I leave tomorrow for Salt Lake City to attend RootsTech 2014. I’m really excited, but I have to admit I’m a bit trepidatious. I love conferences. You might call me a bit of a conference junkie. (Check out the credentials page of my Peace of Mind Organizing website and you can see how many organizing conferences I’ve attended.)
In the world of professional organizers, though, our biggest conference attracts at most 900 people. I just read an article in the Salt Lake Tribune that say that 10,000 people are expected to attend RootsTech. 10,000.
Gulp.
When I think about a conference that big, my hidden introvert rises to the forefront. I think how overwhelmed I might feel and how I might just want to take refuge in my hotel room.
So, to combat that overwhelmed feeling, I’ve developed a strategy, of sorts. I reminded myself that this is a tremendous learning opportunity. So I will attend classes and make a concerted effort to talk with exhibitors. And I will indeed use my hotel room for refuge when necessary.
If you’ve attended RootsTech before, I’d love to hear any suggestions you have for making the most of it. If you’re going this year and you’d like to arrange to meet, please let me know!
I know the conference will give me lots of information to report on here. So please keep you eye on the blog!
Just have fun! I went to the last two and had a blast. My advice… get to the classrooms early! You want to make sure you have a good seat, or a seat at all! When your class is over, don’t lollygag around, go straight to the next class to get a seat there too (unless you have to use the restroom). On your spare time or the lunch hour, you can explore the very large exhibit hall and all the wonderful vendors. Remember, they’re all genealogists like you!
Thank you so much for that very sensible advice! I appreciate it!
Thanks J. Paul. Great advice!
I hope to make it! We’re getting 8-10 inches here in Kansas City.
It’s snowing here in St. Louis, though I think we’re looking at more like six inches. I’m hopeful that by the time I leave tomorrow everything will be fine. Good luck, Lori!
That’s my hope as well. I’m fairly confident that IF I can get to the airport tomorrow, (about 45 minutes north of me) that I can get there. On another note, I guess I didn’t realize you were so close. Safe travels and maybe we can meet in person in Salt Lake.
I hope you have no problems getting to the airport! My flight’s not until 3:30 pm; I’m feeling confident. I’d love to meet up in Salt Lake, if we can figure out how to make that happen! I’ll send you an email. Safe travels.
I agree with the advice to get to classes early. I went the past two years and missed out on a couple classes I would have liked simply because there were no seats left. So that and have backup plans in case you do miss out. Don’t be afraid to walk out of a class if it’s not for you; sometimes it’s hard to tell by the little blurb in the handouts. And wear good walking shoes! The Salt Palace, and especially the exhibition hall, is not small!
Last year I think there were 6000 people or so, but it didn’t feel that huge except for when the keynotes finished and everyone was on the move at once. I’m an introvert as well and wish I had talked to more people one on one, but I’m not good at initiating conversations with strangers even when we share a passion for genealogy. I had a better experience with a distant relative that I had arranged previously to meet up with, so that was fun. I wish I’d been a member of geneabloggers last year and had gotten beads to wear. Those were a sure way to encourage conversations with other genealogy bloggers.
I wish I were going this year. I’m only 2 miles away, but have a very cute 2-week-old to take care of instead! My oldest two will be attending the LDS youth discovery day on Saturday and I’ll try to catch as many of the streaming classes as I can.
I hope you enjoy Rootstech and your visit to SLC!
Kristiana, thank you so much for commenting! It’s good to know that 6,000 people didn’t seem huge–the event seems very well organized. I’m a member of Geneabloggers but don’t about beads…I’ll have to keep an eye out for that. Thank you!
Enjoy that little one. Maybe I’ll see you there next year. Thanks again for your comment.