It’s hard to believe that RootsTech is finally here, and I’m in Salt Lake City attending the in-person conference. Although we have attended this conference before, I was a little nervous and anxious since we haven’t attended an in-person conference in two years. But entering the building and seeing all the RootsTech signage put me at ease this morning. Walking in this morning felt like I was going home again, and I knew this was going to be a great experience.

This year we are staying right across the street from the Salt Palace which allowed us to only need five minutes to get to the convention center. We arrived just before 8 o’clock, and my first stop was to check my coat. While I was standing in line, I saw one of our winners of our RootsTech Influencer Pass Give-a-way winner. That was a great way to start the conference. I didn’t have a session until 930am, so I just walked around to see some of the changes to the convention center.

Today’s Keynote speaker was one of my favorite American Idol Winners, Jordin Sparks. She talked about her family’s connection to music. She also talked about her transition from American Idol to becoming an award winning singer, actress, wife, and mother. You can’t have a singer as a keynote speaker and not ask her to sing, right? So I was super excited that she sang four songs for us today. She has an amazing voice and a wonderful personality.

After the keynote speaker, I was able to spend some time in the Expo Hall. I made some new genealogy friends. I was able to conduct an interview with Janice Cross Gilyard. She told me about how she got started in genealogy over 25 years ago and why African American genealogy is so important. She has a wonderful spirit and a strong passion for her work as a genealogist.

The last two days have been busy, so I decided not to go to the Family Search Library tonight. I got some dinner and headed back to the hotel to prepare for tomorrow. I started out today nervous and anxious about being back at an in person conference. But I ended the day having a great time, meeting new friends and reconnecting with old friends, hearing some great music, and learning some new research techniques. So all in all this was a great first day of RootsTech 2023. I’m looking forward to what the rest of the conference is going to bring.

Sessions I attended today:

• 9:30 AM – From the Reference Desk: Effective Use of Research Libraries, presented by Susan Kaufman
• 11 AM – Keynote Speaker, Jordin Sparks
• 1:30 PM – Stop Struggling, Start Writing You Life Story Using a Simple 5 Step Framework, presented by Joanna Klein
• 3PM – Interview with Genealogist and Speaker, Janice Cross Gilyard
• 4:30 PM – Maidens, Matrons, and Relicts: Finding the Women in Your Family Tree, presented by Lisa Lisson

Click HERE to read about RootsTech Day 2

Click HERE to read about RootsTech Day 3