RootsTech 2023 - Pre-event

Uniting Photo Booth on second floor

Good morning. It is 4:00 am in Salt Lake and my first day of "RootsTech 2023" is over. But you may be saying that RootsTech doesn't start until later today, and you are right. But many of us have been busy behind the scenes getting ready for the big day.

So what does the day before RootsTech look like? For me, I did a quick walk through of the Salt Palace to get the lay of the land and remember where all the classes are. Many of the fun activities had already been set up on Tuesday and the staff were preparing the Help Desk and Registration areas. There are a couple photo op areas, including a VW mini bus, where you can take fun photos with your friends. 

Help Desks are located throughout the event

Then it was off to the FamilySearch Library to get a few hours of research in. The library is open from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm during RootsTech. My wife had sent me with instructions to find her Walker brick wall. I was busy searching through records for Edgefield County, South Carolina; Bullock and Dale counties in Alabama; and Robertson County, Texas. 

After a few hours of no luck researching, it was time for the GeneaBloggers lunch at Blue Lemon. This is our annual opportunity to get together and see how everyone is doing. I believe the furthest that one of our GeneaBloggers travelled was from Australia.

The Family History Guide Booth

Then is was back to the Salt Palace to register and return to the Expo Hall to help set up the booth for The Family History Guide. I will be working the booth on and off during the week. We will have classes every 30 minutes and there are many videos available for those attending virtually. Come by and visit us if you are here or find us in the Virtual Expo Hall.

Once that was done, I returned to the FamilySearch Library to continue my research for a more couple hours. RootsTech is providing golf cart shuttles between the Library and the Salt Palace, making it easier for more people to get between the locations. This year there will be events and classes at the Library in addition to those in the Salt Palace. Make sure you check the schedule for those classes.

Steve Rockwood, CEO FamilySearch

Then it was back to the Salt Palace for the Media Dinner. The RootsTech Influencers and media representatives got together to hear more about what to expect for the next couple days at RootsTech. My table included a media representative from Brazil, three bloggers from Australia, including Fran Kitto and Shauna Hicks, and James Tanner. During the dinner we were introduced to the theme for RootsTech. In previous years the theme had been Choose Connections. RootsTech wanted to go one step further this year and selected the theme of Uniting. We all have connections but the object is to unite them all working together to push the positive. 

RootsTech 2021 and 2022 were virtual events with over 3 million attendees from more than 220 countries participating. That was a huge success and they wanted to build on that with the hybrid conference this year. We now have the ability to host thousands of attendees with 205 classes in person as well as millions of virtual attendees with 304 classes. The last 100 years of family history have focused on the US and Europe but now that focus is expanding to more records in Latin America, Africa and Asia. This year RootsTech wil be broadcast in the time zones for countries across the world and be hosted by 15 international virtual emcees. The General Sessions will be broadcast in 9 localized sessions with translations in Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, Italian, Korean and Japanese.

After the Media Dinner we were able to tour the Expo Hall. Even at 9:00 pm there was still quite a bit of activity there as exhibitors were putting the finishing touches on their exhibits. Some of them, such as FamilySearch and Storied, will be spectacular. Storied has created a city block with buildings, a street, and even a car.  

Let's Do Good Together Team

As I get ready for the official start of RootsTech in just a few hours, I wanted to share with you how family history can be an uplifting experience for you and your community. A few years ago when RootsTech was still only an in person event, a few of us got together and started talking about projects that we could do in our communities. That small group grew and now forms two organizations. The Family History: Let's Do Good Together Group on Facebook is one way we provide inspiration to others. You can find information about some of the projects our members have done such as Connected Tempe, The 21 Day Family Connections Experiment, and the Texas Connect Project. 

The second group is called The Bridge. The Bridge is now led by Dr. Joe Price of the BYU Record Linking Lab. The Goal of the Bridge Forum is to use family history to create a kinder and more connected world. We provide a monthly forum to share projects that grow the Family Tree at familysearch.org and help people see their connections with each other and their communities. You can view our February 2023 meeting on YouTube.

How can you use the lessons from choose connections to help unite your community?

Join us at RootsTech in person or virtually to see what Family History has to offer. You will be hooked.

RootsTech 2023 - What Should You Expect?

We are only a little over a month away from RootsTech 2023! Have you registered? If not, you should go to rootstech.org and complete your registration. The virtual conference is free and on demand over the next year or more. The in-person conference is $98 for the three day pass but you might be able to win a free pass by visiting the links on my previous blog post. 

Did you hear that Jordin Sparks, 2007 American Idol winner, will be a Keynote Speaker this year? She will share her personal story and speak to the power of uniting through song and word on the first day of the conference.

