Exhausted and Exhilarated! The 2012 NSGS Conference

The 35th annual conference of the Nebraska State Genealogical Society (NSGS) in Grand Island is now a memory, but one loaded with notes, ideas, new friends, and genealogy tools that featured speaker Laura Prescott refers to as "arrows in your quiver."

Hanging out with the Genea-Peeps
Grand Island, Nebraska
photo by Beth Sparrow

Many of us who live in or research in Nebraska hang out on Facebook in a group called Nebraska Genea-Peeps. (Please join the discussion!). Our excitement for the conference has been building for several weeks as we shared information and made plans to attend. Social networking has provided a way for connections to be made in an instant, with bonds and friendships forming.

When I arrived, I ran into several fellow genealogists I've met at previous conferences. I'm still a bit amazed at how easy it has been for me to feel connected and part of the genealogy community at these events. My usual shy nature has disappeared and I found myself table-hopping to get around to say hello to people I've met before and to finally meet several of my Facebook friends in person.

The first person I saw when I walked into the ballroom was Ruby Coleman. This was the first time we met in person, but we greeted each other with a bear hug as though we had been friends for years. Ruby is one of those special people to me. She was my first contact on Genealogywise and the first genealogist on Facebook to accept my friend request about two years ago. More about Ruby later!

Judi Cook and Cindy Cochran of LLCGS
demonstrate the features
of the LLCGS web site

My colleagues from the Lincoln-Lancaster County Genealogical Society (LLCGS) were there and LLCGS had a vendor table on Friday. It was a great opportunity to promote our October 13 conference featuring Hank Z. Jones.

On Saturday, Nebraska Lt. Governor Rick Sheehy of Hastings welcomed our group to Grand Island and presented a proclamation from the Governor announcing that April 30 - May 6, 2012 is Nebraska's Genealogy Week. He shared some information about how genealogical research had impacted his family - that was a nice touch!

There is so much information to share about this year's conference that I'm spreading this out over several blog posts. Up next: featured speaker Laura Prescott.

It's Official!
Nebraska's Genealogy Week
April 30 - May 6, 2012

Other posts in this series about the 2012 NSGS conference:

Arrows in Your Quiver - summary of presentations by Laura Prescott

2011 Nebraska Genealogist of the Year - Ruby Coleman


The link to this post is: http://longlostrelatives-smp.blogspot.com/2012/05/exhausted-and-exhilarated-2012-nsgs.html