Thursday, September 10, 2009

Be Sure to Bring the Following to the WSGS 2009 State Conference!

I got to thinking about some of the things I want to bring to the Washington State Genealogical Society's 2009 State Conference at The Davenport Hotel in Spokane this coming weekend, and I came up with the following list. If you can think of other items, go ahead and add them in the comments section by clicking on the "Post a Comment" link below (if you are reading this through a feed reader or your email, you'll want to go to the actual blog address for this part). Be sure not to click on the similar link that says "Post Comments (Atom)". Leave your comment, then choose an identity (if this is new for you, choose Name/URL and just leave your name in the box that will appear) and click "Publish Your Comment." You will then have to wait until one of us blog team members approves your comment...this is to protect our blog from those nasty spammers!

Here goes...
  • comfortable, casual clothing, shoes, and sunglasses for warm weather. The weekend is expected to be in the mid-to-upper 80's
  • more formal clothing for dinner Friday night at the Davenport and possibly for dinner Saturday night if you are expecting to eat in a nicer restaurant
  • toiletries and medications
  • water bottle with secure lid (again, warm temps expected this weekend!)
  • change for tips, parking, and photocopies at Spokane Public Library if you plan to do research there on Friday, and raffle tickets!
  • cell phone (be sure to turn it off or to silent during presentations) to stay in touch with family and friends during the conference, and also to Tweet conference highlights on Twitter!
  • camera for taking photos of your favorite genealogists, bloggers, presenters, and new friends made at the conference, as well as the beautiful outdoor downtown Spokane scenery and Riverfront Park
  • laptop or netbook with your genealogy software, especially RootsMagic, FamilyAtlas, Personal Historian, and/or Family Reunion Organizer...in case you have any questions about these for Bruce Buzbee of RootsMagic. You can take notes on your laptop during the presentations as well as access the Internet with The Davenport Hotel's free wifi (the library has it too)! Many of the presentations are on using technology with genealogy, and you'll probably want to be able to access websites during those sessions.
  • power cords or backup batteries to charge your cell phone, camera, laptop and other electronics; security cable for your laptop: WSGS, EWGS, and The Davenport Hotel are not responsible for lost or stolen items
  • thumb drive or CD with your GEDCOM on it to give to Janet Hovorka of GenerationMaps to order a multigenerational family tree chart, and also to test out RootsMagic-to-go
  • an iPAC, if you have one and you're planning to attend Gordon Struve's presentation
  • notepaper and pen
What else do you suggest?

1 comment:

Thomas MacEntee said...

One suggestion: I also pack a power strip in my backback. Why? It is a great way to meet other genealogists who need to charge their netbook or laptop and there is only one outlet nearby.