There are many other speakers who will be sharing their life experiences on the Main Stage also, You can see a small selection of them in another of my blog posts.

I hope everyone has started to make their plans for this incredible event. Some of you are old pros and have attended several RootsTech conferences, whether that be in-person or virtually. But some of you are new to this whole thing and are probably wondering what to expect. Well, here is some advice from my previous experiences at RootsTech as an attendee, volunteer, influencer, speaker, and exhibitor.

1. Transportation. Salt Lake has a great public transportation system. I usually take the TRAX Green Line train from the airport to downtown. There are frequent stops within a block of the north and west sides of the Salt Palace. You can see how close your hotel is to the nearest Trax Station to see if you want to walk. Downtown transportation on the TRAX is free but there is a small cost to and from the airport.
2. Arrive early. I prefer to arrive the day before and do a walk through of the Salt Palace to get my bearings. Early check-in starts on Wednesday between 4:00-6:00. The Expo Hall will not be open in advance but you can see the layout from the second floor. The venue is huge and it is easy to get lost when your classes are spaced out over the entire floorplan. Another benefit of arriving early is that you can visit the recently renovated FamilySearch Library which is just a block north of the Salt Palace. Or you can visit Temple Square and see the sites there. 
3. Speaking of floorplans, make sure you have a map so you can locate your rooms. The RootsTech app has provided maps in the past. Bathrooms are located throughout the area but sometimes may be hard to find. If you don't have a map, the volunteers are ready to help point you in the right direction. 
4. There is usually a coat check area near the main entrance. You can leave your coats and other items there for safe keeping. I usually wear a coat with a sweatshirt underneath that I can wear during the conference since some of the classrooms may be cool. 
5. Food vendors are located all around the venue. In previous years, the main area for snacks was located in the west hall on the first floor. For meals, there are usually several choices at the back of the Expo Hall. If you want something different, you can cross the street and visit City Creek Center for selections like Blue Lemon (American fare) and Blue Iguana (Mexican).
6. You can't reserve classes in advance, but you should at least make a schedule of your preferred classes. RootsTech has posted the class schedules online. I suggest that you pick your first and second choice classes and locate their room numbers for each session and keep that in your planner. Realize that some class sessions may overlap. The classrooms are large but can fill up for high profile speakers. If you can't get into your first choice, then head over to your second choice.
7. What happens if you can't get into your first or second choice? There are other classes that are available. But if you don't want to attend a different class, you can head to the Expo Hall. The vendors will have great deals and you can chat with them one-on-one while everyone else is in their classes. You can stop by The Family History Guide booth and see if I am there. Many of the vendors also have mini-classes.  
8. Seating. Do you like to sit up front, along the aisle, or near the back? Each has its advantages. Many people like to sit at the front of the room so they can see the slides and speaker better. Many classrooms have multiple screens so you can find a variety of close seats. Sometimes the front rows are designated for handicapped seating (mobility, deaf, etc.). The seats will be marked so make sure to look before sitting in those areas. The aisle seats give you easy access to so you can get up and out quickly. I prefer the back rows since those may have wall plugs and I can recharge my devices while listening to the presentation.
9. Expo Hall Hints. Check the times for the Expo Hall so you know when it opens and closes. The times will be different from the class times. It usually opens after the Keynote/General Session speakers and closes after the classes. In previous years you could visit the FamilySearch Library area in the Expo Hall and have their missionaries and volunteers help you with your research. If you had an old family book and permission to copy it, you could visit the scanning station and have it scanned onsite and uploaded to the book collection on FamilySearch. On the north side of the Expo Hall is the media area. That is where you will find some of us doing our interviews, writing blogs, recording podcasts, etc. Feel free to say "hi" to us (we don't bite even though they keep us in a fenced off area).
10. Take some time to relax and unwind. RootsTech can be an overwhelming experience. In the past there have been around 15,000-25,000 people at the event on any given day. And the fact that you are running from class to class can frazzle your nerves. There are benches in the halls where you can just sit for a while, recharge your device, and people watch. Or, gather a few of your newly found friends and head out for a bite to eat. We all enjoy meeting new people and getting to know each other.
11. The Relatives at RootsTech app has been enhanced for 2023 with features for the virtual and in-person attendees. Use the app to discover who you are related to at RootsTech and find your new cousins. Schedule a meet up with your new family and compare notes.
12. One last piece of advice. If you are attending RootsTech in person, you should also register for the virtual event. The virtual event will have additional content which will be available to view on demand for at least the next year.

I hope these tips will be helpful as you explore RootsTech, and feel free to say "hi" to me if you see me in the halls (I'll probably be wearing some genealogy related t-shirt).