***RootsTech is the world’s largest genealogy and family history conference held in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is a four day conference hosted by Family Search. RootsTech 2020 was held February 27 – March 2, 2019.***

Last night I was able to go through the schedule and pick out the sessions I wanted to attend.  We got to the convention center around 9am again today.  Yesterday was a day of me getting used to the convention center.  I have stated before that I am directionally challenged and get lost easily.  But since I was at the convention center all day yesterday and had sessions on each end of the building.  So that helped me feel more comfortable getting around today.  Today I was able to find all my sessions without having to ask for directions like I did yesterday.  So that helped my day go by a lot smoother.

Today I had an appointment with the Coaches Corner.  This was a free 20-minute consultation with a professional genealogist from Trace that was provided in the expo hall.  I was able to schedule time with a professional genealogist that would provide research assistance for one of my ancestors.  I made my appointment at 11pm while the general session was going on to ensure I didn’t miss a session.  It turned out my genealogist was located in Wisconsin, so my consultation was via Skype.  Unfortunately, I didn’t learn any new information, but it was nice to get to talk with a professional genealogist and get a fresh set of eyes.  I also set up an appointment for Phillip since one person could only have one appointment.  His appointment was at 130pm and this time the genealogist was in person at the table with us.  She was able to review the documents I had for that ancestor, look up some information on the internet for me, and she was able to guide me in the direction I need to go in to continue my research of this ancestor.  We also were able to go to the Family Search catalog and find the microfilm that I needed to review at the Family History Library that is located right down the street from the convention center.  I had two completely different experiences at the Coaches Corner.  One I walked away with a better research plan, and the other I was able to brainstorm with a professional genealogist about how to research a woman with multiple married names.  I would definitely recommend this service.

In between the two Coaches Corner appointments, I was able to walk around the expo hall.  I stopped by the Relative Race booth.  I was able to get in and sit in team red’s car and see how the cameras were set up in the car.  Dan wasn’t at the booth when I stopped by but I was able to play one of the challenges they had set up.  I went to Amy  Johnson Crow booth, she’s the brain behind the 52 Ancestors in 52 weeks challenge.  She was really nice, and we got a chance to talk for a few minutes about how this challenge has helped my writing and how much I’m enjoying this challenge.  Next stop in the expo hall was the Genealogy Gems booth.  I have been following Lisa Louise Cooke for over four years now and was super excited to stop by her booth.  I wasn’t expecting her to be there since I knew she was also a presenter at RootsTech this year.  But I rounded the corner and there she was.  There wasn’t anyone else at the booth at the time, so I was able to introduce myself and let her know that I had emailed her and her staff over the past two years with questions about my research.  And she remembered me.  I was so excited and then she asked me to sit down for a quick interview.  I was so shocked and excited.  We talked about how I found out about her podcast, how my research of my grandfather is going (that’s what all my emails to her staff were about), what my future goals with my research are, and how I was enjoying RootsTech.

After the expo hall closed at 6pm, I attended the African Heritage Social.  There was a private screening of Gina’s Journey the Search for William Grimes.  This docudrama depicted the story of Regina Mason’s 4X great grandfather’s life and escape from slavery.  This docudrama also told the story of Regina’s genealogy research efforts that lasted for 15 years.

Today was another great jammed packed day.  I was able to take some really good sessions and have some wonderful experiences at the expo hall.  One of the things I’m really enjoying is that I am getting a chance to actually meet and talk to some of the bloggers, podcasters, and TV show host and talk to them.  Not just say hello, but get the chance to explain how my journey has grown because of what I have learned from them.  I’ve done so much already and it’s only day two.

Sessions I attended today:

• 9am – How to Write Your Story in 5 Pages or less presented by Alison Taylor
• 2pm – The 400th Commemoration of the First Documented Africans in English North America presented by Ric Murphy
• 4pm – BYUTV’s Relative Race presented by Dan Debenham with teams Red and Black from season 4

To read my RootsTech Day 1 recap click HERE

To read my RootsTech Day 3 recap click HERE

To read my RootsTech Day 4 recap click HERE