A January 2011 Update

Well it certainly is the dead of winter here in Chicago this January 2011 but there is no snow gathering on my tree branches.  I've been busy to say the least.  Here's a little update and an explanation for the lack of posts here at Destination: Austin Family:

• Recently I was named a Director of the Illinois State Genealogical Society as well as its new Webmaster and chair of the Publicity committee and the Death Indexes and Obituaries committee.

• With my new ISGS duties comes the monumental task of moving from our old RootsWeb-based website to a new Easy Net Sites-based one.  Take a look here when you get a chance.

• Besides being involved with genealogy on a state society level, I'm also heavily involved with the Federation of Genealogical Societies which is a national organization. I've recently been chosen as the FGS Marketing Coordinator (a new position) and I will also be handling advertising for the FGS FORUM which is the quarterly publication.

• The FGS fun doesn't end there thought.  I also am an editor for the FGS Voice blog and am producing a series of technology and marketing related posts called GenSoc(k) Hop.

• And don't forget the upcoming FGS 2011 Conference in Springfield, IL September 7-10, 2011. I am the National Publicity Chair and my great team of volunteers is busy preparing to get the word out on one of the largest genealogy events of 2011.

• I'm not done yet! I had a very successful webinar for Legacy Family Tree Webinars on January 5, 2011 entitled Google for Genealogists. You can see the recording of the webinar here. I'm psyched that I'll be doing three more webinars with Legacy Family Tree during 2011.

• One project I'm working on is evaluating various virtual presentation platforms for members of the Genealogical Speakers Guild. Being able to deliver genealogy education content over the Internet in live webinar format is the wave of the future and I'm determined to make sure that the genealogy community is on top of that wave, not behind it. In fact, with Legacy Family Tree Webinars, I'll be moderating a Virtual Presentations Roundtable on Saturday, February 12, 2011 and you can participate for free using webinar technology.  Click here to register. 

• I've signed contracts for more speaking engagements in 2011: March 10th for the Fox Valley Genealogical Society in Naperville, IL;  June 10-12th for the Southern California Genealogical Society Jamboree in Burbank, CA; July 15-16th for the Land Records and Genealogy Symposium in Beatrice, NB; October 17th for the Zion Genealogical Society in Beach Park, IL.

• Further out, I'll be repeating my appearance for the Salt Lake Christmas Tour in December 2011 and I've also been asked to coordinate a track of courses called The Genealogists's Guide to the Internet for the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy in 2013.

• And finally, I am getting ready to attend RootsTech in Salt Lake City February 10-12, 2011. This is the premiere genealogy and technology event and I'll be in my element with lots of networking going on with friends, vendors, clients and other genealogists. I'll also be moderating three panel discussions including Genealogy Blogs: Impact and Influence in the Genealogy Community, Self-Publishing for Genealogists and Genealogical Societies, and the above-mentioned Virtual Presentations Roundtable.

Am I busy? Well just slightly busier than a one-armed wallpaper hanger.

Photo: Winter Tree, used via Creative Commons License 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

© 2011, copyright Thomas MacEntee