bar-b-q, but definitely not Texas quality. It is Rodeo Cookoff season, after all. winkwink. I think tomorrow, we will just bring some snacks instead. Or DoorDash like my new librarian friend from South Carolina, because she loves salad.
Highlighted classes today:
An awesome one about the National Archives. not recorded, but get the handout!
And lastly, a lovely talk about how to write your stories, by Rhonda Lauritzen (now best-selling author) and Rachel Trotter of Evalogue.Life. Check out their website, they are superduper amazing. Rhonda and I have known each other for a good number of years virtually and finally after the talk got to hug and hug and hug in person. I cannot describe how much Rhonda truly wants to help everyone get their stories captured. She shares so much of her expertise and heart on her website and in her emails and she has TONS of both.
Lastly, we were S.T.A.R.V.I.N.G. and walked to Crown burgers again in the sprinkling rain. My daughter said I was afraid I was going to turn into Danny DeVito at any minute… I don’t like Snickers and she didn’t have a cheese stick to throw at me, haha!!
After the day’s lunch adventure, it was nice to sit and rest a while.
Then back to the FamilySearch Library for speed research - this is when it is it is ESSENTIAL to be prepared. Top Library Tip: Do your research at home and know what you are doing when you get there, because mine had a wrong bib record and said it was a microfiche, but it wasn’t in the cabinet and turns out it had been digitized recently AND was copyright restricted. So, in this case, you have to get a special FamilySearch Library login and log out of your own account and into it to view it. No large download, so I had to screenshot each page… its 10 minutes to close and the message popped up that the computers were shutting down and OH NO! Again, I’m THAT patron! I did a control A and control X and WHAT? Deleted all my downloads before I copied to my drive and panicked… UGH! Luckily, my daughter remembered the “Recycle Bin” (not the Trash) and we recovered them just in time to sprint downstairs. They were SOOOO nice, definitely not even tired of us yet. They said the days headcount was 8000…
What a wonderful fantastic time - I did not hit most all of the fun highlights of the vendor booths, either - more when I can.
Be sure to catch the RootsTech Ride Along at 3:30MT !
AND THIS MORNING: SNOW!!!!!!!